roger and susan post described themselves as storytellers but the natural tendency but was tore the analytical and they had to find forms of fiction that they made a virtue of this inclination. i think they made the transition from intellectual touse storyteller. but the first volume of his trilogy of peasant life in the french alps is bracketed by what is called an explanation and historical after word but in his case she is a great critic but could not tell a story to save her life with the novelistic essay makes one realize that shakespeare is specifically of play like a shield and also pointed out and we will come back to that shortly. hamlet is a series of little essays. hamlet on friendship. hamlet on suicide. this is not just me twisting shakespeare to suit my purposes in a marginal comment of a soliloquy herman melville wrote here is forcibly shown have led. to cv essayistic qualities. to revert, i don't know about you but while i still enjoy the essayistic part of the of miracle like this i was becoming increasingly impatient with the novelistic parts which unfairly i remember a benny

and susan horne is posting a one out of sorts. >> all the groups, theatrical, singing groups, everybody needs a safe place to practice their art. those places are slowly disappearing and it makes me very sad. >> thank you, everybody, for coming to our 2013... [ indiscernible ] [ drumming ] >> reporter: in oakland, jennifer mistrot, cbs 5. >>> from the cbs 5 weather center, good evening, everybody. it's live, it's high-def doppler radar. and if we had any kind of precipitation, it would be detecting it. but the truth of the matter, clear skies and below freezing temperatures. we'll pinpoint the coldest locations coming up but first, vern glenn. >> that's right. hey, ahead you got a bay area pac-12 team in the rose bowl, it's a game changer. it's mega, and it was stanford full of emotion front and center. ,,,,,,,,,, to give a break cancer survivor a lifetime-- that's definitely a fair trade. whoo! you walk with friends, you meet new friends, and you keep those friendships. it was such a beautiful experience. (jessica lee) ♪ and it's beautiful ♪ undeniable (woman) why walk 60 miles in the

. >> joining me now for our daily fix chris cali sfwl sxwl a, managing editor of post politics.com, and susan page, washington bureau chief for usa today. chris, what we are told is contrary to some reports that there is not a great deal of distance between what the president is going to say tow today and what the senate announced, at least as far as it goes, if the senate were to collapse, the senate plan were to collapse, then he might come out with perhaps a more liberal plan, but he is pretty much in sync on the advice of the congressional hispanic caucus to stay in line with what they're doing on the hill? >> that's incredibly meaningful because what that means is that it's not two tracks that this is running on. it's one track. this senate proposal -- again, there are a fair number of specifics in the senate proposal, but not a bill yet. nothing has been written. i always say until we get it written and passed, sweel, but it suggests that this is the main vehicle. the gang of eight bill will be the main vehicle with president obama's backing. if you need an example of why republicans ne

. >> i want to bring in "usa today's" washington bureau chief susan paige and the huffington post washington bureau chief ryan grim. >> the national mood has changed if you look at the polls. 53% of people have a favorable view of the president's plan. look at the numbers when you take each piece individually. 91% support background checks. 82% more for mental health. all the way down to 60% who favor a ban on assault weapons. how crucial will the obama administration's event, like the one we're going to see today, be to getting something passed legislatively. this whole big pr push they have going on? >> one thing that struck me when we heard senator feinstein read that litany of places that have seen terrible shooting rampages is that one thing that is different this time is that there is at least a big debate going on about it in washington that has engaged the president. it's been a decade since that has happened in response tho to these shooting incidents and tragedies. so that's different. what isn't different is that as we heard senator schumer and others acknowledge, a very hard road

prior to joining foreign-policy susan was reported to "the washington post" and the capitol hill newspaper roll call and brings great experience and expertise to the conversation tonight. runtime and susan were poised for an intriguing conversation about leadership generalship command and relief, tom and susan. >> for so thank you so much for that kind introduction and thank you to c&s who is not only been a benefactor to tom but directly and indirectly foreign-policy as we embarked on this project over the last two years. thank you very much and i think you have given us a perfect starting point for the conversation today in your very generous and right on the mark introduction of tom and the book so -- i too have known tom not only as editor and a friend but as they just dropped a thinker who has lots of important things to say about leadership, followership in the nature of being an institution i think one of the things that i most enjoy personally about reading "the generals" is how well it -- relevant it is in leadership across large institutions and also bringing these questions abou

eugene robinson is a columnist nor "the washington post" and an msnbc political analyst. susanontributing editor to q "u.s. news & world report." i have a quicken and egg question for you. what drives the divide within the republican party, geography or ideology? >> good question. i think it's the chicken and egg answer, which is i don't know. one drives the other drives the other drives the other. initially the republican party became a southern party through the southern strategy pioneered by lee atwater years and years ago. that became kind of self-perpetuating and, of course, state legislatures started turning, republican seats got gerrymandered into safe republican seats. so there are a lot of factors there, but basically we're at a point now where the red states get redder and the blue states get bluer. >> susan, a lot of self-sorting at both ends of the spectrum i think is eugene's point. what accounts for that? >> well, first of all, i think people are self-selecting their communities. year not only states but jurisdictions are getting redder and bluer and that's reflec

susan stern is ttking your queetions righh after the nnw.. 440-481-4545.or post a n 3 question to ouring fox 45 morning news.. all locaa.. all mmrning. ((brea we are back with life coach susan stern takinn your calls aaout making tte most effective changes in 2013 and how to stiic with hem. fadria- bmore bob- "i have so many things in my life i want to change. i'm overwwelmed and don't kkow where to start. &pwwat ii a good resolutioo for" me?"rick- "i'm 0 years old and hhve never made a resolution before. whyystart no? now?"jackie- "i've never lived up to my weiggt loss resolutton that i make every year. is it time to give up coming up in our 8 o'clock hour.. get that summmr low.. in the middle of winter.three moiiturize.. that are probbbly in your kiichen right now. experts are blaming ppoppe &pborn in that decaae... for ou economic problems todayy you'rr watchhng fox 45 morring news.. all looal.. alll ((break 8)) a fatal fire.. killsstwo people in he city overnight. where it happened... and what we're now learning abbut the we've avoided the fiscal liff. but the surprising spendingg

and joining me now at the table washington post columnist ruth marcus, again, usa today's susan page,and elizabeth of the "new york times". welcome all. well, we've been talking a lot about the white male cabinet choices. just to show you that there's nothing new and it's deja vu all over again as we see tshg the east room waiting for the president to come in and nominate jack lew, let's have a flashback as y yogi berra would say, it's deja vu all over again. >> today clinton rejected complaints from women's groups that he hasn't delivered. >> the people that are doing this talking are by and large talking about quotas. i don't believe in quotas, and they're checking on numbers. what i try to do is take each one of these positions and do my very best to come up with the person that was well qualified. >> he was visibly angry that critics are ignoring some cabinet appointes that are not female. >> those bean counters who are doing that, if i had appointed white men to those positions. you know that's true. >> are you in the room, i was in the room back in little rock in those days, lea

travesty when mike keane and graham accused susan rice off misinterpreting what happened in people that i wanted to call their own article in washington post where they said that we should toss out because if we don't topple him we're not going to have serious as good friends as believe me i saw all right and then i'm going to be on scene here we're going to go to the most you know after that short break we'll continue our discussion on russian foreign policy stay. with me. plus. live. live. live live. live . welcome back across town from peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about russia's foreign policy gentlemen at the end of last year secretary of state hillary clinton warned about the resolve it is ation of russia and the post soviet space i want to go through all three of you your reaction to that. here a player who was a. secretary of state recruited because of domestic political reasons it was actually a coalition of ministration and obama had to do it due to situation democratic party. and i must see she was very much disciplined secretary of state she basically fulfilled the policy formulated in the white house but now you kn

same glum aeration it's a genocide of the poor that's their post and it's the final solution jake george osborne what you got i did all right susan thanks so much for being on the kaiser report thank you max. state. talking to us. little. me speak or language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks about six of the i p interviews intriguing stories for you. in trying. to find out more visit our big. government no longer represents the people the people are going to take the terms. we. believe in the traditional. the way our economic system currently does not. live. up. to. the borders and beyond the courts eleven years on guantanamo remains open for business and party looks at the interrogation nerve center of america's war on terror. welcome back to the kaiser report i'm max keyser time now to go down under to australia and speak with some dusts author of extreme money welcome back to the kaiser report nice to be with you max all right let's talk twenty thirteen what do you see is the key economic themes for the new year. well the first thing i think is this is the year in which peo

travesty when my cane and dean say graham accused susan rice of misinterpreting what happened the in people that i wanted to call their own article in washington post where they said that we should talk all also because if we don't don't topple him we're not going to have syrians as good friends as believe me i saw all right and then i'm going to i'm saying here we're going to go to their west coast you know after that short break we'll continue our discussion on russian foreign policy stay or. leave please. please speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on all t.v. reporting from the world talks books of v.i.p.'s interviews intriguing stories for you. then try. to find out more visit our big dog. all teeth dogs call. was. lucky. lucky. i am clean cut. so. welcome back to cross talk i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about russia's foreign policy by gentlemen at the end of last year secretary of state hillary clinton warned about the resolve it is ation of russia and the post soviet space want to go through all three of you your reaction to that. hillary clinton was a. secretary of state recruited because

travesty when mike keane and graham accused susan rice of misinterpreting what happened the in people that i wanted to call their own article in washington post where they said that we should talk because if we don't topple him well i'm not going to have syrians as good friends as believe you are right and then i'm going to be on scene here we're going to go with you after that short break we'll continue our discussion on russian foreign policy stays on. the. least be cool language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks about six of the ip interviews intriguing story for you. in trying arabic to find out more visit arabic. dot com. illo. lynn thank you lou let's. play live plug plug elite. plug play. live. welcome back to crossfire i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about russia's foreign policy gentlemen at the end of last year secretary of state hillary clinton warned about the research he does ation of russia and the post soviet space i want to go through all three of you your reaction to that. here if there was a. signature of state recruited because of domestic political reasons

global ration it's a genocide of the poor that's their post and it's the final solution jake george just more work to get that idea all right susan thanks so much for being on the kaiser report thank you max. state and first talking to us. lead. the way. me believe. in the. government no longer represents the. people or going to take the term. we. believe will lead to the revolution along. the way our economic system currently is not. going to. welcome back to the kaiser report i'm max kaiser time matta go down under to australia and speak with. us author of extreme money welcome back to the kaiser report nice to be with you max all right let's talk twenty thirteen what do you see is the key economic themes for the new year. well the first thing i think is this is the year in which people are going to realize that economic growth ain't coming back because i think for the last few years everybody said well we tried this it didn't work on our we've got a new thing it will work and i think people suddenly realize that growth is not coming back at the levels we saw it's a pretty two thousand and seven the second thing which will slow

glum aeration it's a genocide of the poor that's their post and it's the final solution jake george osborne work to get that idea all right susan thanks so much for being on the kaiser report thank you max. state. talking to us. download the official application to your cell phone choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites. if you're away from your television just doesn't matter now with your mobile device you can watch on t.v. anytime anywhere. whether you dive from high or to the depths. catch the power of the wind or drift in the beauty of the currents. being well prepared is a must and if you're lucky. you'll never forget your experience we only need them a screen that's going to be heaven. in the white see up close and below the ice on our t.v. . mission. critical three. months three. three. three. videos for your media projects free media r t dot com. welcome back to the kaiser report imax kaiser time out of go down under to australia and speak with. us author of extreme money welcome back to the kaiser report nice to be with you max all right let's talk twenty thirteen what do you see is the key economi

posts on social media. gel we're talking about an alleged rape. susan candiotti has been sifting through this evidence and some of the reports. >> disturbing on so many different levels, ashleigh, in this case the charges are absolutely horrific. a 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two high school football players during an end of the summer parties in the small eastern ohio town of steubenville. there are reports the girl was drunk and possibly unconscious. now two special prosecutors appointed by ohio's attorney general mike dewine are just over a monday away from trying at least two teens on rape charges. what makes this case stand out even more is talk about the alleged attack last august that's been playing itself out through social media. even ohio's chief law enforcement officer says this case might never have come together a decade ago. that's because police in part for you sound about the alleged rape by piecing together outrageous tweets, a cell phone photo that claims to show the girl at the center of the alleged attack being carried se

post. >> shepard: other lawmakers were critical of u.s. ambassador to the united nations susan rice and how in the aftermath of the attack she characterized it as a spontaneous protest. >> the american people deserve to know answers and they certainly don't deserve false has answers. and the answers that were given the american people on september 15th by the ambassador of the united nations were false. >> shepard: in fact, intelligence officials have said they gave ambassador rice those talking points, the ones she used on five sunday shows and they took out references to al qaeda. and secretary clinton said today those who have accused ambassador rice of misleading the american people are wrong. we also got a sense of how this attack may have affected secretary clinton personally. during her opening statement, before the senate this morning, her voice wavered as she described comforting those who lost their loved ones. >> for me, this is not just a matter of policy, it's personal. i stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane a

post. i think it's inexcusable. >> reporter: clinton fired back in anger when senator ron johnson pushed her about statements by u.n. ambassador susan rice made on tv in the days after the attacks. >> we were misled that there were supposedly protests and something sprang out of that. an assault sprang out of that. >> with all due respect, the fact is, we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they would go kill some americans? what difference at this point does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> reporter: tomorrow, clinton will introduce the man nominated to replace her, john kerry, so, today is likely the last long look the american public will have of hillary clinton for awhile. and, diane, there is no doubt she has left a vivid impression. >> it was memorable. thank you so much, martha raddatz. >>> and, also in washington, we want to tell you, there was a bit of an exhale today. back from the brink of another looming crisis, this time on the debt ceiling. repub

susan collins. she's the dean of the school of public policy at the university. she told the washington postt she does plan to ask him about this quantitative easing qe 4 debate inside the fed. she also plans to ask him about the fed's new targets for when it might start to raise interest rates. it says it won't start doing that as you know now until unemployment gets to at least 6 1/2% or until inflation gets to -- if it hits 2 1/2%, then they would start to tighten. for the first time, the fed chairman is going to take questions through social media, through twitter, but not through the fed's handle, through a handle that the school has established, specifically for this event. we will be on our twitter account as we watch the questions come up. cheryl: peter, i follow the federal reserve on twitter. it is probably the most twitter feed, not lying. they have to step up their game a little bit. if you know people over there, let them know. peter: i will pass your complaints along to management. cheryl: please do. thank you very much. peter barnes, and of course we will be following if the f

for our daily fix is chris caliz sxwl a and post politics.com nbc capitol hill correspondent kelly oh donnell and usa today's washington bureau chief, susanage. thanks very much. first to you. >> sure. >> john kerry has a lot -- very heavy lift to climbing budgets, climbing support for the state department. you have pakistan and afghanistan, with the drawal from afghanistan that will only make it harder, and that has impact on pakistan. china, and russia. leadership in russia, as you know, very, very complicated. where does he look first for support, and, you know, who wants this job? >> i would say the middle east -- the hard thing that you hit on is the challenges for a secretary of state and for the united states generally in foreign policy have not waned. they have probably increased. in libya and benghazi and secretary clinton tried to make this point and senator kerry as well that the funding for all of these things is -- it's a fine it amount of money, and it's shrinking at the moment. the difficulty of a world that remains kredably complex, probably more complex, with our somewhat increasingly limited ability to sort of address ev

write about the durt of women in the cabinet and susan rice and fell apart and that's not been replaced by anybody and looking at three women for 15 cabinet posts. not the diversity we would expect from obama that we would hope for from obama and it seems or a little late in the game to make up for that. so is he just going to be behind the eight ball now? >> well, you know, it is interesting because women's issues as you know is a big issue in the campaign. the president made it an issue and as did the republicans and the president trying to drive a wedge and won 55% of the women's vote and i think he made the point, you know, he wanted women's health issues and equality in pay and same time with the departure of hillary clinton, you are looking at a national security cabinet all men and there is concern. the president to be fair to him, was in favor of susan rice it looked like. didn't work out. now you have a treasury secretary announced soon, probably jack lu and replaced by a male candidate, as well. i have heard and did write about this today. there is some frustration and this is dogged obama since the beginning of his first term when th

post. i think it's inexcusable. >> president obama picked senator john kerry to lead the state department after ambassador susan rice withdrew her name. you'll recall rice caught a lot of flack over the benghazi attack. kerry is chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. >>> we are still talking about this probably for the last time, though. an inaugural official told cnn that pop star beyonce did not sing the national anthem live on inauguration day. the official asked to not be identified and it was beyonce herself who made the decision the night before. >> now you think it's done? >> i don't think we'll hear from her at least not for a while on this subject. yesterday there was at least a mystery, did she or did she. now it appears she didn't. there you go. >>> the truth about manti te'o, the notre dame star speaking out and coming clean about the fake girlfriend hoax. while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will wo

susan rice wrote an op-ed for "the washington post" saying she was picked to go on to five sunday talkws because mrs. clinton had a grueling week because of the attack. as i say, franklin roosevelt had a pretty grueling week too. but if you're not up to being able to handle the responsibilities, that says something too. >>brian: about whether you can be an effective president or not. al qaeda on the rise, on the run. we've decimated al qaeda. we've heard it all. in reality, they're all over north africa, coming back in iraq and their presence is seen in afghanistan. what is the message? >> well, i think one message is president obama doesn't get it. i was absolutely stunned in his inaugural address -- stunned to her him use a phrase associated with nevill chamberlain, peace in our time. i'm in london, so it's something people remember here. it is a phrase associated with the appeasement of the nazis in world war ii. and yet president obama used that. he said we were ending a decade of war. obviously the enemy didn't get the memo, as you say, in benghazi on september 11, in algeria with

online video and a photo and various postings, some were online months ago, then were taken down and some put back online again. so this is not over. >> all right, susanmuch. >>> still to come this morning on "starting point," the lawsuit that is trying to get penn state sanctions in the jerry sandusky child sex abuse case tossed out but guess what? it's not the school that's suing here. governor, governor tom corbett joins us live to talk about why he has decided to sue, that's coming up. >>> penn state university is distancing itself this morning from a lawsuit by the state over sanctions imposed after the jerry sandusky child sex abuse scandal. now it's the governor here, governor tom corbett who is filing this anti-trust lawsuit against the ncaa saying and i'm quoting here that it was overreaching and unlawful in how it punished the university. >> the lawsuit asks the federal court to throw out the penalties against penn state's football program including a $60 million fine but the university still says it will comply with the punishment. governor tom corbett of pennsylvania joins us. governor, good morning. >> good morning, how are you today? >>

post express as our guest. and friend of bill. alongside the president taking the oath of office susan salmi writes, among blacks pride is mixed with expectations for obama. what do you find in the frern african-american community for this largely african-american city? are people pleased with his first term of? >> a bit of both to put it kind of crudely, a lot of people would say the first term was for them. the second term was for us. i don't know that i believe that will personally. we make friends. you are in the second term, be more uppy. this is a perceived understanding, not just black people but people in general is my opinion. what what he had to do in the first term to ensure the second term is not personally. i am not necessarily of the belief that obama 0s the black community some huge -- -- i don't even know what. but there are a lot of people who feel he does that he hasn't been at the forefront for being what people consider i don't know how to say this personally. he hasn't necessarily been the person that has been cheerleading for the black community in the way a lot of people wanted him to: i don't know that he ev

post racial society. but you listen to the rhetoric, and you think that is therh last thing in the world they want. take the situation with susant went through. nation'shave the first black president just re-elected and trying to nominate the nation's third black u.n ambassador to become the third black secretary of state. this would be considered progress. by a sensible definition of progress. the left says any criticism of susan rice is racism. >> because she was a woman and it is race. >> she was said to be a black woman who is how it was said she got it in the first place. what they are going to do to tim scott and what they did to mia loven and what they do to any black conservative. what we have to do is go on offense. we have to have the hell no moment from the left -- >> hold on. does go on offense mean i am not a racist, i swear. >> no becauset that is defense. defense is the first thing we do on the right. i am not a racist. and then we trot out, well let me show you we have examples. with all due respect you are absolutely right, butt they are not going to recognize that. the first thing we have to do is start with a

post. i think it's inexcusable. >> reporter: the secretary fought back, aggressively defending comments made by u.n. ambassador susan rice five days after the attack. >> a very simple phone call to these individuals would have ascertained immediately, there was no protest. >> with all due respect, the fact is, we have four dead americans. was it because of a protest? or because of guys out for a walk that decided to go kill some americans? what difference at this point does it make? >> reporter: a strong defense that did not satisfy senator john mccain. >> why do we care? because if the classified information had been included, it gives an entirely different version of events. >> reporter: like mccain, there were some republicans who hillary clinton did not convince. but this was certainly a memorable way to close out her tenure, george. >> and a memorable day, today, coming up, martha. the ban on women in combat going to be formally lifted by leon panetta. it will be a big part of his legacy. but it's something that's being pushed hard by the military, the joint chiefs of staff. >> reporter: it was the joint chiefs

posts is silly on its face. it's washington and that's the washington game that people play. >> bill has a fair point. >> well, there are folks who are defenders of susan rice and chuck hagel would put it somewhat differently. their view is, they don't have the white house's opposition team. they don't have formidable folks like bill burton who are arguing on their behalf. their names were floated, put out there pretty much on their own. if you have the formal backing of the white house, then you can make it more of a fight. my own view is that both of those names that were floated were not necessarily the best choices for the country. but regardless, if you actually are going to back them, you ought to back them 100%. >> all right. well, thanks very much to both of you. we appreciate it, both very formidable. >>> still to come, new information about american troops in afghanistan. when they're going to come home and who is going to be staying. >>> and some shocking allegations of rape in ohio with evidence, video posted on the web. again? it's embarrassing it's embarrassing! we can see you carl. we can totally see you. come on you're better than this.

post one of the meetings. i think had been simultaneously been going on, susan rice would have deflected a lot of attention from the chuck hagel nomination. other nominations light john brennan, which is controversial in some quarters, but also john kerry are getting lost attention. -- getting less attention. i had conversations with him two years ago about my own views. at the time we are still pursuing -- i had a discussion with hagel about "don't ask, don't tell." it had not been repealed yet. he made very clear his support about the repeal. i did talk to him about this and just want to be clear that he is saying that's it is not just a move that he is apologizing hormell. in addition, he supports lgbt families. he is gone beyond that on women's issues as well. one of the real other subjects we do not often talk about is violence towards women. rates at the academies, rapes in the field. the senate passed an amendment as part of the national defence act giving women who were raped -- i think he is stepping forward. you will hear more about this in the hearings. i think it is important to realize that, like t

susan collins, her first question on the fiscal cliff. so now big headlines there yet from the fed chairman. but we are awaiting for potential comments on monetary policy, specifically professor collins told the washington postes plan to ask chairman bernanke about the news that came out of the fed minutes a couple of weeks ago that there's this internal debate among fomc members on whether or not to start pulling back quantitative easing, to start cutting back on all those trillions of dollars in bond purchases we have seen over the last few years. sometime this year, which was a little bit unexpected, to the financial markets. and there are now it appears a majority of members who might want to do that either earlier this year or by the end of the year. so that will be the -- those will be the headlines we will be looking for. david and sandra? sandra: thank you peter barnes. when you have anything, just jump in, we will take you live. we will break that for our viewers. david: thanks peter. reports are out apple is cancelling many orders for iphone parts as it loses market share and stock as a result taking a big hit. what is being done to energize the consumer? is it time for tim cook to go? a lot of que

susan rice was up for the job originally as well. >> and-- axlerod cast doubt whether she was seriously be considered for the post.nt is she may have been appointed to something. as they say, marjorie, we've got a long way to go. i've got to leave it at that. my apologies for cutting off the panel. going to the white house, breaking news as president obama has finished a meeting with the president of afghanistan offer the future of the u.s. role in that country and they're about to begin a joint press conference. and this guy, hamid karzai made to be a manic depressive and controversial comments about us, what does he have to say during today. >> an n.a.t.o. summit in my hometown city of chicago, and many peoples including many afghan-americans and including the karzai family. mr. president, welcome. we meet at a critical moment. 33,000 additional forces that i ordered to afghanistan have served with honor, have completed their mission and as promised, returned home this past fall. the transition is well underway. soon nearly 90% of afghans will give in areas where afghan forces are in the lead for their own secur

i was really struck by the fact that susan eisenhower as a grandchild was writing in the "washington posteek that she had secret service protection and she was objecting because she said the children go through a lot of change and it isn't easy to be the child or the grandchild of the president of the united states. but these girls have done it remarkably with these parents. >> they are so beautiful and so poised. malia is 14 these days, a freshman in high school. sasha is 11 and in sixth grade. and right now, they're just kids, cold kids waiting for their parents to get there. so lester holt on the west front of the capitol, how do things look from where you are? >> well, we're looking at the girls, as well, as they look towards that red draped entrance, as is everyone else expecting the president and first lady. and the day they have looked forward to since that long, hard fought election, that campaign. >> they've had to sacrifice -- they've had to sacrifice, lester, some of the electronics that their friends and colleagues have enjoyed. they have not had the web access, the access to

susan rice and really, do they want to do this again? joining us from washington, columnist and associate editor for "the washington post," david ignatius.day to have you on, especially pertaining to this topic. why don't you chime in. >> well, i think it's interesting to look at what the president thinks he's going to get from chuck hagel. not only at the opposition to chuck hagel, why is he the person who's being picked despite this obvious opposition? several reasons. first, the president is personally close to him and comfortable with him. they traveled together way back when barack obama was a young senator. they hit it off. i think obama deferred to him as the military veteran, as the man who had seen war. they just got along well. second, chuck hagel, for all the reasons that the neoconservatives are against him, namely that he is skeptical of simply accepting israeli policy views, especially skeptical of the idea of going to war against iran is the president -- the president's man now in the lion's mouth, there's every possibility the u.s. will be heading toward a military confrontation with iran. and if hagel ended up backing it

susan rice. that was the problem. i think it is choreography. i think it is timing, and i'm told, by the way, that they are looking, for example, for a woman at a key posthey are looking for a woman to head the commerce department. but the pictures we're seeing, wolf, of all of these men in "the new york times" yesterday -- if we have it. these men standing around in the oval office with the president of the united states. >> an official white house photo. >> right. >> too that -- >> you pointed out there is -- two women, not just the first lady, but one other woman that is close with him in a big way. she might not be a cabinet post but valerie jarrett, we condition underestimate her role. >> she's critically important. she's staying, she's not going anywhere. what i pointed out half jokingly, there's the famous picture. >> you see valerie's leg -- >> it's hidden there. >> her leg is behind the communications director. but they understand that they -- the optics of this is not very good. and so they put out all these statistics yesterday. got a handful of statistics about the white house staff now being 50/50. but i think we should expect to see some m