i think i would have voted against kagan though. i don't think she had the level of experience necessary and it is not just because she lacked judicial experience. i share with erwin's sentiment that is not a prerequisite and we have had great justices that have been appointed without having had judicial experience. but they have all had wonderful experience extensive experience either in the law, practice itself for much more extensive experience like felix frankfurter on the court and justice kagan had none of that, and i think that should have been disqualifying just on an objective criteria. whether -- i have a great high regard for intellect but one likes to see one or the other of those kinds of experiences before you put somebody into a life tenure position in the highest judicial office in the land. speak you are arguing against law school being qualified? >> not against law school deans but dean said have experienced. >> let me ask you a live question and our politics of efficacy on health care, the obama health care initia

i do not think we know enough about elena kagan.ow less about elena kagan's philosophy than any other nominee to the supreme court. every nominee since 1981 was confirmed. most of them had been judges for a long time. elena kagan has never been a judge on any court before going on to the supreme court. the fact that she had never been a judge means that we do not have prior experience and your philosophy. -- and to her philosophy. unlike some law professors. >> been as a result, i do not think we can know where she will be on the ideological continue them. look at the other side of the ideological continue them. john roberts turned 56 last month in january. if your name is on the supreme court, -- he will be chief justice until the year 200045. -- 2045. clarence thomas has been on the supreme court 19 years. both anthony scalia and anthony kennedy are 74. it is not likely that a justice will leave before 2013. >> except for the editorialize in along the way, i agree with that. the impact of the 2004 election was to perpetuate the ba

i think i would have voted against kagan. i don't think she had the level of experience necessary, and it is not just that she lacked judicial experience and. a share -- i share erwin's sentiment that that is not a prerequisite. but they all had a wonderful experience, extensive experience, either in the law practice itself or much more extensive experience like felix frankfurter, the court. justice kagan had none of that. that should have been at disqualifying test on objective criteria. i have a high regard for her intellect, but one wants to see one or the other kinds of experience before you put them into a life-tenured position in the highest judicial office in the land. >> you argue against law school and qualify? -- being qualifying? [laughter] >> not against a loss will be in qualifying. -- law school p.m. qualifying perio. >> on the obama health care law, questions about congress' power to regulate interstate commerce. i assume we all agree that this is headed to the united states supreme court. any thoughts on how w

political strategist robert kagan from the brookings institution. our own senior white house correspondent jake tapper. thank you for joining me. jake, i want to ask you first. as so many americans are trying to figure out what this all means, all the revolutions from tunisia to egypt and whatever may unfold here, how should americans make sense of this, jake? >> well, obviously there are different levels to look at. the american ideals of democracy that have eluded much of that part of the world. and there's american strategic interests. it's a double-edged sword. what's going on in the middle east, in north africa right now. there's obviously a great deal of oil and energy we get from that region. unrest will upset oil prices and cause americans pain at the pump. other national security, counterterrorism issues. we have a lot of cooperative relationships with a lot of dictators in that region. ultimately, i think that the way the american people have to look at this is in terms of the american eideals and how democracy needs to take hold. througho

i do not think we know enough about elena kagan. we know less about elena kagan's philosophy than any other nominee to the supreme court. every nominee since 1981 was confirmed. most of them had been judges for a long time. elena kagan has never been a judge on any court before ing on to the supreme court. the fact that she had never been a judge means that we do not have prior experience and your philosophy. -- and to her philosophy. unlike some law professors. >> been as a result, i do not think we can know where she will be on the ideological continue them. look at the other side of the ideological continue them. john roberts turned 56 last month in january. if your name is othe supreme court, -- he will be chief justice until the year 200045. -- 2045. clarence thomas has been on the supreme court 19 years. both anthony scalia and anthony kennedy are 74. it is not likely that a justice will leave before 2013. >> except for the editorialize in along the way, i agree with that. the impact of the 2004 election was to perpetuate the

including robert kagan, arianna huffington, mona eltahawy and george will. and george will. charge of cutting . calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? [ male announcer ] notre dame knows it's better for xerox to control its printing costs. so they can focus on winning on and off the field. [ manager ] are you sure i can't talk -- ok, no, i get it. [ male announcer ] with xerox, you're ready for real business. ♪ [ judge ] let me get this straight -- you changed flights in order to get home to your buddies for new year's. and i paid the difference in airfare... plus, i paid a 150-dollar change fee. oh, man! southwest would never do that. how did it cost you 150 dollars to change my ticket? your honor, will we be here very long? 150 bucks for a five-minute transaction?! kid, put it on your credit card and stop complaining. [ coughing ] guilty. [ male announcer ] don't pay a change fee on top of a fare difference. fly southwest, the only major airline that never charges change fees

don't recall the word collegiality being mentioned in the hearings for justice sotomayor for justice kagan. is this just not regarded as an important characteristic for a judge? >> i think there were discussions. i think it is one of the things that is considered. various white houses and i am thinking way back from both political parties, are always looking for judges and justices who will be able to influence the other justices on the court. that is very much on their minds, from what i have heard. is this somebody who can get along? i was lucky enough to clerk at the supreme court when just as brennan -- when justice brennan was on the court. when you met him, he put his hand on your shoulder and you would feel like a million dollars. sometimes we take the justices out. our chambers took him out one time and he knew we had clerked for and had heard stories about the judge's we worked for. that was a man who could land that fifth of those. vote. he was plowing the vineyards. i love him. when i went for my confirmation hearings, he found me. i have never seen him since the day that i fini

. >> this outfit was set up by robert kagan and the office was located at "the weekly standard." i just wonder if you remember why you signed that letter and what the circumstances were around it. people called us all the time and said we should have known this was coming because these guys all agree to it before hand. >> interesting. it is a matter of public record. people said it publicly and president clinton agreed and the democratic house and senate agreed. how can anyone use the word conspiracy? >> you probably have not heard some of our callers. the point i want you to talk about is the idea that all of you knew each other than, you agree on that point and you came into government. it is no surprise that you carry that out. >> i had no intention of coming back in government, you can be sure of that. that was a big surprise to me. president george w. bush did not sign that. >> dick cheney signed the original letter the year before setting up the whole project. >> president bush did not sign. he was the president. he is the one who made the decision. i think using the word c

on the other side comes a loud and clear statement from the neoconservatism's voiced here by robert kagan in an article in the weekly standard. he lists 25 interventions of the united states since taking 98. he says we have been at war for 42.5% of the last century and decade. and his closing line is history has provided some lessons and for the united states the lessons have been fairly clear. the world is better off and the united states is better off in the kind of international system that american power has built and the fended. so there you have two starkly differing views of how the united states should proceed, how the united states should perceive itself, how the united states should relate to other powers in the world and that is the dilemma which president obama is going to have to deal with. i think he has the qualifications to deal with that effectively. he has very good people working for him. i have mentioned general david petraeus. i mentioned admiral mullen. i would mention bob gates, secretary of defense. we worked together in the jimmy carter administration. i would als

elena kagan first introduced me to jim cooper while talking about how to make congress work again. he spent many hours with me and educated me about the institution and its potential. i am very happy he has since it -- he has accepted my invitation to share his thoughts on how to make the institution work better. i am also happy that he has announced another side to this question. buddy roehmer will deliver his views on the same question. please join with me in welcoming congressman jim cooper. [applause] >> thank you so much. i am honor to be back on campus. yvette page me when the greatest problem as i have ever received. -- you have paid me the greatest compliment i have ever received. former senator howard baker once said that there are three things you could not possibly understand -- the holy ghost, the middle east, and a palace rep. most people do not understand the house fully, but most people do think it is badly broken. i am had been in congress off and on for almost 30 years. i have seen the decline. it is not the decline that worries me. what worries me is that we as th

still open were opened unfairly, that there should have been confirmations on people, one is elena kagan. i wrote letters in support of republican nominees who were up for nomination. i think there has to be some bipartis work. i think we've seen a number of strong suprt from republicans and i think people have to try to make this a little bit more of a bipartisan process than it is and to not carry grudges of the previous administration back forward to the next one. even if we stay at the level of grudge that existed at the end of the bush administration, we've taken this to a new level and we've taken it to a new level that is pulverizing when you start making this kind of delays with respect to people who turn out to be completely noncontroversial. >> i do think, and it's one of the points you made, there has to be a price to be paid for doing this, whether it's the republicans for holding it up or the democrats for not pushing it through. whatever it is, i think there has to be some accountability because it's such aundamental and serious issue. and, in part, i think the press needs

elena kagan is recused from a bowel was last three -- from about 1/3 of the cases. she cannot hear cases that have been in her office. that is an extraordinary number of 4/4 splits without any opinion. we now have three living former justices. why not allow them to come out and prevented from being a split ?ha >> it would be nice if we can pass a rule that would not take effect for 20 years. i look at that and the odds that it is pretty bad from my side. i do not want to go for that. if the u.s. billy get and thomas sitting in retirement 5 that -- if it was just as silly and thomas sitting in retirement, they could go in -- justice scalia and thomas sitting in retirement, they go the other direction. they consult heavily of the court a. they ask for independent assessment. i do not think it is quite as bad as everyone has described it. normally, if you want to require reclosable. justice ginsberg was general counsel for one of the abortion -- she was headed the woman's right. i do not think the fact that justice scalia has given a speech to an organization that has

still open or open unfairly, there should of been confirmation on various peoples, one being elena kagan. but there were republican nominees up for nomination. i think there has to be some bi- partisan work. and there is been a number of strong supporters in republicans, and people have to try to make this more of a bipartisan process than it is. and did not carry grudges of the previous administration back -- forward to the next one. but also, it even if we stayed at the level of grudge that existed at the end of the bush administration, we've taken it to a new level. we have taken it to a new level that is pulverizing when you start making this kind of delays with respect to people who ultimately turned out to be non- controversial. >> carolyn. >> i do think that there has to be a price to be paid for doing this. whether it is the republicans who are holding it up for the democrats for not pushing it through, whatever it is, i think there has to be some accountability because it's such a fundamental and serious issue. in part, i think the press needs to get the word out to the states a

elena kagan first introduced me to jim cooper while talking about how to make congress work again. he spent many hours with me and educated me about the institution and its potential. i am very happy he has since it -- he has accepted my invitation to share his thoughts on how to make the institution work better. i am also happy that he has announced another side to this question. buddy roehmer will deliver his views on the same question. please join with me in welcoming congressman jim cooper. [applause] >> thank you so much. i am honor to be back on campus. yvette page me when the greatest problem as i have ever received. -- you have paid me the greatest compliment i have ever received. former senator howard baker once said that there are three things you could not possibly understand -- the holy ghost, the middle east, and a palace rep. most people do not understand the house fully, but most people do think it is badly broken. i am had been in congress off and on for almost 30 years. i have seen the decline. it is not the decline that worries me. what worries me is that we as th

on the other side, comes a loud and clear statement from the neoconservatives voiced here by robert kagan in an article in the weekly standard dated yesterday. he lists 25 interventions that united states has been involved in since 1898. he said we have been at war for about 42.5% of the last century and decade, and his closing line is, history has provided some lessons. and for the united states, the lesson has been fairly clear. the world is better off and the united states is better off in the kind of international system that american power has built and defended. so there you have two starkly differing views of how the united states should proceed, how the united states should proceed itself, how the united states should relate to other powers in the world. and that is the dilemma which president obama is going to have to deal with. i think that he has the qualifications to deal with that effectively. he has very good people working for him. i have mentioned general petraeus. i mentioned admiral mullen. i would mention bob gates, secretary of defense whom i know very well. we worked

still open were opened unfairly, that there should have been confirmations on people, one is elena kagan. i wrote letters in support of republican nominees who were up for nomination. i think there has to be some bipartisan work. i think we've seen a number of strong support from republicans and i think people have to try to make this a little bit more of a bipartisan process than it is and to not carry grudges of the previous administration back forward to the next one. even if we stay at the level of grudge that existed at the end of the bush administration, we've taken this to a new level and we've taken it to a new level that is pulverizing when you start making this kind of delays with respect to people who turn out to be completely noncontroversial. >> i do think, and it's one of the points you made, there has to be a price to be paid for doing this, whether it's the republicans for holding it up or the democrats for not pushing it through. whatever it is, i think there has to be some accountability because it's such a fundamental and serious issue. and, in part, i think the press

still open were opened unfairly, that there should have been confirmations on people, one is elena kagan. i wrote letters in support of republican nominees who were up for nomination. i think there has to be some bipartisan work. i think we've seen a number of strong support from republicans and i think people have to try to make this a little bit more of a bipartisan process than it is and to not carry grudges of the previous administration back forward to the next one. even if we stay at the level of grudge that existed at the end of the bush administration, we've taken this to a new level and we've taken it to a new level that is pulverizing when you start making this kind of delays with respect to people who turn out to be completely noncontroversial. >> i do think, and it's one of the points you made, there has to be a price to be paid for doing this, whether it's the republicans for holding it up or the democrats for not pushing it through. whatever it is, i think there has to be some accountability because it's such a fundamental and serious issue. and, in part, i think the press

recently, center coburn in one of the committee hearings ask elena kagan, do you think the governmentse could regulate that you eat three vegetables a day? her response was yes. it is important to the next president will be. it is important who is on the supreme court, and we better make darn certain that we get the right person in 2012. [applause] we face a looming debt crisis. it is worse than you could imagine. it really is coming upon us quickly. i went to a presentation this week where they said japan is passed the point of no return. they don't think japan will come out from under its debt. they say when country gets to wear its debt equals its economy, your total debt is about equal to your gdp, that you approach a point of no return. we are quickly approaching that point. what kind of leadership or we getting? the president of the united states wants to sound like he is not conservative, he is going to freeze spending. he is going to freeze this much of the budget at inflated levels of spending, and in over five years he is going to add 3.8 trillion dollars to the debt. it is

still open were opened unfairly, that there should have been confirmations on people, one is elena kagan. i wrote letters in support of republican nominees who were up for nomination. i think there has to be some bipartisan work. i think we've seen a number of strong support from republicans and i think people have to try to make this a little bit more of a bipartisan process than it is and to not carry grudges of the previous administration back forward to the next one. even if we stay at the level of grudge that existed at the end of the bush administration, we've taken this to a new level and we've taken it to a new level that is pulverizing when you start making this kind of delays with respect to people who turn out to be completely noncontroversial. >> i do think, and it's one of the points you made, there has to be a price to be paid for doing this, whether it's the republicans for holding it up or the democrats for not pushing it through. whatever it is, i think there has to be some accountability because it's such a fundamental and serious issue. and, in part, i think the press