it is also a group biography looking primarily at george h.w. bush-- whenever i mention president bush, i refer to our guy, 41 -- and it's also a study of him ask those around him, the collective biography, if you will, of american national security decision making during this period. but then it tries to do something else it tries to situate american policy making within a broader international venue. it tries to be an american study and international history. because time and again, we discover events that occurred during 1989, during 1990 and '91 that were in a lot of ways not generated by the united states. in fact, the united states was reactive a lot more than prescriptive during these ooern events. this is really the essence of president bush's policymaking and his policies as a whole was to be consciously reactive without being too overexuberant reacting to certainkddm events. it's important to recall all that occurred during the four years of the bush presidency. that list would have to include, of course, the end of the cold war with ensui

the bush team once it took office, once george h.w. bushecame president, when i'm speaking of bush i'm speaking about george h.w. bush was much more cautious. one of my surprises is how much tension there was between the reagan team and bush team. political scientists who are not interested in this topic but work on presidential transitions used the reagan-bush transition as a particularly vicious one. some scholars described it as bush fired everyone. i was surprised to see bush documents saying mush for brains reaganites. you see a little attempt to return to a more traditional cold war stance. but dramatic events made it clear 1989 won't be a traditional cold war year. these protests in tiananmen square. 1989 in retrospect looks different in china than europe. i would ask you to bear this in mind as we talk about the wall today. we of course, all know that the cold war in europe ended peacefully but the people at the time did not know this. as events unfolded the images on ninds of protesters and demonstrators were images from tiananmen

was, reagan and ike was. >> it will be interesting if he says george h.w. bush. ing for the republican nomination mentions george h.w. bush i'll buy you a beer. i'll close with this one. three months out from election day, one big test to watch over the next 30 days up to labor day is how many of the democratic held senate seats from blue states can republicans keep as viable targets? let me give you two to watch, start oregon. monica webbie lags right now in fund-raising and in the polls but the koch brothers decided to make a big tv investment to see if they can move the numbers. . they can't move the numbers by labor day her outside money is likely to dry up, if not go away all together. one more is new hampshire. lot of republicans in the state are concerned that scott brown, remember he's the former massachusetts senator, has not been able to get closer in the polls to the democratic incumbent, jeanne shaheen. he's had a consistent lead. republicans say it has begun to shrink a little bit and they say, and i'll use a new england term here talking to one promi

when i visited houston in 1994 to accept the george h.w. bush medal for the empowerment of people with disabilities. i was the second recipient. president bush was the first. at that ceremony, i predicted how history would remember george h.w. bush. here is my exact words. i am retiring this year so i am going through a lot of my files. here is what i said 20 years ago. i believe history will judge george bush as a good and decent man who led this nation through tough times, who taught us all the true meaning of public service. for george bush's life has been one of dedication to public service. as a former navy pilot myself, i have the highest respect and admiration for his bravery as a navy pilot in world war ii. he has been a congressman, leader of his party, ambassador, head of the cia, vice president and president. a truly remarkable career of public service. someday, when a new generation of american schoolchildren sit down to study the fight for justice and equal rights for all americans, they will of course read about abraham lincoln, th

of people who work closely with dick cheney in ongress and in the first bush administration, george h.w. bush's administration. later even in george w. bush's administration who feel of a e became something different person, he was not the same person in this later incarnation as vice president. dick cheney would argue with him our interviews that he didn't change. the world changed. but the change that matters tremendously is what happened on 9/11. but he would say that goes back to his days on the intelligence ommittee in the house when he first saw the sorts the underside of the world and there.going on out and that the world as it is response he kind of eels that the bush-cheney administration made. dick cheney thinks it's important to speak out and speak the truth. you know, there have been any number of times in his career i'm not running for the higher office. vice s -- i'm going to be president but i'm not going to run for president. herefore, i don't have to be calculating in a political sense. i can speak the truth. sees himself as a very frank, straightforward, and really for much of

what happened was george h.w. bush said let's get together and talk this mano a mano ok face to face and he made it also three weeks after the wall fell in berlin and bush reassured good but trust that these are going to take advantage and he said look we're going to need some things for you and them from you i'm going to send my secretary of state james baker over and talk with you and with shevardnadze the very enlightened foreign minister they had so that happened two months later early february now it was a tough selling job put yourself in baker's position he's trying to sell to the russians on the notion of a reunited germany when i heard that i bristles going up the back of my neck i don't want to ever united because i live for germany for five years russians having last twenty five million people in the last one so it was a hard sell and in return for that that's the quid baker said we'll keep it in nato so they won't develop their own nuclear nuclear weapons and in return for that we won't move nato one inch f

people who worked closely with dick cheney in congress, in the first bush administration -- george h.w. bush's administration, and later even in george w. bush's administration, who feel that he became something of a different person, that he was not the same person in this later incarnation as vice president. dick cheney would argue with them and does in our interviews that he did not change. the world changed. the change that matters tremendously was what happened on 9/11. he would say that that goes back to his days on the intelligence committee in the house when he first saw sort of the underside of the world and what is really going on out there. is that the world as it requires the kind of response, he feels, that the bush cheney administration made. dick cheney thinks it is important to speak out and speak the truth. there have been any number of times in his career when he has decided he's not running for any higher office. president,to be vice but i'm not running for president. therefore, i don't have to be calculating in a political sense . i can speak the truth." he sees himself as

the bush team once it took office, once george h.w. bushecame president, when i'm speaking of bush i'm speaking about george h.w. bush was much more cautious. one of my surprises is how much tension there was between the reagan team and bush team. political scientists who are not interested in this topic but work on presidential transitions used the reagan-bush transition as a particularly vicious one. some scholars described it as bush fired everyone. i was surprised to see bush documents saying mush for brains reaganites. you see a little attempt to return to a more traditional cold war stance. but dramatic events made it clear 1989 won't be a traditional cold war year. these protests in tiananmen square. 1989 in retrospect looks different in china than europe. i would ask you to bear this in mind as we talk about the wall today. we of course, all know that the cold war in europe ended peacefully but the people at the time did not know this. as events unfolded the images on ninds of protesters and demonstrators were images from tiananmen

president george h.w. bush very much wanted this to be the end of the story. when it came to american military involvement in iraq under his watch. but even as all those celebrations you were just watching, even as all those parades were taking place, there was another story playing out. there was a humanitarian tragedy unfolding in iraq. in the wake of the withdrawal of u.s. troop after that first gulf war. and it was clear that it was a tragedy made in party due to the way we ended that war. as that war was ending, as saddam hussein's forces were getting routed in kuwait, being called into question, as all of that was happening, george h.w. bush decided to make a plea directly to the iraqi people, especially to the kurds. to the kurdish people. ethnic minority group that had long been persecuted by saddam's regime. what bush told them to do was step up and overthrow hussein once and for all. here is what the kurds heard. it was a message to them from bush on the "voice of america," a u.s. government funded radio network. this aired in the kurdish parts of ir

what's interesting about that picture is it was taken at president george h.w. bush's library and if you widen the lens, president george h.w. bush was there. so i have the experience of working together across the aisle, of getting things done, even when there are differences of opinion and i think that's what wee need, people who are going to problem solve and not prosecute and i pledge to be a fierce advocate for georgia's citizens' rights. thank you. >> thank you. \[applause] >> since this is an opening statement, i'm not going to have rebuttal. there will be a closing statements and programs you could work in some responses during the course of the q&a. if a candidate is mentioned by the other candidate, there is a chance to respond but the opening statement is a little sacrosanct, but let's move into questions. the first question is on health care, which, of course, means the affordable care act. mr. perdue, you favor repealing obamacare. and ms. nunn, you favor it but seem to have some reservations. can you tell us what is it about the affordable care act that s

that george h.w. bush was very comfortable waging the cold war and it took a period of psychological adjustment to really become comfortable with the idea this is all over and this is a new world. whereas jimmy carter wanted to end the cold war and had to adjust to essentially becoming a cold warrior. i'm curious if that was your sense watching him closely? he was built to wage the cold war and he really had a psychologically overcome in the the period that jeff has started to write about. the second had to do with what i see as george h.w. bush's greatest foreign policy failure, aside from quite -- aside from his admitted successes. i don't know whether jeffrey will get to this issue in his book, but i presume he will. that was his decision not to intervene to limit the war in the former yugoslavia at a time when the u.s. had maximum credibility after its defeat of iraq and essentially squandering that credibility using as an excuse, let's let the europeans handle it even after it was clear the europeans

george h.w. bush vacationed at kennebunkport while saddam hussein invaded vowed, that said, he would not be tied down to a dictator's schedule, that he would go on with his very active vacation. for 25 days. that is exactly what he did. >> as we do this interview, the end of august, president obama coming off his vacation and he was criticized by a number of the press and elsewhere about the number of rounds of golf he played. you write that president kennedy, you call president kennedy a stealth golfer. >> he was a stealth golfer because he was fully aware that it president eisenhower had been blistered for the amount of time he spent on the golf course. eisenhower was an incessant golfer. he really loved it. and because of him, thousands of americans took up the game. outkennedy kept that game sight, even though those who knew him say he wasn't able go -- was an albble golfer. he played, both as candidate and as president-elect, but photographers were barred from the course. and few outsiders knew a

the bush team once it took office, once george h.w. bushcame president, when i'm speaking of bush i'm speaking about george h.w. bush was much more cautious. one of my surprises is how much tension there was between the reagan team and bush team. political scientists who are not interested in this topic but work on presidential transitions used the reagan-bush transition as a particularly vicious one. some scholars described it as bush fired everyone. in the internal sources i was surprised to see bushl+avómyr d saying mush for brains reagan e reaganites. all kind of phrases. you see it's good that adults are back in charge. you see a little attempt to return to a more traditional cold war stance. but dramatic events made it clear 1989 won't be a traditional cold war year. there is the massive popular protest in tiananmen square in 1989. we just had that anniversary. that enough was observed in china with silence. 4rçÑrn."cl6o corner and certainly bloodshed was on the mind of the people who were there on the ground. tiananmen square is stil

it is also a group biography looking primarily at george h.w. bushi should mention whenever i refer to president bush, i refer to our guy, 41. and it's also a study of those around him, a collective biography of national security decision making during this time period. but then it tries to do something else. it tries to situate american policy making within a broader international venue. it tries to be an american study and international history. because time and again, we discover events that occurred during 1989, during 1990 and '91 were in many ways not generated by the united states. in fact, the united states reactive a lot more than prescriptive during these events. one of the arguments which i make is that this is really the essence of president bush's policymaking and of his foreign policy on a whole was to be cautiously reactive. realistically reactive without being too overly exuberant reacting to foreign events. because there were dramatic foreign events going on during this period. it's important to recall all that occurred during the fo

george h.w. bush is much more skeptical.achev was a fraud, or gorbachev was for real, and he may really have good intentions but he could be dispatched with a single bull and the soviet union still could is it destroy the -- once george h.w. bush -- was much more cautious, and one of the biggest surprises in my research was just how much tension there was between the reagan team and bush team. political scientists who word d. used the reagan/bush transition as an example of a particularly vicious one. some have -- -- i was very surprised to see bush documents that referred to mush for brain reagan-its all kinds of phrases saying that it's good that grownups are back in charge. the practice offage summits with gorbachev comes to an end. you see an attempt too return to more of a traditional cold war stance, but dramatic events made clear that 1989 will not be a traditional protest year. there's tiananmen square. even people who try to do commemorate it in their homes we are persecute fold that. so it looks very different in c

theter jets launched from george h.w. bush dropped tom's. -- bombs. the smoke visible for miles. >> elliptic bongo and it finds its way to the target -- you let the bomb go and it finds its way to the target. >> for more planes targeted a convoy. a total of eight bombs were dropped, neutralizing the bomb -- convoy. >> the president was determined to use military action to protect personnel and harm's way. >> the second part of the mission is humanitarian. aid was dropped out of cargo planes to save lives high on a mountain. thousands of members of a religious minority have been trapped there for days. these images of helicopters being mobbed by starving people, children lifted to safety. there is no expectation that isis will be defeated. that is not the objective. the mission will be aimed at preventing a humanitarian disaster and protecting americans. >> stain and that region, -- region, hamast militants extended their rocket attacks on israel. onded withp retaliatory strikes. israel has said it will not negotiate while under fire. the first tropica

>> guest: well, three, if you count george h.w. bush, and of course i do. but the -- i really came to help ronald reagan in his second term. i joined the justice department in 1985, stayed through 1989, which allowed me to serve that first year of the senior bush administration. and then in 2008, after an easter sunday epiphany, i endorsed barack obama, which he wasn't anticipating, and i wasn't anti pating either at the beginning of that campaign because i began as a legal adviser to mitt romney, and left that campaign only after he did, after his defeat in the primary, but i was very distressed, i have to tell you, about the manner which the candidates were treating each other and particularly the way in which mr. romney's religion had been handled, and that caused me to think more broadly, and one person that i discovered in my examination was kind of the ecumenical commune spirit of barack obama which resurrected probably where i began life, i began life as a democrat because my father was a coordinator for one john f. kennedy. you may remember that was

some of us were alive when ronald reagan took action on immigration, when george h.w. busheorge bush did it. so we went about it, it turned out to be not hard, but we're trying to lay the ground work. we want to provide this president, the white house, democrats, immigration groups, what they need to make the case. because what they've said about this president and executive action is wrong. not to mention the fact that their position on immigration is wrong and is hurting them in the party. >> are you as an organization advocating that the president do that or do you think that president obama is about to do that and there store you're trying to sort of texture the ground ahead of him so that it lands in a more advantageous way? >> i think there's a little bit of both. we as an organization, you know, do support immigration reform. i think democrats nearly across the board support action. congress, we believe, should take action. i think we've all believed that. it's clear this congress won't. john boehner is literally strangled by the tea party. john boehner and the repub

george w. bush -- uss george h.w. bush.were table to take out the artillery launcher and we have reports confirmed by k.t. mcfarland by way of a friend of hers who is on the ground in irbil. >> general garner, retired u.s. general, who is familiar with the peshmerga says the airstrike has been effective but they need american military equipment. they were promised it a decade ago but never arrived. >> that is clearly the dilemma that the president probably somewhat reluctant to use overwhelming force on this enemy. he doesn't want to get mired in the quicksand of another iraq war, but this is a dilemma, shep, because isis controls not only this hugely important dam, if you can control the water in iraq, you control life in iraq. it is threatening many of the major producing oil fields in the area. knocking on the door of jordan. controls parts of syria. knocking on the door of lebanon. it is a huge threat, unlike any we have seen in quite some time. >> thank you very much. live at the pentagon this afternoon. let's get to c

name the only state in the 1992 election where bill clinton finished behind george h.w. bush and ross perot? there's a gap out there. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare gets simpler. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care. so factors like diet can negatively impact good bacteria? even if you're healthy and active. phillips digestive health support is a duo-probiotic that helps supplement good bacteria found in two parts of your digestive tract. i'm doubly impressed! phillips' digestive health. a daily probiotic. while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain, and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. an

he went on to serve the reagan administration and the george h.w. bush administration and the department of justice and the office of white house counsel before spending 14 years in private practice. during this time, he argued 39 cases before the supreme court. it is my pleasure to welcome the honorable john g. roberts, jr, chief justice of the united states. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. much.you very i appreciate that. thank you. you very much for that very warm welcome. i am very pleased that the american bar association has invited me to speak on the occasion of the commencement of its year long celebration of the significance of magna carta's eighth centennial. from now until next august, the association will celebrate the meaning and significance of magna carta, both in the united states and in england. the aba will literally build on the past by restoring and rededicating a monument it built in 1957 at runnymede wher eking john sealed the charter. of thether members judiciary will be following those events closely and w

maybe can borrow from the arsenal and today's administration can borrow from the arsenal of george h.w. bush. one thing that worked really very well back in 1991, that's the u.s. policy to take onboard western europe and all major west european players at that time; germany, france, canada. bush was on telephone all the time during the coup in moscow in august and then leading to the ukrainian referendum and then immediately after that building this alliance. so when bush spoke at that time, that meant for all major players in the region that that was a unified position of the west. so that's why in this -- [inaudible] in belarus when they a agreed to dissolve the soviet union, yeltsin and the leaders of belarus and ukraine, the first call goes not to gorbachev, the first call goes to the united states, and it was very clear that bush was speaking on behalf of the west in general. it was very different from the way how the disintegration of yugoslavia was handled when germany was playing its own policy, and the united states was playing its own policy. so this unity of western countries, of

and even back in 1990 that divide was apparent but president george h.w. bush tried to create a consensus that led to the 1990 amendments but we really haven't seen any significant legislation since then. host: pennsylvania democrat's line. vince. caller: good morning. my question is in 2005 the cheney loopa was put into the energy bill which set up the stage for the fracking boom that we're having nowadays. how does the exemption to the clean air and clean water act ffect the air quality today? guest: hydraulic fracturing which is called fracking. e 2005 issue was that e.p.a. was found to have less control over that some had hoped to have as a regulatory mechanism. there are still rules. some of them are state-driven which folks have concerns about because different states have different levels of stringsy. in controls over things like hydraulic fracturing. so that localizes debates which people would -- some folks would say is a good thing because it provides more local control more local siptssn input but also allows for more politics and local politics to e

at least humanitarian assistance after the first persian gulf war, the bush administration, george h.w. bush administration, getting authorization to defend the kurds against saddam hussein, we ought to be trying to do the same again today, and we ought to be asem blg an international coalition to help. >> finally ambassador, isis has these threats, they issued that tape, they want to see as they say the flag of allah raised own the white house. at the united nations, there was a group saying the very same thing, it's now 13 years later, just a few months after that 13 years ago, we had 911, they're not stopping. >> the war on terror is not over, islam islosama bin laden be dead, but james clapper said the threat is at least as great as it was before 9/11. isis has rised the these four months. >> john bolton, we always appreciate your inside analysis on these chilling issues that we are facing today. >>> and eric, we have news out of gaza, palestinian negotiators accepting an egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour truce with israel. the proposal could open the door for more talks in the long-te

footage of takeoffs and landing from the aircraft carrier george h.w. bush. over the weekend, 42 people were killed in car bombings, another nine died on nonat a shiite mosque in the capitol, baghdad and scores were also injured today as well. iraq's new prime minister designate is predicting a unity government by the end of the week and he says then groups like i.s. will not be tolerated. >> translator: weapons should be in the hands of the state. there will be no place for armed groups be they militias tribes or civilian volunteers. we will never allow any armed group to operate outside of the state. anyone who uses weapons should do so within the framework of the state and under the control of the security groups. >> reporter: and iraq's outgoing prime minister, nouri al-maliki, many promises to rid the country of the filthiness of this gang. >> thank you john. >> thank you mike. >>> the biggest earthquake to hit the bay area in the last 25 years, picking up the pieces during a state of emergency in northern california. >> you're looking live at michael br

and certainly some work and guidance by congressional i like to use the example of president george h.w. bush who was a republican who really took an active role in trying to get consensus through congress. i'm critical of president obama who really didn't engage in the building whensus he was tried from up registration. and the problem we now have, in my view, is epa is trend a pound of very large square peg into a small round hole and some people abusing theis authority of the clean air act. that will ultimately be decided in court, probably, but i think to come an opportunity together. i'm still optimistic about that. i think it takes presidential leadership. that is a lesson of the clean air act of 1990, someone who can talk to both sides and find some common ground. and we have not really seen that since 1990. but i am optimistic that at some point, the situation will be repeated. host: a discussion about the clean air act. guests.d from our two thank you. coming up in the last half hour, open phones. here are the numbers if you want to call in and make your comments -- we will take thos

a sharp contrast to 1990, when then president george h.w. bush backed his words with policy, cutting off $10 billion in loan guarantees to israel. over then prime minister shamir's refusal to stop settlement construction. james baker gave israel the white house switchboard number. israel blames john kerry for negotiating last week's cease-fire that hamas violated within hours, officials confirm in a testy phone call afterwards, israeli prime minister netanyahu warned, don't second guess me again when it comes to hamas. shapiro made no apologies for the u.s. working with qatar and turkey to bring hamas to the table. >> we would never put our trust in a terrorist organization, but through the communications that we had, there was clarity about what the terms were. >> it's unclear whether israel agreed to the cease-fire because of that american criticism or because of its goals in gaza have already been met. there's cautious optimism in washington that the fighting could end. we've been here before. elise labott, cnn the state department. >>> we tur

the video shows members of the navy building bombs aboard the "uss george h.w. bush." the u.s.ilitary is con dubting strikes to protect personnel. >>> now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. >> getting ready to head out the door. don't forget your umbrella. rain is moving into the area first thing this morning. we're tracking mainly light rain this morning. but this afternoon, there's a possibility of strong thunderstorms developing, a severe weather. we could see strong, gusty winds, possibly damaging winds and hail, too. during the morning hours, you'll see the temperatures come up. it's starting off warmer and damper in allentown. right now, 70 degrees with rain falling in allentown. northeast philadelphia 72 while atlantic city is waiting for the wet weather. right now it is dry in center city. clear view across the delaware from the adventure asquarium. but that is going to change. the first clouds are already here. and showers not yet at the shore or the delaware beaches but from northern delaware into the western suburbs, the rain is moving in

>> george h.w. bush at the end of the gulf war for a year. >> he didn't win reelection. the economy undercut his success. >> that war. >> there was another piece of this too, though, which is the second term is traditionally one where the president says i got the domestic stuff done and already measuring the drapes for the next president i will focus on foreign policy this is something i can do without congress. >> bill clinton out of the hit of impeachment and scandal through the interventions in the balkans. >> and israel. close to a breakthrough peace deal. and ronald reagan with the nuclear arms talks with the beginning and the end of the soviet union. gwen: those were positive and second term. >> and it felt like they were dictating the terms here is what i want to get done. now there is a fire hose of issues coming at me i want to get through them and get back to the thing that i came to do in the first place. >> the challenge that president obama faces is one the things he is arguing is that the united states must accept a world where outcomes aren't perfect and t

what's interesting about that picture is it was taken at president george h.w. bush's library and if you widen the lens, president george h.w. bush was there. so i have the experience of working together across the aisle, of getting things done, even when there are differences of opinion and i think that's what wee need, people who are going to problem solve and not prosecute and i pledge to be a fierce advocate for georgia's citizens' rights. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> since this is an opening statement, i'm not going to have rebuttal. here will be a closing statements and programs you could work in some responses during the course of the q&a. if a candidate is mentioned by the other candidate, there is a chance to respond but the opening statement is a little sacrosanct, but let's move into questions. the first question is on health care, which, of course, means the affordable care act. mr. perdue, you favor repealing obamacare. and ms. nunn, you favor it but seem to have some eservations. can you tell us what is it about the affordable care act that seem

also continued today carried out by predator drones and super hornets launched from the carrier george h.w. bush targeting convoys, isis forces, artillery and mortar positions. holding isis at bay in iraq is a short-term concern. they already have acquired strategic components of the iraqi infrastructure like iraq's largest dam. >> okay. not only have they acquired this dam and there's another one that they may also be acquiring, is they've announced remember the flood with noaa? we can do that. we can flood the entire region and drown everybody in sight. so not only is there a sort of military threat that they could kill a lot of civilians and people, but it's also, if you control water in that part of the world, you control life. >> they have very effective professional sophisticated planners and strategists. they know how to move money. they know how to get money. they have the resources in that regard. >> for example, isis controls oil fields. in fact, it supplies the syrian government with much of its oil requirements at great profit. and perhaps of most concern, among isis fighters are hun

george h.w. bush and they found a way to cooperate with each other. and until netanyahu and obama find a common enterprise, kwleen it wi , i think dan is right. it's going to be very difficult for the less than thousand days that remains in the obama presidency to work out a really functional relationship between these two. >> general clark, the united states, as i mentioned, just okayed another $225 million for the iron dome missile defense system here and agreed to restock israel's weapons during the operation. how critical to the united states is the military relationship? obviously it's vital to israel. >> we look at israel as a very, very important and vital ally in the region. it's in america's vital interest that israel be safe and secure. so we're going to support them. they're an outpost of democracy in the region. they show what can be done with modern technology. they're entrepreneurial. they're going to be energy independent when they develop their offshore gas and oil. they've got lots of future and lots of potential. and if we can get a

the fighters took off this morning from the aircraft carrier, the "uss george h.w. bush" in the persian gulf. >> we had people in irbil and if we see an advance, we're going to hit it. >> reporter: president obama promised yesterday military action would be taken if the islamic militants were a threat to americans. >> when the lives of american citizens are at risk, we will take action. that's my responsibility as commander in chief. >> reporter: late this morning, president obama made a call to jordan's king abdullah, likely discuss the unrest in the region. but as isis militants take control of dozens of iraqi cities and towns, some experts question whether the u.s. has a real military plan. >> this is not decisive use of military power, we're not on the ground in the area. i don't think we know what we're doing. >> there's no word yet on how many isis militants may have died in this morning's air strike. jennifer johnson, nbc news. >> in the meantime, the faa, the federal aviation administration, is responding as well. the faa now prohibiting all u.s. airlines and oth

. >> we understand that the two f-18s flew from the george h.w. bush, in the persian gulf, and the u.s. military continues to have a lot of air assets over iraq for this kind of mission? >> yes. i don't see this as a difficult mission for the u.s. military. this is a force that has been doing these types of operations in various degrees for many years. this is exactly what u.s. aircraft carriers are designed to do around the world at any time. so it may complicate it, and it takes a lot of coordination, but at this point [ unintelligible ]. >> were you surprised at the limited nature of the mission this morning? i mean, two airstrikes and an artillery piece, sounds very precise when you talk about isis having thousands of fighters, and what's keeping the u.s. military or the obama administration, what's keeping them from dropping dozens and dozens of airstrikes to try to break isis in iraq? >> the u.s. support has been to make political progress, and unfortunately, the paradox is that isis changed that political -- they're now providing military suppor

the f-18 jet fighters which dropped the bombs returned to the carrier "george h.w. bush" in the persian gulf. later in the day the u.s. aircraft carried out two more strikes against militant forces on the outskirts of erbil. in one a drone hit a mortar position, waited for the fighters to return and hit it again, kill the fighters. in the other four f-18s each dropped a bomb on a convoy, then came back for a second pass, dropping four more bombs. the militants are known as isis, but are in essence, the successors to al qaeda in iraq, and they have caught everyone by surprise with the effectiveness of their attacks and swiftness of their advance. tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes and the pentagon now estimates 35,000 are stranded on a mountain surrounded by militant fighters. more airdrops are expected tonight to keep the refugees from starving or dying of thirst. last night the air force dropped enough food and water for only 8,000 people, but some of the palettes cannot be accounted for and may have missed the drop zone. getting the refugees off mount

later a conversation on the presidency of george h.w. bush the end of the cold war. >>> with live coverage of the house on c-span and senate on c-span 2 here on c-span3 we compliment that coverage by showing you the most relevant congressional hearings and

with the example of george h.w. bush and egged on by our media team, we are now into the crazy socks. down --ast in the angle ankle down he's no longer a dinosaur. i will be working on the rest of me. no crossroads of america gets more of this debate than the rush limbaugh show. when somebody dials the number and wait in line for 90 minutes, you are holding them. what do you think? >> number one, i think you are a pretty hip guy, and proof positive is you are making such a difference with your leadership. the western conservative summit has grown to be one of the premier political events in the country. so congratulations to you and everyone who put this together. [applause] think about rush i want to say how blessed i am to have worked with rush limbaugh for so many years, and what a great and amazing human being he is. i thank him. i thank god for bringing that man into our lives and our country, and for all of you who listen and support the show, thank you so much. who was winning? it's obvious, you told me the left i

. >> host: the last time california voted for a republican president was 1988 i believe, george h.w. bush. >> guest: yeah i think you are right. in fact you are right. that's correct. i didn't think of it in those terms. generally california really goes to the liberal and. on most of the national offices. members of the house, members of the senate, president and vice president, it just does. even the state legislature it's a very liberal state politically. >> host: is that trend continuing? >> guest: i think so. it certainly has been until you can see it stop. it would be dangerous to think no it isn't continuing. it certainly has been. >> host: in your view was the conservative argument to make? >> guest: against back? >> host: what would be the conservative argument to put an end to california's democratic nomination? >> guest: it takes the right cast of characters. it just takes the right people. one thing that's dangerous that i think is happening with republican party right now, really dangerous is what i would call stirring up isolationism that is coming back. they would call a lib

. >> host: the last time california voted for a republican president was 1988 i believe, george h.w. bush. >> guest: yeah i think you are right. in fact you are right. that's correct. i didn't think of it in those terms. generally california really goes to the liberal and. on most of the national offices. members of the house, members of the senate, president and vice president, it just does. even the state legislature it's a very liberal state politically. >> host: is that trend continuing? >> guest: i think so. it certainly has been until you can see it stop. it would be dangerous to think no it isn't continuing. it certainly has been. >> host: in your view was the conservative argument to make? >> guest: against back? >> host: what would be the conservative argument to put an end to california's democratic nomination? >> guest: it takes the right cast of characters. it just takes the right people. one thing that's dangerous that i think is happening with republican party right now, really dangerous is what i would call stirring up isolationism that is coming back. they would call a lib

. >> with me now former senior advisor to three presidents, president obama, clinton and george h.w. bushambassador dennis ross and pulitzer prize winner and journalist fox news contributor judith miller. i will start with you ambassador. did john kerry really think he could broker a deal with hamas and is a deal even possible given the player in this? >> there has been cease fires in the past. in 2012 there was a cease fire. there was a cease fire in 2009 as well. particularly the cease fires are going to emerge from the realities on the ground. in this particular case israelis were prepared to go along with the cease fire that kerry had brok brokered. obviously hamas was not prepared for it. the israelis made a judgment now that sort of is twofold. number one they don't trust that hamas will live up to what it says. number two they don't want it out hamas is seen as gaining. they understand egypt, jordan, saudi arabia the emirates and palestinian authority, although it's in a difficult position to say it. none of them want hamas to gain as well. you have a strategical linement in the re

navy personnel assembling bombs aboard the "uss george h.w. bushbs being used against isis militants. here are some more of the fast moving developments in iraq just happening today. the u.s. for the first time sending heavy weapons directly to the kurds who are making