process may be running out in washington this is fears water i hope they get the director of the nixon center also others who asked the question. the u.s. leadership is trying hard to push through the new start treaty through the congress president obama has been meeting with republican leaders and he says they too want together treaty signed but inside the g.o.p. not everyone appears to be in agreement some republicans have held up the voting saying they still have questions about the treaty if no action is taken soon you hearings will be required. the wretched occasion for at least two years and with the new start treaty becoming the plank ship for the whole reset process would it be a blow to improving u.s. russian relations. loomis owners welcome to the show thank you thank you thank you very much for being with us well first of all could the new start treaty become a casualty of the new political situation washington is that possible well it's certainly possible i don't think it has to happen by any stretch of the imagination certainly there are a number of senate republicans who have qu

drew thompson is the china studies director at the nixon center. michael on the republican line in sterling heights, michigan. caller: i am of the vietnam veteran and i am apprehensive about red china. the red chinese have killed 61 million people. communism was caused more human misery, death, and despair that all of the annals of human experience. it is not on the scale as under mao zedong but it is still a totalitarian system. guest: china is still a police state, but they are a far cry from the comments of the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's -- from the communists of the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's. they have opened their economy and lifted hundreds of millions of poverty. the standards of living are much greater than they were 30 years ago. the question is, how is the u.s. going to adapt to the changes, how will we coopt china, and how will we help china should its choices so that it can treat its own people with compassion and dignity and make sure that their rights are protected as well as being irresponsible pleasure to turn the current -- as well as bei

drew thompson is the china studies director at the nixon center. what is the pla? guest: people's liberation army, 2.2 million chinese citizens who are active service members in the defense of their own country. it has a long and rich history, starting out with the civil war period. it is essentially the party of the army, the army responsible for keeping the communist party in power. it is a professional army, for sure. host: what impact does a buildup of the pla have for america and other countries? guest: that is an open question. the build itself is not necessarily a challenge or threat. the question is what do they intend to do, what is the nature of the buildup? that is a question that japan and other countries in asia -- they have to engage china very carefully and cooperate wherever possible to determine what the intent is. the build runs a lot of risks. china has engaged in a very progressive modernization process, but it controls the pace of that itself. it determines how fast it wants to grow, a major concern amongst chinese strategists

drew thompson is the china studies director at the nixon center. what is the pla? guest: people's liberation army, 2.2 million chinese citizens who are active service members in the defense of their own country. it has a long and rich history, starting out with the civil war period. it is essentially the party of the army, the army responsible for keeping the communist party in power. it is a professional army, for sure. host: what impact does a buildup of the pla have for america and other countries? guest: that is an open question. the build itself is not necessarily a challenge or threat. the question is what do they intend to do, what is the nature of the buildup? that is a question that japan and other countries in asia -- they have to engage china very carefully and cooperate wherever possible to determine what the intent is. the build runs a lot of risks. china has engaged in a very progressive modernization process, but it controls the pace of that itself. it determines how fast it wants to grow, a major concern amongst chinese strategists

drew thompson of the nixon center examines the chinese military spending over the last decade and how the u.s. is responding. "washington journal" is next. . . .

. >> he saw in nixon and later realized how naive he was a chance to find a new center in american politicsis explosive time of 1968, the country -- there were riot acres sass nation and believed that nixon could bring the best of both worlds to the white house. >> you know what lawyer reg, you were with him every day, i do envy you this, sir, the chance to get up in the morning go to work with and realize that across the hall, rather in your own office suite was the presence of this great man. you could actually great him in the morning, say hi, senator, how's it going and begin your day. how did he avoid personalities in politics? he think he made a point, like ike did never attacking an opponent by person eighth, it was always about the policy issue. >> he never did and he never did privately. i can tell you i heard him once in all my years say one sharply critical thing, it was about a local new york city politician, and it was a very brief moment and i never heard had him say anything personally critical about any other politicians. he didn't participate often in profiles. people would

historic landmarks including reno center -- reno city, american university and even our own nbc 4 studios here. it was in our building where nic nixon and kennedy took part in the first ever televised debate and kermit the frog made his debut re, too. >> this is the highest point in the city, and so communications became very important here. >> a that sears store sold live cckens, live ducks and live rabbits and they sold feed because people not too far from here were still farming. >> the entire distance of the trail is little less than three miles. tenleytown -- there was a guy who owned a tavern way back when and apparently that was the place to be. put your name on the air when that happens. >> and i think brinkley's desk is over in that corner. >> seriously? >> neat to be part of history. >>> 9:38. >> up next,it may look like any other convention you'd find in washington but this event was anything but. a look inside the adoption expo. [ man ] aryou aware that verizon fios brings fiber optics to your home and cable doesn't? yes. -i read that. -i do know that. yes, but there's a contract. at verizon, they want you to have a two

center. thank you for sharing your perspective. >> the president of the league of conservation voters discuss this energy policy under a republican congress. and drew thompson will talk about the nixon it is different from making a start out making -- star out of britney spears or cher. americans get wise that the stars and the wizards might not be what they are cracked up to be. after a certain amount of time, chaos and mayhem reighn. -- rein. >> this week on prime minister's sessions, david cameron is challenged on the government's response to terrorist threats, and the prime minister's decision to put his personal photographer on the government payroll. they will also discuss government spending. >> this week on "newsmakers," our topic is government spending. we have a reporter from the "los angeles times." jennifer, you have the first question. >> a lot of people are wondering what exactly happened in the hours and weeks leading up to the explosion on the bp rig in april. the blowout preventer is sitting in a nasa facility waiting for tests. there is some disagreement in the investigation that your agency and the coast guard is leading. what does the dispute due to the timeline?

drew thompson is the china studies director at the nixon center. what is the pla? guest: people's liberation army, 2.2 million chinese citizens who are active service members in the defense of their own country. it has a long and rich history, starting out with the civil war period. it is essentially the party of the army, the army responsible for keeping the communist party in power. it is a professional army, for sure. host: what impact does a buildup of the pla have for america and other countries? guest: that is an open question. the build itself is not necessarily a challenge or threat. the question is what do they intend to do, what is the nature of the buildup? that is a question that japan and other countries in asia -- they have to engage china very carefully and cooperate wherever possible to determine what the intent is. the build runs a lot of risks. china has engaged in a very progressive modernization process, but it controls the pace of that itself. it determines how fast it wants to grow, a major concern amongst chinese strategists