let's bring in george mitchell. he was appointed by president obama in 2009 as special envoy for the middle east peace. thanks for joining us, mr. mitchell. good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> first off, how significant was this trip overall? >> i think both significant and successful. the president had several objectives. he wanted to visit israel itself, an important step. connect and make his case directly with the people of israel, which i think he did very well. second, to try to make the case publically and privately to both israeli and palestinian leaders that it is in their self-interest to sit down and negotiate a peace agreement between them. it's not a gift from one side to the other. it's in the self-interest of both israel to get security for its people. the palestinians to finally get a state of their own. he also reaffirmed the strong friendship and support with jordan's king and he sent a clear message to iran during his visit to the region that the united states will not accept a nuclear wea

he could get nothing done. >> george mitchell tried to make mahmoud abbas look like a winner.sources to him. that would somehow knock hamas out of the picture. >> by the way, he is a winner, though. economically. the west bank versus gaza, where would you want to live. >> west bank, of course. >> not even close. >> there are a lot of issues about the legitimacy of hamas. is this conflict as strategically significant today as it was when obama came into office? and the sad fact is, i think in the long-term strategically it is important to resolve this. there was a different driver before the arab spring, before we saw the conflict in syria that what has happened is we needed to do a deal in that region because it would rob from the iranians their legitimacy in the region. that's less true today. because the iranians are facing problems in syria, everywhere else. so the driver of solving -- so israel and palestine has become somewhat strategically detached from the rest of the region. >> understandable. but the problem is if you don't do a deal now, then all of a sudden what if

i'm going to bring in george mitchell, a former u.s. special envoy to the middle east. mr. hell, when you see what's going on here, what is your overview of the region in totality, because it used to be a case, if you solved the israel/palestine problem, everything would be so much easier. now there is so much tension all over the region, it's no longer just about israel and palestine, is it? >> no, it isn't. that's an important element, but there are many intersecting conflicts in the region, all of which affect each other. you mentioned several of them. syria, the iranian quest for a nuclear weapon, the historic antagonism between the persian iranians and the arab countries. the historic divide within islam between sunni and shia, which began way back from the succession of the prophet -- to the prophet mohammed. so there are many intersecting conflicts, but i will say that a resolution of the israeli/palestinian conflicts, while not the only problem, will help in dealing with several of the others. it will help israel to have to change from what it now does as building wa

i'm joined by longtime diplomat george mitchell.us of an international law firm. senator mitchell, thanks for 0 joining us. mysterious deaths, acid attacks at the ballet. amnesty international offices raided. are we seeing a democratic regression in russia, or have we just started now paying attention? >> well, i think that the path to democracy and genuine democratic institutions historically has taken quite a while. and while russia has achieved the forms of democracy, clearly does not have the full substance of democracy. these incidents and many others you describe really demonstrate that, and i think it will some time. but there's nothing really surprising about that, jake. in france it took a half century, in england more than two centuries, in our own country quite some time after the fighting added to establish the united states. so it will be a while. i do think these are obviously troubling incidents. i think after putin leaves, as ultimately he will, the path may smooth out more than it has now. >> senator, how would you

i agree completely with senator george mitchell.ent abbas and the palestinian authority is saying, i'm not going to come to the bargaining table unless you do a, b and c. he's not in a position to make those kinds of demands. he wants land, he wants estate. he has to sit down to negotiate. i recently met with him and i made a proposal. i said, how about you sit down, begin the negotiations, and then israel will start a freeze, and then you'll negotiate borders. he seemed to agree with that. netanyahu seems to be agreeing with that. there is an opening for peace. i hope the president will try to bring them closer together. look, the palestinians had an opportunity to have a state, 2000, 2001. arafat turned it down. prime minister owe meter offered them more in 2007. no response. the ball is clearly in the palestinian court. >> okay. >> they must come to the negotiating table. >> let's go to james. the ball is in the palestinian court. do you agree with that? >> no, i don't. i think that's a very serious exaggeration. of the leverage

. >> rose: that was george mitchell. >> and he appointed george mitchell to go off and do this. but george-- but essentially, he, the president of the united states after 16 years of president's showering unalloyed affection on the people of israel, bill clinton, george w. bush, comes as president, cold in nature, was distancing himself to israel. the message the israelis got across the spectrum was he doesn't like us. he doesn't talk to us. and he doesn't care about us. >> rose: that's the perception in israel. >> that is correct. and of course it was reinforced by the fact that almost simultaneously to his election israel chose the right wing prime minister who replaced olmert who was wing to go a long distin to make a palestinian deal. >> rose: and before that barak. >> an before that ariel sharon who took a bold step in gaa -- gaza. so the israeli, the israeli political system responded to threats to the threat of iran, to the threat of hezbollah, israel, between 2006 and 2009, went to the right. both the public opinion and the government. so the drama of the collision betwe

and later george mitchell, he, too, deeply engaged in the peace process.th us as well. >>> this just in to cnn. police in chicago are investigating an early morning shooting at a nightclub that injured at least seven people in chicago. the shooting believed to be gang related. this happened just after 1:00 am at club g's on the city's south side. there had been an album release party for an unnamed rapper. six men and a woman have all been taken to hospitals. none of the injuries appear to be life threatening. no arrests so far. >>> dazzled and concerned. a senate hearing tackles the use of drones within the united states. experts testifying that drones can have practical applications, monitoring crops and livestock, looking at damage to buildings, perhaps. but lawmakers express concern, saying new legislation may be needed to protect americans' privacy and their safety. >> i think there is a real concern that the day-to-day conduct of american citizens going about their business might be monitored, cataloged and recorded by the federal government. and i,

joining me right now, george mitchell. thank you so much.ith us about a few things. i want to get to the main goals for secretary kerry's trip to get iraq to carry weapons through syria in the air space. did that work? and in terms of leverage, how much does the u.s. still have with iraq to try to accomplish that? >> well, we won't know the results, of course, until we see what happens following the visit but that's a very important part of trying to deal with the tremendous internal upheaval of conflict in syria. much of the arms and money and some personnel are coming from outside from iran on -- and hezbollah on one side and from saudi arabia, qatar and other states on the other. if there's any hope of diffusing the conflict, one way is going to have to deal with the issues of iranian support. iran is deeply concerned because syria is the major foothold in the arab world. there's a long standing syria through the decline or democrat myself of the assad regime, which i think is inevitable, will be a serious blow to iran. >> so if you have

i remember senator george mitchell speaking about democracy. i remember him recalling his own family's involvement because of immigration from ireland in economic circumstances, that this country gave him the democratic opportunity to serve as senate leader for 20 years. he was followed at that meeting by ron brown, who tragically lost his life in a plane crash sometime later. george about democracy, mitchell pointed out he came here and his ancestors came to the country because of economic reasons. he spoke of democracy in these terms. he said, his ancestors came to america not because of economic circumstances, but because they were in chains. at the same time, democracy gave him the chance to participate in american life and serve at the highest levels of the administration. it was also evident in the work of president clinton, who refused to give up and often , peace comes dropping slow. it is also evidence in the support given to ireland in some oftens by so many people, -- in so many ways by so many people, that peace is as much yours as

of the 215 game on daniel patrick moynihan, the great intellectual senator from new york and george mitchellho maybe was a better exsenator than senator for everything he'd done. and then the 2:15 game is dirkson who has a name on the building and was responsible for civil rights getting passed because he ended the cloture vote. imagine mitch mcconnell ending a cloture vote on gay marriage. that's what people would equate it to. but he goes against a 15-seed in margaret smith, the only woman in our bracket and was the first senator to speak out against joe mccarthy. >> a lot of heavy weights there. >> other big potential is phil hart goes against henry lodge. we'll see how it goes, vote today. >> moynihan two seed going all the way. can't wait to see it. we appreciate it. go on to first read at nbcpolitics.com to get your senate madness on. check it out. participate, it's great stuff. coming up from same-sex marriage to immigration and gun control, the culture wars are roaring back. but this time it's democrats on the side of public opinion. how will that impact party strategy going forward?

senators george mitchell, mel martinez, former hud secretary henry cisneros is backing it.ng. david: liz macdonald, thank you very much. >> sure. david: let me go to elizabeth, my other elizabeth, elizabeth claman for a wrap-up on the day's events. the most interesting thing for me is looking at way things are and are not compared to the last time we hit a record in 2007. back then gold was at $748. back then consumer sentiment was 99.5%, 99.5. now it is 69. liz: well that is what a bubble bursting can do to the attitude. man, have we come a long way. market right here, 14,253.77. david: i'm sorry. we are getting news now that chavez, the president of venezuela has died. more on that to come right here. she keeps you guessing. it's part of what you love about her. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needi

this is something i talked to george mitchell about this.sident obama appointed to be the envoy for the middle east peace process in 2009. he had said this was a concern and you do feel it, which is because there actually hasn't been any skirmishes in a while, there's almost a sense of they have been lulled into a sense of, well, okay, maybe this is a way that we can live this way, both sides. and abbas, because he doesn't have the credibility and the -- with hamas and able to negotiate for all palestinian people, you know, does he really want to sit at the table because maybe he can't negotiate a peace or he can't fully negotiate a peace. that said, it does sound like netanyahu wants to give obama this. he knows it's important to president obama to do something like this. and if netanyahu wants president obama to have his back on iran, then he wants to be able to give him something on getting the peace process started. but you heard it, chris. they're still trying to negotiate the terms of the negotiations. and the president is trying to sa

anybody should underestimate her, and i wouldn't underestimate her because of richard holbrooke or george mitchellere two key allies of hers. remember when she was appointed swuf state there was very much a team of rivals discussion. now, you know, the president and secretary clinton, that partnership has really changed the way the world looks at america. it restored our power in the world. had history will play itself out, and she will have an enormous role in this country going forward. sfwlu use the phrase -- you said hillary said make me a pumplging bag, and in this country there's a sense of the clintons as a brand that is anything but a punching bag. these are dineassic politics. bill clinton is incredibly tenacious, but hillary actually in many ways has behaved counter to that perception. because she became secretary of state, and she was removed from the fray of domestic politics in the united states. she has emerged from being a politician to a states woman over those -- it required being able to being willing to engage people that are not always your best friends and who don't always see

. >> george mitchell said that the worst thing that may happen, he says it's a horrible thing to say,s there is going to be a sense of security, lulled into a false sense of security by both sides and the palestinians feel the same way that there is no sense of urgency. >> that's right. israel has this sense of military superiority. the palestinians have the sense that time is on their side. so there is no real urgency to sit down and actually negotiate a real peace. there is an urgency not to be seen as the side had a is saying no to a peace process. but no real urgency to solve peace. >> this iron dome, is this a weapon that we're going to see on the coast of california to, you know, in -- is this a type of technology that the united states is probably testing theer use elsewhere? >> well, they certainly are testing it. they're being very serious analysis done by american professors of rocket science who say the iron dome was nowhere near as effective as israelis claim. >> martin fletcher, our man in both tel aviv and jerusalem, thanks for the wonderful weather. i know why you never

that's what he said when he launched george mitchell, the special envoy. then he gave this powerful speech in cairo that he referred to. but what he had never done until today, four years later, is make this powerful connection with israel for an american president. that is an absolute prerequisite for the peace process. remember the reason why the united states is special in the world is we're the only -- in the context of the peace process -- is because we're the only country that can possibly move israelis towards a compromise position and talk to the palestinians. but to have that power, to be special in that way, the united states president must have a connection with israel and its people. he must be powerful in israel. he must be popular in israel. barack obama, to be candid, has not been popular in israel as compared to bill clinton and george bush. what this speech was about was trying to do in one hour what those politicians had done through engagement week after week, was to show the israelis that he understands intellectually, politically, he u

as senate majority leader george mitchell argued the risk of active american intervention is great. he said quote using an unknown number of casualties at this billions of dollars spent a greatly disrupted supply in oil price increases of war possibly widen to israel turkey or other allies, the possible long-term occupation of iraq increasing's instability in the gulf region long-lasting arab and american embassies and and a possible return to american isolationism end quote. looking back on mitchell's mornings we can see that few of those things occurred in in the immediate aftermath of the persian gulf war but arguably all of mitchell's fears untold casualties, billions of dollars lost disrupted markets disaffected allies ever american hostility and isolationism all returned to haunt the united states. >> can watch this and other programs on line at booktv.org. >> in "bad history, worse policy" peter wallison takes a critical look at the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act and argues that it is based on a false nerd of what led to the 2008 economic collapse.

as senate majority leader, george mitchell argued the risk of active american intervention were gray. said, quote, these include an unknown number of casualties into the billions of dollars spent of oil supply and oil price increases of a war possibly went to israel, turkey or other allies, the long-term occupation increasing instability in the gulf region, long-lasting enmity and possible return to american isolationism, and quote. .. his most recent book is "the thistle and the drone: how america's war on terror became a global war on tribal islam." is america's global war on terrorism, isn't a clash of civilization? >> i would say it is more complex. i find these concepts, the clash of civilization and other concepts related to this rather simplistic. and by now, 10 years, more than 10 years after 9/11, we should be aware of the conflicts of what's happening on the ground abroad where america is involved in the various wars. i figh find in this particular y that many of these conflicts are rooted in the clash already taken place before 9/11 between central governments and the tribe

housing commission run by former senators george mitchell, martinez and former director.annie mae and freddie mac and turn them into a government bond insurer. this is a change in housing policy for the government and bankly the 30-year loan could go away. i mean, denmark is the only other country in the world that has a 30-year loan and here is why mortgage rates could go up. this is a five-year plan. it could happen in 10 years, it could be to the opposition but here is the future of fannie and freddie. they could charge fees for government bonding of just bonds, not mortgages and the new company would for the fi time have to pay state and local taxes and also would have to file for the first time s.e.c. registration documents, so again, this amounts to a huge change in the future of the government owned entities and this is the first time, merging the bond units is a first step. dennis: given the fear of too big to fail, if they managed to do this and wanted to spin it out as a private thing, it couldn't get bought, would it? >> here is how it would work. they would pu

i want to bring in george mitchell, former senator, and special envoy to the middle east.ident seemed to lay down parameters for how the sides might get back to the table. he said discussions were possible, but would be difficult, but then continued to say that he hoped both sides don't want to have all issues settled before they sit down. >> that's been a consistent position by the united states. we have for many decades opposed settlement construction. every american president has taken that position, but at the same time, have encouraged negotiations to resolve that issue along with all of the others. i think the president was strong and consistent in that. that's the only way this will ever get done. when both sides recognize that although it will be painful politically for each of them to agree to a resolution that's acceptable. it will be far more painful for both of them if they don't agree and conflict continues. so far, the president's visit is a good one. >> senator, you poured your heart and soul into finding a possible solution. did you hear anything today or y

and i think the way the president approached it when george mitchell was his special special envoy andneral assembly in september of 2009, all indicate on the palestinian issue that the president really takes a radically different view of what israel is entitled to end up with in presence. and i think on the iranian nuclear weapons this is a potential debacle not just for israel or the united states, but they've made four more years under the obama presidency. >> megyn: what do you think the president hopes to accomplish while he's over there and what will his message to us be upon his return? >> i think he's going to twist netanyahu's arm behind his back and with great fever say, i stand with israel and hope that the american people will believe what he says and not what he's doing. >> megyn: ambassador john bolton, thank you for your perspective. >> thank you. >> megyn: we've heard powerful statements from all sides yesterday as the judge delivered a guilty verdict against two high school football players accused of raping a young woman. kelly's court today on whether the punishment

i was george mitchell's successor and able to build on it and work on it for three years and to me itwful lot of time and extraordinary cooperation as you said. it also took americans across the aisle. what the i.r.a. had to learn, the provisual i.r.a. they couldn't do an end run and couldn't go to the ted kennedys and others. america had zero tolerance and forced people to come to the negotiating table and a lot of credit goes around. >> but the changes have been enormous as you pointed out. when i first began going to northern ireland in the early '70s, mid-70s, the train from dublin to belfast would stop and the british army would get on. belfast was an enclosed city and just entirely different. >> after the deal was signed, the economy and the economic got better partly because the british government spent heavily but the irish economy itself boomed on the back of the european union. unfortunately the one lesson we have learned the last few decade much easier to get a good outcome when the economy is improving. >> you have to show that peace making pays. the guys making risk for p

he said about democracy that george mitchell pointed out he came here to this country because of economic reasons and he spoke of democracy in these terms. he said his ancestors came to america not because of economic circumstances but because they were in chains. at the same time democracy gave him the chance to participate in american life and serve it the highest levels of the administration. it was also evident though through the work of president clinton who refused to give up and often referred to be -- peace comes dropping slow and was also evident in the support given to ireland in so many ways by so many people in the senate and on capitol hill and both sides of the island deed in those capital buildings. that piece is as much yours as it is ours because of the environment of all of the united states. we know that america will want to sustain that with ourselves and we are very pleased as president obama and his administration is so open and so available and so encouraging and among that piece people with different traditions in different cultures and different aspirations that t

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george thomas and wendy griffith are on assignment. now that the shock is over, there is a feeling pope francis will put his unique stamp on the roman catholic church. chris mitchell has our report from rome >> reporter: ceremony was simple and brief when pope francis met the thousands gathered in st. peter's square and the rest of the world. most of the people have left st. peter's square. for the many who rushed here after seeing the white smoke coming from the sistine chapel, it was unforgetable. >> it was fantastic. people flocked to the piazza. it was amazing. >> i was absolutely thrilled, excited. jumping for joy. at the end of the day, for me, i am here for the moment. to live in the moment. there were people from all over the world. something i couldn't miss. >> reporter: it was the choice of the name francis that struck many catholics. ashley mcguire with the catholic association. >> it couldn't send a more clear signal, france is known for reforming the church and a simple man of humility. two immediate clear signals about what kind of papacy pope francis wants to have >> reporter: he has established a simple life. >> when he was elevated to cardinal opt

george w. bush's speechwriter, michael gereson. and the head of the congressional black caucus with her concerns about the president's black cabinet. >>> this is "andrea mitchellly on msnbc. gers ♪ looking for a litter with natural ingredients that helps neutralize odors. discover tidy cats pure nature. uniquely formulated with cedar, pine, and corn. boom. heart attack. the doctor recommends bayer aspirin to keep this from happening to me again. it's working. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. it can happen to anyone. talk to your doctor. when her sister dumped me. grandpa was my dad a good athlete? no. oh dad, you remember my friend alex? yeah. the one that had the work done... good to see you. where do we go when we die? the ground. who's your girlfriend? his name is chad. and that's where babies come from. [ male announcer ] sometimes being too transparent can be a bad thing. this looks good! [ male announcer ] but not with the oscar mayer deli fresh clear pack. it's what you see is what you get food. it's oscar mayer. it's healthier, ammonia-free. and with aloe, vitamin e, and coconut oil, my hair looks h