what he said -- the great tom friedman of "the new york times." he defended hagel today. he wrote, quote, i am certain that the vast majority of u.s. senators and policy makers quietly believe exactly what hagel believes on israel. that it is surrounded by more implaquable enemies than ever and needs america's backing. but at the same time this israeli government is so spoiled and has shift sod far to the right it makes no effort to take u.s. interest into account. and i agree with that. when netanyahu moved and cut off any chance of a united west bank government, he basically took a step that was completely in the face of u.s. policy going back to george w. bush. >> that's true. i think one of the things to be keep in mind is this pre-nomination process seems to have gotten completely out of control. where congress has too much to say who the presumptive nominees that any president offers forth. over history only 20 cabinet nominees have been knocked back. seven have been rejected and 13 have withdrawn those names. seven of those have happened un

this is a pablumized by tom friedman's work greatly is what we can do is all the things. what i'm doing is saying find that human agency, that's fighting against things but what i'm showing you in this book is the other side, i'm not disagreeing with what they said but should i take back to the formidable barriers which if you do not respect you can never overcome. chief among those for billable. if you want to know about a country rather than the deep leaders, their policies, look at the map. the east coast of the who was jam packed with great natural harbor. now the whole coast of a4a, bill whole resource rich tempers on that would settle the time of the european enlightenment and with more miles of inland waterways throwing at a convenient east west fashion than the waterways combined. so i am saying that americans are important not only because of our ideals and our democracy, but because of where we have to live as well. so that's why these things like mountains matters. the himalayas matter. they've allowed india and china to develop into a completely distinct world

good to have you all on board today. >> i'd love to start with tom friedman. n, talking about the protests, between the republican governor and the unions organized labor. and it seems to me that unions, along with the republican party, seem to be stuck in a different era. how would you, as a guy that has been obsessing on the impact of globalization on the u.s. economy, what recommendations would you have for unions to be more competitive in the 21st century? >> look, this is a really hard problem, joe. and i don't think there's a simple answer to it. let me answer you with a story. you know, i park at reagan national airport here, you know, for the last 20 years i've lived in washington. and every time i park there, when you exited, there were these -- there were six, i believe, exit booths. and they were each manned or womaned by these ethiopian women. i think it was an ethiopian company that owned the company. a couple weeks i went to exit to pay. i noticed there was one booth that said cash. there was one ethiopian woman in it. the other five booths had be

. >> the world is flat, as tom friedman said and we can do things quicker and that's why so many canss. happy holidays to you. >> it's cool stuff. i think -- >> it's very cool. i was depressed about the fiscal cliff and then you bring this on. we're back after this. with a deadline. 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. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women,

all those areas of the economy that tom friedman writes about in -- that used to be us. we cultivated great artists but also the greatest economy in the history of the world. people that couldn't demonstrate , rastapouvich couldn't conduct an orchestra in his free land, he -- in his homeland, he came to america because we are a free nation that celebrates the arts and produces economic growth and opportunity for generations of people. so tonight, i channel my colleagues in the united states congress to stand up for america, to do nation building -- nation building here at home by investing in their own people. not $89 billion in rebuilding the roads and bridges of afghanistan but $1 trillion to rebuild the roads and bridges of america. not $60 billion to rebuild the roads and bridges of iraq but $1 trillion to rebuild the roads and bridges of america. everybody here talks a great game about thanking our veterans for their service but you know what the problem is? we have returning veterans from iraq and afghanistan who experience an unemployment rate of 30%. if you want

you know, the other day tom friedman was saying that we have to change our mindset about new administrations. it's not the first 100 days when you look at the agenda. you only have 100 days to get something real done in the current environment. and so the president is very much taking this approach. you know, we've been told that as soon as they get past the cliff talks, immigration was going to be what they're doing next. we're told now that the president hopes to pass it by june. that within six months, the administration would hope to pass a comprehensive immigration plan. so senator chuck schumer of new york is part of a gang of eight. washington and the senate love their gangs. that's working on immigration. early in the year they'll have principles. by march they'll have immigration. so already, we're told, the white house is starting to reach out to the hispanic groups that were very helpful to it during the election campaign. also are going to work with business groups. business wants much of the same immigration agenda that the administration does, try and put together a coalition.

tom friedman wrote an op-ed in "the new york times" today, defending chuck hagel.t of the mainstream. that is exactly why his voice would be valuable right now. president obama will still make all the final calls, but let him do so after having heard all of the alternatives." so we've seen republicans, like senator mccain and graham lead the charge against susan rice, but shouldn't these candidates at least have a chance to be nominated first, allison? whatever happened to deference to the president to allow him to choose his own cabinet? >> well, i think the process of nominating these people, it's a very lengthy process. i think it's good that the administration is putting people out there, as trial balloons. but it's important to note, i know you pointed out earlier, those numbers with hillary clinton had such high approval ratings. i understand your poll was taken before the scathing report that came out that showed systemic failures under her watch at the -- you know, in her term, leading the benghazi situation, and also tim geithner's numbers are so bad becau