by this afternoon, we tap out at 39 in medford, oregon. 48 in seattle, increasing clouds. it looks nice and warm. 60 in san francisco, 80 degrees in los angeles. that's about 12 degrees above normal for this time of year. it should stay in the upper 7 >> so ever since christmas, it really has been a nice stretch of weather through the the west coast. it will continue through the weekend. >> 80 degrees in the mid-west. thanks. >>> business headlines straight ahead how retailers faired this holiday season. >>> a sliver nightmare, carnivorous fish attacked unsuspected beach-goers. you are watching "early today." >> good morning, welcome back. the u.s. sent air to ground missiles for use in the ongoing campaign against al qaeda forces. iraqi intelligence says the missiles have destroyed four militant camps. >>> the man accused of the november 1st shootings pence an lax terminal pleaded not guilty tuesday. he is accused of killing a cia agent and wounding and killing other people. >>> people were attacked by biting fish in argentina while some children lost parts or all of a fi

degrees and four your christmas day forecast, the sunshine continues, a wintry mix in portland and medford, oregon. >>> jennifer lawrence is the top entertainer of 2013, that's according to the associated press w.15 votes from the a.p. staff she narrowly beat out his pixie-cut rival miley cyrus with 14 votes. >>> j.k. rowling is taking harry potter to the stage. she will be co-producing a production in london. about the wizard, as well as consulting about the script. and the creator of "glee" said in a recent interview his and leah michelle's characters were not going to end up together after all. michelle would be a broadway star and monteith a teacher in ohio. >>> congratulations to "supernatural" star who welcomed a second baby boy over the weekend. >>> and mariah carey definitely won't be having children any time soon. >> if nick could have the babies himself, then maybe, yeah, bring them all. we love kids. well, italian has found quite an interesting way to market 12 years a slave. to the right of your screen is one of the posters of marketing brad pitt who has actually one of the sma

medford was still only 32. this year-long drought is ridiculous. we're going to shatter records pretty much across the board for the least amount of rainfall in a calendar year. san francisco, this is the rainy season. only a third of an inch so far. l.a., a couple drops in the bucket. same with vegas. we need the wet weather and soon. there's not a lot out there. we are going to watch a little bit in the northwest with a cold front dropping down through and a little bit of rain. there's not a lot to talk about. not a lot to brag about. expected rainfall amounts, bellingham, about a half inch. seattle, a quarter inch. we don't sneak much of that down into portland. a little eighth of an inch. that's like that much. that's your nationaleventually e of some rain on thursday in southern california. >>> we keep getting these little storms, richard, in the west. we need the big rainstorms, the one that gets the headlines. we don't want any destruction, but we need it. >> and as you know so well, if it stays dry, we have the concern about mudslides later

it's called patchogue medford high school and i'm going to read a little bit from a section of the book. very short because i don't like reading. before i begin reporting the book, two of the students had a journalism school and they did a documentary on the case. one of them was my students when he was rating the documentary and it was his documentary that inspired me because i watched and i realized this is great but there is a lot more that i can do with the book. so they gave me -- there was a documentary called "running the wild," and they gave me the transcript right after it happened which is important because even conducting the interviews in 2010 have time to think about it is a different story. this is right after the murder. a boy named david, 16 knows how the other people for non-hispanic kids would throw kids at the latino student who huddled together at the own table at lunch time like they would say that we immigrants should go back to mexico, david recalled. and what do you do, one of the filmmakers inquired. nothing. most of the time we remain quiet, david replied. so w

you see medford township firefighters fighting the fire in a strip mall complex. done on green screen. this is what these guys really go through. >> best part about this, you don't need a big hollywood camera because they all have cameras attached to them. >> we've got the creators of this new web series joining us, sean karolyi, david and stephen hernandez. you're a firefighter as well a filmmaker, correct? >> yes. >> why is it important to tell the real story of what firefighters do? >> because what we do with the actual dramas on today is for the public. >> what was that mealifeeling l? >> two blocks, debris raining down and on top of that, it was 105 degrees out anyway and i'm carry about 40 pounds or so camera equipment. it was a exciting and a little hectic. that made me want to tell the story. and you're following them with our cameras. >> we're able to bring the whole story together for you outside. >> wah, wah kitty. ♪ ♪ >> in this age of technology, you got to get them while they're young and they are learning fast. precious little baby girl is taking he

and now all that cold air is moving down the west coast from very chilly temperatures. 24, 26 in medford. extremely cold in areas of utah. it's not going to warm up much during the day today. vegas at 38 degrees. we're going to see some record-low temperatures in the next couple of days through the inner mountain west and west coast. we're worried about some of the crop there is and the freeze in california. today a high of 35. that's it. that's all we can do in seattle. 61 in l.a. cool tem 31. look how cold it is in yakima today. >>> betty, coming back later, we'll talk about the big show tonight on nbc and all the musical guests. it's going to be a blast out here and the weather so far, so good. >> not bad at all. i can't wait. thank you, bill. talk to you soon. >>> so the most foul-mouthed state in the union, guess what it is. >>> plus, vice president biden takes on serious diplomacy with china. >>> and is this the future of inexpensive space exploration? you're watching "early today." >>> welcome back, everybody. >>> vice president joe biden was in tokyo tuesday to show support for j

and the cold air is going to spill in and leak all the way to seattle and portland, medford at 28 this morning. you can see the spin on the map north of boise, the center of the upper-level storm and the fast jet stream is roaring onshore through northern california. we're getting a little bit of snowshowers even into areas of the central sierra mountains. much of the heavier snow concentrated in the mountains of colorado and utah. the forecast today temperaturesing are aren't going to warm up much, highs in the mid 30s many areas in the northwest and even kind of to g natural stuff, it's cold enough to make a lot of the powder. so colder, but travel won't be too bad in the west. intermountain west, a different story. >> intermountain west has "empire strikes back" kind of weather. >> good reference. >> the battle over sales tax for internet purchases heats up, the most and least corrupt countries around the world. >>> an eighth shark attack in hawaii this season. this one is fatal. the details coming up next. >>> welcome back. the dark streets of boston were lit up this morning when a

and six degrees warmer in medford. the warming trend, we're heading in the right direction. there's a weak storm pushing down to the pacific northwest. it won't have a lot of influence, but it will bring a little bit of light rain. we mentioned the snow bands before. there's a look. they'll head up towards buffalo, new york later on today. as far as the snow in the northwest, this isn't a big ordeal with the storm. in the northern extremely northern portion of the cascades outside of bellingham could get a little bit of snow, enough to make trouble on some of the roads that weave their way inside the mountains. but none of the major highways seem much of an issue in spokane, washington, not much for you, either. a tiny bit of snow. enough to shovel or take a broo sunny will feel warm compared to how chilly it's been lately. >>> who knows, this probably is a good chance this was the coldest air the west will see, the intermountain west in california, maybe all winter. >>> two major setbacks for same-sex couples. why is this man walking with 800 pounds on his feet. you're watc

watch out for that in oregon about 11:00 am, dense fog advisory for medford where it could be chilly and a little patchy iceeel nice considering how chilly it's been lately. >>> new storm will be diving down into the northwest thursday, friday. some people will get snow. i'll tell you who, coming up. >>> guess who time magazine's person of the year will be for 2013. we have a list of five of them. >>> waterspout from an out of control car. we have the story for you when we return in two minutes. >>> and welcome back. president obama has returned from halfway around the world early this morning and is now back at the white house. nelson mandela's body is now lying in state in the capital. his funeral will be held on sunday. >>> it was a quick handshake but garnered world wide attention. before speaking at the mandela memorial on tuesday president obama stopped to shake hands with cuban president raul castro. the first contact with a u.s./cuban president in years there. t. looked like a scene right out of a cartoon. a car slammed into a fire hydrant, creating this massive geyser. no on

we're about 14 degrees warmer in medford than this time yesterday. this afternoon, 46.howers will be plaguing you on a little bit. 63 and sunny in tucson, one of the warmer spots in the west. weekend forecast coming up. >> the deal is, it's not too cold. >> not like it was. >> thank you so much, bill karins. >>> a judge orders another cross removed from a major war memorial. >>> plus, good news on the jobs front. ford planning to hire more than 5,000 new employees in the u.s. in 2014. "early today" is back in two minutes. >>> and welcome back. in an emotional interview with itn, nelson mandela's ex-wife winnie described her last moments with the african leader. >> i watched him going down and and down so slowly. and then he drew his last breath. and just rested. >> could this be the end of a 22-year battle? a federal judge in san diego says a 43-foot war memorial cross on federal property must be removed within 90 days. the justice says it violates the separation of church and state. the judge was also asked to consider possible alternatives after the u.s. supreme court

about 40 in seattle. 43 in portland, oregon, and 45 in medford, oregon.n you head a little further to the south, 82 degrees in los angeles with nothing but sunshine. the problem, though, is that we have this easterly component to the wind. and that's a very dry wind. and because of that, we do have red flag warnings in effect in and around los angeles. winds could gust up to about 35 to 45 miles per hour with those santa ana winds. humidity is down 5 to 15%. with highs in the lower 80s, it is certainly going to make things not ideal down in that area. we also have air stagnation alerts in the pacific northwest because winds are so light, that creates some low-level solution, and there could be some burn bans in your area. so keep that in mind. as for l.a., looking forward, we should start to see the winds ease by saturday. so that should help with the red flag warnings and temperatures will drop as well. about 72 degrees. heading a little further to the north and west, in alaska, things looking nice and quiet. we should see mostly sunny skies but very col

but not so much towards portland or medford. as, again, that rain in arizona will be moving out during the day for your travel. you'll be doing a little better. all of california and arizona should be okay this afternoon. that's your national forecast. on all surfaces. did i mention seattle is a fun place to be to see it snowing. it doesn't happen all that often. the driving skills may be a little -- >> oh, no, they're used to it. the deal is it's just a beautiful town. >> yes. >> you'll love it. >> fresh coating of snow. >> a lot of good news from bill karins. very surprising. >>> russia's president putin pardons a chief rival and a tragic ending for a couple who won big on ellen's show. >>> plus, these ducks will be retiring to the jack daniel's distillery. i wonder if they hiccup a lot. oh, what a life. back in two. >>> welcome back. bad weather is causing multiple bus accidents. first a 64-year-old woman was killed in fallbrook, california, when a tour bus flipped over on its side thursday because of slick road conditions th

i am happy to share some of it with you today and i bring greetings from massachusetts rotary, medford is five miles north of boston. population, 55,000. when i was writing this book i least 10 x 10 office space from a local architect who was a 1-term rotary president and now signing up for a second term. he told me before i came when i said i was coming to speak to the most prestigious and boldest and certainly friendliest rotaries in wichita, maybe bigger, he said he did short. these people are on their lunch break. i did hear a lot, glad you don't sign each other the way those groups did. willard garvey didn't know how to keep it short. i think some of you in toward that as well but he was a faithful rotarian for 50 years and this was his club. he joined rotary in 1950 and you could usually find and without fail on monday. if he was out of town he made a point to visit with a rotary clubs like we have today and around different cities in the united states. the 14 love rotary and it came through all the speeches he had and i had two books, he gavegav >> at rotary luke want to get an

the family says a facility in medford, new york has agreed to take her and they made arrangements with an air ambulance company to get her there. the family attorney says they will work to get all of the paperwork done before the january 7 deadline. >>> happy new year, it's 2014 in new zealand. the clock struck midnight over an hour ago in auckland, the first major city to ring in the new year. in the u.s. organizers putting the finishing touches on one of the most anticipated parties. sarah shows us why despite freezing temperatures more than a million people will pack into times square. >> reporter: one of the world's biggest and most well known parties. >> love it. amazing atmosphere. >> reporter: times square, counting down the last minutes of 2013. those who will brave the crowds will also brave the cold. temperatures expected to be in the 20s. earlier a final dress rehearse well the times square ball. it's a sparkling center piece featuring 2600 crystals with updated designs. and a test confetti drop. >> this is an experience for me. i have never been in the new year in new york

there is a weather system to the north, as you can see, with clouds up towards eureka, medford and some rain showers towards parts of oregon. some of this energy will be drifting into northern california. could produce a few high clouds here in the bay area but no raindrops expected for us. a dry weather pattern, a stable weather pattern will continue. san jose 52 degrees. livermore 54. novato 49 degrees. today some hazy sunshine out there. in fact, here is our live camera looking towards san francisco and throughout the day today temperatures on track to reach basically the upper 50s by 2:57. by 5:50 degrees. then back down to the 40s this evening. tomorrow partly sunny skies in. no threat of rain and temperatures will be warming back up for saturday and into sunday. i was talking about the air quality whenever you get a stable weather pattern this time of year with no storms to mix things out you get a layer of haze. an atmospheric lid. once again for tonight and tomorrow forespare the air alert issued because the pattern not changing too much. this cold front we are watching up to th

investigators believe the fire was fueled by hay that surrounded the scene in medford and they say it was likely just a strange coincidence that it caught fair on christmas day. firefighters are now looking at the electrical wiring in the nativity scene to see if that is where the fire started. >>> and poe are still looking for the man who shot five people outside a new jersey nightclub yesterday morning. three of those victims did die. they include the club owner's son. detectives believe the bouncers stopped the gunman from going inside the club, and that is when that person pulled the gun and opened fire. >>> we have a warning if you planned a ski trip to utah. there could be avalanches in the mountains near salt lake city. there have been nearly as to in the past five days and there could be several more in the coming days. here's something to keep in mind if you're going to utah. avalanches tend to happen more on the first sunny day after a snowstorm. we want to show you what it's like to be trapped in an avalanche. a man was swept up in one over the weekend. his brother caught t

it's called medford high school. and i'm going to read a little bit from a section of the book that is very telling about the high school. very short because i don't like reading. [laughter] it's, it's really, um, before i began reporting the book, two of the students at the journalism store did a documentary on the case. in fact, one of them was my student when he was working on the documentary. and it was his documentary that inspired me because i watched and i realized, this is great, but there's a lot more that i can do with a book. and so, um, they gave me -- this is a person who's now with abc news. and they worked this documentary called running wild, and they gave me the transcript of all the interviews they'd conducted at the high school right after it happened which is really important. because those interviews in 2010 you have time to think about it, it's a different story. this is right after the murder. a boy named david, 16 and born in el salvador, now worries how, quote, the other seem, quote, the whit

the snow out over the ocean, along the coast, higher elevations from see at to pot land headed to medfordd you know you have a cold system coming our way. today is a day to prepare again for the rain and snow that is coming in overnight and the evening. it is a good 12 to 14 hours away. freezing cold but san francisco, this morning, by noon, hanging out in the mid-40's to around 50 degrees with sunshine and we will have high clouds in the afternoon and we will hold around 50 and dug the 7:00 hour light showers develop. the showers will change to snow at 2,000 feet and 2" to 6" possible. tomorrow the highs are mid-40's and freezing cold sunday and monday withize only in the 40's again. >> a new accident 50 of 101 in san jose not of san jose airport. it look like we have a couple cars that were tangled up but not quite clear whether it is blocking any lanes and it does not seem to affect 101. at the altamont pass it is show at 34 miles per hour headed in from tracy and down to 30 miles per hour the closer you are to vasco road and this is how long it will take to get in the westbound direct

they believe the fire was fueled by hay that surrounded the scene in medford.efighters are looking at the elected t electrical wiring in the nativity scene to see if that is where the fire started. >>> two restaurants in prince george's county will have to argue their case in order to reopen their doors. police shut down rose cafe and puzzles event center this past weekend. both were operating as nightclubs and did not have proper permits. rose cafe is in capitol heights. puzzles is on stcht barnabas road. both businesses must stay closed at least until the outcome of an appeals hearing. >>> 5:47 right now. and this is new video out of north korea. during the newscast the anchor asks the south korean government if it would choose war or peace. he then urges the south to pick peace. the newscast also shows north korean leader kim jong-un visiting an army unit. earlier this week south korea's president urged traps to retaliate mercilessly if north the dor korean -->>> one donated an egg to the other so she could have a baby. doreen gentzler on the relationship. >

it and that means rainfall for vancouver and seattle even as far south as eugene or grants pass or medfordregon. but certainly not a drop of rain for us. if the ridge doesn't move the pattern doesn't change and we are stuck with the sunshine. we could use rain. so next several days that doesn't move. tennessee valley snowfall in philadelphia but the active weather will stay away from us. next week the ridge doesn't move. forecast won't change that much. it will get milder. we'll be mild and dry for mid- december. we need this pattern to change. poor air quality through the weekend dry weather through the weekend and if you are looking for the warmest days maybe a sick day or a better yet a vacation day to burn, warmest days will be monday and tuesday with mainly sunny skies and highs approaching 70. highs tomorrow comfortable for this time of year 59 for san francisco and 62 in san jose, fremont 60, palo alto 60, 60 for pittsburg, walnut creek and danville. high of 59 and sunshine for kentfield, alameda 61. lakeport 61 with sunshine tomorrow. milder sunday. two warm days close to 70 monday

medford, wisconsin. police are in pursuit of a speeding tractor trailer.lins, is wanted in connection with an alleged sexual assault on a child. before police can arrest him, he takes off. detective steve bowers is one of the officers in pursuit. >> this was the first chase that i've ever had that involved a truck, and the danger is that it's an 80,000 pound vehicle. it's going to run over or destroy anything else on the road. >> alerted by other truck drivers that the suspect is listening to a police scanner, bowers tries to convince the man to give up. >> you need to pull over and stop now before you get shot. >> but the suspect ignores the warning. >> bad things are about to happen if you don't stop. >> with few options, police deploy stop sticks in the path of the semi, but the truck manages to avoid them. another unit waits at the top of a hill, but the suspect spots him and swerves to the right. >> he switched lanes to avoid the stop sticks and sideswiped the other car occupied by two elderly people. >> thrown out two sets of spikes. >> further down

and--and then i went to medford, massachusetts, where amelia earhart's sister, who is still alive, lives. c-span: how old is she? >> guest: she was born in 1900. c-span: she's still alive? >> guest: she's still alive, and she was very helpful-very helpful. c-span: which sister? >> guest: wh--it's--there were just the two of them. c-span: what--and her n... >> guest: it was muriel morrissey. c-span: yeah. >> guest: her name is muriel morrissey. c-span: and what did... >> guest: and her daughter was very helpful, too. c-span: and what did muriel morrissey remember? >> guest: well, it wasn't so much what muriel morrissey remembered, although she remembered a great deal. it was more getting from her a feeling--a feeling of what--of what their life was like. and also, she pointed me in quite a few new directions so that i came up with more new material. c-span: what was their life like? >> guest: when they were children? amelia--their--their li-the two of them had, in their young--first childish years, very different lives, actually, because amelia was sent to live with her grandmother in atc

corrine brown -- this is medford, new york, hello. would like to bring up something that people should not forget, is that disgraceful way ronald reagan treated mandela. he wouldn't put sanctions on the staff african -- on the south afton coming. he indicated he was a communist. shame on ronald reagan. he was a great man. host: one more from florida, and hello? caller: good evening. host: good evening. and we i am a jamaican, will miss man della -- mandela. jamaica, we love him. thank you very much. host: and more of your comments are welcome at facebook.com/cs pan. tomorrow on "washington journal," more of your comments. we will take you back to 1998 and the congressional gold medal ceremony or nelson mandela at the capitol. [cheers] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. [cheers] thank you. mr. speaker, senator thurman, senator daschle, congressman gephardt, representative hotten, thank you for what you have done to make as they come to pass. we are in your debt. waters, thank you. hereembers o

the family says the facility in medford, new york, has agreed to take jahi.ergeant with his car. police chased the suspect through the city from the bayview district to 19th avenue. that's where the-, suspect crasd into another car. the officer fired one shot at the man, but missed. the suspect was later taken into custody. >>> and we will have another look at your weather and your traffic coming up right after this quick break. ♪ [ man ] yo buzz! drop that beat! remix! ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ ♪ ♪ you got that medley crunch ♪ go! go! buzz! ♪ go! go! go! buzz! ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ ♪ clusters, flakes ♪ that medley crunch, crunch! ♪ clusters, flakes ♪ that medley crunch, crunch! go! ♪ ♪ ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ ♪ hey! you got that medley crunch ♪ ♪ hey! must be the honey! ♪ >>> welcome back. now, the kingsides have returned, and they'll be with us all the way through thursday, so it's a good-looking finish to the year. temperatures today are going to be comfortable. just want to put this on your radar. as far as what we're expecting impact-wise, fl

portland could see freezing rain. 39 for a high, medford, 34. >> oh.a. >> thank you, ginger. >>> here's a look at what's coming up on your "gma morning menu." in "pop news," a massive mashup, with all of the year's internet stars. plus the beauty ad gone viral. breaking down the doubling standards in the workplace. it's a talker. >>> and should presents be a must at a kid's birthday party? there's one mom that put it on her daughter's party invite. we're anxious to hear what you think p of that story. that's coming up live on "good morning america." >>> and tory johnson with incredible "deals & steals." and the doggy edition of the gorgeous christmas sweater competition. ♪ every day we're working to be an even better company - and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u.s. than any other place in the world. in fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our

medford, 6.1 inches. this is threw the weekend. redding hasn't had snow, measurable, in four years.y're going to get over five. this is huge. we'll be talking about that much more. the local forecast coming up in 30 seconds. >> we're also talking with this new storm, flakes for las vegas. and we have high temperatures on the east coast. it is a big flip-flop. i'll have more coming up. >> thank you, ginger. >>> as we celebrate nelson mandela this morning. live pictures from soweto. let's hear the voice and the words that transformed a nation and inspired the world. >> south africa is a country many races. there is room for all the various races of this country. to spend 27 years at the prime of your life, is a tragedy. and i regret those years that i have wasted in prison. i greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. let each one of you and all of our people, give the enemies of peace and liberty no space to take us back to the dark hell of apartheid. you, south africa, has to eliminate racial hatred and suspicion caused by apartheid and offer guarantees to al

including in southern california but now it appears the only one that may be coming through so far is in medford her there or to allow her to come there. they gave a statement in part that says that we are aware of her dire situation and we're willing to open our facility to her. that came from the new beginnings owner this morning and they've also had a longer statement talking about how they believe that they should open their hearts and help this patient and they, of course, specialize in traumatic brain injuries. the family attorney has spoken about the situation and he insinuates the hospital is not helpful at all as they try to find a facility. take a listen. >> what they're hoping is when the facility is locked in, that this hospital will do the procedure or let someone come in and do the procedure. what baffles me is they say that she is dead but they won't give us her body. >> she is in a situation where she has to have a feeding tube as well as a ventilator to keep her alive so in order to move her to new york, they have to do a special flight. family has raised more than $20,000 for t

host: medford, massachusetts is on the line for democrats.ler: i would like to comment 2014 and goity for back to what can was saying. after obama was elected the first time, the mission of the republican agenda was to make obama failed -- fail. mitch mcconnell was stating that. that has permeated in the last five years. i think that is what really is clogging up progress. getgo to congress and things done and that has consumed all of the progress that could have been made. i wonder if you could make a comment strictly on that. host: sure. guest: sure. i do not think obstruction is generally -- if a republican president came along and came into town and said he wanted to overhaul medicare and social security, and cut taxes, and increase the defense budget or do all sorts of other things that democrats did not like, i am sure that a lot of liberals would say that they hope the democrats would stand up to it and try to block as much as possible. that is point number one. point number two is that it is a two-way street. keep in mind that preside

questions, i want to read a little breaking news, we have confirmed new beginnings community center in medfordare. according to documents an air ambulance company arranged for a doctor to accompany her on a private jet from oakland to long isla island. what can you tell me about the latest developments? >> the family said they have the air ambulance and facility willing to accept her. the hospital in oakland wants to make sure the facility is aware that in their mind she is brain dead. there's no possibility she can come back to life. she is on a ventilator, which is not the same thing as a life support system. the hospital saying again, no amount of prayer, no amount of hope can bring her back to life but we will abide by the court order that bars us from removing that ventilator until at least tuesday. >> henry, can you walk us through the legal history and what got us this point? >> after a tonsillectomy and other procedures she suffered cardiac arrest and was brain dead. the hospital wanted to remove her from the ventilator but the family is saying she still has a heartbeat. we are not giv

host: medford, massachusetts is on the line for democrats.aller: i would like to comment 2014 and goity for back to what can was saying. after obama was elected the first time, the mission of the republican agenda was to make obama failed -- fail. mitch mcconnell was stating that. that has permeated in the last five years. i think that is what really is clogging up progress. getgo to congress and things done and that has consumed all of the progress that could have been made. i wonder if you could make a comment strictly on that. host: sure. guest: sure. i do not think obstruction is generally -- if a republican president came along and came into town and said he wanted to overhaul medicare and social security, and cut taxes, and increase the defense budget or do all sorts of other things that democrats did not like, i am sure that a lot of liberals would say that they hope the democrats would stand up to it and try to block as much as possible. that is point number one. point number two is that it is a two-way street. keep in mind that presi