good morning everyone on this wednesday, october 29th. republicans are entering the final week of the midterm elections with an edge over democrats. the federal government's ability to deal with major problems, and the direction of the country. this according to a new "washington post" abc news poll. it founding an overwhelming majority saying the country is badly off track. we'll begin there this morning. is the economy impacting your vote? republicans (202) 585-3881, democrats (202) 585-3880, and

independents (202)585-3882 en. send us a tweet. you can go to facebook.com. the headline on "the washington post" abc news polls is that the economic political discontent makes for midterm double punch. the discontent is the latest from this poll, saying that it's palpable, despite its gains seven in ten americans rate the nation's economy negatively. and just 28% say it's getting better. in a new result 68% say the country is seriously off on the wrong track. we'll turn to our view this morning, is the economy impacting your vote? the september job numbers were good for the administration. the unemployment rates fell to 5.9%. job growth has been on the rise consistently over the months. yet seven in ten of you, according to this poll, give the

economy negative ratings. we shared with you yesterday this latest gallup poll showing that ebola has debuted on american's list of top u.s. problems but still falls behind the economy, which ranks number one, 17% in the gallup poll said the economy is the number one issue. is the economy impacting your vote? that's our question for all of you this morning. from the abc "washington post" poll, they also note this, that views of the president's performance suffer in kind. a study show 51% disapprove according to this poll, essentially the same all year. his ratings on the economy still

the country's prime concern. albeit one of many are similarly weak, a ten-point net negative score for the president on the economy. let's go to by ron up first. where you calling from? caller: well, thank you for taking my call. i think these people are just talking to people in washington, d.c. >> okay. caller: we don't forget in the country that six years ago the republicans had this economy in the tank. i mean, the auto industry was gone. 200,000 jobs was -- 700,000 every month was being laid off. we've still got a memory out here. i was reading president obama won the election. i was reading mitt romney doesn't mean anything. they can't understand why they keep losing elections. democrats got a million 1/2 more votes for the house of representatives last -- in 2012

than the republicans. yet they've got a -- they got more say so in the house of representatives. we don't forget. the democrats are going to win this election. you all can purve it anyway you want to, let them call people out here in the sticks. we'll tell them how the cow ate the cabbage. it's great. it's -- it's steadily increased for the last 60 months, five years. host: okay. caller: every month, every month, more jobs, more jobs, more tax money coming in. slowly but surely, and that's because -- that's with the republicans doing everything they can to stop it. to me, that's just like trying to kill the country, just to prove a point. host: what jobs, what industries are improving? caller: everything. from construction, to the oilfield. we're pumping more oil now than we have ever.

and they talking about george bush being an oil man, looks to me like president obama is the oil man. we're pumping more oil now than we have ever. host: there's more drilling? caller: yes, yes, we have more drill rigs in the state of louisiana than we have in forever. host: okay. all right. steve in indianapolis, democratic caller, as well, republicans, we need to hear from you, as well. the lines are open. steve, go ahead. caller: yeah, the election coming up, everybody seems like they're wanting to switch over, go back with the republicans. i think that when bush was in office he caused most of this s with the recovery it's not been as fast as some people would like but wall street has definitely done better than main street. i think it's corporate greed they're not paying people very well for jobs. and it's just more corporate

greed, i think, than anything. and they're just blaming -- they want to blame it on the democrats. but i think obama has done a pretty good job with the economy. host: okay. all right steve. "washington times" reporting this morning that the president's out on the campaign trail, but he is largely in heavily blue states, trying to get democrats out, off the couch, to vote for democratic candidates. he's staying away from the tough senate races in those states, and this from the "washington times." the president largely stuck to the same message that propelled him to the oval office after the dawn of the 2008 financial crisis. republicans will tank the economy if delivered control. these folks drove the car into the ditch. we all put on our boots and went down into that ditch and it was muddy, nasty and hot and there were bugs.

we kept on pushing. we kept on pushing and finally, we got this car up on level ground, pointed in the right direction. suddenly we get the tap on the shoulder and we look back, and who is? the republicans. they say excuse me, can we have the keys back? and we got to tell them no, you can't have the keys back. you don't know how to drive. mr. obama's message ultimately failed democrats in 2010, lost 63 house seats and six senate seats. is the economy impacting your vote? that's our question for all of you this morning. republicans (202) 585-3881. democrats (202) 585-3880, and independents (202)585-3882. we want to know also what the economy is like in your state and in your communities. let's go to chaku a democrat. go ahead. caller: hello? host: good morning. you're on the air. caller: yes. i'm calling in full support for democrats. first of all i got two things.

host: okay. caller: first i am more motivated than ever because of what mitch mcconnell said early on when's barack obama took office. he said he would do everything in his power to make this president a failure. that's disgraceful, shameful, puts the whole country into a clock, like everybody is looking around, people outside the country are looking at us like these guys can't even see what he's going to do and they voting to make him fail. and secondly, i can tell you jesus can come in, that's a lot of republicans, that's when you know how much they hate obama. jesus will endorse obama today. tomorrow all of the republicans will switch to another religion. that's just how passionately they don't like this guy. blocking him from everywhere. what about doing something that's unpopular just for the

country? that's why i'm motivated more than ever to go to vote. host: okay. all right. dav, a republican, in nebraska, good morning to you. is the economy impacting your vote? caller: my vote has to do with jobs. i work at a place where we are doubling up because we can't find people to work. the people that do hire on realize the benefits will get cut if they get too many hours. most of the construction jobs are done by hispanics who are willing to go where the jobs are. i'm tired of people sitting on their butt wanting free health care, obamacare, medicaid. they get it all. most of the people my age i'm in my late 50s are getting disability because they hurt their back, they get free everything. and i'm telling you, back in the dirty 30s and back when people didn't have jobs from the depression, people went to where the work was. and the only people going to where the work is are the hispanics because they're willing to work.

thanks. host: all right. so what industry are you in? caller: health care. host: you said workers don't want to work too many hours but they can't find workers? caller: the girls will come and workings work for a couple hours, realize their health care, food stamp oring so is going to get taken so they cut down or quit. host: are they -- caller: nurse aides, nursing, and my son runs a construction company and he can't get anybody to work. host: okay. caller: now, people want jobs right, somebody to build a business right outside their door, you know, and that's not going to happen. if you want a job, there are job, i'm sure. host: so you're calling on the republican line. caller: i am. host: why do you think republicans are better to handle this, get jobs back than democrats? caller: because the government has took over. we give too much away. i got people my age that get insulation on their homes, they

get everything taken care of, because they're taking my social security money because they hurt their back ten years ago. i can't believe how many people getting disability in our country and how many people getting hand outs. i think if the tax system was the more you make the more they take, plain and simple without all these entitlement there's girls that make $10,000 a year because of child tax, earned income credit, it's ridiculous. host: okay. caller: there's no work incentive and no integrity. host: we'll go to curtis in georgia, republican. hi, curtis. go ahead. caller: hey, how you doing this morning? first of all i would like to comment on the last republican lady that just spoke about the back. i hurt my back in afghanistan, on my second deployment. so she better hope she don't hurt her back, okay? now, there's people out there sucking the system on that side, she is absolutely right. as far as the economy goes, it's

in the toilet. look at wall street. it's -- we're going to have the 20s again, and then all the people in this country, from black, white, green, red, we're all going to be standing in bread lines and there ain't going to be no more of this fussing and fighting then we'll get a real president. host: who do you think from either party is best to deal with the amount of money on wall street? caller: my thing is, is i pray that ben carson runs for the republican party. it won't happen because the republican -- the republican base and the people who said all this stuff up for the people that run, ben carson will never make it. for african-americans they need to investigate ben carson. they probably don't even know who he is. but not only is he an

african-american he's brilliant. it's all about common sense. that's what we need in this country, common sense. host: what about elizabeth warren on the democratic side? caller: a loser. she has been there too long. term limits. how long we talking about term limits? get her out of there. host: she is just serving her first term. caller: law? host: she is serving her first term in the senate. caller: but she is no different than the other democrats that have been there like harry reid. that guy could barely walk. get him out. host: okay. "the washington post" this morning featuring elizabeth warren on the front page on the stump speech that she is giving for democrats. she has been invited to many of the key states where you are seeing close senate races, even conservative states, like kentucky to stump for alison grimes, and she is reminding democrats the headline for "the washington post" that rally is a

verb. and her message is all about wall street. don in cincinnati, independent. caller: hello, greta. i'm -- i was a republican for years, but i just couldn't stand it anymore. i think it's hard to understand how people plan to vote for the republicans because what i can see from them for the past few years is nothing but basically blocking everything that we may have done to help the economy get better. they haven't wanted to spend money on public works, haven't wanted to spend money on lots of things that need to be done. we need to grow ourselves you out of this situation instead of cutting back on everything because the country is in bad shape. and i -- i go back to that old can cliche if you like what has been happening in washington especially with mitch mcconnell and the tea party, then vote for the same people all over again.

i just -- i worry about having republican majority because i'm not they know what they want to do. and by the a, i think elizabeth warren is the breath of fresh air. she has brought a lot of things to everybody's attention that nobody was looking at. she is not ready to be president but she is certainly good to have in the senate. host: okay. don let me ask you, what do you distrust about republicans on the economy? if they were to take control of the senate? caller: i don't think they're going to concentrate on the things that are important. they seem to be all about real regulations and making government smaller, and i -- i agree that maybe there are too many regulations in certain areas but we need some supervision, you know, what happened with the banks, because we weren't watching what they were doing.

wall street of course doesn't function the way it used to. it's not the main center of formation of capital anymore. it's trading, it's gambling, it's not contributing to the economy at all. host: okay. front page of the "wall street journal."

arkansas, democrat, let's go on to odessa. you're on the air. go ahead. caller: yes, i'm just disappointed in the political field all around. i will say this. we got a president that came in with some good ideas, and i hate to see someone with good ideas and have all the republicans and part of the democrats working against them just because of the color of their skin. if you can't work to help the situation, then i dare you work to hinder it. we dealt with bipartisian but we don't believe in partisan ship

because we don't work with each other for the good of the people. we work against each other. and in this race, right now, all i hear is obama, i'm going to do this against obama. i'm going to do this against obama. i'm going to today -- it's all as if obama is running again instead of the parties running with their own platform. if you watch the situation, they all talk about the same problems that obama talked about when he came in. they talk about college. they talk about jobs. and i got news for them about jobs leaving this country. i work for whirlpool corporation, and jobs has been leaving this country since way back in the 80s. so we can't just blame it on obama, we can blame it on every other president that has been in office ahead of him. host: okay.

all right. robert, woodbridge, virginia, an independent. you're on the air. caller: hi. how you doing, ma'am? i appreciate you taking my call. my issue is i think both parties are terrible. i think the track record is terrible, especially the republicans, talking about you know abortion and -- they've never -- rowev. wade has been around. 50 million babies have been aborted, and i can't -- i'm a -- i cannot support a president that says -- in my opinion it's just totally evil. host: so robert that is more important to you than the economy right now then? caller: that is more important to me than anything.

i think when you are aborting babies you're destroying life. host: i'm going to leave it there robert. in other news this morning, front page of the houston chronicle. listen in and watch, six seconds after launching. >> and we have lift off of the antares. that main engine is at 108%. host: the image taken of the

video provided by nasa showed the ash i tall sciences unmanned rocket blowing up after the launch site just six seconds after lift off. no one was believed to be hurt. the two stage rocket was in its third resupply mission to the space station. nasa said tuesday was its first night launch. the accident and/or by tall sciences complex was sure to draw criticism. this is going to the international space station for reply. the vice president said things began to go wrong ten to 12 seconds into the flight and was all over in 20 seconds when what was left of the rocket came crashing down. he said he believes the safety

staff sent to destruction before it hit the ground. we'll be learning more about what happened here with this rocket. back to campaign 2014, is the economy impacting your vote? that's our question for all of you this morning. i'm going to go to thomas, lexing condition kentucky, a democrat there. you have a competitive senate race. is the economy driving your vote? caller: yeah. i'm -- you know, just speak on tissue, you know what i'm saying? you going to put somebody's mama out there, you know, and all the foolishness. host: bob in baltimore, maryland, democrat. hi, bob. caller: i'm a republican, i think. host: you are? okay. caller: i'm glad you brought up elizabeth warren, she wrote a

book in the 90s, a plan for anybody, you know, a family to be able to, you know, live economically within their means. but she doesn't want to apply those principles to the united states. and as far as her handling wall street, you know, all she wants to do is punish them. and as far as i'm concerned, you know, i don't know if anybody is punishing me i just want to take my money and run. i don't want to participate. and i think that's what's happening in wall street, they're keeping all their money where it's safe and they know that they can keep it. host: let me ask you, republicans take control of both the house and the senate, what do you want to see them do first on the economy? caller: well, i definitely don't want to see them increase the minimum wage or anything else. i think they need to do something about that and obamacare both. even though the president will veto that, at least we'll see,

you know, that there is people that are out there interested in making sure that the people are protected. host: okay. caller: because the president sure isn't doing that anymore. host: this is the "wall street journal" editorial board this morning. the senate referendum.

that's the "wall street journal" editorial board. the senate referendum.

evansville, indiana, an independent. go ahead. caller: yes, ma'am. i appreciate you taking my call this morning, and i have two questions i want to say about the lady that called in about people getting disability and women working, can't get help for anything. i know young women working now, and i have watched their kids and stuff and they make about $800 every two weeks. by the time they pay they rent and groceries and food they can't survive. they have $200 left with gas and everything. it's not everybody being on the system with a bad back or with this. you can't survive out here. you -- like the last caller just said he don't want to see the raise go up for minimum wage. they need that. they need that raise. they out here struggling. they can't buy food.

people are homeless. it's a mess. republicans is not going to do nothing, get in and continue to make they selfs rich and rich. the company needs to hire people with part-time jobs. the real don't see the real. all they see is what they see. holding on to everything, republicans is not going to do nothing but get in there from ronald reagan to george bush and destroy everything. they won't do nothing. people are suffering, real people. host: got your point. "usa today" has a story in their front page about low income workers in this country. hole health care worker es, custodians will account for nearly 1 million of the 2.4 million new low skill jobs expected to be added in the u.s. by 2017. but advances in technology means such workers may be replaced by

robots in the future. these save havens for low skill workers may not be there in decades to come, according to one author of a study, a lot of low skilled workers will need to acquire creative and low skilled skills. could a robot do your job, is the headline of "usa today." catherine in north conway, hi, catherine. caller: good morning. i'm voting for those who are spending our money creatively and wisely. an example would be for the government to buy up coal mines. it powers our electric power plants. and burning coal is a huge pollution. and when they bought up these coal mines, it would put people out of work. and so therefore we would

provide a small moving stipend to places making solar and wind projects -- products. and they could get jobs in these places. and so i just like to see our money used purposely. thank you. host: okay, catherine. dan in california, republican. high, jan. you're on the air. caller: i sure how many we could do what we did once before the american people voted for republicans when our country was down, and under newt gingrich and the people managed to get men in there and women in there, republican women, not like the democrat women that have been hired by the democrat party in this administration, who have done so many illegal things, and so many that have damaged our country. we want people in there that are

willing to workings get out, and get -- lead this country in good condition. under bill clinton, we had glass stegel. they changed the banking system so they could do whatever they wanted to. the democrats don't care to watch the money for us. and they don't care about jobs for us, because they certainly have done a terrible job in our country, we're in very bad condition, and i hope people just vote for republicans for that purpose, to get the country back where it belongs. host: and where is your city in california? where are you located? caller: north of the bridge, the golden gate bridge. host: okay. so what are the jobs like in your community? what industries do you see hiring? caller: well, in the north bay, we have very bad situations. if you go farther north.

in the immediate area, they're wealthier, but the people who really need the work are just being denied work because they are having a lot of illegal people coming in, as you know. we have ebola in this country. we have so many things frightening and making our people lose their confidence in the administration. so we need new blood, and we need to try to bring in republicans as we did and the american people did before, and that gave us more confidence. host: okay. jan. in "the washington post" this morning they continue their tributes to the late editor of "the washington post," ben bradlee. bradlee's support never wavered for the two of them, they write. his funeral will be held later today at the national cathedral in washington, d.c.

we'll have coverage of that on c-span at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. you're going to be hearing tributes from donald graham, carl bernstein, tom brokaw, and his son ben bradlee junior, also on the list of pallbearers you have familiar names, bob barr let the washington lawyer. and a member of the lbj administration. you've got jim lehrer, john meatchem. and catherine wamus all pal bayers. our coverage at 11:00 a.m. eastern time, here on c-span. let me go to robert in -- excuse me johnny in fayetteville, north carolina, democrat caller.

you're up. caller: how you doing, ma'am? first of all that last caller, i don't understand what -- where the republicans come from. you look at -- she said about president clinton, he gave us a balanced budget. after eight years of george bush, we had a deficit. he gave tax cuts to the rich while we were at war. and i mean i spent 26 years in the military. i'm retired. and so other than that, you had things that were going on that was being put on the credit card. and you know, she said -- she talked about the jobs. i mean, when the republicans came back to office, they promised jobs. mr. boehner, where is the jobs, mr. president? where is the jobs? they haven't done anything on jobs. now the only thing that they have concern about is regulations and tax cuts for the rich. and you know, you want to give

this government back to the same people who created this mess. i mean, i don't get it. you know, i voted -- we in a tight race down here. host: yes. caller: the people are getting out the vote because he's the average republican. i mean, you know, when you sit back and look at all these jobs have been outsourced, and the woman from nebraska was talking about people, you know, getting hand outs, talk about corporate welfare. what about the tax cuts that the rich get? you know, there's no jobs out here to be had and they don't want to give you minimum wage, i don't get it. host: okay. you know, you started out talking about the clinton administration. hillary clinton was just in north carolina stumping for kay hagan there. what do you think their draw is in north carolina. and are people paying attention to this election?

caller: down here theyer a. i voted yesterday, as a matter of fact. i mean, i don't know if i voted so much for kay hagan as it is against thom tillis, because you know, you got mc cory, he's scandal. thom tillis, he's got a rap sheet, so it's going to be tight down here. host: all right, north carolina. the "usa today" has this story this morning about the impact of the clintons, the former president bill clinton. democrats are calling on him and his wife. recent poll shows that in colorado the incumbent senator mark udall is losing to cory gardner, the democrat is leading slightly behind republican opponent.

robert in wilton, north carolina, independent, have you decided who you're going to vote for in that senate race? caller: he was just talking about hagan, i don't think any of them are good choices. i guess hagan would be the better choice, i would say. you don't have a lot to choose from as far as a lot of candidates now. the main issue i wanted to bring back we need to go back to look at china, there is a lot of our jobs right there. everybody shopping at walmart are supporting china.

i just wanted to bring up that point. and also, you know, as far as the clintons and all that, harry reid has already had five years when he was with bill. hidden agendas, people need to be accounting for comments, needs to be put in writing. if they don't follow suit they need to be held accountable. host: good morning, carl. how is the economy impacting your vote? caller: it's not going to impact my vote. but i think the economy is the issue that most people really don't quite understand. for 30 years now, after we adopted trickle down economics, we've moved and the world has moved to something that george bush senior talked about the global economy has moved forward, and basically governments have surrendered to

business having any responsibility nationally or socially within their countries. and basically business has been told you don't have to do anything but just go out and make money. you don't have to be concerned about your country, the people in your country, the welfare people. all that matters is you go make money. most people don't understand really how this impacts economies. basically what happened a few years ago we saw that countries like spain and greece where business basically told those countries how to arrange their societies. not the people, but businesses said you got to do this, you got to do that, and totally arranged the societies. basically this is what's happening with the economy today, and like i said only way it's going to be solved is by

other countries recognizing and starting to adjust this, you know, as far as like changing it for the people of the countries. host: okay. matthew, jacksonville, florida, hi, matthew. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say quickly, touch on the minimum wage topic. as a former ups employee that has gone through the ranks so to speak, as the seasonal and temporary employee, loading the trucks and then graduating eventually to be a regular temporary driver during the holiday rush, those jobs minimum wage gets raised to ten, $15 an hour, how available will those jobs be to get experience to be able to make $21.13 an hour as a regular temporary driver? i don't believe that that opportunity for us as americans to be able to advance without any college education, and

without -- with just high school diploma, i just wanted to share that. host: you started out making minimum wage and were able to work your way up? caller: yes, ma'am. working temporarily as a truckloader for ups i was able to graduate up to a regular temporary driver but unable to obtain permanent status because that 32 hours a week i was working i could work that day, i could not work. but that $21.13 was excellent for my family, but i was eligible for overtime so during christmas it was great but after the holiday season is over you go back to making $9.40 an hour loading trucks, so i don't think that that opportunity for people to advance to a better life making $21.13 an hour, plus overtime, overtime would be $33 an hour, that's seven hours a week adds up on the overtime side, and i don't think that that opportunity would be available under -- if they raise

the minimum wage. host: okay. this is "usa today."

here is the headline in "the washington post" this morning that tea party conservatives are likely to win more house seats in the midterm elections. 68 new lawmakers are likely to replace incumbents in the south. you're looking at more tea party conservatives to win house seats. let's go to john in memphis, tennessee, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i just want to say a couple things about some of the people that have been speaking earlier the guy mentioned elizabeth warren how she has been there too long. i just so much about republicans

and how uneducated and how -- we have this amnesia in this country, people can't -- people don't remember who was president before clinton, retarded. host: let's go on to greg in missouri, independent. caller: how you doing, greta? host: good morning. caller: an indicator of the economy is how many people are working not the unemployment rate. disability is permanent, so you know, those people are not even looking for jobs. the first caller you had in today said there was more growing in the gulf of louisiana, of course, there is because gas prices are so darn high. it's obvious that you're going to drill more and look in harder places, you know, if the gas prices are high. i guess my main concern is about immigration reform, and --

well, and the economy in general. host: okay. so i hope you stay with us, because coming up next we're going to talk with the "wall street journal" reporter nick timiraos, who had a front page story yesterday about what's going on with gas prices, and the impact that that will have on the industry. let me go on to betty in west bloomfield, michigan, republican. is the economy driving your vote? caller: yes. i live in michigan, and the democrats have in the past used the excuse that the republicans are having a war against women. well, you should see the ads on tv in michigan. they are using women against women. we have a woman, her name is land, last name is land, and she is running for the republican senate. and the democrats are using

negative ads with women saying that they are against her. that is being -- that is using -- they are using the war against women on the ads. and they -- they blame the republicans for using war against women. they're hypocrites. the other thing is, the black population, the young population, 18 to 25, 30-years-old, cannot find a job. it is the highest since obama became president. this is reality. reality. not something that people -- that the democrats think of. reality, the blacks, young people, adults, do not have jobs because -- since he's been president. host: okay. we'll have to leave it there. coming up next, we're going to turn our attention to gas prices in this country and what's

happening with $3 a gallon gas. we'll talk with nick timiraos of the "wall street journal." and then later our political round table will be here to talk about how national security issues are playing in campaign 2014. but first, in last night's south carolina's senate debate the first, the candidates were asked about medicare and how they would plan to fix it. take a look at how they responded. >> one of the first ways we could help sustain medicare in the future estake a look at what we did with obamacare i don't think our seniors should be subsidizing the health care costs of our young americans. one of the most important things we can do. the other thing we have to take a look at, look at medicare, the number for waste, fraud and abuse is around 9%. the average in much come last america is closer to 2%, 1%.

if we were to look into medicare and look for ways for us to reduce waste, fraud and abuse we would see a path forward. what we do know is the health care costs -- >> thank you. >> as far as health care in general is concerned we need to protect medicare. i had my two parents were 1915, my father born in 1922 they were absolutely dependent on medicare. medicare is a good program, a sound program. we need to strengthen it and keep going. but i think we need to look at the holistic issue of health care in america, whether you call it the aca or obamacare we need to look at that. we need to look at the veterans. we haven't talked about them. they deserve not to be homeless, not to be hungry and have the health care they deserve. we need to look at it, bring everybody together and bring the insurance companies to the table, the medical experts to the table, and come up with a plan that provides the kind of insurance that all of america

needs. >> i have been hearing about a lot about medicare, one of the things i'm hearing is the priefity says of medicare. this is something i don't think is very much on my mind. so i believe that we have got to really make sure we protect our seniors, protect their investment. some people call that entitlement, and i made a mistake when i said medicare, some people call it entitlement. but i believe when i got my paycheck, senator scott got his paycheck we saw that they deducted that cost from the our paychecks, so how can you say that that is entitlement? you earned it. and i think you deserve it. and i will support medicare and make sure we protect it because it is vital to all of the citizens. host: we are back. you saw the debate last night from the south carolina senate. it was their first where the candidates squared off. if you missed it or want to see more of it go to campaign 2014,

our web site. you can find more than 100 debates that we have brought you for control of congress. joining us is nick timiraos, the national economics correspondent for the "wall street journal" and had the front page about gas prices. and the headline was gas at $3, carries rewards and risks. what's going on with $3 a gallon gallon? guest: normally in this country when gas prices fall we think it's great for the economy because this is going to put more money in the pockets of consumers and personal consumption is 70% of gdp. any time you lower costs for americans that's like a tax cut that's going to increase diskrish flary spending, people will spend more at restaurants, and department stores, but what's happened this time is a little bit different. the last four or five years because of the energy revolution, the boom we've had, particularly in shale gas oil exploration the u.s. is a much larger producer of oil.

falling oil prices, which is one of the reasons gas prices are down, falling oil prices could crimp some of that consumption, and the question now is how far down would oil prices have to go for that to have some of an impact in these oilfields in north dakota, texas and oklahoma where you've seen a lot of development? host: and you're talking about natural gas. guest: natural gas and the shale oil that has -- that technology allows for this horizontal drilling called hydraulic fracturing that gets oil out of the ground in different ways. and so you know over the last four years when oil prices were high, we had oil prices as high as $107 in june. when oil prices were high it made this more expensive technology and this more expensive extraction. and we really did see quite an energy revolution here in the u.s. the u.s. is set to become the top producer of oil in the

world. and so that's been huge benefit to the economy. it's one of the reasons oil prices are now coming down, is because there is more supply coming from north america. canada has also these sands where they have been able to develop more oil and gas. and so that's been a benefit, especially to those local economies. now the question is, and we talk about risks and rewards, we all know what the rewards are. you're putting -- you are paying less at the pump, paying less to get on an airplane because the airlines are paying less for their fuel costs. and businesses benefit because a lot of their input costs will go down since fuel is often one of their largest input costs. farmers benefit. it has benefits across the economy. the question is there a price at which it no longer becomes profitable to do the energy extraction that we've seen? right now oil in the u.s. is about 80, $81 a barrel, and the

energy information administration, which looks at this stuff, has said that only 4% of the wells in the u.s. are not profitable at $80 a barrel. most of the firms that have gone in here are going to keep drilling, of courses, because they sunk a lot of costs in the ground to produce the oil. if question is if we go to $75 a barrel, or even lower, what would that mean for the profitability of these wells? already we're beginning to level some of these firms are going to continue to drill but may curb their investment plans for next year, you know, when your profits failure going to try to cut your costs and engage in more saving. and so that's the question right now for the u.s. and most economists thing this is a clear benefit for the u.s. nobody is suggesting that a drop in gas prices is going to harm the economy. but i think what's different this time is that it's not as across the board a positive.

there are some losers this time, even though most americans will win from cheaper gas. host: we'll talk about the risks a little bit later but let's stick with rewards here and show our viewers. this is the average price of gas by state. these are some of the lowest prices. south carolina, seeing $2.76. tennessee, mississippi, texas, not even getting to $3. guest: right. host: why is it? what has brought down the price? you touched on it a little bit but what brought down the price of gas? guest: oil prices is a function of supply and demand. right now there has been more supply in the world, libya has been producing more oil over the past few weeks and few months. and so that's added more supply into the global picture. you have demand coming down for oil. you've seen concerns about a slow down in china. and so if steel refineries and you know different businesses and producers in china are going

to require less oil, you're going to see prices for oil come down. these states, connecticut, california, new york, obviously alaska and hawaii you have to, you know, transport the oil to those places, but california, new york, little bit more expensive gas because they have a little bit stricter fuel standards, environmental standards to cut down on pollution and higher taxes. but even there in california, $3.38 a gallon, that's near a four year low. and so really what's happened is the global economy here has helped american consumers because of this slow down in europe and this slow down in china, if people are going to be using less oil internationally then the prices are going to fall. host: so how much is the energy sector production growth, how has that benefited in recent years because of the high prices that we have mean what have they

been doing because of high prices on the production side? guest: higher prices have made it feasible to get in the ground and find new ways to bring oil. so you hear about fracking a lot, and in pennsylvania, in north dakota has been probably the biggest example of this. the bracken shale in the western part of the state, you've had tons of exploration there, and it's benefited the state's economy. north dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. it has fallen below 3%. they had the highest gdp last year of any state. in the state's economy grew 9.7% last year from the year before. and so while the rest of the country has been kind of staggering through this sluggish recovery, you know, nobody, even though the economy has technically been out of recession for more than five years nobody really feels it. these states have been one place where you have seen more high paying jobs, you have welders in

demand. it even trickles down to the local -- some of these walmarts in north dakota offering pretty good wages. well above minimum wage because there's a shortage of workers. host: why wouldn't that continue? guest: well, it wouldn't continue if it becomes unprove itible to get that oil out of the ground. that's the question now, is -- host: the margins get so thin? guest: right. if there's just not as much demand for oil anymore, i don't think anybody thinks right now this is going to come to a halt by any stretch and i don't want to suggest that. but i think it is making people reconsider, well, wait a minute, you've seen in the stock market a lot of investment going into the energy sector. you've seen, you know, in the high yield sector for corporate debt, for bonds, energy has done very well. and when we had that pull back in the stock market a couple weeks ago, and also in the bend

market you saw a pull back in the energy sector because people are saying okay, wait a minute, we thought maybe oil was going to be closer to $90, $95, if it's at eight you saw for a couple hours a big drop in oil prices that that kind of rippled through the market. host: good you see that drop off go on -- ripple into other sectors that are related to oil and gas transportation of it, the railroad industry, the pipeline industry, et cetera? guest: you have seen that. right now the oil companies are reporting earnings so there's a lot of attention on their own forecasts, you know, oil service companies that have been reporting earnings and they said at $80 a barrel we're fine, business plans will go on as expected. if we get down to $75 a barrel for a little bit that won't change anything. if we get down to $75 a barrel

and we're there for a few months our conversations with our customers will probably change a little bit. host: we've got lots of comments and questions from our viewers, so let me get to nick, in georgia, a democrat. go ahead. caller: why not use the oil we have since we're now the world's largest producer as a weapon instead of our military? in russia, 50% of the economy is directly related to the oil industry. if we moved and dumped our oil on the market for a year, this would take all the economies of russia, iran, even isis, down. and possibly make it to where they had no money to fight anymore. and the military wouldn't have to fight. fight. guest: that's a great point. we were talking here greta about the national picture. but if you look internationally

at, you know, what it means for some of these other countries that rely much more on oil than we do, it could be -- certainly changes that calculus a little bit. russia is a great example. russia is really heavily dependent on oil, and the price drop there has weakened their currency, and it is -- it is not -- if people in north dakota were concerned, people in russia are definitely concerned. and you have a little bit of a question now over what oh peck is going to do. this is the international body that sets up prices. and their members may not be on the same page. there are certain opec members that need a much higher oil price in order to balance their budget. you have libya, where you know, it is more expensive for them to produce than some of the other opec members. the question now is what is this going to do among those petro

states that depend heavily to balance their budgets on oil exports? host: do you see then the black market increases for oil? ..

and texas would continue to do what they have been doing without this much of an impact. mary,you are on the air, geoeye. i am remembering an event where our own senator schumer parking you screw when that part a news crew--parked a news crew when george w. bush was president. prices are over three dollars a gallon and we hear nothing from our senator schumer. thank you for your comments. aest: well, mary, that is fair point. that is probably politics. both parties engage in that to some degree. but i remember what you were talking about.

in 2006 during the election and even in 2008, middle of 2008, oil prices got up to $140. we're talking about $80 right now, which is historically pretty high, but politicians on both sides use gas prices to make an issue. the other interesting point that is that we have a story on the front page saying three dollars gas and people are reacting, saying isn't as great a gas is down to three dollars? but historically that is still a lot for gas. 12 years ago you are talking about gasping over two dollars and two dollars a gallon, people would say, jeez, that is expensive. maybe we have acclimated a little to to having higher gas prices. for the u.s. economy one of the interesting things is that you look at the share of household energy --t is an on that is spent on energy and the

middle-class and lower-income to got tof you have get to work you are still going to put gas in the car. there was a report from bank of america and merrill lynch that said 20% of household income for people who make under $50,000 the year is spent on energy. it is actually less than half that for people who make more than $50,000 how you. 20% of income going to energy is more than double where it was in 2001. as task vices have crept up -- as gas prices have crept up it has taken up and shout of american households and in many cases we have not seen incomes going on very much. this has been averted and now it will be a little bit of a relief. host: fairfield, connecticut, joe was a republican. oh, lost joe.

jerry, democratic caller. caller: hi, greta. great talking to you and thank godor c-span -- for c-span. his guys from "the wall street journal" so i see him as being a mouthpiece for big oil. i remember that george bush got the big oil companies to say that they were profitable and $50 a barrel for oil. $10 todding another that, $60 is still profitable. this is pretty much a geopolitical thing because the s haven't cut back their oil drilling capacity because of russian, because they're trying tin and the screws on pu russia seems to need to have about $100 a barrel for them to be profitable. ,his is all about speculation

the speculators are doing, because gas should be two dollars a gallon. we have the stockholm syndrome s withon with high-price the american people because we seem to have taken in -- have been taken in and out sympathized with the oil companies that we have got to pay these high prices. but these people are the highest profitable companies in the world -- host: ok, so a lot points there, jerry. guest: this is something it may be folks who have not been following this may not realize -- a lot of this domestic -- the fracking and the mystical oil production, a lot of it has not been from the big five oil companies. involved gotten more -- you have seen them pay hefty prices to buy into the drilling

but you have had a lot of different firms getting involved. barrel profitable? yes, absolutely, especially for the saudis and the more conventional wells overseas. you look at when this production began in the u.s., when the shale drilling began. you did not see a lot of more than six seven years ago, and you also didn't see oil prices where they were six or seven years ago. i think the high cost of oil and encourage people to look into, e, has technology advanced to a point where maybe this makes sense? host: we are talking with the of "the-- nick timiraos wall street journal." npr with a similar headline recently from october 23.

"you are enjoying low gas prices, but is it really a good sign?" paul in pennsylvania, independent. caller: good morning. i would like mr. timiraos' opinion on something. host: ok, we are listening. caller: putting competition and it seems to me that there has always been a trend whereby gas prices are outrageous, people, less, unless -- people travel less and less easy is that when they go down, people travel more, and supply and demand becomes more of an issue. i would like his opinion on that. guest: well, actually, one of those pricing things come when you look at vehicle miles traveled in the u.s., tracked by the department of transportation, you see that it had been growing steadily until the recession hit in the end of

2007, and then it has flattened off. you don't see it is not quite as dynamically as you would think. that oiles go down prices go down, gas prices go people begin see to drive more again. i think it takes more time. the benefit you may see is that you see people spending less at the club and maybe you go out to an extra meal or something like that. but i don't think that -- it is harder to see it in the vehicle miles traveled. "how muchwitter -- will lower price of the pump put back into the pockets of the median wage worker?" guest: it depends on how much you feel your car with gas, other benefits for the economy

is about $1 billion annually for every cent we have seen go down and the price of gas. we are down $.50, almost $.60 from the heinz. $50 to were sustained, $60 billion for the economy. tomorrow we will get numbers from the commerce department on gdp for the u.s. did in the third quarter. it will really reflect yet the impact from lower energy prices -- it won't really reflect yet the impact from lower energy prices that consumption is the biggest part of gdp. this definitely welcome news to retailers. we are heading into the holiday , and a lot ofn the retail sector is doing ok but this would be a pretty big benefit here heading into christmas and the holidays. park, new, orchard york, democratic caller. caller: i am just thrilled that

the price of fuel is going down to help the economy. said, there nick are some dislocations. for example, it may not be profitable to drill for natural gas and oil, and some people to lose their jobs, but the same thing happened with the coal industry when natural gas prices went down. mibecame less profitable to ne coal. nick, thinkingf back in history, he was here at that time, they were also shedding tears because the buggy whip industry was going out of business and some people would lose their jobs there because the automobile came about. point.that is a great we live in an economy where there are winners and losers, and all we're doing here is pointing out that in this current environment, some of the sector that this

has been kind of a surprising success story for a fairly people economic recovery over the past five years -- fairly feeble economic recovery over the past five years. host: scott in illinois, republican. caller: good morning to you both. the first comment i wanted to make is when you have a career politician over regulating, whether it is oil or anything, you broke government so big that it can'ppit- you grow government so big that it can to support itself. b, the second question is president carter shutdown the panama canal in the 1970's. basically gave it back to the panamanians. there has got to be some problems with government regulation there, and the prices that we see were astronomical.

wasn't that based on the fact that president carter actually gave back the panama canal? i would like to hear what you have to say about that. guest: you know, i haven't studied issue with but the impact of prices have been on the panama canal, but you raise an interesting point about regulation. s always going to get rid of and one of the biggest political issues that it is always going to be a trade-off and one of the biggest political issues in recent years has been the keystone pipeline. whether we would deliver this headline that would deliver canadian tar sands from alberta down to texas. that has been a big issue for environmentalists. there has been a pretty big effort on the part of republicans and other economic interests to get it done.

i saw that secretary of state john kerry yesterday was saying he thought they would have this study and have to get it completed and that would be done soon. he did not give us a specific timeframe but as with the panama canal, as the keystone, there is always a lot of complex decisions that go into these things. host: what could opec do with gas prices dropping? we will get a better sense at the end of november as to whether they want to maintain production what it currently is or whether they would try to support the price little bit more of oil by increasing production. we will see. november 27 will be a big day for people who are following this space closely and i think we will have a better idea that. good for oil, gas and that they might see so of their other

leases on oil -- rigs, etc.? guest: yeah, that will be interesting to see. people hear about a drop in the price of oil and they think back to the 1980's, where you had a big spike and then a big crash and that really plunged texas and colorado into a recession. it was painful. a lot of folks there say that what they went through in 1986 and thereafter was worse than what we went through as a nation in 2000 and with the financial theis -- in 2008 with financial crisis. how could that america the 1980's -- how could that compared to the 1980's? one of the interesting things about texas is that their economies much more diversified. after refineries along the gulf coast on the petrochemical industry, plastics industry, and those sectors do benefit from

lower oil prices. even though it is much more exposed to any kind of drop in production in the u.s., the texas economy does have a lot of those energy-related fields benefiting from prices. host: illinois, scott, a republican. caller: i think i was just on. host: oh, you were. let me move on to peter in new york. caller: i just wanted to ask nick, doesn't that canadian oil already come by rail to the refineries on the east coast? i can't believe we could possibly say that the price of oil going down is a bad thing. hurt butkholders get millions of people benefit from this. if we have too much oil in this country, which i can't believe -- there's not too much oil in the world -- can't we export it?

guest: the exporting question is a hot one right now in washington. there are questions about whether the u.s. should approve and try to develop more exporting of oil. and you are right, lower gas prices help a lot of folks, so maybe we shouldn't lose any sleep over what it is going to do. i don't want to overplay what has happened here. we are talking more about a potential concern to domestic production. nobody right now is saying that it is a disaster. yeah, i think you raise a good point about oil exports and whether we will begin to see more of that. you also mentioned canada. canada trouble he does have a bigger problem. -- canada, leaders have a bigger problem. this is more balanced against winners and losers because they rely on it more and those alberta tar sands are more expensive. it is more expensive to take

energy out of the ground there then it is in north dakota or texas. i think the canadian situation will be much more interesting in ofms of the mixture positives and negatives on that one. host: tennessee on our line for independents. caller: good morning, greta. so good to see you again. i appreciate what c-span is doing for the american people. an open window to politics and the economy and all the other good things. concerning the oil crisis, i think there is an old windfall for the oil companies for the past probably 20 years. it is time somebody takes a little pity on the american people, especially those making minimum wages. those people are trying to get a family -- they got three kids and the price of milk still

and four dollars a gallon and you have these other big moneymaking corporations like walmart and once in a while they put a blue light special for people, but they are in the trillions of dollars, too, in windfalls. it is sad but it is like what the scripture says. the scripture says that we are supposed to render under caesar what is caesar's and what is supposed to be for god, god. the sad thing about it is that some of these people, they don't have a repentant heart. the american people are really struggling to pay their taxes mortgages, and they are looking for a way for the american politician, congressman, and others to give us a little relief. host: ok, all right, will. guest: you raise some

interesting points there. one thing i would point out is that americans have been benefiting from the exploration of energy in the u.s. in the past the leaders in a way they probably weren't when we were importing more oil. you talk about minimum wage jobs in people not being able to find theer paying jobs, and natural gas and oil exploration in the u.s. is not created a lot of jobs in the context when you think of the 9 million jobs that have been created since the recession ended in 2010. as opposed toe, 20 years ago, more americans at least getting in on this now and then you did back then -- than you did back then. host: dave, republican. good morning to you. caller: i am out here in the 99%, and i don't hear anyone complaining about lower gas prices. i think it is benefiting a lot

more people than it is hurting. so i am enjoying gas prices going down. i just wanted to make that clear. host: ok, all right. guest: i think everybody who puts gas in their car are probably right there with you. i don't think anyone is cheering for high gas prices so we could develop oil. but yeah, this is going to be -- if it stays here, people should be happy. people should feel at least some measure of relief even though, yeah, i'm saying 12 years ago we were talking about two dollars a much people how are going to spend because they don't put four dollars gas in the car, they have three dollars gas. host: is it likely to go to two dollars? guest: you know, if i knew where prices were likely to go i would've changed jobs, but i don't see people forecasting it to go that low. it helps the economy of the

may save it.they finances are not done well over the past years. still have a lot to get out there. i have been talking to folks who say that yes, this is great i will spend less money getting to work everyday, but i am going to save that money because my 401(k) took it on the chin during the recession, and obviously, it is great if people repair their household balance sheets, but economists are looking for people to spend money because that is what will power the economy. nationalk timiraos, correspondent for "the wall street journal," appreciate it. with less than a week to go until election day we will talk about national security issues on the campaign trail with a political roundtable. magazines"tlight on series continues with a story on silicon magazine

valley changing education policy. we will be right back. takes c-span cities tour booktv and american history tv on the road, traveling to cities to learn about their history and literary life that we partnered with comcast to visit colorado springs, colorado. 1876, he was sent to the southwest to explore the region. very similar to lewis and clark,

who were sent to the northwestern part of the newly acquired louisiana territory. was sent to the southwest part of the territory. and from his perspective, when he came out here, he went to an area that was unknown. pike first caesar granted he thinks he will reach the top in just a few days. -- sees the grand peak he thinks he will reach the top and tested two days. they turned around and at that point, pike wrote in his journals that given the conditions, given the equipment they had at the time, no one could have summited the peak. it inspired the poem that became beautiful," written by katherine lee bates, who came here to colorado springs to teach a summer course at

colorado college in 1893. the view down to the plains from the top of the mountains inspired the poetry and inspired the images that are captured in a poetry of the united states. events from of our colorado springs saturday at noon eastern on c-span2's book tv and sunday on american history tv on c-span3. "washington journal" continues. back.we are our next topic for the next hour will be campaign 2014 and national security issues, how they are playing out in the midterm election. for the roundtable discussion, we have matt lewis of the daily alsor, senior contributor, a columnist for the daily beast, and amanda terkel, senior political reporter for the huffington post. thank you both for being here could let me begin with this abc news poll.

53% of those polled think that the federal government's ability to deal with the country's problems has worsened. a majority of those folks blame president obama and the democrats for that. matt lewis? what is the outcome of that? guest: first, i think it makes sense that you would get around to blaming the guy who has been in office for six years. that makes sense. people always do that in a second midterms. it also is the fact that honestly, president obama's whole rationale for being president was to restore hope and change and to make people believe in government again. it is really kind of a double whammy, the fact that it feels like so many things are going wrong. it is not surprising altered republicans are poised to have a very good midterm. host: amanda terkel, how are democrats responding to this? wast: i think what matt

saying, that the parties tend to midterms,orly in specially the second term, but right now the countries feeling fact thatic, and the this evil outbreak has happened right before the midterm election doesn't really help president obama -- this ebola outbreak has happened right before the midterm election doesn't really help president obama and the democrats. they can work and work and work and do everything they thought they were supposed to do and are not getting ahead, that is playing out internationally. these crises with the islamic state, with ebola, and things are chaotic and they are looking for someone to blame and it is not surprising that they will report the president. he is the one in charge. who are americans going to blame the most in this election? democrats are trying to fit it -- flip it and say that republicans are in charge of them, that funding cuts have

worsened the response to ebola and the, force it will be if republicans take power. host: let me begin with the rnc's new ad and how they are framing the national security issues. [video clip] is gaining ground, terrorists committing mass murder, ebola inside the u.s., americans alarmed about national security. what does president obama doing? terroristss to bring from guantánamo to our country, ignoring the constitution of the congress and the american people. november 4, obama's policies are off the ballot. vote to keep terrorists off our soil. vote republican. republican national committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. host: matt lewis, your reaction? guest: there are three big factors that are going in the republicans' direction. it is the six-year itch midterm.

bias.is a selection democrats are defending all of these red state -- red state democrats, so they are in a bad position. maybe more important or at least equally as important is the political environment. the big topic for months now has been things like isis and ebola. i have written at the daily caller -- i have a theory that this reminds me of matt lewis' hierarchy of needs which is the ourhological principle, primal needs for security and safety and food. the first things you need to satisfy. once you get past that you can worry about things like self-actualization. right now is a situation where republicans are benefiting greatly from people worrying about their primal needs. if you worry about surviving, if

you are going to live, you don't worry if the government will provide you with taxpayer-funded birth-control. democrats do better when things seem fine. -- the media is helping a lot, too, but republicans are highlighting these rate concerns and their benefiting greatly. the same mom who is a security mom -- the war on women soccer mom could be, security -- could become a security mom if the environment changes. trying to do the same thing with the situation and ebola, this ad got a lot of criticism. [video clip] can cutngton actually spending. >> the cdc says it's discretionary funding has been cut by $85 million since 2010. >> cut. >> cut. >> our budget has been flat

since 2003, responding to an emerging threatening disease that, this is especially damaging. >> cut. >> cut. >> the right cross was the sequestration. >> the nih saw its budget there are outbreaks happening today that we are not able to recognize, stop. cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> make a cut. host: this was criticized as not being completely through a half-truth. lessdent obama requested funding. what is your reaction to what is going on? >> what you saw was you feel unsafe. that is because that is the president's fault so you show that you should vote democratic.

this ad, you think things are bad, republicans share the blame and it is going to get worse if they retake the senate. both of these ads play on american fears. nationaln, in terms of security, was war weary after the wars in afghanistan. shift away from more hawkish rhetoric. with the international crisis, the public is a little more engage and i think it is helping republicans to some extent. it is easier to say president obama's inc. week, -- president ak.ma is being wee the last act, i don't think it is half truths. that ad, as far as i am concerned, has been debunked. both sides are scaremongering.

there is a place for these policy debates. you could have policy discussions over should president obama have armed moderate rebels sooner in syria. should we have left a force in iraq? i think that is legitimate. i think that adds -- i think the ad crosses the line. this a reflect concerns from voters? guest: a little bit. there is one put out by congressman lee terry. it is setting up -- there is crime on the seat -- on the streets here, chaos abroad, and tying those things together. they are not really related.

putting that together is saying this is because of democrats and president obama. we need to get them out of office. everything in the world will be safe. that is playing on people's us,s and not for facilitating real discussion. a going to be an election on national security issues? guest: elections rarely are about national security issues. unfortunately, as we know. amanda is onto something. it transcends that. not about national security. i do not think people walk into voting polls saying i am voting republican because of national security. it is an issue that skews their peoplend it sort of -- will probably do it without knowing. i think it is sort of part of the zeitgeist.

i don't know if they would do it consciously, but yes. more people walk into the voting booth and say im voting for this because i want to make planned parenthood is funded, i want to raise the minimum wage, i want to see my taxes go down. certainly, what is going on internationally is playing into what people are doing. guest: people will want to the is chaos, i there feel afraid, something needs to aange, we need to send obama message. i don't think people are thinking through national security, although that is what is part of the narrative. host: a new national security headline in the paper.

security will be ramped up in federal buildings after what happened in canada recently. that announcement from jeh johnson. let's get to mark in cincinnati. go ahead. why do cincinnati republicans prefer to root for the bengals over the republican party? like to see a win for a change with the bengals. the state of play for the republican party is worse than the bengals in football. i have a quixotic. i will try to be brief. the national security issues cut to the core of the democrat promise. you cannot do things for yourself, put us in charge and we will take care of everything. after six years of being in charge of more and more, things are less and less in control.

politically speaking, it seems the republicans have this , insurmountable problem with america's demographics. republicans cannot win because of america's demographics. hand, democrats have an insurmountable problem with reality. politics cannot win over time. >> i will -- host: i will have them respond. a want to share this headline. republicans lead in ohio, a crucial state. the prospect -- voter support in -- a keyther state bellwether state telegraphs national approval.

ed fitzgerald is quit -- the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald, based on how he imploded. it is not our turn to be a battleground state, even though we typically are. it is going to go read for us. they're talking about how remarkable how little democrat seats are in play. out franken is almost uncontested. they should be winning being and they are trying to get the base it. i think republicans played it smart. i expect they will take the senate. that does speak to something the

caller said, the demographic challenge. it would be a mistake for republicans to misinterpret the results. i expect republicans will do well in the midterms, but i do not think that is a harbinger of things to come. they should not assume that because they won the midterms and they have a mandate that they can rest on their laurels. that would be a gross misinterpretation. host: the next call comes from greg. caller: i am sick and tired of listening to everyone say there is this ebola crisis in this country. we have had two people get sick because one guy snuck in that was -- that had the disease. i do not see where this crisis is.

have blown it way out of proportion. there will be more people dying of the flu in the country this year than there will be people sick of ebola. i blame the media for this. andgrab onto something think it is the end-all, be-all, i guess. and then you want to blame the president. it has been overblown. there is a crisis with ebola in west africa. there been an overreaction in the united states? absolutely. that does not mean we should not be careful and take precautions. a lot of the reactions we have been seeing, it would be terrible. i wrote about a teacher in oklahoma about to go on a ,ission trip to rwanda and she signed a petition saying she should self corn tea,

even though rwanda has had no cases of ebola. there was another story of two kids who came back from senegal and they were harassed and been up and kids yelled ebola at them. this overreaction can have negative repercussions. we should -- that does not mean we should not pay attention to it. it does not spread outside of west africa is a public health concern. a newsworthy story. --n if it does not become thinking ahead, this is a industryf the news that needs ratings in high stories. we have breaking news coming in now. don't hateentially the player, hate the game. we can talk about how the politicians are fear mongering.

the media is, as well. when -- with hiv. and ebola band could be worse. ebola makes everyone more conservative. let's go to mark. i think you underestimate the democrats. northern parost between -- southwestern parts -- it looks like it is a tossup. . yesterday, the republican, the independent republican running for governor pulled out of the

race. if democrats are boating this well, they better look out nationwide. i believe all of these pundits and everything are going to be wrong come next wednesday morning. host: amanda, he is saying because the races are tight, that is not good for republicans . what are you hearing? guest: i don't think you will be a republican wave like in 2010 where it was overwhelming. the main issue was health care. have done acrats good job of holding on to some of the seats. new hampshire has done a good job. kay hagan in north carolina.

there are a lot of races that are going to be tough for democrats. we have iowa, which democrats thought they would have a better .hance kentucky, it is close, but it looks like mitch mcconnell will hold on to that. democrats have done all they can in trying to recruit good candidates. republicans have not had any guest -- any gaffes like they did. it will be very tough, and we always say this. will depend on who turns out on election day and whether democrats can say we are afraid of losing the senate, we're going to get everyone out. caller: good morning. i am trying to be brief. , the title you're

going to talk to here here's my questions, which is addressing to your experts. the position of our country has decreased in international society and among our citizens. they do not have the same .osition as we had one year ago president bush, by iraq and afghanistan and president obama by isis. -- according to some congressman [indiscernible] supporting and arming them. they missed a lot of problems. we have to wrap it up.

what is your question? is going tofuture be worse than it is now. is there any solution that can be reached, we can explain it to the citizens and to the national societies about how to protect our position and what is in the world and society and about our national security. host: matt lewis, following? guest: i think so. americans can say never mind international terrorism, americans themselves are going through an identity crisis. years agoback a few with president bush and you have things like katrina and the iraq war. there was a loss of confidence. you could say we know what the problem is. ,he problem is adventurism

foreign policy, we need to have a more humble foreign policy. i think there is a sense of giving up, that there is no coherent foreign policy worldview that works. maybe the ultimate conclusion is that we live in a messy, fallen world, and we do the best we can . the notion that america is going popular, that you can solve your problems by being tough and proactive, or by retreating and burying your head in the sands, neither of those options is full proof. we are talking about how national security issues play out in this voting cycle. -- ebola wereng made between october twice first

. say -- fae.o caller: i have no issues with the security of the united states. wehink it is a shame that have to do this fear mongering among democrats or republicans about the boogie man coming to get you. i look back at what god says about -- god does not give us fear. republicans like to do this christian thing and how they .ike to always fear that is why i became independent.

my issues, president obama is a socialist, i think congress is a socialist. they going get everything. the don't want to give people out here anything. they are doing away with pensions. there will not be more pensions. congress is going to get their pensions. i do not understand a lot about -- i blame congress for this. them for taking everything away from the american people. , amanda, how is congress doing in us? atst: she is hinting something. people do these fear mongering ads because they work. they may work for a certain party, but who do you trust? quite often, the answer is neither party. americans off of

the political process and get so frustrated with both parties. i feel like i hear that more and more. i have so frustrated with the process, why can't they work together? sometimes the fear mongering ads may work. you are turning off a lot of people. host: what are the odds of working together if there is a republican-controlled senate and house? you could potential he have republicans and democrats to pass ther keystone xl oil pipeline, but not much. they're not going to get much done in the next two years. love to takeould the senate for a variety of reasons, not necessarily to work , but blockinges

judicial and supreme court appointments. host: there will be more tea party members this time around. what does that mean for john boehner and his ability to get legislation on the floor? guest: you would assume that would be problematic, but a man -- as amanda implies, -- there was ae pendulum swing. a few years ago, the republican party was to established, to moderate. people like charlie crist being coordinated before marco rubio came along. maybe the tea party went a you lost some and races that republican should have one. by and large, things have the tea partyn

candidates who are winning around the country are a little bit wiser today than they were a few years ago. don't see threats of government shutdowns heading into the midterm elections. you can't change the world unless you can win some elections. host: what are democrats pushing for? does the message stay the same? guest: i think it will stay the same to some extent. no one expects democrats to retake the house. they will probably lose some seats. eyes will be on the republicans and the house. how does john boehner do? intainly not the way you saw 2010 where you don't know how to deal with the new group of people.

things like the government shut down. i do not think it will be that extreme, but democrats will continue to push the same issues. not only for political reasons, but that is what democrats would like to do. they would like to do more car -- more core economics issues. mitch mcconnell becomes the leader of the republican party, the majority leader, and he has to deal with senators who want to possibly run for president in 2016, was the agenda like? be careful what you wish for. forhave people posturing political purpose. it is a real challenge. i will say one of the things we have learned is harry reid and mitch mcconnell are wildly

political operators fear they're both survivors. think that is true in terms of how they -- we will have to wait and see what happens in kentucky. it seems like they both dodged a bullet and i think they are more debt -- moree a adept. i got finished up with a job where i was working seven 10 hour days. i saw the ad he played last. i do not see what was wrong with it. you said president obama has cut down some funding for the cdc. with i was i lead out of the news loop for a while. has been the general

trend of the republican party to cut taxes, cut spending. it has been a trend by the republican party to cut taxes and cut everything and take the call from cleveland, the government is here, how can an individual with his extra tax , stop ebola or something like that? the things we treasure and take advantage of, we have gotten because we have pulled our money together. we have a national interest in things like freeway systems and dams and the cdc. host: lets have matt lewis respond. guest: there is an interesting point. republicans -- conservatives have been the sort of leave us alone coalition, i think there have been calls for president

obama to be more proactive. it has involved things like the ebolaecurity and scare. i think it is interesting. you can say it is hypocritical, but i think it is consistent with conservative philosophy. there are things government ought to be in charge of doing, and keeping citizens safe is one of them. at first blush, it seems hypocritical republicans demand president obama do more, but i actually inc. it is part of a coherent worldview. host: let me put you on hold. we will try to come back to you. mike, texas.

thank you for c-span. i want to point out the difference between the way the county judge in dallas county handle the ebola deal and the running for president governor of the state of texas handled it and i think you will find that he was running for president and was trying toge manage a difficult situation. that is very typical. county chairatic in east texas. i can tell you that they do not want to govern. they want to kill policies that help people. host: we will leave it there. politics of ebola. guest: it is unfortunate, the ebola talks happening before the midterms. you're are seeing a lot of reactions that are not grounded , not grounded in what

the medical community recommends. it seems to be playing into the fears of the public were fueling the fears of the public, we will go further and quarantine people, even if they are healthy , because you are scared and thesehough it may disrupt people's lies and discourage people from going over to africa we are going to do this anyway because we are scared. that is unfortunate. there needs to be less of that. it is good that the president said i am going to meet with these medical workers when they are going to west africa and when they are coming back. president obama going to be speaking about ebola. we will have coverage of that on c-span. that was just announced, that he will be talking about the situation in responding to ebola.

guest: logically, there's the thought that emotion leads to action. we were talking about todd akin earlier. , they tried tod scare monger. according to my theory, i think republicans are now benefiting politics.care that is part of the difference -- 2012 and and 2014. the wind is at the back of republicans, including the political environment. i do not think democrats can overcome it. , are you there? caller: yes.

one of the things that i think is missing, one of the critical issues, is the planned unit around all -- planned unilateral amnesty by president obama. we see the government has released something like 160,000 criminal aliens. murderer in california of two police officers, maybe three, by an illegal immigrant, who should have been deported two or three times. city policies and the obama administration stopped that. i do not see the republicans ,aking advantage of that issue with the exception of maybe scott brown of new hampshire. this is a winning issue.

guest: i don't think anyone's advocating universal amnesty. right that scott brown has brought up this issue more than others. through allrelated, of the issues into one, which he talked about immigration, ebola, and terrorism, saying we have these poor sports, what is to stop someone to sue -- someone bringing ebola into the southern border. people said he was fear mongering and throwing everything in one place. he has been bringing this up a lot more. scott brown has a military background. you have seen issues like

immigration coming out more, ebola, terrorism. host: another race where there are issues, iowa. n's playbook for women to win men's vote. in a year that has proven challenging for women running for senate, she has broken through with it powerful lyrical message that has helped her bill support among men. she is up four points. guest: i think she is a very good candidate. she stormed onto the national scene with her ads, but she is a very talented politician.

i talked about how this political environment has moms intoccer security moms. we are seeing this all over the place. last poll i saw had mitch mcconnell winning the women's vote. the gender gap disappearing. by the way, grimes was slightly ahead. that is not something you would expect. one gets the sense that something is afoot and some of the assumptions we have been making may be in the midst of a change. talking about women's with a we have an ad woman holding a gun. do not think republicans should get comfortable on the gender gap for 2016. that is where you see a lot of these trends.

if hillary clinton runs, and will be challenging for republicans, especially in capturing women. a lot of republican women would like to see the first female president and have liked hillary clinton for some time. there will be more work for republicans to do. host: be clinton's making a lot of appearances on the campaign trail. will they get some credit? guest: i do not think it will be a good year. ago, markon, a decade pryor was trying to distance himself from bill clinton. mark pryor is bringing in bill clinton instead of barack obama. i think bill clinton is the best democratic surrogate and he plays well in red states.

i think it is too little too late. i doubt if he will get much blame. i don't know if you will get a lot of credit. host: i don't think they will get too much blame for this. it is a testing ground for hillary. she can test out some of her messages. she has had some stumbles. example, she has made some --. she is getting it out of the way, seeing what her strengths are. there was a poll showing he is the most surrogate for democrats out there. thee is no harm in having clintons out there for you. it will draw a bigger crowd. jim, go ahead. caller: a lot of

different talks on ebola. my wife works in an emergency room. the main thing i wanted to get across was how different this comes across to people. we have a 9-year-old. people that do not work in the hospital, it is completely different. at first, we were pretty scared. crisis,ause of the hospitals have started to make changes and they are bringing in the right equipment. my wife works in a bigger hospital. they are getting the right equipment. she says smaller hospitals might the proper -- that is the main thing. hospitals need to be getting trained and the proper downs and downgowns -- the proper

and protection. -- : said: a lot of the workers we were not trained enough to deal with this. they turned him away when he came in complaining of a fever. around the nurses country has said we need more training because we are not prepared to deal with so much. this is something people are realizing and trying to address. guest: it is a pattern of overpromising and underachieving. called thethey are jv squad. with ebola, nothing to see here, nothing to worry about, we have the right protocols. they turned out not to have the

right protocols. ebola has not turned out to be some huge problem here in america. i still think by messing up the expectations game, it is a trend that that has developed, that is part of the reason this is a toxic political issue. host: dictator or bystander? stopspoke of the need to tiring me at the other end of pennsylvania avenue. our freedom is in peril. behind the lawsuit, we cannot watch the president shred our constitution. standby three months later, no lawsuit has been filed. lawyers close to the process say they do not expect legal action before the election. what is it? dictator or bystander?

guest: there is a long history of hypocrisy of people attacking the president. republicans, you could argue itocrisy, trying to have both ways. i go back to something i said earlier, it is not necessarily an incoherent worldview to say ,hen the president does things that is overstepping has bounds. a proper role of the government is to handle ebola and isis. guest: obama is far from a dictator. he was criticized by republicans for this executive action.

it is very telling that there will be no lawsuit against dictator obama. host: alex, independent color. caller: we are proving policy and implementing foreign policy. distancing from the congressional delegation almost a classical example of lame avoidance that we are seeing? focusing on constituency work and distancing itself from the international policies of the president and in louisiana, we becoming alosures big issue.

across theen that nation? host: who do you plan to vote for? caller: i don't necessarily want to reveal that. i am going to try to choose the candidate i guess best. that is very interesting. you see a lot more is that around of the election, when politicians turn their attention to constituents and try to make and as local as possible. we should be careful that seek to much not authority on issues like national security. people were upset that there was not a debate around whether to take military action against the state. why is there no reauthorization of military force? a lot of read -- a lot of people were saying we should reauthorize this and

figure out what the parameters look like. president obama said i have the authority, i am going to go ahead and do this. got some agreement from some republicans. congress needs to make sure that they do not remove themselves from these big issues. host: texas, melinda, republican caller. caller: i wanted to ask a question about -- i saw, a while standingnne feinstein before a map and it was a borderless map and i believe that is why the republicans or the democrats are not trying to shut the borders. they have no intention of shutting the border. the status of immigration, matt lewis. guest: nothing in the short term. immigration reform.

i also oppose what president obama's unilateral act. i don't see it happening anytime soon. as we expect, do i don'tthe midterms, think the natural reaction is let's go fix this. it is everything is fine. we just one. the american public is with us. i do not think immigration reform gets done anytime soon. people thought it would get done this time because of political concerns in maybe the tighter districts thing we do not want to lose latino voters forever. do immigration reform, and that did not happen. 2016, will these concerns come up again? richmond, kentucky.

this question is more towards mr. lewis. to theo back a year rollout of the affordable care every republican was going to beat the president to death over obama care. i pay close attention. i see no republican mentioning it. why is that? jesse -- guest: i think he is right. we thought the election would be about a few things. i think it is because republicans are concerned with winning the election. are moving issues the numbers more. i would say clearly republicans

.ave made a calculated decision although republicans may be with obamacare, it is more salacious to talk about ebola and isis. host: e-book -- obama care premiums up for some. covering essential benefits are raising the plans for some groups that have signed up. guest:ay if you are -- about obamaomad care,, if you care greatly, you are already voting democrat. guest: it is not an issue anymore. surprised we have not heard about the government shut down as much.

i thought that would play a lot more. i thoughtmething else was going to be a bigger issue and it has not been. i would never have anticipated we would be talking about ebola. host: and the benghazi, where does that stand? guest: i thought that was going to be a big deal going into the elections and it would cut against republicans. republicans would overreach and it would backfire. it has not been an issue. if you care about the issue, you already have a side. just like obama care. host: they have held one hearing, what is the status of the select committee? do we know? guest: i do not know. a lot of people expect the republicans to overreach.

in charge, who is known for being outspoken, was a lot more moderate than people thought he was going to be in conducting this hearing, which took some of the by -- some of the bite out. guest: i/o him a were -- an apology -- i oh him an apology. it has been a nonissue. something ieaks to said earlier. republicans have become more pragmatic, smarter at playing politics. winning the argument and winning the election, clearly they are focused on the latter. host: van, hi. knows the onlydy reason it is not going to work,

but it is going to work because it is the law. these sorry governors want to expand medicare. a girl was on c-span, 17 years old, everyone should know about her. squalor.ple live in she had six family members come down with ebola. she took them to the hospital, took them to the home, separated them, covered herself, wash her hands, kept them clean, cured them all except one. those people are living in squalor. host: let's take the medicaid question. the governors that chose not to expand it. is that playing out? guest: that is something democrats are playing it up. mitch mcconnell in kentucky, he and he said he wants

to get rid of obamacare, but he wants to keep enact. you cannot do that. it is not just a website. it is part of the federal health care reform. if you want to keep that, what is going to happen? it has created -- part of the reason republicans do not want , becauseup obamacare continuing to say you will repeal it, brings up more questions about what is your alternative, how are you going to do this, and some discussions that are not fruitful. caller: according to the vitamin c foundation, doctors claim that intravenous vitamin c can probably cure ebola. it cures all of the other viruses.

antibiotics do not affect the viruses. they cannot even get it mentioned. have you ever heard of intravenous vitamin c. host: they are not medical experts. analysts.olitical let me end with both of you, seven days to go, what are your predictions? what he watching for? if republicans can declare victory on election day. there's a good chance they can. louisiana will likely go into a runoff. not know what happens in georgia until january. alaska, the returns are always late to come in. it is entirely possible that we will not know what happened to the u.s. senate until days after the election.

host: it could be december or january. amanda, what are you watching for? guest: i was going to say the same thing matt did. and the in georgia louisiana, alaska, iowa. there is a good chance we will not know what will happen until months from now. host: thank you for your time. next, we will talk about a recent time cover story aret how tech millionaires using their millions to change education policy. we will get to that after this news update. president of sierra leone says the country is at war with ebola. more treatment centers will not defeat the disease. people must change their behavior. a steadyt figures show rising confirmed cases in the capital of freetown.

reportedses were yesterday. a nurse from maine, who was in the involuntary isolation says she is ready to go to court if the state tries to quarantine her. casey hickox tells good morning america she has had no contact with anyone in the past two days, but the restrictions -- if the restrictions are not listed by tomorrow, she will go to court. she was kept in isolation over the weekend after arriving from west africa. president obama remarks on ebola will be to an audience of american health care workers. coveragell have live at 3:40 pm eastern time. watch it on c-span or listen to it here. then bradley, who led the washington post during its big years will be remembered this leisag, taking

washington's national cathedral. it is expected to include 12 tributes. the longtime managing editor died last week at the age of 93. he had been suffering from alzheimer's disease in recent years. watch this service on c-span, live, at 11:00 eastern time or listen to it on c-span radio. >> the 2015 student cam competition is underway on the theme the three branches and you, showing how policy, law or action by the federal government has affected you or your community. are 200 cash prizes for students and teachers, totaling $100,000. for the list of rules and how to get started, go to studentcam.org.

the part of campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like a font face it. .et video clips of key moments c-span is bringing you over 100 senate, house, and government debates. to can share your reactions what the candidates are saying. the battle for the control of congress. stay in touch and engage. like us on facebook. >> washington journal continues. host: we take a look at recent .agazine articles today, we are putting a spotlight on times recent cover story, rotten apples, nearly possible to fire a bad teacher. some tech millionaires may have found a way to change that. what is the story about?

guest: it is about a court case in california. spearheaded an underwritten by a silicon valley tech millionaire, david welch. he was looking at the issue of teacher tenure and other job protection in the state of california only. in that state, they have strict protections that make it difficult to fire a teacher, even after he or she has been deemed incompetent. .e saw that as a major problem host: how did he go after it? interesting an story. he reverse engineered a lawsuit. he looked at the problem and eyes, heough his thought the job protections were

harming students. he said how do we prove that ?his is unconstitutional he called up a constitutional -- theynd looked at basically made the argument that because these protections keep bad teachers in the classroom, students are being harmed by having bad teachers rather than average teachers or good teachers. sided on his judge behalf. it is the first time we have ever seen anything like that. host: what did the judge say? guest: it was emotional. he said it was -- it hit the conscious, the issue with the impact on the conscience. he agreed with the case and said that students who get a bad for one year have measurable impact to their education into their futures and he cited several studies coming

out of harvard and columbia universities as evidence of that claim. host: did this decision set a precedent? guest: it did not. it is a trial court. it does not -- it needs to be appealed and it will be, in order to a pat -- impact any california law. it has set a presidents -- it has set a precedent. legal theoriesar to make similar cases in new york. host: where does the california case? guest: in california, it will go to an appeals court in the next year. they have not set a date. the state and the teachers unions have appealed it. are in the early

stages of the situation. we have not even had a first trial yet. did davidmuch money welch spend on this? to gethe only tech titan involved in education policy? there are a lot of silicon valley millionaires and billionaires becoming involved in education. on one level, that is not new. billionaires have been involved in education for some reason, for centuries. the rockefellers, carnegie's, , just lots and lots. we have seen in the last decade, bill gates has put billions of dollars into education. mark zuckerberg has sent $220 million -- has spent $220

million on public schools. we are seeing a lot of interest in public education from silicon valley. host: why? guest: that is a great question. that is one we attempt to ask in this piece. one thing is that education affects everybody. it is something that feels like , it feels more accessible than other social problems like poverty or violence. it feels like these are kids in a classroom, surely we can do this better. host: are the goals of these millionaires in silicon valley the same? is this an effort against public schools for privatization? is it an effort against teacher unions?

guest: even among the millionaires and billionaires, the founder of netflix, he is very into the charter school movement. david welch, the man who funded this case, is very into public education. i pose that question to david welch and set us this an attack on public schools? the opposite. he wants to see public schools succeed, which is why he wants to help remake these laws. teachers unions and teachers on the other side of the debate would say that is not the case. this is a direct attack on them. host: why do they see it as a direct attack? teachers are often poorly paid. they spend long hours in the classroom. thee job protections are

only thing they have going. one of those perks and a profession that does not offer many. we are talking with hailey. she is the author edwards, the author of this "time" piece les," specifically looking at the california cases we have discussed that parents can dial in at (202) 585-3881. teachers -- (202) 585-3880. all others, you can call (202) 585-3882. let me begin with tom. you are on the air. caller: hi. i was noticing the conversation that you have -- i appreciate you putting me on the air and everything. it just seems that as a parent over a period of years, i worked many years as a school psychologist, and we talked

about teachers, what about the in administration? take a look at some of the exorbitant salaries that are paid out and the friends benefits and the perks, yet when we look at evaluating, you know, their progress and how the leadership comes from the top down, yet our students are still far behind. you know, sometimes i think we need to take a look at that and look at that area as well in know. on, you certainly there is a lot of reasons why, you know, kids, adolescents at all ages have difficulties learning, which i think sometimes we do not really addressed those as much as we should. providing the proper accommodations, recommendations, and so forth. there is a host of reasons why kids can have difficulty learning. if we did a better job really addressing those concerns and

providing them with the proper accommodations to level that playing field, i think we would be better off. host: ok, tom. haley sweetland edwards, your thoughts. guest: i think tom makes a great point. there are many factors that go into a child's education. it is not just the teacher in the classroom or the school psychologist or the principal. it is also the parents in the community and everything else that contribute to this child's acculturation and education. there have been a lot of studies recently showing that the teacher, the actual in-classics brings is affected -- in -class experience is affected most by the teacher. tom also makes the point of frustration that a lot of

feelingrations are right now. wyeth-ayerst oh much focus on the teacher? the focus so much on the teacher yucca why are we not getting more support more broadly? host: anna in desoto, texas, a parent there. caller: good morning. i have to agree with what tom was saying. i was at a school board meeting. you can tell the amount of parents that were there, there were some issues that were going on with some of the schools that parents need to be aware of. my frustration is when there is a school board election, the parents -- i in my neighborhood i had to go around and tell everybody. you have children, you need to be involved. you need to know who you are voting for because they were recommendations that would also put, like me, who i have my grandchild, i am

alsoian over, but i am retired, and when we have to pay for all of these little things that have nothing to do with the school, teachers, young teachers especially coming in -- if they are coming out of college, schools should be involved in training them. we spent $350 million here in texas on testing. i have a segregated education, and my education in a segregated school is far greater because i learned from a book, and i had a incher who had three classes the school. i came out of a country school, but guess what? i learned to read, my multiplications, and we come up with all of these stupid testing programs where there should only be one, and that was the -- host: anna, we are going to

leave it there because we have a couple of issues. we have the testing issue but also training for teachers. guest: testing and the focus on testing any number of tests that students have to take nowadays, and the number of tests that teachers have to administrate -- huge controversy. i think one of the interesting is onlybout that is it about two decades old. we did not really see standardized tests rid large s, and it mid-1990' was a slow buildup it was not until no child left behind during the bush and administration that we saw a regular testing of students on a regular basis. we have seen by part o bipartisn support about during the obama administration, and now in the last few years, we have started a see a crescendo of backlash, and a lot of that is tied to the common core state

standards and some other initiatives that boost the amount of tests, the number of tests that students have to take. host: teacher training she asked about. guest: i think that is a great question and a fair one. why aren't we spending more money on teacher training, professional development? that is something that the teachers union say a lot of. instead of focusing on teacher tenure and job protection, why don't we direct some of that million dollars spent on vergara, why wasn't that funneled into professional development? host: remind viewers of this case in california that you featured in your article, vergara versus california. guest: that is right. siliconcase funded by a valley millionaire david welch and his nonprofit, students matter. teacherstraight to

tenure and job protection in california and makes the case that they are harming students by keeping bad teachers and classrooms. it has gone to a trial court and a troll court judge decided on behalf of welch and students matter. host: on twitter -- are there programs to help that teachers other than just protect their jobs? in other words, what is the due process and is there another way to help these teachers? reviews,ere are peer professional development in place in many, many schools. mentor groups and regular evaluations. at this point, we are seeing teachers being subject to many more valuations than they need to be, so there is an effort at least on a schoolwide level to improve teachers' effectiveness and their ability to impact

students, but a lot of administrators say there is not the money or the time to make that happen as it should, so of thehat is one criticisms of this case. we should be focused more on professional development. host: and a quote in your piece saying it takes tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes years to fire a bad teacher. what is the due process like for teachers? why have teachers unions demanded this due process? you use this word due process or this term due process, and that is right. placer tenure was put in an order to protect teachers from being fired for, say, teaching evolution in a conservative neighborhood or just forgetting old and for getting- just old and requiring higher

salaries than maybe the younger teachers. states,l swing in replace conservative teachers with liberal ones and vice versa. there are a lot of reasons they need certain protections in place. process here says you have to prove that a teacher has committed a certain wrong, and and there is often a trial, i am not sure what the national average is on how long this takes, but in joel klein's book, and he was the chief of schools said itork, i think he was about two years and tens of thousands of dollars. you have to go through an entire process, and he says it is nearly impossible to get rid of has been accused of being a poor teacher. host: we are talking with haley sweetland edwards, chorus one of four "time" magazine.

she wrote the cover story for "time" magazine "rotten apples." it is nearly impossible to fire a teacher. here is the headline in the "washington post" after the cover came out -- a "time" magazine cover in rages teachers again. the teachers union is not happy about the cover. guest: that is absolutely right. shows a gavel coming down on a perfectly healthy apple, as many of them pointed out that thinks in the way of, i it was about four years ago, "time" had another cover featuring michelle reid, the chancellor of schools in d.c., with a broom. an attacked this as on teachers. randi weingarten, the president of the american federation of teachers, called it a soccer punch to all teachers.

host: yesterday on the "washington journal," we had karen white on our show, and she responded to the "time" magazine piece that i want to show a little but of what she had to say in and have you responded. [video clip] "uest: in terms of the "time haveine article, they does some facts wrong. education association, the union as well as community organizations, school boards and administrators, or working hard to make sure that they can seize that process up and make it the most efficient possible, but we also know that we have to make sure that educators have the ability to advocate for their students. so when you go to the school board and say -- i have 48 kids in my can of an class, i cannot do the job that you need me to do -- in my kindergarten class, i cannot do the job that you need me to do without more resources, we do not want that teacher to be fireable because they came and spoke out against something be a demonstration may not like, so that is why it is

important to have due process and understand it teachers need to have that voice. host: haley sweetland edwards. guest: um. there are a lot of issues there. i thinkone of them is, tenure is in place for a good reason, to protect teachers who want to speak out. i think in the vergara case, which is what we are talking about any teacher, they are specifically focusing on california, and in california, teachers receive tenure, which is permanent employment status, which is how it is called in the educational code, after 18 months on the job. throughyou start to go your review after 18 months on the job, which is i think most teachers would agree that that is a little too soon, and national polls show that. the american federation of teachers say there should be tenure after three years.

i think there is room for improvement and copper mines and discussion here. -- and compromise and discussion here. david the things that welch and other investors were fresher to buy if they thought that discussion was -- were frustrated by his they thought that discussion was not happening, politicians to not have the political will to take on an issue like teacher tenure, so he did a run around the legislative process and when to the judiciary. host: that court case likely to be appealed. guest: it will be appealed. host: we will see where he goes from there. what about teacher tenure in other states guest: most states have it. not all states, and it varies state by state. is thenia i believe strictest or one of the most beginswhere the review after 18 months. in other states, it is after three years and sometimes after five years, so it varies.

of dueious stages process also vary on how difficult it is to remove a teacher who has been accused of wrongdoing. host: did you talk to teachers unions and teachers for your piece? guest: i did. i spoke to the american federation of teachers, i spoke to lots of teachers leading up to this case, i spoke to a lot of administrators, i spoke to some students as well. both activists and others. i think for the case there are nine latest in the vergara case, all of whom have voiced and given witness testimony as to their perspective on this, which is of course from only one side, but yes, i spoke to a lot of people involved in all different aspects of this case. host: has your editors or "time" magazine responded to the criticism of the cover? guest: yes, we had a wer really wonderful forum allowing andnea and the aft

alliance for quality education of new york and teachers and administrators and students and other reform activists like campbell brown, who all speak on our website and sort of draft and respond to the cover and respond to the coverage. they sort of voice their concerns and agreements about host: people can find on the website, time.com? guest: time.com, it is available. host: let's go to sam, who is a teacher in new york. retired, andnewly i'm glad that the term due process came up. that is what we are really talking about. all tenure is is a teacher's right to defend himself when he has been accused of wrongdoing or incompetence. the question is -- what happens

without tenure? and again the point was made, and i would like to reaffirm that point, is that the teacher becomes victim of a principled and i want to get rid of him or her that has nothing to do with their teaching ability. host: sam, can i ask you -- what do you think about california's law that allows teachers to start the process of tenure at 18 months on the job? do you think that is too soon as a teacher yourself? beenr: in new york, it has three years, and right now they are denying tenure at a very, numbergh rate to a huge of the new teachers. that has become much, much more difficult in new york. ay fairly unfair because they are demanding from these new teachers huge amounts of work in order for them to get this right. to right is merely the right

defend yourself if you are accused of wrongdoing or incompetence. by the way, other people have that right. cops are not fired when someone accuses them of making a wrong move, ok. ande is the due process, that is something that i think every worker should have. host: sam is saying that teachers do not necessarily get tenure. they may apply for it after three years but they do not necessarily get it. caller: i am saying is since the bloomberg administration -- i think they have had a very, very unfair record of denying tenure. host: ok, we got your point. let me move on and have haley sweetland edwards respond. guest: i think you raise a really important point and one that is at the heart of the tenure discussion, which is -- how do you protect teachers and provide them with the due process that is necessary and

should be afforded to every worker? becauseld not be fired you say something that is politically liberal, politically conservative, something like that. youhe same time, how do remove the teachers that really should be removed from the classroom? this gets into a touchy subject. i think every profession, hours s included, and police and firemen and everybody else, there are a handful, and these are a very small percentage, better not doing a good job. laws so thatt the those people can be removed without injuring the rest of the population? host: is it true that not everybody gets tenure, not every teacher gets tenure? what is the rate of getting tenure? guest: that is a great question. i do not have the answer to that

i think it varies state by state. it is true that you do not necessarily get tenure when your review start start in california, the review for begins after 18 months and can be granted after your second year. in other states like new york, it can be granted after your third year teaching. variest review process state-by-state. it can include principles and administrators observing a teacher's work in a classroom, it can involve reviews and even student reviews of a teacher. it can involve teachers' evaluations, which are dependent on students' test scores, which is a another whole issue. it is true after the first review, teachers can be denied tenure. that does not, as far as i know, happen very often, and that may be changing as our caller said. it may becoming more difficult

and some states, but in general, tenure is granted at a very high percentage. int: stanley is watching westborough, massachusetts good morning, stanley. caller: good morning. thank you for the subject i am the great father of the family. -- i am the great-grandfather of the family. i have an animal surgeon son, and we teach stupid stuff that stupid, likeider pistol shooting at the age of 10 and 11. they teach them everything, and the good case would be the youngest person to flight a plane across the country. the girl was nine years old. netschool classmates never knew this existed for her. everything was tightened home, and we never gave tests on any subject we taught home. once at for a swiss guy

a nuclear power plant. i ever went to college. you just knew how to learn, and the subject you wanted to do to earn a living should be what you are really passionate about because you teach yourself how itresearch everything about because it is your life. host: thank you. question or comment? caller: people think that schools can teach everything. it is an industry. it is like the prison industry in this country. host: all right, stanley. we go to a teacher in san jose, california. caller: hi. i have been a substitute teacher for 10 years. i work in the medical laboratory field before that. but may benure, expanding the time that you get it in california.

most teachers that i have come across are very hard-working, and they really want to do the best for their children, but another thing that i realize is that every couple of years, people -- phd's from stanford, harvard, they change the agenda and the curriculum, and it is not good because you know, like in math. when i was growing up, we knew how to do the manipulations, but we memorized the math. now they have not done that for years. and another thing about silicon valley, these billionaires and millionaires -- they want to control all aspects of our life, and they do want to privatize things. i read it in the news all the time. host: all right, haley sweetland

edwards, go through what is the goal of the silicon valley millionaires. guest: i think our caller there is voicing a very widely held opinion, actually, that the silicon valley millionaires and billionaires just want to privatize public schools. you are seeing that a lot with the charter school movement. it is essentially a privatization of a public good. there has just been a lot of money spent on that over the last decade, two decades. i think that that is also sometimes not very helpful shorthand because we are seeing also mark zuckerberg, the founder of facebook, who is just pouring money into public schools. i think it was $100 million in schoolark public system and the bay area public

school system, and people can disagree with the way in which that money has been spent, and i do very much, but i think that is exactly a privatization of the system. the same thing with this vergara case, the case we talk about in hase" magazine this week, really very little to do with the privatization of a public industry, but it does take management strategies borrowed from the private sector and would give the administrator more control over their work force. that is another criticism of this case that e. i was going to say maybe we should not run the public school system in the model that our private industry is running. host: when will the "time" magazine hit the newsstands? guest: this week. host: the "time" cover piece it is "rotten apples," as we were

saying about how the silicon valley millionaires and billionaires or try to change the education policy in this country. we go to cynthia next injectable, florida. hi, cynthia. caller: good morning, ladies. i hope you give me as much time as you cancel she can give good answers to my query. i believe that the elephant in the room and public education is that our schools are funded by local property taxes, and please allow me to make my point with this. when you are looking for a home, oh, thisor always says has got a really good school district. well, children that are born in poor, poverty stricken areas to not get a good education because resources allocated to those schools are not equal. in our area, the really good public schools are in the wealthier districts of course because they have more access to taxpayer money. what happens is the women, many

of the women don't work, so they volunteer. they get to volunteer in their children's schools. this frees up money that the school would have to spend on certain areas like the library or whatever so that they can invest in computers and whatever else they have got live ok, cynthia, we will up there because i think we have got your point of a property taxes leading to unequal education. guest: yep, and cynthia, your other point about affluent areas often has more parent assistance in schools, that is absolutely right. i think you see that a lot. that leads to one of the major disparities between poor school districts serving social economically disadvantaged kids, mostly minority kids, versus mostly white areas that are economically wealthy. that zuckerberg

gave, did i go to low income areas in new jersey and the bay area in california? guest: yes, it went to the system, which i did not sort out which schools are which. i think the property tax issue is really an interesting one and applies to the vergara case that we are looking at because it looks at the constitutional case thislifornia that asks exact question. is it constitutional to allow one school to receive more funding per-pupil than another school that receives less funding? the california supreme court said no, that is not ok. then this case is built essentially on that same scaffolding and says well, it is also not ok to have more teachers that have been rated badly in a poor school versus teachers that have been rated well in a more affluent school. host: byron, you are next in alaska.

caller: good morning, ladies. keep up the good work. you are the old saying i have got your back, you have got my back. we are in the 21st century. that is what should be applied today. about this tenure issue and about rich people, minority, low-income people -- they all should be coming together as one. host: byron, i want to leave it there because we are running out of time. on a point about people coming together on education. is it becoming an issue that is more at the forefront, or has it always been? what is going on that you are seeing, you know, millionaires and billionaires getting involved in this debate? great that is such a question and one again i wish i had this universal answer to dot i think you are right and that we are seeing education become a central issue for a lot of

people, for a lot of elections, this cycle even. what is interesting about education is that it is not -- it is sort of uniquely bipartisan in a way that other issues are not. people, both democrats and republicans, feeling very, very strongly on an issue like the comment or state standards and feeling very, very strongly in otherar i -- tenure cases. i spoke to some conservatives that very much disagree with this case and i spoke to conservatives who very much agreed with it. aspect very interesting of education is that there is so much passion and pitch real running these -- and vitriol surrounding these issues that if you actually get in a room with these people, and everyone from david welch, the silicon valley guy who underfunded the case, to diane ravitch and brandywine garden -- brandywine garden -- weingarten care so deeply

about the children and education delivered to the children's classroom, that you do gives me the slightest bit of hope that maybe there is an for copper mines in improvement there. host: all right, the cover story for "time" week, thank you very much for your time. that does it for today's "washington journal." a.m., up later at 11:00 we will have the funeral services for longtime washington post editor ben bradlee. the service will be at the washington national cathedral. he led the newspaper for 26 years and died from natural causes at his home in washington, d.c.. the funeral today is open to the public. profileid and american interview with him just after he announced that he was leaving the post. we want to bring you that interview.