he beat george w. bush in new hampshire by 18 points. uh-oh. the next big primary was in south carolina and that was worrying to the bush campaign because south carolina is a big military state, tons of veterans. john mccain the not only a veteran but a legitimate nationally famous war hero. john mccain had been sort of favored to win in south carolina because of those things and that would have been one thing if it was a oneoff, if that was the one state he was goi to get but in context because john mccain just upset bush in new hampshire, well, then if he goes on to win a second big state after that that would have been a huge deal in terms of the momentum in the race, changing the narrative, upending expectations. the bush campaign absolutely knew that so they went into win at all costs mode in south carolina. that primary election in south carolina in 2001 still famous to this day for now dirty the dirty tricks were that were played against john mccain. including the viciously racist flyers about him and his family that nobody ever really cl

one of the scandals of the george w. bush era is that they let that rule, they let that post-watergate reform slide. do you remember there was a scandal in the george w. bush administration about them making federal prosecutor jobs, u.s. attorney jobs, making those jobs into political plums they handed out. remember the phrase loyal bushys. in the george w. bush administration one of their big scandal was they fired perfectly competent prosecutors and replaced them with political hacks who they liked. raising clouds of suspicion that those loyal bushy very republican favorited new federal prosecutors would pursue criminal investigations and prosecutions that were favored by the white house for some reason. it's funny. it hasn't been that many years, given what happened in the george w. bush administration, everything from iraq to torture to everything dick cheney touched, i mean, all the rest of it over the years it's been interesting to see how this one particular george w. bush administration scandal, the u.s. attorney scan

i think what's happening is, george w. bushanizer of a c-span poll, i noticed president's day came out, george w. bush got an upward tick. gosh, compared to donald trump george w. bush looks good, but also because he's handled his ex-presidency with great dignity. painting, and only talking seldom. today it was with his buddy matt lauer, they're very good friends. i think he spoke to the heart defending first amendment rights. i don't like the games trump's playing with putin, he didn't say it forcefully, but the words were there. >> he's not going out of his way to give a speech criticizing donald trump. he's on a book tour, because of his artwork, and he knows he's going to be asked these questions. i know the bush -- former president bush spoke in a way that a lot of republicans will be happy to hear. >> i want to play what former president bush said when asked about the media. >> i consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. we need an independent media to hold people like me to account. power can be very addictive

so i think there's a kind of a moral temperment there that is true george w. bushthe part about the mosque and what president bush did do on september 16th, george w. bush is beyond that. he doesn't need to compare himself to barack obama or to donald trump. he recognizes times change. it's their role now to do as they see fit. they're the president. so he accepts as a given that because he did something one way, does not mean that his successors must do it one way. that's why he respects their right to govern as they see fit and he's not going to criticize. >> but the fact of the matter is that the bushes are on far better terms with president obama than president trump. the way he treated jeb bush in the primaries, i can't imagine that would soon be forgotten. >> and bush 43 just adores michelle obama. i think george w. bush is comfortable in his own skin. i was a co organizer of a c-span poll and president's day came out and george w. bush got an upward tick. why? part of it is people say gosh compared to donald trump, george w. bush looks good and also because

george w. bush new book. but first, out of touch liberal hollywood elite spewing hate and attacking the president at the oscars and a pretty disgusting display. that is tonight's opening monologue. yes, another self-congratulatory award show as if they are not enough. so-called tolerant liberal celebrities gathered last night at the oscars all patting themselves on the back and predictably bashingbr donald trump.ig it did not take long for host jimmy kimmel to go after the commander-in-chief. watch this. >> this broadcast is being watched live by millions of americans and around the worldad in more than 225 countries that now hate us. i think that is an amazing thing. i want to say thank you to president trump. remember last year when it seems like the oscars were racist? [laughter] we are at the oscars, the academy awards. you are nominated. you got to come, your families are nominated. some of you will get to come up on this stage tonight and give a speech that the president of the united states w

. >>> what does former george w. bush thank you special prosecutor and how it works. >>> president trump v. media. we are live at white house. >>> when rosie is coming to town. they have been long time foes. >>> president trump has theory on why oscar made epic blunder. experience amazing. when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. inflammatory bowel disease

he used to be a member of president george w. bush's senior staff. as for joining george w. ior staff. as forjoining us. what do you make about the way donald trump has handled this? particularly the kind of advertorial approach towards the judiciary? i think the president is right on merits, he has because additional authority to absolutely within the best interests of our national security under the costa jewish and act. the court is mentioned the evidence. —— the constitutional act. this is where i disagree as a lawyer. they can't give the evidence that the president has because they aren't cleared to see the kind of classified information that the president has. could it have been handled better in the rollout of the executive order? there's no doubt. could it have been communicated that at the public by the authorities who are charged with carrying out the work. but the president isn't wrong on his merits and actions as president. it does seem that it has become this battle between the executive arm and the judiciary. possibly some people might say it didn't need to have

john mccain was the only real threat that george w. bush hadn't cleared out of the field, and john mccain not only won new hampshire, he won it by a lot. he beat george w. bush in new hampshire by 18 points. ah-oh. the next big primary that year was in south carolina, and that was seriously worrying to the bush campaign, because south carolina is a big military state, tons of veterans. john mccain is not only a veteran but a nationally-famous war hero. he was pretty much guaranteed to win in that state because of those things. but in context, because mccain had just upset bush in new hampshire, well, then if he goes on to win a second big state after that, that would have been a huge deal in terms of the momentum in the race, changing the narrative, upending expectations, the bush campaign absolutely knew that, so they went into win at all costs mode. in south carolina. that jones, iii, runs it as if it were still 1927 with only one policy change -- other races are now welcomed at its campus, but no interracial dating or marriage is permitt

melissa: graded his intelligence, george w. bush>> they did do that,. >> but look, i don't think donald trump want advice for george bush. he blamed george bush for horrible things running against his brother i don't think the president thinks highly of the bush family or what george w. bushhinks about him. melissa: they will be back in a just a moment, shares of weight watchers soaring after-hours following fourth quarter earnings of 2016. the company ended the year with 10% more subscribers than the prior year. the company is confident they will deliver higher growth in 2017. looks like oprah has been a little bit of the growth. melissa: how a new stuffed toy may be poising a privacy risk for children. david: like the "twilight zone." president obama planning to discuss a new health care plan in tonight's address. congressman mark sanford proposed his own replacement plan. he will break down the details coming next. you don't want to miss. what if technology gave us the power to turn this enemy into an ally? microsoft and its part

he described george w. bush expansion of debt as un-american, his words not mine, when george w. bush doubled it from 5 trillion or it doubled under his watch. it has effectively doubled under barack obama is watch to 20 trillion. in the congressional budget office looks at the long-term budget outlook or near time budget outlook looks like the edward monge painting. it is grim reading. the next president, and it is donald trump, god help us, is going to face having debt service eclipse the amount of money that we spent on military spending. that's going to happen in like three or four years according to the congressional budget office. we are getting to unprecedented levels of indebtedness. for those who don't think that's the problem, i in thee how you sleep at night because that works out great. but for the rest of us who know that occasional interest rates to go up. when that moment happens we're going to look back and say what did we do? why do we do not just an barack obama is presidency but george w. bush very much i see the two of them in tandem, on this issue made on a co

george w. bush reveals his thinking on the trump administration. "the 11th hour" begins now. >>> and good evening to you once again from our headquarters here in new york. as we begin week six of the trump presidency, the commander in chief just hours away from a critical speech to a joint session of congress. a live look at the white house and capitol hill. they will be busy places by this time tomorrow night. early reports on the speech indicate the president will look to refocus his presidency on pocketbook issues and health care. more talk on that later. and like a lot of what this administration has been trying to do lately, just about anything is a better distraction than the constant questions and suspicion over russia and vladimir putin. that topic, russia, dominated the headlines today despite the president detailing his new budget proposal including a big bump-up in defense spending. and already there is at least one republican calling for a special prosecutor. >> you can not have somebody

george w. bush george w. bush weighs in with a rare televised interview, opening up about division, the media, and some of president trump's most controversial policies. it is day 39 of the first 100. i am sandra smith and for martha maccallum tonight. it is the interview at the center of speculation, former president george w. bush sitting down with nbc's matt lauer to offer observations about his own time in office and for the first time, reacting publicly to president trump's executive order on immigration. there are no questions tonight about whether some in the media have been too quick to characterize mr. bush's comments come as a personal slight to the new presidency. here are some of those comments. >> did you ever consider consider the media to be the enemy of the american people? >> [laughs] i considered the media to be indispensable to democracy. we need an independent media to hold people like me to account. i mean, power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive. it is important for

he had 3 million something, and george w. bush -- i'm telling you the numbers. 3 million deportations, 3 million something, and george w. bush had 2 million something. >> so now tell me that barack obama was more committed to border enforcement than donald trump. >> you tell me what you make of those numbers. you said he stood by -- you said he stood by. i'm just telling you the numbers on deportations. >> i'm suggesting to you that barack obama's border security was something that in my judgment was dangerous to this country. and i continue to stand by that. and, you know, i'm married to an immigrant wife. so this notion that everybody that is committed to border security is somehow racist or hates other people is a disgrace and it's just not true. i'm committed to doing everything i can to see freedom for all people in the world. i want to see immigrants come here legally and be part of the greatest enterprise in freedom in the beginning of the world. >> look, i just want to be clear, congressman. >> -- look on this on a reasone

george w. bush appeared on the "today" show this morning and matt lauer asked him about the travel ban the trump administration continues to try to rewrite into a new executive order. >> i think it's very important for all of us to recognize one of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or not worship at all. i mean, the bedrock of our freedom, a bedrock of our freedom is the right to worship freely. >> for or against the ban? >> i'm for an immigration policy that's welcoming and upholds the law. >> joining us, david frum. jonathan alter, columnist for the daily beast. nicholas confesore, reporter for "the new york times" and msnbc contributor. david frum, i want to go first to you on what president bush had to say this morning. you were a speechwriter for president bush. in his white house. your reaction to what he told matt lauer about the travel ban. >> that's him all over. one of the -- he made such an effort in his administration to establish the war on ter

james robart, george w. bush appointee, took up the case. >> it faces immediately and irreparable injury as a result of the signing and implementation of the executive order. >> reporter: with that, the travel ban came to an abrupt halt, as the court hears the merits of the case. president trump responding to the order in a series of tweet. writing, the opinion of this so-called judge, which takes law enforcement away from our country is ridiculous and will be overturned. the department of justice is appealing to the ninth circuit court of appeals. the d.o.j. asking for an emergency stay while the case goes through the court system. >> they're saying the harm to the public, if you will, is the process of judicial review. the harm is that the court intervened and issued a stay. you don't see that as harm, our constitutional process is supposed to let judicial review happen almost always. >> reporter: but the d.o.j. has made more substantive arguments. they argue this particular judge has wrongly decided to take aw

george w. bush moved three spots up to 33 with a gains in public persuasion -- with big gains in public persuasion. how did our historians rate your favorite president? who are the leaders in each of the 10 categories? you can find all of this and more on c-span.org. >> next, a debate on the obama presidency with jonathan chait and matt welch. in new york city hosted this 90 minute event. >> as a tradition of the soho forum, we begin with a warm-up act from a great libertarian comic. back by popular demand, dave smith, whose podcast, part of the problem, here he is, libertarian comic dave smith. [applause] back by popular demand, dave smith, whose podcast, part of the problem, here he is, libertarian comic dave smith. [applause] >> thank you, gene. how is everyone? what a great event. libertarian comic even sounds boring to me. as soon as i heard that intro, i was like, that sucks. i have to come up with a better thing. is he going to talk about the budget the entire time? obama, the great debate ab

just a little while ago, former president george w. bushwhether he supports the ban that has been discussed. listen to what he said. >> i think it's very important for all of us to recognize one of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or not worship at all. the bedrock -- a bedrock of our freedom is to worship freely. >> for or against the ban? >> i'm for an immigration policy that's welcoming and upholds the law. >> what do you make of the president's statements? >> any time you quote jefferson, that's the establishment clause, the first amendment, shall make no laws -- i'm with president bush. i'm also with president trump. i think we have a responsibility to do all we can to ensure the safety of the people who are in america while continuing our role as a beacon of hope and freedom to people around the world. our office is currently working to get some visas for imprisoned clergy members in the sudan. so, yeah, we need to vet folks, but we need to continue to be america as well. >> congressman, "la

president obama he signed 276 in his -- during his administration that's less than 291 signed by george w. bush and the 364 signed by president bill littleton. of course just speaking of presidents, it is george washington pots birthday today. he was born on this day back in 1732. how many did he sign as president? oops, got a -- george washington signed eight total. four less than president trump has signed already already in his first month. >>> a farm student reduced to rubble. it was not natural disaster that did this. what caused a house one family has owned for five generations to come crashing down. asperse delivery driver accused of lying to police telling them his car was missing with a kid inside. it turns out it was all fake. why investigators now say it may all be a case of revenge. after several years a woman is reunited with her beloved rink.

but that is the problem, is that with -- when george w. bush nominated chief justice roberts, all the conservatives loved him. but then, of course, we had the two big obamacare decisions that robert sided with obama. so you just never know. honestly, these nominees are going to be pressed, what do you think of this? what do you think of that? and their best answer is to dodge the question. >> okay, bob kusach, we'll see if they do so. thank you so much. >>> and to the other big story in the ongoing fury over the president's travel ban on seven majority muslim nations. and now the white house is saying it's not a ban at all. nbc white house correspondent kristen welker explains. >> reporter: days after president trump's immigration order, the white house still under fire. house speaker paul ryan criticizing how it was handled. >> i think it's regrettable that there was confusion on the rollout of this. >> reporter: moments later the homeland security secretary coming out to respond to critics, denying reports he had not been notified about the o

he is someone else who served under george w bush and served under george w bush and served in thejusticeow he is the favourite. but you never know with donald trump until he actually said it. as we we re until he actually said it. as we were saying earlier, this is such a huge and significant appointment, not only for donald trump, but because this is a lifetime membership isn't it? yes. just to explain the significance of the court, in washington, powermat is. the white house has a lot of it and so the white house has a lot of it and so does congress. —— power matters. so does the supreme court. the us supreme court has made decisions that have really impact of american society. things like legalising abortion, legalising gay marriage, and ending racial segregation in schools during the civil rights era. the kind of decisions impact society. but it can be divisive when it comes to the american people. just take something like abortion. during the election campaign, donald trump said he would make sure he would pick a staunchly conservative justice, someone who was pro life and broke gun

it was unanimous from a panel of judges appointed by presidents carter, george w. bush and president obama. the original ruling blocking the travel ban came from a judge appointed by george w. bush. here's what president trump said to reporters. off camera so audio only. >> it's a political decision. we'll see you in court and i look forward to it. -- >> thanks, guys. >> the latest from pamela brown. >> this is a huge blow to the trump administration, anderson. the government failed to prove prove why this is urgent as a national security adviser. the judges said, quote, the government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the order has preponderance traited a terrorist attack in united states rather than presented toed explain the need for the executive order. the government has taken the position we must not review its decision at all. we disagree. basically the court is saying while it does give deference to immigration and national security issues it has every right to argue this case. in the end the judges said the government

lastu think back to the dose copresidents, george w. bush had high hopes when he met vladimir putin for the first time in june of 2001 and eight years later, was very disillusioned as russia intervened in georgia. the obama administration attempt at a reset and it had some success when dmitry medvedev was president for one turn but when google returns to power, it was a challenge in ukraine. tohink what trump is going find out is while you need to figure out if there are areas where you can cooperate north korea would be one example where you might be able to do that. the area of common interest between the united states and russia is narrowing. the areas of conflict are expanding. with respect to syria, i think we will defeat the islamic state caliphate with minimal help from russia. the coalition of 60 plus nations , i think has already turned the tide. it is only a matter of when that happens. it may well be months and potentially years before we are successful. host: have do you keep isis from becoming something else after that? guest: i

george w. bush ran on a conventional conservative foreign-policy. there were borders that were constructed in 2000 but the borders of that operated on 9/11 and he had significant political had a narrative around the war on terror. you are either with us or against us. and he crafted a strategy around that narrative. that led us to the overreach in a rock. and barack obama was the counter narrative. and obama's foreign policy, whether you like it or not, was he advertised in the campaign in 2008, he largely delivered as foreign-policy in his office. in his first 30 days has been very much trying to act on his major elements of his campaign rhetoric. he is moderating in some areas but he talked about a band and he has lamented the wall. skeptic on multinational trade and he has eliminated the transpacific partnership. so as george w. bush said, elections matter. host: phone lines are open and kathleen is up first in ohio on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i have read so many things you h

he described george w. bush's expansion of debt as un-american, when he doubled it, $5 trillion to $10 trillion. it has effectively doubled under barack obama's watch. $10 trillion to $20 trillion. any congressional budget office look at the budget looks like the edward lunch painting. it is grim reading. the next president, and it is donald trump, god help us, is going to face -- unless you voted for him, whatever -- is heavy debt service and eclipse the amount of money we spend on military spending. that will happen in three years according to the budget office. we are getting to unprecedented levels of indebtedness. for those who don't think that is a problem, i envy how you sleep at night. that works out great. but for the rest of us who know that occasionally interest rates go up, when that moment happens, we will look back and say, what did we do? not just during barack obama's presidency but george w. bush's presidency, i see them in tandem. that is a failure. he did, yes, try to create this grand bargain,

then george w. bush, on our own "today" show earlier today wouldn't say whether or not or rule out a special prosecutor. he wouldn't say one way or the other. he said he has confidence in richard burr, the head of the intelligence committee. that's where the most intrigue is swirling, steph. there was reporting over the weekend around whether republican officials with the committee called reporters at the behest of the white house to push back on the stories. it has been a russia story line where we have seen the most anger coming out of the white house, press shop and attempts to push back internally. watching all those developments, members of congress have, of course, been in their own districts on recess. we have going to get a flavor of what they thought about those angry town halls. steph? >> i want to share a bit of what george w. bush said on the "today" show earlier. >> you cannot have somebody, a friend of mine, jeff sessions, who is on the campaign and who was an appointee. you are going to ne

he clearly worked and helped george w. bush become the president. but i think he's always identified as really being george h-w bush's friend and kf dante. so you know, i think both of the bush sons seem to be loyal to the family partners like baker but you know, they both obviously wanted to be their own men when it came to their political career. so you know, i don't know. i think at key points along the way baker was conducted by george w. bush. but there's no doubt in my mind that george w. bush was well aware from the very beginning that baker didn't think invading iraq was such a great idea. >> does he think donald trump has some, because he is so unconventional, because is he so different, because he campaigned differently, he transitioned differently, he's taken his first two weeks differently, that show out of all that difference maybe some possibility of doing good things? >> well, you know, again, baker struck me as the sort of classic almost con again tal deal make. and he's a very optimistic guy which is to say he's always seeing what ar

but look, sessions is very much likejohn ashcroft, who was the attorney—general in the george w bushistration, who was considered by many to be a puppet. and, when push came to shove, he stood up to the administration and refused to sign a particular warrant. i would expect that sessions would do the same thing. indeed, we've had something of an object lesson today, whenjudge gorsuch, the nominee for the supreme court, suggested that the president's comments about the court were disheartening and a bit out of line. i think you find people grow into these offices, and understand the mantle of authority that they have, and that they're representing the people.

much of george w. bush'sicated to issues that vetera >>> much of george w. bush's issues have been dedicated to veterans after returning home with a growing number of them suffering injuries and stress, president bush has worked to support programs that ease the transition to civilian life. in his new book he uses his love sacrifice and courage of america's military veterans. we'll talk to some of them in a moment, but first president bush, it's great to have you here with us. >> it's been a while. >> let me get caught up on some things. you took office in 2001 after an extremely contentious election and the supreme court decided if the nation was incredibly divided. how would you compare the divisions we faced then to now? >> it's hard to compare times. one thing for certain is the job is a tough job. everybody looks at the presidency when they campaign one way and then they get in office and find out there's a reality to the job. there's been times where we've been divided. i remember growing up as a kid wh

as president bush -- george w. bush said earlier today, we go to other countries, urging leaders to have freedom of the press in their country and then we denounce the press in our own country. it's not a good thing. but you mention the word science, we have a couple more questions, but i want to take the opportunity to say this -- i have said from time to time that i have three or four answers to all of our problems. science, science, science and science. science whether it's about our good health. science whether it's our competitiveness in business and in our economy. science to invest to protect our country. science to again protect this planet which is god's creation. when my republican colleagues say to me, faith or science, take your pick. i say science is an answer to our prayers. that's why some of the evangelicals join us in our protection of the planet because they believe, as do i, this is god's creation and we have a moral responsibility to protect it. so whether it's our health, our national security, the

former president george w. bush weighing in on president trump in a rare interview on the "today" show. >> i think you have to take the man for his word that he wants to unify the country. we'll see whether he is able to do so. >> there is president george w. bush talking about whether donald trump can unite the country. coming up next, his thoughts on russian hacking, the immigration ban and the value of the press. >>> but first, happening now, right now we are keeping an eye on an unfolding national story. more threats at jewish community centers and schools nationwide. at least 16 reported bomb threats today alone, and the list is still being tallied. we are posting updates on our story on our twitter page. >>> another story we just posted to nbcbayarea.com, a south bay couple is putting their wedding on hold to spend thousands of dollars to find their missing dog. theo escaped after he was dropped off at a dog-sitting service. back in two minutes. >>> i am for an immigration policy that's welcoming and that upho

president george w. bushn the "today" show talking about the president's travel ban. >> a bed-rock of our freedom is a right to worship freely. >> for or against the ban? >> i am for an immigration policy that's welcoming and upholds the law. >> obviously a big division between george w. bush and donald trump on this issue. senator. >> look, there is a difference between me and george w. bush on this. he was for immigration reform, that wing of the party that has shrunk dramatically over the past few years. look, as far as the travel ban is concerned to me it's simple. i think the trump administration played it out badly. there is absolutely sufficient reason to suggest that, in the countries that they put forward, you can't do proper vetting because there is no nation-state to get the proper vetting done. and that, to hold and suspend immigration from those countries until we have the resources to be able to do proper vet something a very practical approach. >> interesting. so these seven states you say cann

when you take approval and disapproval, add or subtract, george w. bush was at plus 32. remember, george w. bush won a contested election. bill clinton, plus 17. won with only 43 pi% of the votn the ross perot year. ronald reagan, plus 37. when you see donald trump at minus 15, and we know this is the stuff he pays attention to this -- he pays attention to this. how much does this drive what he thinks about the efficiency of the staff? >> i think he pays attention to this stuff, but he is also a guy who survived and thrived in the general election to be president of the united states even though his negatives were extremely bad. i'm not sure that's his most important metric. the other thing i would say is the ability of this white house and some of the knives out means that we should be really kashs about who is leaking what and why and so some of the stories i want to be very critical or skeptical about or healthily skeptical about, but flynn himself walked back his denials of this story. i think that's a really important element of this. this one the principal himself s

much of george w. bush'sissues that veterans face after returning home. with a growing number suffering traumatic injuries and post-traumatic stress, president bush is working on programs that ease them back into civilian life. "p "portraits of courage," he uses his painted to highlight the sacrifice and courage of the military veterans. we'll talk to them in a moment. thanks for joining us. >> it's been a while. >> it has been a while. let me get caught up on some things. you took office in 2001, after a contentious election. controversial. and the supreme court decided it. the nation was incredibly divided. how would you compare the divisions we faced then, to what we're living through right now? >> it's hard to compare times. one thing is for certain, the job is a tough job. everybody looks at the presidency when they campaign one way. then, they get in office and find out there's a reality to the job. and you know, there's been times when we've been divided. i remember growing up as a kid. i got out of co

george w. bush, as he joins us live in studio, today, monday, february 27th, 2017. >>> from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," at the oscars. with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this monday morning. in honor of the oscars, the producers of our show have decided to inform me who i am co-hosting with this morning by giving me this envelope to open live on the air. so, today's co-host is -- that can't be right. seriously? it says savannah grut uthrie. >> that's right. >> is it? >> it is. savannah guthrie. >> good morning, everybody. >> how are you, my dear? >> so good to see you. i'd like to thank the academy. hoda, tamron, lester, bryant. how many dates did you have? >> it's like the movie "50 first dates." so good to have you back. >> to good to be back. i went to bed saturday night. but i did hear about it. >> that was one of the craziest scenes i've ever -- steve harvey miss universe. nothi

he served eight months as a member of the national labor relations board under president george w. bush drawn scrutiny for his time as a division leader at bush's department of justice's civil rights division, where he oversaw a senior official who hired conservative lawyers who actively opposed to the division's mission, including the prosecution of ting rights violations and police abuse. in 2004, acosta played a key role in bush's final push to win the state of ohio by backing republican election officials accused of seeking to suppress voter turnout among blacks and latinos. acosta is currently dean of florida international university's school of law. for more, we go to washington d.c., where we are joined by think progress editor alan pyke. his latest article is headlined "who is alex acosta?: trump's back-up labor secretary has skeletons in his closet,oo." what are those skeletons? talk about alex acosta's record. >> the fundamental problem for acosta is his tenure at the top of the civil rights division under george w. bush. there wasman going -- his key period from 2003 to 2005

the fundamental problem for acosta is his tenure at the top of the civil rights division under george w. bushwasman going -- his key period from 2003 to 2005 which bush officials were intentionally sabotaging this key agency within the doj. this is the group that prosecutes voting rights cases that upholds police oversight and enforces antidiscrimination law. basically, every several lights -- every civil rights case. there was a man named bradley who went out of his way to skew their hiring for a period of years to ensure they would hire people he viewed as real americans. for your views are member the bush years, that was the dividing line thrown down between authentic, conservative americans, and fake liberal leaning americans. bys was terminally sabotaged a couple of years of intentional misconduct. acosta was not directly involved, but he was overseeing the guy conducting that sabotage and at every reason to know about it. there is a report from 2008 on their investigation into the scandal that holds acosta accountable. amy: talk about what happened in 2004 in ohio, and what alex acosta'

reagan was when elected and when george w. bush nixon and george w. bush was elected, goi the angry. this man is, he is hitler as hitler could be. that, why do you say diana? caller: because of what he's doing. specifically? sepre-- this is white supremeacy in a way i hoped i would never see. host: what specifically, diana? caller: everything. policy toward immigrants, toward refugees and people iving here for 20 year, contributing to the economy, country.children in our to his attitude toward women, minorities, toward other faiths. evangelical right wing propaganda machine that has been that is totally disrupting what america is. host: all right. focusing on foreign policy priorities right now, asking viewers to let us know what you like this administration to focus on. republicans s, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. 202-748-8002. and love to hear your overseas,ve if you are outside the united states, 202-748-8920. athleen in washington, rolling bay, washington, line for democrats. go ahead. caller: hi. wondering how bannon and steven miller are

he was nominated by president george w. bush, supported by our two democratic u.s. senators, and confirmed by the united states senate 99-0. >> i'm so glad that we've cleared up that bit of fake news, the "so-called judge" bit, he's a real judge, serving on the federal appeals court. i'm glad we cleared that up. in your view, is he political? >> he was an active republican before he took the bench. however, for all of us who have been in public service, once you accept that position, you leave your politics at the door and judge robart has done that. when he was an active republican here in washington state, he's what we call a mainstream republican, a moderate republican. again, that stopped when he took the bench in 2004. he is a good, solid judge, a mainstream jurist, we're lucky to have him. >> the president's response to this ruling attacking judge robart, i mean, i said it off the top, but i want to get your take, him saying on twitter over the weekend "if something happens, blame him," blame the judge, what do you say to that, mike? >> it is disappointing and

host: just looking at some of the recent presidents, george h w bush dropped a bit in the presidential survey. ronald reagan rising slightly up president george w. bush from 36 to 33. caller: we need to remember that residents don't accomplish very much alone. if there is not support from congress, it's very difficult to get things done. administrationan with the opposition saying we're going to prevent you from moving forward, it doesn't matter if it's in the best interest of the country, we are going to stop you. that does not bode well for what we should be doing as americans. to blame one man or woman for as thatg as successful president had hoped is not understanding how our system works. host: we go first to edit in maryland. good morning. lookr: one of the things i covertook at the activities. one was ronald reagan and the iran-contra and the crack epidemic. basically, -- host: i'm going to have to let you go. you are breaking up a bit. caller: good morning. i am 55 and jimmy carter was my favorite. number two. was my i got an invitation to jimmy carter's inaugural ball when i w