joining me editor of the national review rich lowry.and professor at georgetown university michael eric dyson. presidential historian doris kearns goodwin. executive editor of random house jon meacham and presidential historian michael beschloss. welcome everybody. hope you had a good thanksgiving. the great thing about thanksgiving is you get everybody around the table, and unless you talk about food, you might get into politics and the big issues that were discussed. let's get into it. this race is getting very, very interesting. we mentioned it all morning, the "union-leader" of new hampshire endorsing newt gingrich in new hampshire. america's at i crucial crossroads. we're in a critical need of innovative forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that gingrich has shown he's capable of providing. deso with the contract with america. he did it in bringing in the first republican house in 40 years, and balanced budgets, and even a surplus despite the political challenge of dealing with a democratic president. a lot of candidate

host: rich lowrie, thank you for talking to our viewers.ing up, we'll talk about the latest vision of "ms." magazine. it was launched four years ago. but first a news update from c- span radio. >> the federal reserve is expected to wrap up its meeting today by doing nothing out of the ordinary. analysts think the fed will announce a wait-and-see approach to see if there is a positive economic effect. ben bernanke will hold a news conference this afternoon and he will be live on c-span radio and at c-span.org. there's some good news on the jobs front. planned layoffs dropped 60% in october from september. that drop does come after planned layoffs hit a 20-month high in september. -- 28-month high. the were far fewer layoffs in october than the previous month. the democratic super pak is targeting mitt romney with a new internet campaign. pierides usa -- priorities usa action is spending $100,000 to run advertising on websites. pakistan says it has decided to normalize trade relations with its longtime rival and neighbor, india. the informati

robert lowry jr. of the national center of missing and exploited children joins us today with insight on what happens when investigators like eve like in this case appear to run out of leads. we'll talk about that coming up about a half hour away. we've got breaking news coming in right now from alabama where we have reports of a tornado on the ground, possibly near the university of auburn. we're also getting damage reports from montgomery, alabama, and janice dean is getting ready to update us on that. plus, we are just now learning about a loophole in pennsylvania law that could prevent some of the alleged penn state sex-abuse victims from filing civil suits against the school. we will be joined right after this break by an attorney who has actually been looking into this. very well known in pennsylvania and who has been consulting with some of these victims. and president obama has been on the campaign trail talking about how america is broken. how will that message work for his re-election? that

lowry said that earlier. it never happens until it has to. -- laurie said earlier. the last few hours is monday night. my hope and prayer would be that everybody in that room thinks about what is going to happen to us two years from now when we have not done this, if we have two years. i am not sure we have two years. we can solve our problem, but what is happening in europe can easily spread to us. the interest rate differential between a german bond and an italian bond has risen 400 basis points. that is 4%. take $16 trillion, 4% on that, you have $640 billion of additional interest a year. $640 billion wipes us out. there will not be any medicaid. there will not be any medicare close to what it is today if we do not do it. that is our risk. the fed can print all the money and buy all the bonds they want, but with that comes diminished buying power and less value for everything you buy. >> it seems like the crux of the disagreement at this point seems to be the extension of the bush tax cuts with republicans wanting to make sure that are extended and democrats wan

rich lowry is the editor of national review and fox news contributor. rich, he is now, according to our capitol hill producer, the 17th democrat to announce his retirement, versus just a handful of republicans on the other side. what is the significance of those numbers? and of this announcement today by one of the longest serving democrats in the house? >> i know, i think it's a sign that barney frank sees the writing on the wall and realizes he's very unlikely to wield meaningful power again. i mean, when you've been in the majority, used to being chairman, it's really hard to be out of power, an he's probably going to be out of power for a while now, and then then also, he was talking very frankly in his news dproans about how redistricting factored into his decision and he was saying he was just sort of uncomfortable representing new people. i don't quite buy that. i just think it's going to mean more work to win reelection. if you're someone like barney frank for who 25 years is basically unopposed in that district and last time around, 2010, have

rich, from cleveland, lowrie, not the guy with the publication, we have been working on this and we workede plan and he was doing the analysis explaining it and because my background is mathematics i could understand it. so when i understood it, rich came and said, the number we need to basically replace those five taxes that is the revenue neutral in terms of getting the same amount of revenue is 8.75, 8.75 and 8.75. and i said, rip, who in the world is going to run and talking about 8.75, 8.75. we will call it the 9-9-9 plan and he said, okay boss. >>neil: interesting. here you have one very nice guy here today, and we have had other presidential candidates they have, we have a swat team and they come in, and their people have people, so here you come in, and i am wondering, this is weird. do you need, now, to get up to speed to get an organization going because if you hit grease lightning you may not have the backup and support and structure to go as governor huckabee experienced. he did not have what john mccain had. >>guest: here is what some don't know because they are not on the ins

and i got to know joe lowrie and john lewis, we didn't agree politically, but i admire all of them and your uncle greatly. and i am honored to have you here. >> i love those folks -- >> sean: they are wrong politically. >> they need to become civil rights leaders for real. >> sean: god bless. >> coming up, senator john mccain is here on the growing nuclear crisis in iran. it's text vote question night tonight. how do you think the herman cain campaign has handled the allegations? we will have more on the charges and how the media got slammed [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. at red lobster. there's so many choices... the ts love it! [ male announcer ] it's endless shrimp today at red lobster. as much as you like any way you ke, all for $15.99. offer ends soon. my name is angelarapp, and i sea food differently. my n i've tried it.pp, but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas.

and i got to know joe lowrie and john lewis, we didn't agree politically, but i admire all of them and your uncle greatly. and i am honored to have you here. >> i love those folks -- >> sean: they are wrong politically. >> they need to become civil rights leaders for real. >> sean: god bless. >> coming up, senator john mccain is here on the growing nuclear crisis in iran. it's text vote question night tonight. how do you think the herman cain campaign has handled the allegations? we will have more on the charges and how the media got slammed earlier tonight in the republican debate. more ahead on "hannity." i take my multi-vitamin but wanted to do something more for my nutrition. there's so much information out there. what's good for you today, is bad for you tomorrow. i had no idea what to choose. until i found pronutrients -- a new line of supplements from centrum, who i totally trust. omega-3 supports not only my heart, but my brain and my eyes too. probiotics helps with my digestive balance and my immune function. and fruit & veggie has antioxidant properties. new pronutrients from

to them so i went out there and there is no one else there because the route he was taking from the lowry air force base to denver was not published. i'm the only one out there but i saw the flashing lights and here comes the big limousine i'm sitting their waiting and waiting. he never saw them he was reading something but it occurred to me reading this book that there were secret service agents in the car wondering how did that guy no? [laughter] something in the file probably says find out about that kid. they are getting an awful lot of attention and one of the story is that's been talked about a lot is the moment when you, jerry come also gunned down the brand new president of the united states lyndon johnson. you at the white house, to get from their what happened? >> i wasn't at the white house. this was about 2:15 in the morning after the assassination and we were all kennedy in detail agents that were standing watch and president kennedy if he came out of sight he would notify the security command post and we get the word around the press was moving. the vice president before he

leslie marshall and rich lowry, editor of the national revue. you see the lowest in modern hit. what does it tell you? >> when you are lower than carter is a phrase you never want to hear. that's enough to keep your political consultant to awake from now until 2012. carter had been lower in his third year. then there was a rally around the flag when our hostages were taken in iran. so he bummed up into the 50s. but president obama flat lined at 43. you look at gallup the last three, four weeks. flat at 43% approval rating it many hard for an incumbent president to win when he's down that low. megyn: most pundits say you have to be over 47% to win. the problem for president obama, his trending is not going to the right direction. it would be one thing if he were down low, and he was trending up. but it may be the opposite for him. >> we are a year away from the election. and politics that's a lifetime and a lot of things can happen. this is a president of firsts. first african-american, first president with the name barack hussein obama will be.

and rich lowry national review editor and fox news contributor.c he uses, he said i'm a gop pollster but this is way would do if he hired me about how my reelection chances. number one, what do the polls say, do you deserve reelection. what do the polls say about the public per sepghtss of your plirnlts and what do the polls say about the direction of the nation. and right now rich he says president obama is failing quote on all counts. >> he's failing on all those counts but that doesn't mean he will continue to fail. we have a year left which is a long time. if you look at the history. the two guys about a year out were down as low as president obama is now, if you average out the polls, low 40s, for gerald ford and lyndon johnson and neither of their reelection campaigns turned out very well. so if you are the white house you have to be scared. you feel the desperation on their part. he has viciously attacking already the guy he thinks is going to be his opponent in the fall mitt romney. megyn: dr. hale point out the third is the most important

simon rosenberg is director of the new democrat network, rich lowry is editor of the national reviewnd a fox news contributor. rich, you have this piece out that suggests that you believe things were rolling along swimmingly, amazingly, for the supercommittee -- that's overstating it. [laughter] >> yeah, i wouldn't say rolling along. megyn: but there was a glimmer of hope until politics got ip jekylled? >> pat toomey, a senator from pennsylvania, came up with the framework for compromise, and he'd worked closely with the democrats on the committee, especially max baucus and his staff. and it would have been $500 billion in new revenue which republicans hate to do -- megyn: they were going to lower deductions that people -- >> yeah. it would be coupled with a lowering of the rate, but you'd get more revenue by eliminating a lot of deductions that people at the upper end tend to take advantage of, and then $700 billion in various cuts, and then you add that up, and you supposedly get another $200 billion in interest savings, so this was $1.5 trillion -- megyn: and they're only supposed

bill: what about that with juan williams, a fox news political analyst and rich lowry will be joiningwill be real good the next 12 months. what do you think about that? what do you mean it would have been worse. >> it would have been worse according to the non-partisan congressional budget office. they thought it would be 1 point higher, but not 15. what you are getting is a lot of as you rightly pointed out, tam pain rhetoric, and the campaign rhetoric is the only way you could score this as somewhat factual is to say if it ballooned another point and a half who is to say sit wouldn't have skyrocketed even more. bill: and if pigs could fly. people remember the stimulus quote. you pass the stimulus law and you won't go above 8 per. bill: the word from the white house. that was their evaluation. >> that was their optimistic assessment, no doubt about it. but the question is -- i think if you were to try to measure this by any quantitative scale, you would say that's not right. but our point, i think -- remember, we are talking politic, we are not talking science. and the politics of it

rich lowry, a guest of the speaker. a reporter for the washington post and a new member of the club. good to have you here today. theresa werner is a free-lance tv producer and chair of our board of governors here at the press club. chris battle. please give them a round of applause. [applause] with the words "let herman d. hermann" our guest " bob schieffer on face the nation yesterday. our guest bigger is the front runner for the republican presidential nomination. the former godfather's pizza ceo has so far defied the labels in political categories that soften categorize our political conversation. he has generated bus and a bit of recrimination for an edgy campaign video featuring his chief of staff puffing on a cigarette. >> key to told me today he has been asked to autograph a cigarette. [laughter] even years after the fact, the 1991 parody of john lennon's "imagine" has become a viral video hit. one thing is clear, he is connecting with the voters in this early electoral season who have indicated they are not wed

host: lowry, a democrat from indiana. you are on with lieutenant- general richard mills. larry, you there? i think we lost larry. quincy, illinois. troy, retired marine. caller: good morning, sir. i'm a retired gunnery sgt. ipad retired -- i have been retired for about eight years now. i saw something on the news this morning that the secretary of defense was going to cut military and retirement benefits, and i wanted to get your take on that and see what that is about. guest: semper fi, marine. again, that is a great question. i know potential cuts to anything is of vital interest especially to our retirees. again, i have not seen specific cuts that have been recommended by either the secretary or by the super committee as it meets under washington. i want to reemphasize to you that when the secretary and, not say that we will not break faith with our marines, -- and commandant say we will not break faith with our marines, that also means our retired means. the commandant is interested in anything that might affect our entire population. we know that you have worked hard

host: lowry, a democrat from indiana. you are on with lieutenant- general richard mills.ry, you there? i think we lost larry. quincy, illinois. troy, retired marine. caller: good morning, sir. i'm a retired gunnery sgt. ipad retired -- i have been retired for about eight years now. i saw something on the news this morning that the secretary of defense was going to cut military and retirement benefits, and i wanted to get your take on that and see what that is about. guest: semper fi, marine. again, that is a great question. i know potential cuts to anything is of vital interest especially to our retirees. again, i have not seen specific cuts that have been recommended by either the secretary or by the super committee as it meets under washington. i want to reemphasize to you that when the secretary and, not say that we will not break faith with our marines, -- and commandant say we will not break faith with our marines, that also means our retired means. the commandant is interested in anything that might affect our entire population. we know that you have worked hard and

. >> this is richard lowry, co- architect of the 999 plan, senior economic adviser to the herman cain plan and i will allow rich to answer that question for may. -- me. [applause] >> thank you. the plan as it is designed to bring in the same revenue as the current code will. the issues regarding the deficit are a function of spending and spending restraint will be handled separately. what we are trying to do with how to generate the requisite least amount of damage to the economy in the meantime. >> with a bold plan like 999, the projected growth in gdp is going to be much higher than we are experiencing today. to get our hands around spending, my current plan is to do an across-the-board cut in all federal agencies day one. secondly, do a deep dive into all the agencies and find at least another 10%. i know the government accounting office documents of waste and duplication all over the place. congress looking out for either their pet projects or somebody else's, it will not happen, or looking out for their friends. i am told i don't have any friends in washington, d.c. i believe we

host: lowry, a democrat from indiana. you are on with lieutenant- general richard mills. larry, you there? i think we lost larry. quincy, illinois. troy, retired marine. caller: good morning, sir. i'm a retired gunnery sgt. ipad retired -- i have been retired for about eight years now. i saw something on the news this morning that the secretary of defense was going to cut military and retirement benefits, and i wanted to get your take on that and see what that is about. guest: semper fi, marine. again, that is a great question. i know potential cuts to anything is of vital interest especially to our retirees. again, i have not seen specific cuts that have been recommended by either the secretary or by the super committee as it meets under washington. i want to reemphasize to you that when the secretary and, not say that we will not break faith with our marines, -- and commandant say we will not break faith with our marines, that also means our retired means. the commandant is interested in anything that might affect our entire population. we know that you have worked hard