cnn's chief political analyst, gloria borger, talked with edwards about his plans and his chances. >>sunday morning at the new life baptist church in baton rouge, louisiana. ♪ ♪ the silver fox >> reporter: but the man preaching to the choir is no minister. >> my god is not finished with me. >> reporter: he's edwin w. edwards, ex-four-term governor, ex-four-term congressman, and ex-con. >> i may be old and rancid butter, but i'm on your side of the bread. ♪ i love the lord ♪ he heard my cry >> reporter: unrepentant and unapologetic, edwards is in church not looking for forgiveness but for votes. because at 87, after almost nine years in prison, the flamboyant showman of louisiana politics has a fresh act, running for congress. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> reporter: co-starring his new 35-year-old wife and their 1-year-old baby. can you tell the story of how you two met? >> you want his story or do you want my story? >> reporter: trina grimes began at edwards' prison penpal which led to love at first visit. >> i was expecting him to be angry or bitter, and he just wasn't. >>

gloria borger standing by. we'll get her take on the president's address to the u.n. big day?ved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern. today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir®, an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir® helps lower your a1c. levemir® is now available in flextouch® - the only prefilled insulin pen with no push-button extension. levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. that's 50% longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days. today, i'm asking about levemir® flextouch. (female announcer) levemir® is a long-acting insulin, used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if yo

gloria borger, thank you for that, the short list. that was quickly compiled and jeffrey toobin as always thank you as well. president obama by the way is expected to make this all officials when he speaks live about eric holder at 4:30 eastern time. we were told it was like a human rights -- excuse me, human resources kind of announcement but the writing is on the wall. watch that live here on cnn. >>> some very big developments involving that missing uva student. a suspect in her disappearance has been nabbed, he is under arrest, but the big question still remains. sure, they may have found the man they're looking for at this point, but what about the student? hannah graham? where is she? details on that story next. denver international is one of the busiest airports in the country. we operate just like a city, and that takes a lot of energy. we use natural gas throughout the airport - for heating the entire terminal, generating electricity on-site, and fueling hundreds of vehicles. we're very focused on reducing our environmental i

gloria borger with the perspective, dana bash, thank you so much on what's going on or maybe not withhose constituents. coming up next, you know, we're staying on this issue, cnn special event, one-on-one interview, live, with u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel. he will speak out on isis, russia, ukraine. and the beheading of those two americans. what will the u.s. do? that interview right after the break. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a fe

let's talk about all of this and more with our chief political analyst gloria borger and donna brazil. thank you very much for joining us. a lot on the agenda for the president, gloria, this week. can he get the job done? the immediate job of forging a powerful coalition to try to defeat iisis? >> that's what he's there to do, they want to get a coalition together for bombing syria. they also want to do something called a countering violent extremism. they want to establish a commission on that, so the countries can work together, wolf, instead of in the moment. but before hand to try and counter violent extremists. the president is going to chair a commission meeting on that. so they have a lot on their agenda, and the president really wants to have a position where he wants to kind of lead the u.n. in this direction. and get allies together visibly, not in covert way. >> donna, he seems to be getting a lot more conservative support from republicans who like this new war against isis and a whole bunch of liberal democrats are really queazy about what the president is getting the u.s.

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gloria borger is joining us, she's our chief political analyst from washington. gloria, the president has got a lot of audiences where he's about to speak right now. the american public, the international community, he's got a lot of critics so he's got to walk that delicate line. >> he does, wolf. stepping back i think you have to say this is a legacy moment for this president not, perhaps, the legacy he intended as reluctant warrior but the one he's going to have. part of that legacy will be having those arab nations work on the air strikes. this is a president who two weeks ago today us about the severe threat of isis. got congressional approval for narrow authority and i think this is a moment that this is a president who can't get republicans and democrats to unite on much of anything got a coalition to unite on striking isis in their backyard. so i think this is a legacy moment for him and as he heads into the midterm elections, i think it's going to have an impact as the country will rally around this president. >> all right, gloria, stand by, the president

joining me to talk about this resignation is chief political analyst gloria borger. gloria, some people might be surprised that holder stayed this long, but now a lot of people are wondering, who's next? >> right. >> let's look through some of the names here. we have donald verilli u.s. solicitor general who a lot are familiar with because of the obama care case. pathe rebarrar. jay johnson, secretary of homeland security, deval patrick, governor of massachusetts, kamala harris, well-known california attorney general loretta lynch a two-time u.s. attorney general and kathy rumher, the former white house council. there are a couple things you have to keep in mind. one is they have to get somebody who can get confirmed and in this political environment even after the election will not be easy for this president and secondly, i have sources who said do not underestimate the importance of the president's comfort level with this person. second term president going into his last two years, wants somebody he kind of knows and somebody he can go to. don't forget eric holder,

. >> joining me chief political analyst, gloria borger. point out to set the record straight, we did not plan to have that, that back and forth. we were interviewing senator mccain. senator mccain, lobbed something against jay carney. jay sort of stepped in. that's how much it began. but i mean what do you make of it? it was -- it was remarkable. rarely you see people at that level and that level of -- influence and former senator and aide. >> now everyone is so savvy about who they want to be on tv with, you know, andersen. i want to be alone. i deon't want to be with this person or that person. now through this whole confluence of events last night you had a moving story. they actually engaged, substantively, they, disagreed, i spoke with, with, somebody who is close to john mccain to night who said that, you know, while the, you know, mccain folks didn't intend for this to happen they were pretty happy with the way it went. from, from their point of view. and i think we should see more of this on television. because, you know i think eac

let's bring in gloria borger. usually when the u.s.he american public sides with the president in increasing numbers. >> the american public doesn't think we're at war because the president keeps saying over and over again we're not going to send in ground troops. they think air strikes is very different from boots on the ground, number one. number two, if you look at the president's numbers on the handling of terrorism, on isis, on foreign affairs, you'll see that he gets a bit of an uptick. i think we have some of those numbers here. he's up to 46% now on terrorism. you see the uptick, particularly on the handling of isis. certainly, certainly up higher. but the problem for the president, also with our numbers, is that less than 50% of people in this country, about 48%, trust him as commander in chief. when you have that kind of a problem, it's not going to translate into a huge uptick in the polls particularly even at this time. and the public is also ambivalent, wolf. they want these air strikes. they don't want boots on the ground

let's bring in gloria borger, peter binart and newt gingrich. guys, thank you very much.art war, are you, peter? >> it's different when you're talking about iraq vis-a-vie syria. the peshmerga are good allies and we have some hope that this new iraqi government wants us to be doing this. now may be more reconciled and able to pull away the sunni tribes. when you cross the boarder into syria, we have a dim idea how this is going to work. we're going to start training the free syrian army, but the president has been skeptical about their possibility. and if we bombed isis, we don't know that the free syrian army may attack isis. so when you go across the border, it's a very different proposition. >> you've been talking to sources about what the president is going to say tonight. and you reminded me of what the president said only a few weeks ago to tom friedman. >> the president just a few weeks ago said with respect to syria, the notion that arming the rebels would have made a difference "has always been a fantasy." there's not as much capacity as you would hope, you know,

let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger and dana bash. gloria, fair to say this speech the president will deliver to the nation, 9:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow night primetime is critically important. >> it is. what he has to explain to the american people is the nature of the threat. and what he has told us originally was that air strikes in iraq were because of humanitarian reasons in protecting personnel in baghdad. if this has creeped over into air strikes in syria, for example, he has to explain to the american people why we're doing this. i would also add in talking to folks at the white house, it's not clear to me, they intend to ask for permission from congress. they're clearly going to consult with congress. but it's their understanding from talking to lots of members that members aren't exactly eager to vote on the use of military force this close to an election. >> what are you hearing? >> the same thing. i just came from capitol hill. and i'm hearing from top sources in both parties that there's no plan right now in the works to ha

joining us to talk about all of what the president is planning to do, our chief political analyst gloria borgerweek for the president, gloria. he's got to show the world that he's on top of the immediate crisis in syria and iraq. >> yeah. he's got to do, that wolf. he wants to gather a coalition that will be willing to overtly participate in air strikes. you see the secretary of state john kerry lobbying about that. the president will be lobbying about and also chairing a session on countering violent extremism so the countries can coordinate with each other about how to counteract these violent extremists before they get to the point where you have to fight them the way we are now. >> i want you to listen, gloria, to what the former president, bill clinton, said. he was speaking to our own fare fareed zakaria about -- his wife, what the former secretary of state wanted, whether he agreed with her. listen to this. >> i agree with her and i would have taken the chance when we were talking about doing it there was no isis. however, it was an argument she lost within the administration and she adm

let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger.d a column about this on cnn.com. congress went into recess, out there campaigning. they're not really debating this issue on the floor of the house or the senate for that matter. why? >> well, it's too risky for them, they believe this close to an election, which is kind of ridiculous. because, actually, what they're paid for is to vote. and what you see going on here from the house speaker as well as from the white house is a little routine, which is, you know, the house speaker saying i'm happy to vote on it, i will bring the congress back, but it's up to the president to request it. >> why doesn't he request it? >> well, the president says he's got enough authority to do what he wants but he'd welcome the congressional debate in the future. you know, the base of the democratic party is worried that they could alienate a bunch of voters if they start talking about war votes at this particular point. republicans seem just happy to say to democrats, you were asleep at the switch on th

. >> david garrigan, gloria borger, thank you. >>> just ahead, an unexpected and extraordinary meetingill riply given access to the three held in north korea. they had five minutes to talk. what they told him ahead. >> we have five minutes. so what we're looking for is a way to "plus" our accounting firm's mobile plan. and "minus" our expenses. perfect timing. we're offering our best-ever pricing on mobile plans for business. run the numbers on that. well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be... one-seventy-five a month. good calculating kyle. good job kyle. you just made partner. our best-ever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. now with a $100 bill credit for every business line you add. for over 19 million people. [ susan ] my promotion allowed me to start investing for my retirement. transamerica made it easy. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. transform tomorrow. it's a place you've been before, but it's not on any map. so go out there, lose yourself, and find the truth. ♪ we're a

gloria borger in washington, appreciate it very much. >>> coming up next, the terrorist in that videois terrorist, sent a very specific message to the united states. a former cia operative reacts to that. his read, next. denturthan real teeth.erent they're about ten times softer and have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident kills 99.99% of odor-causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains. for a cleaner, fresher, brighter denture everyday. but i've managed. ♪ i got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. ♪ when i finally told my doctor, he said my crohn's was not under control. ♪ he said humira is for adults like me who've tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. [ female announcer ] humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happene

let's discuss with our chief political analyst gloria borger, our chief national security correspondent sciutto. he's joining us today from new port, rhode island, where he's getting ready to interview the secretary of defense. gloria, the killing of stevened so losotloff, it's going to put pressure on the president to ramp this situation up, take direct action against isis not only in iraq but in syria. >> i think we heard that. a little bit of that. the effect of that today. i think it's clear that members of congress, both democrats and republicans, are talking about authorizing air strikes. you've got a democrat in the senate who's going to put that on the table. in the senate, i think you've had these two beheadings. it's different in many ways from the way it was when you think back to a year ago when the president was thinking about getting congressional authorization for air strikes in syria because of that red line on chemical weapons. there was a point at which he could not get congressional approval. fast forward a year later, now, it would seem to me that if the president sp

gloria borger spoke with edwards about his plans. >> reporter: it's sunday morning at the new life baptistan preaching to the choir is no minister. >> my god is not finished with me. >> reporter: he's edwin w. edwards, ex-four-term governor, ex-four-term congressman and ex-con. >> i may be old but i'm on your side of the bread. ♪ i love the lord he heard my cry ♪ >> reporter: edwards is in church not looking for forgiveness but for votes because at 87, after almost nine years in prison, the flamboyant showman of louisiana politics has a fresh act, running for congress. co-starring his new 35-year-old wife and their 1-year-old baby. can you tell the story of how you two met? she began as a prison pen pal which led to love at first visit. >> i was expecting him to be angry or bitter and he just wasn't. >> she said if you don't mind, i only live 30 minutes from here. i would like to come back and visit you. that's like throwing a rubber raft around a drowning man. >> he was so full of life and had such a good time even in the situation he was in. it was really an amazing thing. i have never k

our analyst gloria borger.e impact of this, when you have top democrats and republicans taking aim at the president's foreign policy? >> i think it puts a little more pressure on the white house to come up with a strategy, particularly as it pertains to syria and isis. this is a president who's clearly presiding over a cabinet that is split on what to do. he's also personally conflicted, as you can tell, about the question of the use of force. his own narrative that he would like to retire with as his legacy is kill bin laden, got out of two wars. inching back to war again is not anything like what he had in mind. now you have the polls showing that other half of the american public believes that he's not tough enough when it comes to foreign policy. it's very difficult for him. on the one hand, the president doesn't want to get involved in another war. on the other hand, they want to see a president of the united states who can lead incredibly in the world. he has to tell the american public exactly what he's

army europe, and seventh army, and here in our studios, jake tapper and gloria borger. dana, what's been the reaction so far up on capitol hill? you know, there is a lot of, "i told you so" going on. particularly in the republican ranks. you heard a little there from marsha blackburn. frustration from republicans who are glad that the president has laid out the strategy. who are glad that he wants to finally be more robust in helping the syrian rebels, those, that are, that are left to combat isis. but not very happy in the way that -- the president laid it out. because -- some, some republicans have talked to think that he was -- too effusive in the idea that the threat around the world is as low as it is now. i think the broader, more important point is the question about whether the president is going to get this authorization that he is seeking. he didn't explicitly talk about what he really wants from congress. what it is, wolf, is not so much about money, $500 million part of it. but the legal authority that he thinks that he absolutely need to carry out this stra

let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger and dana bash. he's got a lot of work ahead of him to convince the public he knows what he's doing. >> but he does because he's got to find that sweet spot between sort of being very tough on isis and yet having a clarity of mission so he can say this isn't going to go on forever. but he's got to tell the american people what's at stake here for their national security. but i will also say that if you look at where he was a year ago on syria versus where he is now, he had the wind in his face a year ago. now he's got the wind at his back because public opinion has shifted dramatically over this past year. these beheadings have done a lot to move public opinion in this country. and isis may use those videos as a recruiting tape. but it's also solidified american public opinion against them. that will help the president tonight. >> he met with top congressional leaders yesterday. they all went back to the hill. what's been the reaction? what are we hearing? were they pleased with what they heard from

i want to bring in david gergen, gloria borger. david, you served four presidents. under normal circumstances, how does a president prepare to address the general assembly? there's a whole laundry list of issues you have to go through. but these are not normal circumstances right now. i think it's fair to say the united states is involved in a new war. >> absolutely. and wolf, this speech to the united nations for a president is second in important to only the state of the union address. this is an annual apair for presidents. it's a chance to speak to the world. in this case not only to talk about the individual crises, but very importantly in this speech, the president wants to assert american leadership. there's been a sense around the world that we have been in retreat, that we're paying more attention to things back home and that's what the president promised here as a candidate. that's what he wanted to do. from the world's point of view, that has contributed to a sense that order is slipping away from us. and they will welcome the united states back on stage.

let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger and political commentator republican strategiste results? >> we have a public that's anxious of what's going on in iraq and siryrisyria. they have seen a president who has vacillated if you go back to last year. they have seen his ambivalence and while they themselves are ambivalent because they support air strikes, they don't like to see a president who looks ambivalent. they want to see a president that is decisive and they don't think he's strong enough even though ironically they agree with what he's doing. >> the other results from "the new york times"/cbs poll is the president's dealing with isis tough enough. 57% say not tough enough. 31% say about right. other questions. sending ground troops into iraq or syria. 55% say they oppose. the president opposes it as you know as well. how's he doing? >> part of the problem is there's been so many mixed messages coming out of the administration. they can't seem to stick to one thing and all talk out of the same page. one day they tell you it's war. one day they tell you it's not wa

gloria borger, what do you think about the speech? >> i agree with fareed. i think the president was blunt, he was tough, he was strong, not only in addressing what fareed was talking about the muslim world, but i also think in terms of russia. i mean this is a president who certainlily called russia a bully and said their vision of the world is a vision in which might makes right. . and he spoke for quite some time about russia, crimea, ukraine and about international norms and how international norms need to be respected. also one other thing that impressed me about this speech is that the president really made a generational point here. he indicated clearly that this is a generational task and that it's going to take time. he made the point, and this struck me, we cannot rely on a rule book written for a different century. so what he was saying was youth all over the world, take advantage of what is before you, of things we did not have, but do not use it to the end that the terrorists are using it, but take advantage of it in different ways. and he indic

our chief political analyst gloria borger.uess when you think about it, isis and ukraine and, now, al shabab, there's a lot of stuff that the president's got to worry about right now as heads first to estonia, symbolic visit, a doorstep of russia, but then he gots to wales to deal with all the nato leaders. >> nato has a lot on its plate. estonia, one, it's his physical presence, it's a nate yeo membe right on russia's frontier. they're the most nervous of america's allies with russia's advances in ukraine. physical presence there makes a difference. you'll hear the message you've heard for some time. just recommitting itself to nato, specifically the article 5, the mutual defense treaty that applies to nato allies, of course, not to ukraine. that message will be not just for the estonians but also the russians. they'll speak to two audiences when they're on the ground there. we stand with you, estonians, and russia, make sure you know we stand together against you, in effect. >> the president's got a tough mission. he's got t

here is cnn's gloria borger. >> reporter: we caught up with edwin edwards, the bad boy of louisiana politicsaton rouge where he took us to sunday church and down memory lane. >> i came up in the depression and i was 16 years old before roosevelt sent lek tris tout my house. >> reporter: it's the story of a power broker who made good and fell from grace. >> i'm facing a very large, long prison term. >> reporter: two once defeated a klansman for governor. >> only similarity between us is we're both wizards under the sheet. >> reporter: and who gave his bill bill clinton some political advice he never took back in the 'nen '90s when the gennifer flowers scandal broke. >> i said i would simply say nobody has a 12-year -- 12 days maybe, maybe 12 weeks but that's all i would say about it. he said i'm not going to say that. i said i don't think you will but i would say it because people understand that kind of foolishness. >> reporter: as for edwards, his most recent love story was love at first sight. so let me ask you, you read the book, you were captivated by this -- what drew you to the story o

gloria borger spent some time with the democrat edwin edwards. >> reporter: we went to louisiana to coverwould like to be his ultimate comeback race. he's the original bad boy of louisiana politics and he really wants back in the game. it's sunday morning at the new life baptist church in baton rouge, louisiana. ♪ but the man preaching to the choir is no minister. >> my god is not finished with me. >> reporter: he's edwin w. edwards, ex-four-term governor, ex-four-term congressman and ex-con. >> i may be old and rancid butter, but i'm on your side of the bread. ♪ i love the lord, he heard my cry ♪ >> reporter: edwards is in church not looking for forgiveness but for votes. because at 87, after almost nine years in prison, the flamboyant showman of louisiana politics has a fresh act -- running for congress. >> thank you much. >> reporter: co-starring his new 35-year-old wife and their 1-year-old baby. can you tell the story of how you two met. >> his story or my story? >> reporter: she began as edwards' prison pen pal. >> i was expecting him to be angry and bitter and he wasn't. >> she sai

joining us now are chief political analyst gloria borger and robin wright.adies, thanks very much for joining us. they're refusing, you heard secretary of state kerry refusing to call it a war. counterterrorism operation. susan rice, national -- they don't want to call it a war. when's wrong with calling this a war on terror or they used to have a war on drugs, war on crime. this is for all practical purposes a war on terror. >> right. look. they're trying to distinguish this in every way they can from iraq, from afghanistan, talking about how there are no boots on the ground here. this president's a reluctant warrior as we know from watching him over the last months. the speech he gave last night was not a speech he ever expected to give or wanted to give. he didn't want to leave a legacy of conflict in syria to the next president and in iraq to the next president. he -- his narrative is ending wars. killing osama bin laden. they're trying to say this is more somalia, like yemen. this is not a war. it's a counterterror operation. wolf, as you pointed out, i

let's bring in our cross fire host and gloria borger and corne cornell b, lsher.actical purples her campaign. >> can we say what she didn't say, she's running. she gave us no reason to think she wasn't running. she said, i'm back. but the question is, does she have a clear campaign message? and i don't think so yet. i think what you're hearing is a lot of income inequality. i'm for raising the minimum wage. i am a woman, which she talks about a lot more than she did in the last campaign. but does she have a message? no. is she running? yes. >> very quickly, you both agree, she is running, right? >> of course she is. this coy flirtation is getting a little old. it was one thing to hold off for a couple of months, if not a year, because she wasn't ready. it's very clear she's running. i don't know. i find this, i'm thinking about it, wait for applause line. it's a little annoying. >> you can't say that you're running this far out, because -- >> yes, you can. >> no, you can't. you can't say you're a candidate right now, because it comes with all the baggage of a cand

more now joining us our chief national correspondent john king and our chief political analyst gloria borgerders gather this week in wales but now the pressure on the president has really built. >> this barbaric act, wolf, second one but this one repleased today, timing, seemingly no coincidence. it produced an instant political consensus here at home. conservative republicans all calling on the president to act, to not be so cautious, to act quickly and to complain his policy to the american people. broad across the speck truck statements from politicians also. the president is low in the polls, all of his colleagues know that, as he travels to this summit. he is viewed as a weakened u.s. president. can he rally their help? can he rally them to help deal with the isis threat and will he do anything in the short term, talk to the intelligence people and military people and are told the openings aren't so great. will he do something quickly or ask the american people to give him more time to come up with a more comprehensive strategy. >> in talk together people in the administration, asthmary

. >> let's get more now with gloria borger, ryan lizza, and washington correspondent for "the new yorker york. the wheels came off for hillary clinton in iowa in 2008. >> she hasn't been back in more than 2,000 days. she had a phobia about iowa in the 2008 campaign. it was very problematic for her. this has been discussed at length that that is where she lost the primary. she does need to show she's willing to work for it. this weekend is where the whole issue about her front-runner status stops being theoretical and becomes very in practice. how she sounds, what she says, how hard she leans into the idea of running or does she basically do the minimum? i think that she's going to have to show some leg, so to speak, about either acknowledging she's had a tough time in iowa before or she's seriously learning towards running or something. but just keeping it safe and about tom harken is going to be tough. >> doesn't she need to go in with humility here, right? >> she will. i bet she will. she has to sort of drop the veneer. that's what iowans did not like about her the last time around. sh

. >>> let's get more with cnn's chief political analyst gloria borger, and cnn military analyst retiredl mark hertling. former commander of the u.s. army europe. he served as director of war plans on the joint staff during the 9/11 attacks. peter, you first. you heard dianne feinstein, maybe too cautious she said of president obama. do you agree with that? >> no, i don't. i think before we launch attacks in syria, which is far different than doing it in iraq because we have a hostile government and our allies on the ground are much weaker and harder to discern, we have to be able to answer the question if we bomb isis from the air, who's going to take the territory on the ground. can we be sure it won't be bashar assad's forces? can we be sure it won't be other jihadist forces? al qaeda has another affiliate in syria. that's the el nusra front. the moderate rebels are very weak. if someone can make a good case that our bombing will empower the people we want it to empower, that's great. i haven't heard very many people making that case compellingly yet. >> what you do i think, general h

let's bring in gloria borger and anthony zini. let me get your quick reaction.rd of a threat from this kurdish leader that if the new government of baghdad doesn't get its accused toget s there's going to be a referendum in kurdistan that could lead to the breakaway of kurdistan from iraq. what was your reaction? >> well, i think the -- what you're seeing is not only the kurds, but you would probably see the same reaction from the sunni provinces already, like anbar and others. if the new government in iraq can't demonstrate they're going to be inclusive, share resources and revenue, give more authority down to the district levels, you're going to see the splitting of iraq pretty clearly. i think the kurds probably don't want iraqi forces protecting them. they would rather have their own peshmerga armed and protect themselves. there's very little trust left in baghdad. >> what would that mean for the region if iraq split up into a kurdish area, a shiite and sunni area? that's something vice president joe biden was talking about a few years ago. >> i would hope t

. >> i want to bring in gloria borger. >> i think we need to presume, anderson, that we're not goingrtners are, specific names. i heard jim sciutto's reporting, but i don't think you'll get much more beyond jim sciutto's reporting this evening until this major action is over. but i do believe that this is something that clearly everybody was anticipating in washington, the president's made no secret that he wanted to do it. that he went up to the united nations trying to get a coalition together and it certainly seems this evening that he's done it. >> i want to read a statement that rear admiral john kirby, pentagon spokesman, has put out saying i can confirm that partner forces are undertaking action against isil terrorists in syria using tomahawk and land attack missiles given that these operations are ongoing we're not able to provide additional details the strikes were made earlier today under authorization granted to him by the commander in chief we'll provide more details later as operationally appropriate. i want to bring in commander of u.s. forces in iraq from 2007 through

gloria borger pointed this out in her column, makes an absolute valid point, the exact opposite situationalone vote because we are waiting for the president to ask for it it seems absolutely counter to what boehner believes. >> first of all, today, there is a stand-alone vote and going to be a vote on whether or not to send the $500 million and authorize the development -- >> what about the future use of authorization? >> i think there should be one. but here's part of the challenge you have and i went through this with the bush administration in 2001 because their lawyers did not want a declaration of war against the taliban and against al qaeda. and i thought at the time we should have a declaration of war for a lot of reasons. you got to get the executive branch, the president, and the secretary of state, to tell you what they want. do they want a declaration of war against isis? do they want an authorization of force? i mean, what's the thing that they believe they need? and this is where you're not going to get to solve before the election. >> you don't think boehner's being too cute

gloria borger is taking a look. >> reporter: it's sunday morning at the new life baptist church in batono the choir is no minister. >> my god is not finished with me. >> reporter: he's edwin w. edwards, ex-four-term governor, ex-four-term congressman and ex-con. >> i may be old and rancid butter, but i'm on your side of the bread. ♪ and i love the lord >> reporter: unrepent ant and unapologetic, edwards is in church not looking for forgiveness, but for votes. because at 87, after almost nine years in prison, the flamboyant showman of louisiana politics has a fresh act, running for congress. >> thank you. >> reporter: co-starring his new 35-year-old wife and their 1-year-old baby. can you tell the story of how you two met? >> you want his story or my story? >> reporter: trina grimes began as edward's prison pen pal which led to love at first visit. >> i was expecting him to be angry or bitter and he wasn't. >> she said if you don't mind i only live 30 minutes from here. i'd like to come back and visit you for, that's like throwing a rubber raft. >> he was so full of life and he had such a