he achieved that. >> e.j. dionne, there is the prospect of conflict that can roil the region from syria as well as the threat from iran. this ten years into the war. the president also has to prepare the american public for some kind of u.s. engagement. >> well, you know, i don't think he has to prepare the u.s. public yet for engagement. i think the supporters of the iraq war said it would be the big bang in the middle east. well, it was, but it didn't work out the way they had hoped. they were arguing that it would create a new and democratic middle east. well, there has been the uprisings which may or may not have had anything to do with the iraq war, but there's a lot of instability, but i think the president's trip was really important. he had three objectives and i think he achieved two of them. he had to get right with israeli public opinion. his standing in the polls there has been low and prime minister netanyahu could use obama as a kind of foil for the last four years. i think he clearly achieved that. he

e.j. dionne and maria teresa couple kumar. thank you for being on the show tonight. we're talking about kids getting kicked out of education but all the gop can see is cuts, cuts, cuts. why is this? >> i think it's an ideological commitment and the belief that the only thing that matters is cutting tax rates. i think it's really so striking that, you know, two facts about the ryan budget. on the one hand, he wants to cut the tax rate on the very wealthy on people earning over $450,000 a year down to 25%. he said he'll pay for that somehow but it will have to be by getting rid of middle-class tax deductions. at the same time they point out that that budget will take health insurance away from 40 to 50 million americans between the cuts in obama care and the cuts in medicaid. and that is just not the way forward for the country. and on the sequester, you've had an utterly inconsistent talking points. on the one hand, sometimes they say this is devastating but mostly they've said these cuts are good

joining me now is melissa harris perry and e.j. dionne. thanks for being here tonight. >> thanks for having us. >> melissa? >> they couldn't decide who gets to be president. president obama gets to be president. right? and the reason he gets to be president is because he won a majority of not only the electoral college, which is sufficient, but also the popular vote. >> he would have won more if they had teamed up. >> i'm telling you, there's two or three states i'm certain we could have given over. >> right. >> look, i am convinced that part of what we're seeing now in the republican party is a kind of -- like they were so sure that they could not change the minds of voters but suppress voters from having an opportunity to put their own opinions on those ballots that they are at a loss because they didn't know what to do on the other side if they were going to lose. we really saw that shock from republican operatives on election night. >> we saw the meltdown of rove on fox. >> right. >> you know, e.j., when you look at rnc chairman priebu

all right, e.j. dionne.reat to have you on tonight. >> great pleasure to be with you, thanks. >>> ahead, chris christie fires a big warning shot at the gop. they're about to hold a big party and he wasn't invited. >>> plus, president obama is firing up the base. and telling supporters how they can turn a campaign into a movement. we'll see him live in just a few moments. my wife takes centrum silver. i've been on the fence about it. then i read an article about a study that looked at the long term health benefits of taking multivitamins. they used centrum silver for the study... so i guess my wife was right. [ male announcer ] centrum. always your most complete. get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. visible wrinkle reduction starts day 1. see younger looking skin before you finish one jar. new from olay. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung

i have david brooks of "the new york times" and e.j. dionne with me in washington. richard, let me start with you. the president called on israel to renew efforts to the creation of a palestinian

. >> a letter from e.j. dionne, to say, fanciful kind of proposal too.ould pick a nun for pope. >> i think they need to go to a church apart as opposed to -- >> i'm a cradle catholic. i pull for the church but i don't deny the problems they have. i'm just praying that if the holy spirit ever does intervene that he comes down -- >> she. >> or she. my daughter will correct me also and we go, wow, we got this guy is really a humble, neat guy that people can look up to and can make some of the necessary changes. they're not going to change doctrine but they can certainly change what they emphasize. >> i think it's great actually. you know, that here's a pope that, you know, holds a very big position in the catholic church and saying, i'm unhealthy. i can no longer do this any longer and actually says i'm going to step down. you know, i'm going to be really interested in seeing what happens with the conclave. i mean, everything i know i learned from dan brown. >> along with -- >> speaking of that, i just read everything about it. i just think -- >> one of the

people like norman lear, david broder, and e.j. dionne, and richard cohen of the "washington post," michiko kakutoni of the "new york times," a wonderful name, are all saying the same thing: that we cannot go on the way we have been. we cannot expect to father children out of wedlock and bring them up in some kind of moral order and atmosphere that will promote the general welfare. we just cannot continue to operate as a totally secular society without at least considering the things of god and the ten commandments and some of these other eternal truths. and so i find this very, very hopeful when bill bennett has a book on the best seller list called "the book of virtues," or when norman lear says what we really need in america is a new examination of spiritual principles or a spiritual renewal. so i'm very optimistic and hopeful. >> at the same time "the book of virtues" is on the best seller list, you have a howard stern book on the best seller list. it's not there anymore, but how do you explain that? >> well, i think it's a question o