it takes your best members of congress, your most serious members of congress. it takes a great deal of disdiscretion. tass senator pointed out i think it takes a certain amount of sacrifice in terms of the political benefits that may or may not come to you from being on these committees. >> warner: senator gorton after the christmas day bomber failure or almost success, congress held hearings on executive branch failures but nothing about itself. do you think anything will prompt congress to do this? >> (sighing) i'm afraid it may only be another disaster because as the director pointed out, it takes a great deal of sacrifice not just in time but it takes the willingness on the part of some members of congress to say, let's concentrate this. we'll give up a little tiny bit of our own authority so that the body overall can do a better job. >> warner: former senator slade gorton, former acting c.i.a. director john mclaughlin, thank you both. >> ifill: in >> ifill: in our next segment, we'll look at the role independent contractors play in intelligence gathering.

whereas this congress is the high spending congress in the united states history. whereas this congress has presided over the two highest budget deficits in the united states history at a time when public debt is higher than at any other time in history. whereas this congress began its mortgage of the nation's future with a stimulus package costing $1.1 trillion that failed to lower unemployment, spur economic growth, or actually address the needs of struggling american bills and families. whereas this congress continued its free flowing spending with an increase of 7 $72.4 billion in nonemergency discretionary spending in fiscal year 2009 to reach a total spending level of $1.01 trillion for the first time in the united states history. whereas this congress approved a budget resolution in 2009 that proposed the sixth largest nomal deficits in american history and included tax increases of $423 billion during a period of sustained high unemployment. whereas this congress disregarded the needs and opinions of everyday americans by passing a national energy tax bill

they asked me to write a book about congress for people that did not study congress but are interested. the series has a very tight format -- 35,000 words. that was as much as i was able to write. my first draft was 75,000 words. even that did not include everything there is to know about the congress. my job was to try to take this very complicated institution, which is really two separate institutions, and explain how it developed over time to an audience of people who are curious, including people outside of the united states who live in parliamentary government and wonder why we do not have a parliament. >> i count about 175 of these books put out by oxford university press. it sells for about $11.95. in the first congress, senators wanted president washington to come to the chamber when making nominations and requesting that treaties be ratified, to seek their advice as well as their consent. washington demurred, reasoning that the abundance of nominations would make this impractical. he would send nominations to the senate, but agreed to the protocol of carrying treaties to the c

, retire from congress stay in washington, d.c. and they, since they use the talents that they developed when they were in office to promote issues, to represent concerns, to give advice to people on how to get bills through congress. there's a large lobbying contingent in washington. members used to have a great advantage because doors were always open to them. their colleagues would always invite them in. they could go on the to the floor of the house and senate. they could use the dining rooms and that gave them an advantage. ethics rules have gotten much tighter. and if a former member does lobby, a lot of the privileges of being a former member are very much restrained or taken away, and that includes going on to the floor because no one is to lobby on the floor of the congress. >> last movie, made in 1992. you don't talk about this in your book. called distinguished gentlemen written by marty kaplan who used to write speeches for vice president monday dale. edie murry is the main character. he ran for congress after the previ

he had the respect from both sides of the aisle in congress. most importantly, he had the confidence of the great president of the united states, barack obama barack obama trusts ray lahood. one other person that is not here that i want to technology is jerry brown. this has been a decade for him for decades. i know he is in southern california right now. it is very important to acknowledge, as others have, that for generations, california has stood as the beacon for innovation for the nation and world. yes, we salute our governor for the role he plays -- david, give him our guards. i am sorry that he could not be here with us. every manifestation of our state, whether it is the people who vote, local, regional authorities to participate, elected officials, everyone agrees that this was a priority. when the secretary says we have our act together, mr. secretary, we have been ready for a long time. what made such a difference, what tipped it over, of course, was the vision and leadership of president barack obama and the courage to go forward wi

it's something congress wrote. congress can write a new one, right? are they likely to? >> well, you know, there are several members of congress that told me this week they think they can do it. and the reason they say that is they have some confidence. twice before in 2006 and 2008 there's been a bipartisan bill that would basically put into law a solution to this problem. it twice as passed the congress, both the house and senate but was twice vetoed by president bush. well, they got a new president in office now. president obama who actually changed the policy on stem cells. what president bush had said is, ok, you can have federal money to do research, but only on stem cell lines that already exist. what president obama said last year is, we're going to allow you to do new research on new stem cell lines. and the initial thought was, well wow, this judge's ruling affect what's president obama has done. but there are many people who looked at the ruling and said, no, it actually affects everything, including what president bush started. >> so you said this was kind of

he has invited congress to the table, but again, as was sd earlier, this is in the hands of the congress. they will need to address this in a bipartisan way. cannot only be done by democrats. republicans have to be willing to be at the table. >> nobody has suggested, that i have heard, that only one step needs to be taken to have comprehensive immigration reform. this is an aspect of it. it is something we always mention, but there are obviously other aspects that are needed and that people are interested in doing. the president has reached out to and talk to democrats and republicans on this issue. we just need a little support to make it happen. >> if you do not get comprehensive reform, is this and not just then a drop in the bucket in attacking the problem? >> and no, and i say this ain as someone who has worked extensively in a border state. the border region is an important, critical area for this country. so much trade and commerce occurs alo there. peop live in communities in that region. we want to make sure that region is safe and secure and that requires a law enforcement appr

there was the general question about which party you want to control congress. it is nearly split -- almost even. when you compare that to 2006 and 2008, democrats had a clear majority over voters preferring them to control congress. that is good news. the bad news is that the public does not have much confidence in what congress has done. an astonishingly low 1% believe that this has been one of the best congressional sessions. that is -- that contrasts with the message that chris dodd was saying. we passed all these bills. we need to get credit for it. they are not getting credit. they're now trying to say that we are better than republicans and republicans are the party that would bring it back to the problems we had in 2008 and before. >> as you look at the poll numbers -- unemployment is at 9.5%. a deficit is approaching $14 trillion. >> those are the big numbers. 9.5% -- that is the number you look at. that is the number that the white house democrats cannot get around. it is hard to message 9.5% unemployment. you can put to everything you have done, but a

a couple of members of congress made that case as well. robert is in a unique position of serving a dual role, he is the white house press secretary and a good friend to the president and that creates friction. robert has made no secret he wants to focus on policy and political advice to the president 100% instead of dividing his time between that and the podium. robert said he isn't going anywhere and that's probably the case. the podium is his as long as he wants it. >> robert gibbs responding to chip reid of absence news. >> did you put your foot in your mouth or did you say something that you meant? [laughter] >> i had my feet planted firmly on the floor and nothing in my mouth to speak of. >> you answered, you said, honestly. was this an honest and correct answer? >> i will not contradict my substitute. >> you're not backing away from it? >> i think many of you have heard frustrations voiced here. sure. i doubt i said anything you haven't already heard. >> it's not something you said in error. >> it was borne out of frustration, but i

i think that is what congress established us to do and that is what congress is paying us to do and we take that very seriously. inevitably reports that we issue will strike some members of congress as not reflecting their views of the world, their best assessment of what would happen. sometimes they will make that poeupint on the floor of the ho or senate or they will make the point in a committee hearing. sometimes they will call me and make that point directly. we are always interested in hearing people's perspectives because we are trying to learn about different views of what affects policy. but we are not swayed by pressure. host: this is a good time to bring up the economic paradigm argument that joes stiglitz made. if you are familiar he won the nobel prize in economics in 2001. university professor at columbia and served as bill clinton's chairman of the council of economic advisors. he writes this. the blame game continues over who is responsible for the worst recession since the great depression. the financiers who did such a bad job or regulators. but he says the economics

that is what it means to be an independent memb of congress. the fact that these members of congress are talking to there's constituents about how they vote on particular issues and that they are independent-minded members of congress, is an appropriate thing for them to be doing. they should be laying out their record and talking to their constituents and demonstrating they are doing their job. >> independent writer. corpore profits are very high and so are banking profits, and what is the democratic position to get them to invest in a new capital equipment which will create jobs? on the other hand, the $8,000 subsidy for housing has artificially kept prices up and not stimulated new housing as the new numbers show. could you address this, please? >> on the first point, you are right, there are a lot of businesses, especially the larger businesses, that had greater capital, and the key is to make sure we continue what is a very fragile recovery and do everything we can to accelerate it. that is why it be such a mistake to go backwards. john bo

to the voters, the 111th congress will go down in history as the bailout congress . the congress has all right spent $75 billion in stimulus dollars to help states with education. that was supposed to be a one-time temporary bailout approved by the american reinvestment and recovery act. i am very proud of the fact that three of my four children are teachers. they work very hard to provide quality education in the classroom. they know that schools should be run by parents, teachers and local communities. the more we approve these bailouts the more federal government takes over that role. mr. speaker, i know that my democrat colleagues say that this legislation is, quote, fully paid for. on the other hand, the bill spends the entire $26 billion in just two years while the offsets take place over 10 years. the so-called offsets in this legislation are produced by almost a $10 million billion increase in taxes, $13.4 billion in reductions and two programs that are popular with democrat leaders, that is the food stamp program and renewable energy projects. some democrat

there is an open question on whether congress will do anything. initially, there was a great deal of agreement between both parties that something needed to be done, that this oil spill have highlighted some of the problems of how we regulate offshore drilling. but that is falling away now. >> i read that both the american controlling institute and in our mental groups are going around town hall meetings advertising. how much interest you think the public will have in this issue? >> it is hard to say. something that has generally happened -- the environmentalists want to resurrect that momentum that may be lost. the american petroleum institute wants to put the final nail on the coffin on the spill or at least half what gets through watered-down. >> last year, there was a similar dynamic. i went to a couple of these in the midwest. there were a little town hall meetings, bus tours. and the energy industry would have huge rallies with a band and speakers and something very elaborate, saying climate energy will destroy the economy or cost a lot of j

representing the east bay is congress miller. congressman george miller may be best known as the house education committee leader. here at home, he has been a longtime supporter of the transbay project and the affordable housing component of the program. many of his constituents commute to san francisco daily, and we both look forward to the day that the commuters will arrive at a transit center. i want to thank congressman miller for his support over the years. [applause] >> thank you very much. i am here, not just representing the east bay but the rest of the california delegation of the bay area. we understand while this project is in san francisco, it adds value to the entire economy of the bay area, to the employment opportunity, opportunity of families to come and relocate. they know they will be able to take advantage of a modern intermodal transportation system. as we look at the data, there are two things families and businesses are interested in. what is the education system like, what is the transportation system like?

at the end of the day, the white house has to take the call from members of congress even if congresste action that can take, asking them to apply pressure to the white house will make a difference. we have been there for far too long with no exit strategy, and it's time for us to end this. thank you so much for coming today. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> join us tomorrow for a couple of rallies here in washington. live starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern, it's glenn beck and his restore honor event from the lincoln memorial. he will also be covering al sharpton and his rally call reclaim the dream. we'll have taped coverage of that later tomorrow afternoon on espn. >> we now have a generation coming up who didn't really have the arts very much as children and didn't have the arts in the public schools certainly. these are now the 20-year-olds. i'm very concerned about that group of people that they're going to come to the arts. >> michael kaiser heads the kennedy center for the performing arts

to the voters, the 111th congress will go down in history as the bailout congress . the congress has all right spent $75 billion in stimulus dollars to help states with education. that was supposed to be a one-time temporary bailout approved by the american reinvestment and recovery act. i am very proud of the fact that three of my four children are teachers. they work very hard to provide quality education in the classroom. they know that schools should be run by parents, teachers and local communities. the more we approve these bailouts the more federal government takes over that role. mr. speaker, i know that my democrat colleagues say that this legislation is, quote, fully paid for. on the other hand, the bill spends the entire $26 billion in just two years while the offsets take place over 10 years. the so-called offsets in this legislation are produced by almost a $10 million billion increase in taxes, $13.4 billion in reductions and two programs that are popular with democrat leaders, that is the food stamp program and renewable energy projects. some democrat

congress -- the very short introduction." he is with us tonight on c- span's "q&a." >> tomorrow on "washington journal," lawrence yun as an update on the housing market and foreclosure rates. a washington post reporter talks about the president's campaign fund-raising efforts for house, senate, and gubernatorial candidates. axman discusses a pending house bill that would legalize internet gambling and set a framework for licensing. we begin a week-long series on the financial regulations law with bloomberg reporter phil mattingly. he looks at how government powers have been expanded. the series continues tuesday with a look at the impact on banks. on wednesday, we look at how it effects consumers. on thursday, we examine the changes for investors. on friday, we wrap up the series with a conversation on which provisions were created to prevent a future financial crisis. "washington journal" -- like every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> now, the two leading candidates in the florida senate race -- congressman kendrick me

congress member. will be in ohio in a few days trying to help my colleagues that voted to make sure that someone with pre-existing conditions can continue to have their insurance. i am proud that we did that. the more that we did, the more support i think it will be for it. host: mike, republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. my family has a ford dealership from pennsylvania, my grandfather started in 1924. during the depression, his father and brother struggled to keep the business telling. i started through the early 1970's in the dealership. we watched chrysler fall back then, the government bailed them out over and over again. chrysler fell at that time and the government dealt them out, through the early 1980's the government purchase their government cars in order to keep chrysler afloat. he just did it again. i do not understand why we do not learn by past experiences, putting the stranglehold on the automobile industry, these cars are so expensive that the average american cannot

so we issued this to the congress. we put a need to modernize the regular system are high risk list in january 2009, and congress and the administration have acted to address many of these issues. the new law signed last month addresses many of these concerns, although a large portion of it depends on actions to be taken by the regulators in exercising the new authorities under the legislation, creates the consumer protection bureau, the federal reserve, gao will be the auditor of this new bureau. part of our findings earlier was the fact that there needed to be additional information provided to consumers to help them make informed decisions, particularly in light of the development of complex financial instruments that have emerged, the power to seize and liquidate large failing institutions was given to the administration, providing more transparency for derivative, a very important issue, was dealt with although there are details to be worked out with the regulators. there is a creation of a financial services over

>> these are all depends on laws in congress.you have to change the laws in congress in order to do that. believe it or not, changing these laws is a real lift. i was the co-sponsor of the border fence act, and i really thought once we had the signing ceremony that that job was going to get done. but it is an education. next question, please? >> hello, sir. i live in anaheim. my question is this, my grandfather is 81 years old, already enjoyed 16 years of retirement, collects social security in that time. you are -- your minority leader john boehner said he was interested in exploring the possibility of raising the retirement age to it least 70. as a deficit hawk, i wonder where you stand as far as raising the retirement age and how high you would want to raise it, especially since this is the first year since 1983 that social security will give out more money than it takes in. >> argue for lowering the age? >> i would personally rather see an increase in fica to maintain social security where it is. >> my concern is you have a l

>> reduction of spending is very difficult to do in congress because congress doesn't reduce spending easily. remember, in washington we call it a reduction of spending if you don't get an increase roughly comparable to inflation. the budget now in the united states is roughly about $3.8 trillion. when lyndon johnson was president of the united states, not that long ago, he very much wanted to have the budget not be over $100 billion. i wong one of his budgets was $99.9 million. whatever is done should be fair. the most important thing is whatever the president ultimately decides to do, it should be a concept that everybody is sharing the 59 a little bit and everybody is putting in their contribution to society to make the country a little bit stronger. >> rose: assess for me how well you think barack obama has handled the economy? >> the economy was in worse shape than he realized and worse shape than most people realize and the problems he had to deal with were significant so it's hard to say how he's done given what he's inherited. the most important thing he has to deal with now i

congress approves billions more for the military campaign despite documents that they were put online detailing civilian. american war. trying to turn the tide water supplies in russia's far east are under threat as thousands of barrels containing toxic chemicals flowed down a chinese river towards the country's border. sweet celebration is taken out of arizona's tough immigration law just before but rights activists say the fight is not over yet. on the sports is next with. you're watching the sports news in artsy thanks for joining us this hour they have lines zinni tomorrow in the russian primarily the same to this big siding crazing that overlaid with yet another victory of being seen cold as not being in one of saturday's highlights. rush hour in full control of the european a flat exchange and ships in barcelona securing twice as many medals as the nearest rivals with one day of competition to go. and exist in behavior here new gun yawn gets through skateboarding girls while jimmy bass really shines on these makes by having sixteen tenniel exclaims in los angeles. now it's off w

key democrats in congress now question the war. does barack obama who ran against the iraq war truly have his heart in this one? wi his bet on a surge a world away loosen his party? and finally, pin the tail on the elephant. democrats are out there trying to tie all republicans to the craziest of the tea partiers but in this nasty environment, could even some of the craziest actually win? hi. i'm chris matthews. welcome to the show. with us today, hdnet's dan rather. the a.p.'s kimberly dozier. "the new york times'" helene cooper. and "time" magazine's rick stengel. the leaks from afghanistan showed the difficulty of our mission there. president obama in playing down the tharm done from the leaks again took ownership of the war. >> we've substantially increased our commitment there. insisted upon greater accountability from our partners in afghanistan and pakistan. developed a new strategy that can work and put in place a team, including one of our finest generals, to execute that plan. now, we have to see that strategy through. ch

the parts that congress decides is the top two shades of gein. the defense discretionary spending and all the other discretionary spending the things congress acts on every year. but we're uncomfortably close to the line even where some things are automatic. social security and interest on the debt. which we'll talk about, going to be heading up inexorably right now. there was there was a study, some of you might have seen this "the washington post" knelt important enough not to just put a reference but a chart in the ed tory. which is a few seeing a chart in the editorials. but federal debt no surprise, higher interest rates means higher spending in defense at the end of the clinton presidency before 9/11 and after we had to balance the budget again and had had very strong economic growth, the boom of the late 90's, our debt was down to about 1/3 goodell, which was pretty good -- g.d.p., which was pretty good for us. now it's certainly not the place you want to be when you're getting close to when the baby boomers are going to start retiring in

and what happened instead was, within the year, the 104th congress, the first republican congress in 40 years, took control with newt gingrich as speaker and with a whole new kind of republican coming in. it wasn't the rockefeller republican who had funded the arts and the humanities so much in the past. it was a new breed that was out to create a moral nation, pare down government, and so on. and the n.e.a. was top of their hit list. so i was in the trenches for the rest of the time there. in the book, you tell a fascinating story about your relationship with artists, both-- some of whom have been supportive, some of whom have not been. and you express your disappointment as you came in that-- people like fred thompson, who had a career as an actor, sonny bono, who was at one point a symbol of the counterculture long ago-- neither one expressed much support for n.e.a. did that surprise you? it did, because i think artists, even if they're very successful in the commercial sector, should understand that we all need to be nurtured. and most artists begin in the nonprofit sector or in

congress is said so explicitly lindsey graham in tel aviv exactly four weeks ago said congress has got israel's back but what is different about that that's one thing your group cites as you know that that israel thinks that has just the complete support of congress and has the benefit of their very pro israel media what is different about that so many would argue that has always been the case and i want to make that's a really good those are really good questions it has already always been the case but the degree is different right now everything is very explicit besides there is a national intelligence estimate produced in two thousand and seven which said iran ceased production of ceased to work on nuclear weapons in the fall of two thousand and three ok four years before that is being updated now it's about to conclude according to by informants no change they still have not started working restarted working to clear a weapon now that's going to be poison for the israelis who want to strike iran just as it was when the original estimate came out two thousand and seven so they want

indiscretions by members of congress. the house ethics committee has come under fire for failing to hold lawmakers accountable in previous investigations." the analysis goes on to say, "as a result, washington has suddenly become fixated on ethics issues, including the continued investigation of john ensign, republican from nevada, who was accused of improperly intervening between regulators on behalf of an aide to his wife had an affair with the senator. this is an era of higher scrutiny and the need to be more careful about what they do." back to the phones, fort lauderdale, democratic line. welcome to the program. caller: they all do it. congressmen, senators, go to a library. take-out a book. it is called "how to buy a senator." is about elizabeth dole and bob dole and how they became multimillionaires be legally -- illegally. host: will this be a factor in how you vote in november? caller: i am sure that they'll do it. i do not know who i will vote for. host: republican line. caller: the dishonest exploitation of pow

as far as congress, term-limits.t will force people to work across the aisle for their short-term legatees. it would get more things accomplished. but the media does not get a pass. i grew up on c-span. normally when i would turn on the channel, mr. lamb would be present. i have not seen him in several months. but i got to tell you -- i will not -- unless you earn it. you are working off your reputation now. you allow people to get that round table and say anything and many of your hosts are not -- don't have the knowledge to challenge it. they simply let anything go. secondly, as a c-span viewer, i want c-span to find a neutral publication. i did not know how you guys got in bed with rupert murdoch and "the wall street -- "the wall street journal." i would suggest -- host: do not, i listened to the criticism. but i am surrounded by newspapers here but not in bed with "the wall street journal." that part i am not going to -- the other criticism and added to listen to. i know your regular viewer and i appreciate it. l

he has invited congress to the table, but again, as was said earlier, this is in the hands of the congress. they will need to address this in a bipartisan way. cannot only be done by democrats. republicans have to be willing to be at the table. >> nobody has suggested, that i have heard, that only one step needs to be taken to have comprehensive immigration reform. this is an aspect of it. it is something we always mention, but there are obviously other aspects that are needed and that people are interested in doing. the president has reached out to and talk to democrats and republicans on this issue. we just need a little support to make it happen. >> if you do not get comprehensive reform, is this and not just then a drop in the bucket in attacking the problem? >> and no, and i say this again as someone who has worked extensively in a border state. the border region is an important, critical area for this country. so much trade and commerce occurs along there. people live in communities in that region. we want to make sure that region is safe and sece and that requires a law enforcement

congress approved. despite documents put online detailing cover ups of civilian deaths and a war effort. to turn the water supplies in russia's far east on the threats of hundreds of barrels containing toxic chemicals still floating down the chinese were of a towards the country's border. bittersweet celebration the sting is taken out of arizona tough immigration or just before tonight activists say the fight is not over. look back at the post week's top stories and the latest developments this is all in most connected to have you with us well most a quarter of a million people to be mobilized across russia to tackle wildfires that are ravaging the country twenty five thousand far engines have been deployed at least thirty people have died in blazes stoked by the country's most severe heat wave for one hundred thirty years sort of first is in the region said to be the worst affected. has been hit very very hard the last couple of days by these fires that we say at the moment the emergency services say t

you had control of both houses of congress. and yet, now, people are talking about you might lose your majority in the house. the gap seems to be growing wider. between what's achieved and what is making an impact with the people. how did this happen? >> well, that's one version of the story. and as you pose it -- >> many people are asking that. how did you get to the place where perhaps you might lose the majority? >> we don't see it that way. we're proud of the agenda we put forth. for the american people. our recovery package, as economists said, we would have twice as many people unemployed as there are now if we had not moved forward. all the actions are controversial because we're digging our way out of a deep ditch. we've been legislating for the last 18 months. the other side has been in campaign mode. saying no. our members are the best salespersons for their own districts. they've been elected there. they know the constituents. >> are you nervous about november? >> no. >> not at all? i know you're putting on great fac

war in afghanistan and that sense it's an illegal war only congress has the right to control the purse strings meaning only congress can allocate money and yet when the pentagon or the white house tell them allocate the money and allow the authorization of an undeclared war to go on and on and on you see the politicians from both parties essential to saying ok do you think after this huge leak there should be an investigation into human rights abuses in afghanistan yes and i think more than an investigation there should be criminal prosecutions in other words the united states lectures the rest of the world and says you must be a country or a government that lives by the rule of law not by people that means no human being is above the law one of us generals us politicians or soldiers and marines on the ground commit crimes carry out attacks against civilians like we know they've killed so many civilians in afghanistan and that this is a policy and was a policy those people from the top not just a little soldiers but from the top of must be held accountable so there should be a human ri

congress. vermont, florida, oklahoma, arizona, and alaska are all holding primary elections today, and tonight on c-span, if i'll live coverage of campaign 2010 continues with election results, interviews, and your phone calls. think of rejoining us this evening. we'll be live for the next hour or so and then we will be live although later in the evening for arizona and alaska primary results. this first hour that we are on the air this evening, we want to concentrate mainly on large debt. florida had senatorial and gubernatorial primaries today. the polls disclosed in the pan hold of -- in the pan held of -- the panhandle about 30 minutes and marco rubio has been declared the winner. he and charlie crist were supposed to meet in the primary but he became -- crist became a independent. and kendrick meek has been declared the winner in the democratic senatorial campaign there. he won over billionaire jeff greene. in the gubernatorial race in florida, alex sink had been declared the winner in the

congress created systemic risk. i will tell you one of the ways they did it, and how it brought down the housing market. the large investment banks took advantage of it, and so did aig. in 2004 the federal reserve said we face systemic risk. it is because of something congress has done. with the government-sponsored enterprises allowed them to go into arbitraged into leverage after 100-1. then to invest a very risky rates, in a portfolio of mortgage-backed securities. these enterprises were not doing more than securitized in loans. they were involved in arbitrage. the fed asked for the ability to regulate. this was an area in which congress had tied their hands. congress had piled on by overpowering fannie and freddie to do zero-down payment loans. they have also forced them to do a program for affordable housing in which they bought subprime loans. that was 50% of their portfolio. that 50% was directly responsible for 85% of the losses when fannie and freddie collapsed. when you realize what happened next, a.i.g. h

we've seen the votes in congress.can what happens in three months time if the vote is more lopsided in congress and more emocrats turn against the war? >> that is a big question. let us move on. i want toant to move to something else that democrats made a huge big deal about. when they came in. o have an ethical congress. to have -- drain the swamp. as many people said. this is what president obama said in the last couple of days nter the travails of charlie rangel. >> i think charlie rangel certained a very long time and served his constituents very very these allegations are very troubling. he's somebody at the end of his areer, 80 years old. i'm sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career bth dignity. my hope is that happens. >> it would be politically expedient for mr. rangel to just step down. expedien resign. he's not the kind of lawmaker to do that. ohese are serious allegations. mr. rangel would like to have chs day on the hill to defend himself and defend his honor and answer to some of these char