let me bring in my mega panel, david gergen, former adviser to four presidents. chief political correspondent, candy crowley. peter mansur aide to david petraeus. national security analyst and christopher dickey, foreign editor for the daily beast. candy crowley, to you first. and jim made this point, and here's where i'm curious with you, and we look at just the words, coming from the administration from the cabinet, especially today as we hear from a very impassioned joe biden, the vice president, talking about isis as bore barrians and saying we will take them to the gates of hell, which is where they reside. compared to the president's words. you can understand the confusion here between different members of the cabinet. >> sure. and i think there will still be some today. while the president also used the words to destroy and to dismantle, he also said, well, i think with international cooperation we can shrink isis to a manageable problem. i think that's an outlier statement, because i think what you're hearing from the vice president, what you're hearing fr

i hope it means a turnaround, he has had a very rocky start to the war. >> david gergen, i'm shocked,r language. >> me too. >> yeah, right, jim sciutto, for all the talk of the coalition there is no doubt that the u.s. is the one really calling the shots here. the question is how long will the arab partners, the sunni governments be involved in this effort? are they in for the long haul? >> well, as the arab countries made public announcements of the involvement in the campaign, one comment struck out in the announcement saying these are the first strikes against isis, making very clear just as you heard from the pentagon this is the beginning of a very long campaign. and privately diplomats telling me they're in for the long haul. >> and the prime minister used the words, as long as it takes so we'll see. >> and you and i both talked to admiral kirby. >> a marvelous man. >> the time frame for getting quote unquote moderated syrian forces, 18 months. >> recruiting, five months or so. then getting them into the field, another eight to 12 months so this is a long process. >> and that is

let's bring back our senior political analyst david gergen. residents nixon, ford, reagan, and clinton. david, political types get all excited about the iowa steak fry, but i know some viewers are saying, is it really time to start talking presidential politics? what's the answer? >> this is the buzz time. we're in the buzz phase of the campaign, where the idea is if you can create some buzz, it keeps things alive, keeps people interested then you come back with real substance later on. i think she helped herself today. in contrast to the book tour, randi, you know, which had decidedly mixed results, she came to this today and she seemed comfortable. she was humorous. the "i'm back" line was terrific. i think she was sort of -- she showed a little ankle, as they like to say in politics. and i think it worked. well, here's what's interesting for this. is she really going to get into the midterms? i mean, she was out campaigning for the iowa senate campaign for the democrat, braley out there. if she's going to throw her weight in the midterms, th

david gergen, secretary of state kerry met face to face just this week.ith people in the u.n. and he talked with iran's foreign minister. today in fact. he talked about this threat. is the u.s. going to have to make some maybe messy alliances to really be able to destroy and defeat isis? >> well, i don't think we want a messy alliance with iran. that's for sure. what i hope the secretary has done is laid down a very strong marker about the nuclear negotiations that are under way that seem to be really slowed down and problematic at this point. but he also has to make clear that he wants a more inclusive government. the united states wants a more inclusive government in iraq. we cannot let all the -- the best fighting be done by the shia militia. aligned with iran. it's really important that the government and baghdad be inclunsii inclusive so you can get the sunni tribes to get into this fight on behalf of baghdad, the government. so we've got much to talk about with iran, and it may be that there will be times when we and they will be pursuing similar ob

we're back with carl bernstein, david gergen and lieutenant colonel rick francona. your face looked skeptical when we played the sound bite of president bush, saying it was important to leave behind u.s. troops instead of rushing out of iraq. >> with all due respect to the former president that she led us into the most disastrous war in our history. one of the worst presidential decisions in our history. to go to war in iraq, the wrong country, in a war that made iran the victor, that made terrorists the victor. and we are now dealing with the fallout from that disaster. including isis. but that said, the larger fight against the scourge of terrorism is the struggle of our time. as i was trying to say earlier, someone, some great leader, and it is a little late for obama, but, he said in estonia, the other day he actually made a statement about organizing the arab world, the muslim world, middle east, international community to isolate this cancer. that's what we are talking about here. it is going to take islamist leaders to joan uin us. i don't know if it is possi

david gergen has vast experience in crafting the message behind presidential policies. d, good to see you on this sunday. even in the wake of this speech, there were mixed messages sentering sent eri centering on the word, war. let me play some remarks by the president and his team. >> our objective is clear. we will degrade and ultimately destroy isil. through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. >> what we are doing is engaging in a very significant counterterrorism operation. and it's going to go on for some period of time. if somebody wants to think about it as being a war with isil, they can do so, but the fact is it's a major counterterrorism operation. >> what i said was this is not the iraq war of 2002, but make no mistake, we know we are at war with isil in the same way we are at war and continue to be at war with al qaeda and its affiliates. >> so i think what you can conclude from this is the united states is at war with isil in the same way that we are at war with al qaeda and al qaeda affiliates all around the globe. >> this is not the ki

here to talk about it, senior political analyst david gergen and jim sciutto. rious, david what you thought about what comes out of today both politically for the president but also in terms of this conflict. or does what happened here today matter? because as president obama said to the security council paper promises mean nothing. >> i do think what happened here and much of what is happening this weekend has made a major difference. this is a president who was in trouble at home. the rates were terrible, a very rocky rollout with his plan against isis. and now this week, he comes here to the u.n. just having unleashed this barrage, having whacked isis. gave him more muscle. there was a more focused speech, none of the reluctant warrior in this. he was all in. and he got the security council resolution passed. i must say at the end of the day he has come up as a dominant figure here at the u.n. for a guy being attacked for lack of leadership. >> and then he got the coalition. >> and then he got the coalition. there is a sense here tonight that finally the unit

former presidential adviser david gergen. e rice university historian douglas berkeley and al gardner of the heritage foundation here in washington. david, it was intriguing, the president repeatedly said the u.s. is not only going to degrade isis but used words like, going to dismantle isis, going to destroy isis, going to defeat isis. he began to lay out a specific strategy involving not u.s. ground forces but various iraqi ground forces. maybe rebel moderate opposition ground forces in syria. is this what you wanted to hear? >> i think it went along way toward doing what the president needed to do, wolf. it was a significant statement. he's now firmly committed to the world to destroy isis. history will judge him by whether he destroys isis. and he also -- we now see the emergence of a strategy. it's not all the pieces are in place yet. but we know the pieces that are coming together. and one of the answers to a journalist, you know, the -- he laid out this point, i think you were absolutely right, take out the leadership.

david gergen's standing by. sweenjoy it all...ry! 'cause red lobster's one and only endless shrimp is now! endless choices! endless variety! kick it up with our spicy new wood-grilled sriracha shrimp and it's back: parmesan crusted shrimp scampi! the year's largest variety of shrimp flavors! so many to explore! as much as you like, any way you like! endless shrimp is here! but not for long. so hurry in and sea food differently. anncr: now you can merge the physical freedom of the car, with the virtual freedom of wi-fi. chevrolet, the first and only car company to bring built-in 4g lte wi-fi to cars, trucks and crossovers. hi mom. you made it! anncr: it's the new independence. we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny. we've created tax free zones throughout the state. and startup ny companies will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in jobs and infrastructure. thanks to startup ny, businesses can operate tax free for 10 years. no property tax. no business tax. and no sales tax. which means more growth for your b

of big questions coming up anderson, that i believe raised fundamental issues. >> jay carney, david gergenup next, a crucial vote on capitol hill on whether to arm syrian rebels to help in the fight against isis. this is kathleen. setting up the perfect wedding day begins with arthritis pain and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns... that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain... when jamie says... what's that like six pills today? yeah... i can take 2 aleve for all day relief. really, and... and that's it. this is kathleen... for my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve. get all day arthritis pain relief with an easy-open cap. in the country. we operate just like a city, and that takes a lot of energy. we use natural gas throughout the airport - for heating the entire terminal, generating electricity on-site, and fueling hundreds of vehicles. we're very focused on reducing our environmental impact. and natural gas is a big part of that commitment. . >>> the former si-- secretary o state john kerry talked about the threat

i want to bring in david gergen, gloria borger. david, you served four presidents. under normal circumstances, how does a president prepare to address the general assembly? there's a whole laundry list of issues you have to go through. but these are not normal circumstances right now. i think it's fair to say the united states is involved in a new war. >> absolutely. and wolf, this speech to the united nations for a president is second in important to only the state of the union address. this is an annual apair for presidents. it's a chance to speak to the world. in this case not only to talk about the individual crises, but very importantly in this speech, the president wants to assert american leadership. there's been a sense around the world that we have been in retreat, that we're paying more attention to things back home and that's what the president promised here as a candidate. that's what he wanted to do. from the world's point of view, that has contributed to a sense that order is slipping away from us. and they will welcome the united states back on stage.

i want to bring in david gergen, strategist, donna brazil. david, you have big expectations. >> i thought the first part of the speech as he talked about the attack on isis was strong and presidential, and serious. you could quibble with it, i am sure there will be disagreements, as a presidential speech it did very well. what surprised me was the second part of the speech when he started to talk about how well the country is doing with jobs and leading around the world. i think for an awful lot of people, america is feeling pretty blue right now. i think those kind of assertions don't ring true to a lot of people. i seemed to me it detracted from the main message of the speech. i thought he was on very strong ground, and when it came into question it was overall, how much should we believe from the speech? overall, i think the first part. >> i thought it was a strong speech overall, i agree with david, they dropped out one paragraph. it would have been stronger. his description of somalia and yemen was very foolish, the rest of the speech was

earlier tonight, i asked david gergen to sum up what the world saw from the united states and how it ers from what it had been seeing until now. david said we are back in leadership, the president is a forceful president. more on what went into the change of tone from jim acosta. >> they may try to return to their home countries to carry out deadly attacks. >> he told the new iraqi prime minister to brace himself for a long battle. >> this is not something that is going to be easy. no god condones the terror. >> hours earlier in a tough talking speech, the president urged the world to join forces to destroy isis. as he warned the terror group soldiers to clear off the battlefield. >> the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. so the united states of america will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. >> but mr. obama also took aim at the root causes of violent extremism with a candid message to muslims everywhere. >> it is time for the world, especially muslim communities, to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the

let's continue our conversation, david gergen, joining us, senior political analyst, former adviser todents nixon, ford, reagan, clinton. van jones, once again still with us, as well as michael smercomish. intriguing to me, david, the way the president phrased the sentence about launchng air strikes against isis targets not only in iraq in syria. when he said, i will not hesitate to take action against isil in syria. why couldn't he say the united states is going to launch air strikes in syria. why does he have to say i will not hesitate that kind of tentative phrasing? >> well i think, wolf, probably he need to get more intelligence where he need to go. need new got his partnerships in shape. there will not beimmediate air strikes in syria. he certainly opened the dar to thto -- door do that. clear there will be air strikes against isis forces, and target the leaders as he has done in yemen. >> a lot of criticism, michael, that the president, again, again, again, keeps telling isis there will be no u.s. combat boots on the ground no u.s. combat forces. nobody wants to send u.s. combat

i want to bring in david gergen.-- tonight obviously there is a lot for the coalition to be happy about. you have strikes that did not appear to hit partners. however the u.s. embassy bombings, that was responded to by then president clinton with tomahawk attacks and missile strikes. three years later, 9/11. air strikes didn't work then. will they work now? >> depends on what you mean by work. if the goal is to defang isis so that it's hard for them to strike, they can have lone wolf strikes, yeah, i think we can get there through air strikes. we don't have that in syria. that's the jackpot question, how do you get a ground force that cleans this thing up. but air strikes can have a major impact. the squeeze on the finances is very important. we don't know how much of a reserve they have. they stole millions upon millions of dollars from banks. we don't know how much cash they're sitting on. but the other thing about i think also this is a day for the united states to take some pride. because after such a rocky start

joining me to discuss that and more is senior political analyst ron brownstein and david gergen.ou for being with us. i'm heading to iowa this weekend to observe what is going to be an historic weekend as hillary clinton and her husband headline senator tomorrow harkin on sunday. i want to talk about a new poll that we have. it's a cnn orc poll and this is the backdrop for her visit. she's 53% and vice president biden at 15%. other potential names in single digits there. these are the poll numbers. what does that mean, david, for her as she goes to iowa at the top of that list? >> oh, it's a wonderful sendoff for her. to go out there with bill clinton, that's going to create a lot of hoopla. to answer your question, brianna, if this had been joe biden going out there, would you be going out to iowa this weekend? >> maybe not. >> so when she and bill clinton go out together, we're in the buzz phase of the campaign. it's going to create lots and lots of buzz. >> i also wonder, ron, we're looking at, for instance, other polls show that this is closing. she's heads and tails of other

david gergen, we heard the president say the terrorist group known as isil must be degr degraded andltimately destroyed. he also pointed out that al qaeda has been degraded. the u.s. has been at war with al qaeda now since 9/11, 13 years. that hasn't been destroyed. the u.s. goal is to destroy isis, which may have a billion dollars and thousands and thousands of not only terrorists but soldiers part of this isis military, this is going to be a long, drawnout process. not going to last only a few months or a few years. >> that's right, wolf. to point out that we have been after al qaeda for 13 years and they are still around, they haven't been destroyed, i think most experts will tell you that's likely to be the outcome with isis. we can degrade them, we can diminish them, we can make them much less of a force, but it's like crime. you're never going to get rid of all of the criminals. you get them under control and move on. that's his goal here. this is going to be -- there are big, big questions that we're all going to be wrestling with. he didn't take on what's really going to happ

obviously we don't know everything the government knows or doesn't know, but, look, even david gergenising how little intelligence the u.s. government has on isis. do you agree? >> oh, absolutely. the hostage, you know, rescue attempt, they had no idea. they were there a couple days before. but the fact is we have no sources inside isis that i know about. and, you know, the fact that they missed on those hostages tells the story. this is a radical group. it's not the fault of american intelligence because these are true believers or psychopaths as some people call them, so not getting inside this group doesn't surprise me. and, again, it's a new group and it came out of nowhere. it took over mosul, nobody, look on the net, nobody predicted this in the government or outside. so, they can move stealthily. >> and, you know, we heard defensive secretary chuck hagel saying in his exclusive interview this week saying with our jim sciutto, air strikes are only part of this campaign. a stable iraq government is part of what needs to happen still, though, saying there are not going to be u.s.