pressure put on him is it has not allowed some of the other competent people like greg walden, or mac thornberryor john kline from minnesota, any of these people who would be competent speakers, to be talked about. there are other people and could do this job. i agree paul would be the best. john: people see this as a moment of total chaos in the republican party with boehner stepping down, mccarthy stepping down. no clear speaker to be. is this bad for the republican party? make the case this is not all bad for the republican party. vin: well, you usually have some chaos before you create something good. i don't necessarily project this out for the next year or so and say it is all bad. i do think what is happening in the presidential race and in the house republican conference, although they are different phenomena, are reflective of the fact the electorate as a whole and particularly the center-right electorate does not know what it wants right now. it is unhappy with the direction of the country. it is unhappy with the leadership they have had, but they don't know exactly what they want. loo

congressman mac thorn dem berry with me -- thornberry with me from new york. do you agree with this move or? >> it's better than th alternative. any type the president makes a security decision that's not a national disaster, i'm grateful for it. this is not a decision to win in afghanistan, it's a strategy to avoid another iraq which is what would have happened if he drew down like he did in kabul. and a minimalist how do you limp along to the end of the administration. i'm grateful for it because it could have been far worse. but we shouldn't overestimate what 100,000 -- 10,000 troops can do. bill: can you account for the rise of al qaeda and isis in one country? >> no. we have 9,800 now and isis is growing, the taliban is gaining strength and al qaeda is still there. can you eliminate? no. is it better than complete withdrawal, sure. that's why i have gone the to where i'm grateful for a decision that is not a disaster. maybe we can do better. bill: does the administration have a clear strategy in syria, 70% say no. who's got the upper hand? vladimir putin 53%. barack obama 22%. what do