i think that what we need now is a administrationn that will show us through an early general election. you cannot have it general if the election now because it will be in a referendum with expenses and allowances. you need a caretaker government that will get some stability into the system with the help of a new speaker and prepare the way for a general election early in the year. >> with all due respect, you cannot have a caretaker government when you're facing the biggest crisis that this country has had economically and that the world has had financially in living memory if ever in modern times. you have to have a strong government that is taking difficult decisions and confronting these decisions on a global level. you cannot have somebody babysitting. they have to be taking the decisions that people want them to take a leading with the dynamism and listening to people in communicating in plain language what we're doing. >> is a problem that the people are not stupid. they have seen the things that happen in the last few months. labor has been pushed into third position. it does

they did not want to have an early general election. james and david made different calculations about that. >> until last autumn, paul sinclair was one of gordon brown's aides. >> i do not think the prime minister have very many options. with those options, he took the right ones. it is not a terribly inspiring cabinet reshuffle, but it is a shift. i think alistair darling's position has strengthened. that is a bad thing. as the cabinet moves forward, hopefully more collegiate will rain. >> this week showed a big split among the blairites. james quit over gordon brown, but as john hunt resigned today, he surprised many by backing the p.m. there has been one backbone, david miliband's decision not to resign was crucial. he was magnificent the brave to do what he did. it puts him in a strong position. i do not know why we are split in this way. i don't think anything will happen now, that moment has passed. >> i have spoken to a number of blairites who are furious with david miliband for not following james personnel's lead. -- purnell's

why else would he wanted to report after the general election when we could have at least interim report to. it is prepared possible to have a limited number of sensitive sessions in camera while retaining the fundamental principle that the vast bulk of the inquiry not just a few public sessions is recommended by the conservatives, should be open to all i'm grateful he has listened to my representations' an extended day inquiry to be full and to give it full access to the documents and files it will need. but i am disappointed he made such a feeble attempt to secure a consensus on a panel that will conduct the inquiry. the experience at least like the one being held in the netherlands shows that consensus can be considered only if the government can tax painstaking consultation over a prolonged time. why did the prime minister not to even attempt that sort of a constructive discussion with other party is? the government mr. speaker must not be allowed to close the book on this war as it opened in secrecy. last week he stood there and spoke eloquently about the need for more public accoun

there have been reports that a referendum on electoral reform is being considered before the general election. can the prime minister confirm those reports? is that something he is considering? rex there are no plans for that. there is an interest throughout the country and what happens to electoral reform. we published a review on the issue of electoral reform only a few months ago. that has led to serious debate in the country, but we are not putting proposals for today. if i may say so, i said he had moved on the policy, but there seems to be an element of self- interest in the way he is approaching policy. is it not strange, mr. speaker? >> order. you are getting too noisy. i might even have to tell the chief whip to be quiet, but the prime minister must be heard. >> is it not strange they are not even interested in discussing this democratic reform? the first questions he asked about policy are not about the economy, education, public services, or the issues that the public out there know that we and they are concerned about? >> it is remarks like that that make him a figure of ridicule

was the general election season i would've stepped. >> what would your role as adviser? >> i was the evangelical director when i joined the campaign, so i was sort of a religious outreach team which had seven or eight people and an army of people working with us. i think the lesson if there is one that we do for the 1960 race was that kennedy realized extremely religious problem. they said if you're going to win this race, except possibly because of your religion, and kennedy was flummoxed by that. he had never encountered the kind of grassroots anti-catholicism that you find in the southern part of the united states in terms of being in massachusetts it was not a disadvantage to be roman catholic in 1960. what he did he'd been surrounded himself with very smart people, and he spent a lot of time doing a listening tour off the record of leading anti-catholic protestants around the country saying you're a democrat, you like my policies but you are going to vote against it because i'm a catholic. help you understand that because that's confusing to me. so he applied tremen

the labour party will lose the next general election. so they must be in place before the election if they are to mean anything at all. anything else would be a betrayal of the british people, who are angry and demanding that we change the rotten way we do politics for good. this is no time for more committees, more reviews, more consultation. we've been debating these issues for decades. is it not now time to get things done? i strongly welcome the prime minister's commitment to moving towards an elected house of lourdes. i also strongly welcome the move to a parliamentary standards authority and an mps code of conduct. these changes should be implemented immediately with no more delay. so will he ask this house to forego its summer recess so that we can push through all the necessary changes to clean up politics and will he make sure that his immediate proposals include the right for people to sack their mp if it's been shown they've done something seriously wrong. mr. speaker, i am dismayed that the prime minister is completely silent

able to vote for him is now considering trying to fix the rules of election before the next general election? isn't that what's happening? >> mr. speaker, on public spending an deficits, let him confirm that his proposals are for a 10% cut in the expenditures. if he wishes to raise the question of deficits and debt, let him confirm that that is now the proposal of the shadow chancellor to cut public expenditure by 10%, as confirmed by the shadow health secretary this morning and let us have a debate about the choice that really does exist in the country between a conservative party that now wants to cut even at a time of recession our basic public services and a labor party that wants to invest in them? let him also be honest with the country that when it comes to calling for election, he has absolutely no plans for dealing with the recession. he has no policies for dealing with unemployment. no policies for dealing with small businesses. no policies for dealing with the problems of this country. he is an opposition leader who has no plans for government and he doesn't deserve to be in gover

next general election? it is possible to have been limited number of centreville magic sensitive sessions on camera by -- and leaving the best principle that the vast bulk of the inquiry, not just a few public sessions, should be open to all. i'm grateful he has listened to my representations and expanded the inquiry to cover the full origins of no war and give full access to the documents and files that it will need. but i am disappointed he made such a feeble attempt to secure consensus on a panel that will conduct the inquiry. that experience successfully established inquiries like what is held in netherlands shows consensus can only be secured of the government conducts painstaking consultation over a prolonged period of time. why did the prime minister not even to attempt that sort of constructive discussion with other parties? the government, mr. speaker, must not be allowed to close the book on this war as it opened it, in secrecy. last week he stood there and spoke eloquently about the need for more

of the scope of the inquiry have plainly been designed so that it reports the other side of a general election. but, given, if i could just have the prime minister's attention for a moment. i'm trying to ask him a question. given parliament and people were misled about the causes and reason for this war will the prime minister now answer the point made by the leader of the opposition about the need for an interim report so that we can learn some of these lessons about this government before the government has the british electorate? >> mr. speaker, the franks inquiry was a report that was done without having an interim report. the opposition asked or a franks style agree. the franks inquiry will, the frank style will the run-up to the conflict itself and the reconstruction and issues about reconstruction afterwards what think that is a pretty comprehensive remit that will take time but is thought to be done in the best possible way and i think he looks at the the committee needs time to be able to do that they should have the time. this is a full report on which we want to learn lessons for th

we have one case for argument this morning in the matter of the contest for general election held on november 4, 2008, for the purpose of electing united states senator from the state of minnesota. mr. friedberg, i see you have reserved 10 minutes for a bottle -- for rebuttal? >> good morning, and may it please the court. my name is joe friedberg. let me begin by saying that minnesota is quite different from many states. we have problems within our institutions, and when we do, we deal with them candidly and openly. we do not minimize them or sweep them under the rug to be discovered later by a federal court as in 1983 litigation. that is like finding the fact 47 of the trial court is so surprising. announcing the we are proud of rejecting only 0.5% of our total ballots cast in november he is misleading at best. the only ballots to get rejected are absentee ballots. our officials rejected 4% of them. 12,000 citizens who made good faith efforts to vote where disenfranchised for a variety. >> these 12,000 citizens, did they comply with the absentee voter requirements? >> many of them di

i think it would take two or three general elections before it can be pulled back. people would say that they want a speaker who will do that. it is not the speaker who can do it, it is the commons itself. and they have to all work together to pull back that great reputation. >> the last speaker had people standing up in the commons saying that he must go. what did you think of that? >> i have to be totally honest, it was right that michael martin went when he did. of course, i feel sorry for him. he is a human being and he has nerves and feeling like we all have, but it had to be done those members that did stand up, i think they were quite courageous to do so. but that is what it is all about. this is a place where you speak your mind. it had to be done and it was right that it was and it was right then he went. >> he has complained about snobbery in the house. you are a member of the aristocracy in the house of lords. >> rubbish. i am an aristocrat of the working class. when i was a child, my father was on unemployment and my mother worked as a textile worker and

i think it will take two or three general elections before it can be pulled back. and people are saying, it's the speaker. we want a speaker who is going to do that. it's not speaker who can do that. it's the commons itself. it's fer individual members. they've all got to work together to pull back that great reputation. >> but the last speaker took the rap. people standing up in the commons saying he must go. what did you make of that? >> well, i have to be totally honest with you, it was right that michael martin went when he did. of course i feel sorry for him. he as human being. he has nerves, he has feelings like we all have. but it had to be done. and those members who did stand up, i have to say they were quite courageous to do so. but that's what it's all about. it's a place where you do speak your mind. there is freedom of speech. it had to the be done and it was right that it was and it was right that he went. >> he had complained about snobry. people didn't like the fact that he was working class. >> rubish. i'm an arist cat of the working class. i came

we have one incase for argument this morning in the matter of the context of general elections on november 4th, 2008, for the purpose of electing united states senator from the state of minnesota. mr. friedburg, you have reserved 10 minutes for rebuttal. you may receive -- proceed when you are ready. >> may it please the court, i represent -- let me begin by saying minnesota is quite different from many states. we have problems within our institutions and when we do we deal with them candidly and openly. we don't minimize them or sweep them under the rug to be discovered by federal torrent. that is why finding that 47 of the trial court is so surprising. an ounce in we are proud of rejecting 0.5% of the total balance cast in november is misleading at best. the only ballots that did reject are absentee ballots. power officials rejected 4% of them. twelve thousand citizens who made good faith effort were disenfranchised. >> these 12,000 citizens comply with the absentee requirements. >> many of them did substantially. >> what does that mean? >> we define substantially as within the criteria

independent voters were the ones that put him over the top in the general election in in iowa to beginh. as this administration moves forward and rolls out various policies, that group has grown. in addition to seeing him age, which is striking as you look at that video, the group of republicans that look at independent voters -- who have traditionally decided collected cycles -- that is the target. they give him north carolina, indiana, virginia. they are the most important target. one of the things that people did not realize early on was how he tis people together. he said that my story is like your story. as well as the guy down the streets. it is a technique and a rhetorical device to bring the message to the crowd from the podium, on to the streets and the people outside. host: in the book, you outline his evolution from being a state senator and being elected to the senate, his insistence that he would not run in 2008, then he began the heads that statement. >> -- guest: he did, and it is interesting watching him do that. he is actually quite honest. he never says that he never

many substantive differences between the democrats when they were running, and getting to the general election, it was hard to find an issue, setting aside guantanamo and torture, that is the biggest fighting line between the parties where the parties agreed. these were deep ideological differences, on the economy, health care, across the board, and you are seeing that play out. you can have as many coffees and super bowl parties and movie nights at the white house with republicans as you want, but they will not vote for an $800 billion stimulus plan. the obama team knows that. what they get is credit for trying for being civil. when you are talking about the republican party, which is increasingly a southern, regional conservative party. >> be a thing like democrats, for wrigley, for the past few decades. joining the circular firing squad. >> they need to go through what the republican party went through after goldwater and what the democratic party went through in the 80s, they needed period of reform and renewal. >> who is the leader of the republican party? [laughter] >> there isn't one. i

and can i ask him to signal his commitment by announcing the date of the next general elections? could i suggest that may 2010 would be an excellent date? >> we are asking for new responsibilities in this review. including fixed term parliament. if we were to discuss the written constitution that would be part of the discussion that took place. but there are no specific announcements today. the more important thing, both are cleaning up the politics of this country and making reforms that have been proposed for years. >> there is much that the prime minister has said that i welcome but his suggestions for a statutory code of conduct and forcible through the courts has enormous implications for all of us, through our relationship and accountability to our constituents and the role of the house as the supreme court of parliament. and this particular section should not be rushed through the house. >> the distinguished chairman of the committee that deals with senators, there are many other legislators in the world that have such conduct. once in a generation there is a crisis, it ha

. >> both the goldwater general election campaign in 1964 and the john mccain campaign of 2008 were conducted by -- by a very bad dysfunctional party, so i think there are a lot of similarities there. >> and i think he posed a question about why cannot the old tactics were, and we have talked about exactly what we can learn from the conservative movement and the things they did. there were some organizational decisions they made, some ideas about how they chose to behavior, that we're very, very affective for them, which could be effective for us. there are areas where the things that they do would be very much betrayal of our issues, and for those, we have defined strategies. . -- we have to find strategies. . conservatives, they live and breed and community -- communicate in community. your ability to organize and get a message out, to explain to a candidate who we are and here is who they are, they have had more effective structures for doing that. i have talked about other ways we can do that outside of the church. i am still trying to figure out how we can do this. inside we want to be i

we basically took that from iowa and did that in every primary state, every general election state moving forward, and it's something that we're going to do and have done with organizing for america. for folks who may not be familiar, organizing for america is basically the continuation of the same grassroots organization that got barack obama elected president, but as opposed to electoral organizing, we are focused on supporting the president's agenda. shortly after the campaign ended, we sent out a detailed online survey to our -- and asked them what they wanted them to do next. now that we have won, what would you like us to do? and the number one response was to help support the president's agenda. the second response was to continue growing and building this grassroots organization. our folks wanted to see this continue. that's basically organizing for america's mission. number one is to support the president's agenda. nothing will ever super seed that. the second mission statement is to continue building this grassroots organization. the way we're going to continue building that gra

deference to legislative choices and this one context, not when the courts review laws generally for general elections but in the context of selection of presidential electors. isn't there a big red flag? >> i think there is a sense, your honor, and i think the florida supreme court was grappling with that. i think it did -- >> that's obviously justice o'connor joining the conversation shortly after justice kennedy where mr. boyce started and he barely uttered the words thank you, mr. chief justice. >> he had two real targets sitting on the bench in front of him, kennedy and o'connor he knew going in and this was pretty much a 5-4 court because the court had also taken the unusual step of issuing a stay on the counting procedures in florida. that was done on saturday. arguments were on monday. the issuance of the stay suggested that there were already five votes stacked against mr. boyce and vice president gore and if he was going to anyone he had to focus his attention on kennedy and o'connor and if justice kennedy said could we start here there is only one response, yes, justice kennedy, let's start

results show that any general election, this would put the lowest at 23%, boost into third place by the liberal democrats. our first report tonight is by david cameron. >> this was a 24 hours bracketed by two government resignations, each in their way damaging for the prime minister. james purnell stood down last night and called on gordon brown to do the same. carolines let resigned this evening angry at how she and other women have been treated. gordon brown is tonight still a damaged but aberrant determined prime minister. >> i'm not going to lockley. i am going to keep doing the job that i set out to do and that's my message. to keep on with the job. >> his chances of doing that were hit who knows how hard my james purnell resignation just as the polls were closing last night. >> what exactly has happened? there is. it will be seen, dear gordon, i quit. be any impact at james purnell's explosive resignation letter was to set this place into siege mode, a reshuffle scheduled for monday designed to completely remodel the face of the administration when scrap, and in its place a far mo

altogethealtogether because of fraud and then it says the absentee vote the statute is an variation of the general election law. it's different from the common law election law, and should be strictly construed. so when you come back, i mean, i've got to deal with this language. and i mean, it's a no, it's in wickelman. >> you want me to deal with it on a rebuttal? >> yes, please do. >> thank you, counsel. >> you may proceed. >> thank you. may it please the court. my name is marc elias and i'm here on behalf of about franken. i would like if i might by noting one of the most significant findings of fact made by the trial court. >> council, before you get to that finding of fact, let me ask a question and hopefully counsel for the other side will be able to respond to this on rebuttal. to the extent that the united states senate will make the ultimate decision here, and to the extent that they don't have to follow what we do, how do we issue an opinion without having it being an advisory opinion lacks. >> in essence, do we have authority to do anything here? >> your honor, this question was raised with the

me in the primary, he had a serious concern that might prevent him from voting for me in the general election. he described himself as a christian who was strongly pro-life, but that's not what was preventing him from voting for me. what bothered the doctor was an entry that my campaign staff had posted on my website. an entry that said i would fight right-winged ideologies who want to take away a woman's right to choose. the doctor said that he had assumed that i was a reasonable person, but that if i truly believe that every pro-life individual was simply an ideologue who wanted to inflict suffering on women, then i was not very reasonable. he wrote, i do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair-minded words. fair-minded words. after i read the doctor's letter i wrote back to him and thanked him. i didn't change my position, but i did tell my staff to change the words on my website. and i said a prayer that night that i might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me. because when we do that, wh

we basically took that from iowa and did that in every primary state, every general election state movingforeign and is something we're going to do and have done with organizing for america. for folks who may not be familiar, organizing for america is a continuation of the same grassroots organization that cosby is reelected as opposed to elect oral organizing we are now focused on supporting the president's agenda shortly after the campaign ended we send out a detailed online service in both to our e-mail list and ask them what they wanted us to do next. now that we have one, went to like us to do? and the number one response to that question was to help support the president's agenda. the second response was two continue growing in building this grass-roots organization, our folks wanted to see this continue so that is basically organizing for america's mission. to support the president's agenda, nothing will ever supercede that. we're here to support the president's agenda. the second mission statement is two continue building this grass-roots organization in the way we will continue b

really had to shift gears from practicing on the process allowed to being the candidate for the general election. it was hard to get much attention beyond the fact that the six red ties had started this campaign and was running it because certainly that was the cutesy factor that swarmed in the media. was a benefit, but it did make it hard to talk about issues like education. at least in nevada. they really weren't taking it seriously. >> what you wished for. you sure got it. and i think people would be interested. this is as serious teacher. somebody who thinks about teaching. for him teaching is not just out to this until i can do something else. and i want to question you about your view of teaching. you say in the book instead of helping build strong, effective citizens by figuring out all they learned we are trying to find out what they haven't and instead of measuring comprehension and growth all too often these tests included tricky questions that require students to select the best answers from several partially correct options. aha, got you. that is hard to me. i would much rather find

general in 2005. he was defeated by 360 votes. it was the closest statewide election in virginia history. and he was defeated by the man he'd like to take on in the fall, bob mcdonald, the republican. >> your story yesterday in the times dispatch said that mr. mcauliffe said mr. deeds can't beat mr. mcdonnell and that's his, his pitch to the voters. >> well, what i suspect an attack by someone who has been perceive as a front runner on another candidate indicates that the ground maybe shifting. mr. mcauliffe, bill of complaint against mr. deeds focuses on two issues. one, mr. deeds' support of firearms rights, very sensitive issue, particularly in rural virginia, and also his support several years of ago of abincrease in the fuel tax to pay for transportation improvements. mr. mcauliffe noting that bob mcdonnell has already defeated deeds, and because of those issues could likely defeat him again. >> as we wrap up here, what will you be watching for when the democratic turnout -- with the democratic primary tomorrow and, and, and, and it's implications for the general election? >> well, c

what the british people want is an explanation, well before the general election 11 months from now, of how it came about that mr. blair was able to persuade this parliament to vote in favor of the war on facts which he knew would not stand up to proper examination. >> i disagree, but the point is to look at all these issues and that is what will happen. it will look at whether there were failures in the reconstruction as well as before that and it will report on these issues. what happened after the fall of baghdad will be as much a subject of the report as what happened before. i hope he will agree that all these issues, will all looked at by this inquiry and looked carefully indeed. >> in the history of this conflict, to political matters cry out for explanation more than any other. the first is why this house was never informed of the contents of the downing street minute which revealed knowledge six months before the conflict that the bush administration had decided on the inevitability of war, whenever the concessions were made. the second requires explanation is why the attorn

this was a model campaign and i'm not just talking about the general election campaign but i am talking about the campaign they brand during the primaries, when he defeated hillary clinton. he had the right strategy and she didn't their idea was, we will win the big states, we will wrap it up early on super tuesday, we will create this era of inevitability and then we go from there. he went for the small states. he ran a nationwide campaign and in the and his strategy for a failed. you can't agree or disagree with their ideology, they are very good politicians and i think you are saying that. but now of course the river has set the road. we have these enormous problems and whether they are going to be able to solve that, this financial crisis we have gone through, the sums of money that they have had to devote to

his own democratic party and independent voters are the ones who put him over the top in the general election and also in iowa to begin with with his campaign. and they are still the most important ploch for this administration as they move forward with various policies. that group of voters has grown over this period. in addition to seeing him age which is quite striking when you look at that video, the eckert of disaffected republicans to make independent voters who traditionally decided elections in recent election cycles that is really the target. those are the people who gave him north carolina, indiana, virginia, and they are still the most important target for him and i think, you know, one of the people things people didn't realize it early on is how he tis people together. my story is like your story in your story is like the guy down the street. that is a technique as well as a rhetorical device. a way to bring a crowd together to connect from the podium to the people in the street and on the floor. it's something he learned as a community organizer and i think it's proven very effe

now i had to shift gears from focusing on the process a loan to being the candidate for the general election and it was hard to get much attention beyond the fact a sixth grade class started this campaign and was running it because certainly that was the key factor that sold in the media and it was a benefit, but it did make it hard to talk about issues like education and mental health and nuclear waste in nevada because they didn't take any of them seriously, so it was difficult >> host: watch, ms. cahill, what you wish for because you shore got it. i think people would be interested in your view of teaching. this is a serious teacher, france. this is someone that thinks about teaching for whom teaching was unjustly will do this on july can do something else. and i want to question you about your view of teaching. >> guest: yes. >> host: you say in the book instead of helping build strong effective citizens, but figuring of all that they have learned, you try to find out what they haven't and instead of measuring comprehension and growth all too often these tests include tricky questions th

television and all media. >> tell about the supreme leader and how he figures and to both the election and politics in general in iran. >> the supreme leader is the ultimate decision maker on iran on issues of foreign policy, the nuclear program of course. in this election officially he is -- he does not take sides and he keeps saying he doesn't take sides but from his public statements and indeed today for instance he made a public statement that again suggests that he favors mahmoud ahmadinejad. within the regime though there are other leading figures, such as the former president and mohammed khatami backing mir-hossein mousavi. >> from blonden we have been speaking with roula khalaf, financial times middle east editor. thanks for joining us. >> thanks. next a portion of the debate from june 3rd between president mahmoud ahmadinejad and his leading opponent, mir-hossein mousavi. our coverage of this event is courtesy of state ron iran and network press tv. >> [speaking farsi] >> translator: the words of channel to this is a televised debate of presidential hopefuls. tonight we have to president candidates,

all the evidence including instructions from the attorney general to the election judges, no relationship between the ballots and absentee ballots, cannot be done, it is not physically possible. they are there to challenge the eligibility of an in person voter. >> your time is expired. we shall take this matter under advisement and an opinion will be forthcoming. we are adjourned. >> all rise! ♪ >> you are watching c-span2, your home of u.s. senate coverage. here is what is ahead for the next couple hours. coming up, the national governor's association unveiled their latest survey of states. later from the rand corporation, discussion on the future of iran. ♪ >> join us later today for a speech by david simon, creator and head writer of the wire. mr. simon also wrote for the baltimore sun for 12 years and he will talk about the future of journalism. that is live at one:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. here is a look at tonight's edition of the communicators. >> with the federally mandated transition to digital television come in next week, we will get a status report on how the sec has prepare

elected in majority black districts created to meet the demands of the statute. while the country has moved steadily, if unevenly towards racial integration, the law has created a black legislative class generally inexperienced in putting together biracial coalitions, elected from districts in which there are no political pressures to move to the center. black representatives tend to be too isolated from mainstream politics and are on the sidelines of american political life. precisely the opposite of what the statute intended and precisely the opposite of what is needed today. representative james clyburn is the distinguished house majority whip with a great history. and yet one cannot imagine him winning statewide office in south carolina moving up, say, to the u.s. senate. too few aspiring or incumbent black politicians try to one in majority white settings, identity politics is their skill. furthermore, those majority black districts do not mobilize black voters as is sometimes said. they tend to depress black turnout due to the absence of competition. the enforcement of the 1965 voting rights act still rests on the assumption that blacks need those safe black districts in order to win publ

generation. the last national presidential election resaw it in north carolina georgia, mississippi across the south i think black voters are playing a more rolled 1/2 and latino voters are playing a more decisive role and white voters are more fragmented. part of it has to do with changing identity and other is strong enforcement of the voting rights act and the south which is open a lot of territories to exciting change. >> host: what is your day job? >> guest: a political science professor at the university of oregon. i teach american politics paradigm teaching a course on comparative conservatism with europe and america and also racial politics from the mid 20th century to the president. >> host: when it comes to compared to a politics what is the difference? >> guest: one difference is america was founded on the liberal idea of the classic idea in the way that the europeans don't have. here if you looked at the origins of american conservatism you see hamilton ideas about manufacturer and capitalism and markets and a centralized power and jeffersonian they blend together into a conservative mov

spencer was an associate counsel in the office of the general counsel that shared the election assistance commission. served on the technology and government reform team. we did not have very many people in the transition, soap dispenser court took on about 12 roles. he is a former board member of the american constitution society. our last palace is senior advisor at the office of management and budget. she works on issues regarding the preparation and supervision and administration of the federal budget for executive branch agencies as well as coordination of the administration's procurement and financial management intermission and regulatory policies. before joining omb, she was a partner and head of the appellate litigation group at a firm in new york. she was the solicitor general of the state of new york, special counsel to the white house justic department and law clerk to the u.s. supreme court justice john paul stevens. she also helped in the transition -- headed up the role of picking and putting lawyers into the administration, so if you have any be about that, you can see her

it was already there as evidence during the campaign and since the election and the excitement generated by the obama candidacy among the american people and of the election after all was about change and obama has gone about with all the powers available to project and deliver on the change since he became president. the media coverage reflex i think of the public interest and excitement surrounding obama and inviting. activist presidency to his daily schedule and travels. schip was mentioning, he was on a plane yesterday of the time of filing reports zero even though you follow the presidency he could and found his report but the present has been getting around both within the country and around the world. as far as i can determine if there was an attempt in the study and mention to ask whether coming hours coverage given to congress let alone how much was positive and i suspect on the latter question the experts was a statistically insignificant. so in the answer to the question is there in a balance of powers my response is an emphatic yes. it is so lopsided that i think the presiden

spencer was an associate counsel in the office of general counsel, chaired the election assistance commission agency with him and served on the reform team. we didn't really have very many people in the transition so spencer took on 12 rolls. he is also a former board member of the american constitution society. and finally, preeta bansal's career spans private practice and she is truly the general counsel and senior policy advisor of the office of management and budget in the executive office of president. at omb she works on issues regarding the preparation and supervision and administration of the federal government for federal branch agencies as well as the ordination debate and procurement financial management information and regulatory policies. before joining omb, she was a partner and head of appellate litigation group in new york. she was the solicitor general of the state of new york, special counsel in the clinton white house and justice department and law clerk to the u.s. supreme court justice john paul stevens. she also headed up in the transition the role of picking and putting

there's a larger question about how we think of election districts in general, which is do we want them to be designed in a way that concentrates lots of individuals with common interests whether those interests are economic, tied to identity, tied to partisan affiliation or do we want to design as many districts as possible that are quite heterogeneous in many ways. i think the problem of racial districting should be seen as the problem of racial redistricting in general, in which we now have a system in which legislators stuff democrats or republicans into districts to maximize the likelihood of one party or foregaining a seat. those voters have common interests, like -- or they may have common electoral interests, like black voters in minority districts. they may vote for the same candidates, but if the problem of racial redistricting is as acute as we hear it described, i think the problem of partisan redistricting is also a very, very acute problem and closely related. and part of the polarization we get if american politics, at least for districted representative bodies like the h

general assembly. prior to being elected state superintendent of education i worked in various policies and advocate for children and families, a public school teacher, licensing head starts, research director of a legislative committee and an attorney in a attorney in a private practice. i practiced in the area of health, environmental law and public safety. during this time, i served as the chairman of the environmental and natural resources section of the south carolina bar. and before going into private practice, i was the director of a committee of the house of representatives and interestingly enough, that committee reported out the first south carolina lead poisoning prevention and control lag. we dealt with drug prevention health act and the waste management act. i'm well aware if confirmed i would assume the chairmanship of an agency that's faced with many challenges and i want to ensure you that these -- that i will work collaboratively with the other commissioners at the commission as well as with you to ensure that the consumer product safety improvement act of 2008 is implemented in a timel

and that helped, that generational shift helped barack obama get elected and he's very well aware of that. host: chicago, illinois. for independents. caller: i just wanted to comment on a few things. first of all, i don't think barack obama is an ally of the lgbt community at all. i think that we need to stop being advocates for both of these major parties and come out and start advocating for the third parties, the libertarian party and the green party. i think that just from, like saying things like you know that these people are allies like barack obama. the guy is purely for banking interest and lobbying interests. he is not our ally. he didn't stand up and speak against the defensive marriage act after the department of justice called us in the lgbt community peedo fillaction. and things of that nature. and i'm tired of that. and i don't think that guy is an ally of ours. host: who in the political realm do you feel speaks for you and your community? caller: both dennis cuse niche and ron paul. but they never have a huge voice. but also, in a third party, mckinny and the green p

general zeitgeist. here we had an election that may be in a case to some people pick up the accord presently constituted and behaving in is perhaps a little to the right of the country's center of gravity is this going to be the core that declares one of the iconic achievements of the sole rights revolution to be unconstitutional. which raises the question why they took the place in the first place. it came under appellate jurisdiction as the voting rights case in the bush administration severely affirming just of the jurisdictional statement which would have avoided a whole bunch of running around america around here. so one theory is that the court having in an exercise of activism take in this case for plenary review became as they did on the bench gotten a whole lot of push back from the country at large for what it looked like an inevitable outcome from that argument, pulled back collectively and that the opinion that has the chief justice's name on it was i to a collective product by across the spectrum of the court saying we are not going to drive ourselves into that to ditch. you know, the more

elections have consequences. i understand and generally support the prerogative of the president to nominate individuals for his administration that he deems appropriate as long as they're within the spectrum of responsible views. however, because of the importance of his position in representing the united states in the international community with respect to treaties and other agreements, his own words and actions demonstrate to me that he is farrous the mainstream -- that he is far outside the mainstream in such a way that his appointment as state department legal advisor could damage u.s. sovereignty. so i oppose his nomination and i urge my colleagues, you will ofs who take an oath to support and defend the constitution, and who wreesappreciate that there are s challenges to american sovereignty, to closely examine mr. koh's record and determine whether or not he would be a representative not only that they could be proud of but that they could rely upon in representing the american public interest. at the end of the day, our sovereig

election in september -- that is it. as you was to blame and the economic situation in germany and europe in general on the central banks and that is it, it is no more than that. >> is that it. criticism of the or strictly politics? >> strictly politics.

tijuanay in dred scott were very interesting in terms of the court having the general zeitgeist and here we have an election that might indicate to some people that the court as presently constituted is perhaps a little to the right of the country's center of gravity and is this going to be the court that declares one of the iconic achievements of the civil rights revolution to be unconstitutional? chris raises the question why they took the case? it came up and the mandatory -- the bush administration said affirm off the jurisdictional statement, which would have avoted a whole bunch of running around the merry-go-round here. so one theory is that the court , having -- in an exercise of activism, taken this case for plenary review, behaved as they did on the bench, gotten a whole lot of pushback from the country at large for what looked like an inevitable outcome from that argument, pulled back collectively, and that the opinion that has the chief justice's name on it was actually a collective product by -- across the spectrum of the court saying we're not going to drive ourselves into that ditch. you know

government and ensure that honduras moves successfully toward its scheduled presidential elections in november. at the oas general assembly earlier this month some of you were with me there. the united states insisted that the larger debate on cuba be framed to democracy and human rights. along with key partners we won a reafter mation of the principles of democracy that define the american states. wisdom was evident yesterday's when the oas and inter-american democratic charter were used as the basis for our response to the coupe that occurred. let me also say a word about the detention of five british embassy staff in tehran. we are following the situation with great concern. we have noted the statement from the european union. we find that the harassment of embassy staff is deplorable and will continue to support the united kingdom in calling for their release. finally, on iraq. tomorrow, june 30, marks the end of u.s. troop presence in iraqi cities and localities. this is a significant milestone in the responsible withdrawal of our forces from iraq, and in iraq's journey to become a stable, sovereign, self-re

but we pretty much have an understanding general odierno that we will await the election and even some weeks after that before we start the further reduction of men and the last of our equipment. i think bhi the spring of 2010, as we talked about, i wouldn't put an exact month on it at this point, but i think by the spring of 2010, we will see marines ending their presence in iraq. we have said all along to the secretary and department of defense, if you want a larger marine presence in afghanistan, there must be a reduction in iraq. we simply can't do both. frankly, 2009 will be a tough year for us. we now have a foot in both camps and those people, the combat support, combat service support marines have always been the groups and the m.o.s.'ses that have been most ridden hard and put away wet in some cases in short periods of time before they're asked to go become. those are the people being stressed by he movement of men and equipment by the requirements to support combat forces in both places. but i see the numbers going down to zero sometime in the spring of 2010. the exception to

appointed to the commission, but the way it works in the state is that they generally, the major political parties in the last election, the leaders of those two parties, they could be independent or green in some states, they get to choose a person to be on that commission. there's nothing that precludes democrats or republicans from appointing an independent to the commission. it is usually seen as a process where democrats will appoint democrats and republicans will play republicans. host: how does your organization feel about the proposed legislation? guest: [unintelligible] they have shown leadership on this issue. it is difficult to get incumbent members of congress to agree that the process by which they get to choose their voters ought to be changed. it is probably the biggest advantage that incumbents have and we applaud them for putting the issue out there. we cannot even get a hearing the last time the bill was introduced. we hope the leadership in the house will at least give him the opportunity to focus some sunlight on this issue because german -- gerrymandering is undermining our democracy. host: we hav