i was struck that adults, not necessarily older people, but adults were using twitter pretty early on. but i think what's interesting to me, and i'd like to hear the dr. talk more about this, is that when social media you have an area where democrats clearly had a big advantage, took away some of the organizing advantage among small donors and grassroots that the republicans used to have when they basically invented politically direct mail. but now that we're past the john mccain era, he was not a social media kind of guy, i think future politics are going to have a lot to do with social media. however, it sorts out. dr. skopcol has emphasized, and i'd like to hear more, how conservative traditional media have become very important in a way that traditional media have not worked for the left.

i think to some degree people on the left, when they describe so much influence with fox news, are creating the monster they seek to destroy, but in this case, the use of broadcast hosts as organizers for a movement, i think this is something we haven't seen before, and i think it did play a major part in magnifying the role of the tea party. >> interesting point. >> it certainly did, and i think that it was possible in part because there was a kind of fit between the people who watch fox news, their age and their political orientation, and the usefulness of the tea party to draw the message and make profits for fox news. so it all fit together. i don't think you see that same kind of fit on the center and the left, and i'm citing studies by the pugh center and others,

younger people use a much more fragmented variety of places to get news, so there wouldn't be the same kind of advantage in having a host on one outlet, whether it be a blog or television station, take a leading role in kind of pumping up an emerging movement. >> it is fragmented. peter maer, i want you to weigh in on this because the highest rated program on the fox newschannel, bill o'reilly, might have two, two and a half million viewers a night, and evening news with scott telly might have just as many. so even though it's diminished, broadcast news morning programs still have more viewers than cable. >> and we have, i'm told, 24 to 26 million weekly listeners to our cbs radio newscast, too, steve. so, again, these are all, as professor skopcol said, part of

the fragmented choices that people have as -- you know, as they tune across the radio or listen to satellite broadcast, which i know the audio portion of this might be heard on, cspan radio, cspan tv. we could mention all the different choices people have. it's so helpful in this country that we have so many choices and the ease we have to find them. what's troubling is the people that find -- you know, that choose news to fit their views, o at the other end of the spectrum when they do seek information. and i'd like to professor scotchpole a question based on reading of her fine piece in the "washington post," and i look forward to reading her book because i know it's going to form my reading of what i read about the tea party, and that is that you mentioned mitt romney

has endorsed so many tenets of the tea party. what's going to happen assuming he is the nominee and he follows the traditional pattern of pivoting more toward the center once he knows he has the nomination in hand? is he going to be talking tea party then? is he going to mention tea party in his acceptance speech if he is the nominee? what do you think? >> i'm not sure he's going to use the words tea party, because i'm sure his people know what we all know, which is that the label is decreasingly popular. it's more and more unpopular. but mitt romney is going to face quite a challenge, because he is going to have to maintain the enthusiasm and the engagement of the active conservative republicans he's appealed to during the primaries at the same time that he hits things that are resonant or somewhat middle

of the road voters, including republicans who do not say they support the tea party. i expect him to try to do that by changing the subject to jobs and going after barack obama again and again on the economy, but when mitt romney does things like say, barack obama is a european social democrat, that's a polite way to give a dog whistle to the tea party idea that barack obama is not a real american while not quite going so far as to say the very out of the park thing that donald trump was saying in his brief rise and fall in the public affirmament. >> let's talk about something in your book. you say the tea party is fundamentally the latest iteration of long-standing

hard-core conservatism in american politics. tea party fears and outlooks are central to american politics in a period of culturally polarized generational change. for better and worse, tea party-style politics is likely to remain a pivotal part of ongoing, fierce disputes about what the u.s. government should do and not do. >> and i think what older, richer americans might have to pay for social benefits for younger, more diverse cohorts of americans, i think that's going to remain in a period of budget austerity and the fight is over how much the government should do and who should pay for it, even if the label tea party begins to fade away. and even if tea party groups eventually begin to lose steam at the grassroot. >> so, peter maer, if the labels kind of fade away but the issues

remain, this president, if he is reelected, will likely still have a republican house, possibly a republican senate. the tea party movement as the deficits continue to increase may grow in 2013. so this question: how do you govern? >> it's been a challenge from the get-go, especially since the mid-term elections when the republicans won the house. i'm not sure there is any easy answer to it, steve. as we found out last august, again, going back to the so-called grand bargain that was a balloon that was quickly deflated, the president was asked in that interview with nbc during the super bowl segment, was asked if he would sit down with his potential opponent and talk about the conduct of the election. and boy, i'm opening up a whole new avenue here, but he said --

you know, he basically blew off the question and said, you know, neither one of us will have that much control over what happens with these outside groups that are the super pack funded groups in terms of their message. i think that goes a long way in answering it, too, that if the scenario that you paint comes true, steve, it's going to be very, very difficult. unless the public sends a resounding message in one way or the other, and there's several ways they can do it, and a number of them were mentioned by professor scotchpole in her responses to your questions, they send a resounding message to the elected officials that they just can't put up with this gridlock anymore. >> bob lichter, let me turn to you with some concluding thoughts. >> well, the last reelection, going back to 2000, what you've

seen is one side and then the other side organizing a little better for various reasons. but you've got a serious split in american politics. it's about an even division, which is why it's hard for any president to get anything done. whenever one president is in office, the other side gets moran mamor more animated to get him back in office. to me it's interesting that with all the animation of conservative voices within the republican party, the tea party and others alike are willing to say we don't think mitt romney is one of our guys, but we really want to beat barack obama. that's traditional politics. that's what it's all about. we're not seeing a third party, we're not seeing a ross perot this year. it's fascinating to see how a new public force in republican politics is going to play out where they're not going to have

as much to say. >> where do you want students in particular who have either read the book or seen excerpts to take away from your research. >> well, one thing they could take away if they read the book, it's great to do research on pressing, important questions and to bring a lot of different kinds of evidence to bear, including talking to the people directly who are involved in it. i learned a lot from doing that. the other lesson is american politics is polarized, but it's not really polarized evenly. the pull to the right has been stronger for many decades now, and conservative tea partiers have contributed to pulling even more in that direction. so i think we have to think about compromise, yes, but also how do we create incentive, particularly in a radicalized

republican party, to compromise, listen and deal with others with whom you may not directly agree. >> the book is titled "the tea party and the remaking of republican conservativism. he has covered the white house dating back to the reagan administration. a round of applause to thank our guests for participating and sharing their expertise. on behalf of the students, thank you for being with us. [ applause ] >> when i first started the book, i also thought, this must be an american story. this is about a country that worships self-reliance and americanism. but it turns out we're laggers when it comes to living alone. it's more common in european nations, especially in scandinavia, and even more common in japan.

>> after going solo, eric klinenberg looks at people living alone and what that means for country. also this weekend on booktv, sunday at 3:00, the connie rice on her work at reducing gang violence in l.a. and at 8:15, georgetown university's bonnie morris on her one-woman play and book of the same name, "revenge of the women's studies professor" on booktv on cspan 2. this weekend on newsmakers. senator jeff bingaman. he'll ask questions about the energy and natural resources committee. you can watch that at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern, sunday.

now for a look at the situation in syria and global oil supply. he is secretary of state for the middle east and south asia, and he spoke and took questions recently in houston. >> it is a great pleasure to be here. my connections and my fondness for the united states goes way back. in 1964, i was nine years old and just beginning to have a consciousness of what politics was all about. some of you may remember a satellite called telstar, and telstar was the first method we had of receiving live pictures from each other across the atlantic. in 1964, some of you gentlemen will remember, none of you ladies in the room, of course, are old enough to remember 1964, but some of you gentlemen will remember it was a presidential year, so conventions were in full swing. and for a small boy in england

watching live, flickering pictures of party conventions where there were balloons, there were hats, there were streamers and grown-ups behaving badly and nobody minding, this looked to me like a career path. [ applause ] so, america, thank you for that. my next connection with the united states was when i had a chance to come over here at a soccer camp. i went to a camp for boys, and i learned a great deal about american youth, none of which is repeatable, but it gave me the opportunity afterwards to do some traveling and to sample for the first time the extraordinary hospitality and generosity of american people where the families would make us

incredibly welcome. they would throw you the keys to the car, just go out and drive, see a little bit of our country, which is wonderful. and i remain deeply indebted to the warmth and kindness of that. then my third connection and most relevant here is is that i am a scot. both my parents were born in scotland. my mother is from dundee, my father is from fife, and i understand in your history there are a lot of scots here. there we go. we'll talk about your views on independence later. and, of course, the sensible connection through the alamo, and sam houston was a student of robbie burke and knew his works well, and was able to quote them famously to those who were defending the alamo. who would be a tracist knave?

who would fill a cowered grave? it's all about your people not sending it. from then on, our people stood together in many places all over the world. that, again, i think gives me a connection of respect. so thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak to you and i look forward to your questions. as alan indicated, i've got responsibilities for a few bits of the world beyond texas. 27 countries from banff to bangladesh, and the way i characterize them, it's south africa, middle east, afghanistan, iraq. 27 countries and 13 have some form of major interruption going on.

that leaves three. and you can never quite trust the canadians. and, again, those of you who have done your math will mean that leaves texas. so the point of civility in my life. so thank you for all that. i'm told this city is to energy as london is to finance, and i'm very pleased to be here at the heart of the global energy industry. my thanks to the first council for pulling this together and fto all of you for taking this time together. this is a busy time of world. we have her majesty the queen's jubilee in june. and then in july, the eyes of the world will turn to london for the olympic and the paraolympic games. it's a huge chore to put on the best olympics ever, but to be coming in ahead of time and on budget -- i'm not sure whose budget, but it's on budget -- is yet another reason why the u.k. is a place where you really can

get business done. 2012 is also an important year for the united kingdom in texas. in august we will commemorate the 127th year in texas. captain charles elliott, r.n. arrived in galveston in 1842. this accreditation was not the united states but the public sector. so what permits this anniversary throughout the year? on this day, the middle east and north africa, a region that has seen momentous change over the last year. the industry is well represented and will play an important part in enforcing and encouraging outcome s in the region. today i'd like to share with you the impact of this movement and

how these changes relate to energy security. the eruption of democracy movement in the middle east and north africa is, even in these early stages, the most important political development of the 21st century. with potential long-term consequences is greater than 9/11 when all the historic change and is about people acknowledging things. this year people will face military opposition. their bravery and belief in their democratic rights resonated around the world, and days later he announced he will relinquish power. this act will become a defining moment. the action in the west reflects that the arab spring has been

ebbing. spring has seamlessly turned to winter, not uncommon in the british isles. as far as we're concerned, playing with the season is a bit of a lazy analysis. i think the term an awakening is more apt. even the worst tyrants could be troubled. the people could take their d desdes -- destinies into their own hands. understanding these is the key to understanding the outcome. violence is repeatedly caught. as people demanded their rights in libya, they would retaliate, marking civil war. in egypt, political reform led to active violence.

it led to some 5,000 deaths. commentators point to these and argue the powerful elites will never officially hold power, but while rulers may change, systems would always be bureaucratic. but across the region, the wall of fear has been demolished. people know that together they can assert their right to control how they're governed by who. democrats are usually elected parliaments for the first time in 1950. egypt is in the process of fairly electing south africa. they're 60% under the barracks regime. after muammar gadhafi's 14-year dictatorship, libya has a new government. possible reforms are under way in germany and yemen.

there are four key things. the first san end to the concept of arab conception, a sense that they are not looking for what we are looking for, a chance to control their own destiny. second, islam is not compatible with democracy. so far in those countries where we've had elections, it would appear to be so. thirdly, a sense, and this is important to all of us, that a connection to the west and the world was not simply based on our interests and commercial interests but was, alas, based on value. and fourthly, the big loser in all this has been a violent tragedy. and knowing that they have not been a winner after all this but in fact they see movement as being turned back in this respect is very important for

all of us. it cannot be seen in isolation from wider trend. while the awakening was largely political, it was also in part triggered by economic realities, unemployment, inequality. these economic challenges continue to play out across the region. quite rightly, people's awakened expectations now include improvements in their economic prospect. regardless of political reform, countries in the region will still face mental challenges, growing while educated populations. with unemployments that nearly doubled the world average, social unrest will continue. some regions rely on their natural resources, making the potential for job creation limited. the fundamentals in the market are particularly weak, even with

political change, changing economic trajectory can be a slow process. but young and growing populations have the potential to drive economic growth and can immunize against the problems of aging population. logic caused by poor investments has real potential for growth, price distortions, great barriers and labor market regulations are reduced and privatization is given a push. the oil and gas sectors will undoubtedly play a major part in this economic reconstruction of the region. the middle east and north africa will drive an economic rejuvenation to the region. but we must also look to the wider picture. global energy consumption cannot be ignored and the middle east has a vital role in obtaining a

secure supply of energy to the world's market. it's predicted unchecked global demands for energy will reach over 17 billion tons of oil equivalent, some 40% of current reduction. meeting this demand while simultaneously tackling the climate change is one challenge of our time, but we need a stable energy. how we achieve it is the key. the middle east has always played a major role in meeting global energy demand, and this is not going to change. production of hydrocarbons needs to increase, and iraq and libya are leading the way. it should be the lifeblood that drives economic regeneration, not just on their borders after years of oppression, but across the global community. the industry as a whole is

creating new opportunities in unconventional hydrocarbon and renewable energy sources. the rejuvenation of natural gas production in the u.s. has transformed the global energy. they are changing the global energy mix. traditional hydrocarbones will continue to be important and the supply will become more diffuse. demand will move away from historic in the u.s. political reform is sweeping the region. the economic certainties of energy wealth are in flux. western countries need to recognize how their relationship with the middle east and north africa is changing and maturing. as new energy sources develop and the demand from the east increases, our relationship will be based less on the one-way supply of oil and more on mutual economic benefit, trade and

exchanges. the hour of awakening has thrown up many new uncertainties, but it doesn't mean we can overlook the old challenges. it seems to have a little impact on iran. its regime continues to impress its people and isolate the country from an increasingly globalized world. they've notified six security council resolutions that call on the regime to spend in negotiations. they enrich uranium to 20%, demonstrates the urgent need to intensify diplomatic pressure to return to negotiations. the necessity of a collective global response is clear. in the united states and european union, they have acted precisely in implementing social sanctions. the u.n. brought in a controversial oil ban measured against the -- and a ban on the

uranium section of gold. no assessment of the future could be complete without considering what lies ahead for the middle east. let me say up front that we do not have the luxury of 20 years to stall the israeli palestinian complex. my visit to the palestinian territories just two weeks ago, i saw myself the pace of construction that will allow any ambition remaining in the palestinian states. unless both sides can agree on a peaceful settlement that guarantees the security of israelis and the sovereignty of the palestinians, israel will be faced with many changes. it destroys its essential character or one that threatens the security of the israelis. as friends of the mideast and particularly friends of israel,

we need to say this loudly and cli clearly, now is the time to resolve the issue. it has a chance to redefine its relationship with the region. the two-state solution is not just a guarantor to israel. it provides a foundation with its arab neighbors which could help facilitate regional trade and prosperity. this kind of agreement refines courage. finally, i don't think i can or should address an american audience without saying a little on the enduring bilateral relationship between our two countries. the united states is our most important ally. our relationship is rooted in history. from combatting violent extremism to addressing the poverty, ignorance and conflict that underlies it. from promoting human rights,