this is written by justin hyde to joins us now. could you talk about the cash for clunkers program an its role as far as the efforts by the administration to stabilize the economy? >> well, it didn't have a starring role when the plan to stabilize the economy came out but it has taken on one in the past few days. this has been one of the more successful stimulus pack ams, wildly successful, far more than anyone in the administration and most people in the industry thought it would be. it was supposed to fuel 250,000 new car and truck sales, estimated to run through november 1. late thursday, the administration got word that they might have already hit that 250,000 number and the program could be running low or out of cash. the white house scrambled to piece together a new package. host: as far as the run on the dealers are concerned, how is that fueled? what caused this? guest: there were more people sitting on the sidelines waiting to take advantage than anyone anticipated. one of the better estimates is that there were at least 4

being with us on c-spapa fo a fu >> on washington journal, we will talk about the press reporter justin hydebout the cash for clunkers program. david mason will discuss a bill to put limits on executive pay. joe madison will debate the state of race relations in america. "washington journal" is live each morning 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> this week as expected, the senate judiciary committee voted to recommend the confirmation of sonia sotomayor as supreme court justice. watch the debate this saturday on c-span at 7:00 eastern for the next week, her confirmation as to the senate floor. live coverage of the full senate debate on c-span2 coming in october, tour the home to america's highest court, the supreme court. leading up to the august recess, nancy pelosi and other democratic leaders held a press conference to discuss the ongoing process of crafting the drafting health care legislation. this is a 35 minutes. >> good afternoon. 44 years ago, medicare was signed into law by president lyndon johnson. here we are this week about to be close to healthcare reform and we have ever been in history. w