and north dakota. that's beau biden, decided not to run, the vice president's son, he's not running. castle looks strong. he's a republican. congressman mike castle and governor john hoeven look to be pretty easy winners. your thoughts, chuck, is that a pretty much a gimme for them? >> it is. i would say delaware, democrats did find a good candidate, a better candidate than they found against somebody -- against hoeven in north dakota. and delaware is still delaware, in that it is a lean blue state. castle has to run a very moderate, sort of in the middle campaign. he's perfectly suited for it. he should be able to do it. but, you know, delaware is, of the two, you would say democrats have at least a shot at it. >> you had a former governor in delaware and current governor in north dakota. looks like a pretty good bet. >> very popular governor in north dakota. he's the longest serving governor in america. he's someone who is not going to be facing the only credible democrat who could have run against h

and north dakota. that's beau biden, decided not to run, the vice president's son, he's not running. castle looks strong. he's a republican. congressman mike castle and governor john hoeven look to be pretty easy winners. chuck, is that a pretty much a gimme for them? >> it is. i would say delaware, democrats did find a good candidate, a better candidate than they found against hoeven in north dakota. and delaware is still delaware, in that it is a lean blue state. castle has to run a very moderate, sort of in the middle campaign. he's perfectly suited for it. he should be able to do it. but, you know, delaware is, of the two, you would say democrats have at least a shot at it. >> a former governor in delaware and current governor in north dakota. looks like a pretty good bet. >> very popular governor in north dakota. the longest serving governor in america. he's not going to be facing the only credible democrat who could have run against him, pomroy. >> a good bet, they should be able to move those 41

i flew from pharr road, north dakota to atlanta, georgia. -- from fargo, north dakota. i drove to nashville. it was a demonstration of commitment where i bought the the an unusual car and had repainted just for this event. i think the event is so critical to the united states of america. it is a 1995 stretch limousine. it was black, but i had it painted brilliant purple. that is simply to draw attention to the event. >> how you think the convention has been going so far? >> to me, it is more than encouraging. it is more than sold out. i tried to get some extra tickets, because i have to dinner tickets and only one convention ticket, and everything is sold out. >> what you hope comes out of this weekend's activities? >> i would like to see it refocus the vote of the big parties, and i would hope they think about their policies going forward, and its tea party apparently is catching on like wildfire all over the country. we as a nation, regardless of what party we used to belong to, we all need to hope and pray that this country can be restored.

state rep in north dakota is losing by 9% to other on the ballot. i am not making this up. it is take back washington time. we've got the fever. we're ready for this change. thank you so much. i am so excited. in the next few moments that we had together, i want to discuss a topic that has been on my heart a lot lately and perhaps on yours, too. some words about that was mentioned this morning. he talked about a decline in america. the concept that has been coming to me over the last few weeks is that the joy of being an american is that we get to choose. we get to choose our destiny. whether it is declined or greatness, it is in our hands to make the choice. there was a pivotal vote -- pivotal article that was written lastw3 october. you love him, too. it was published in the weekly standard in october. it is called, decline is a choice. he made a very precious point. decline is not a condition for america, it is not our inevitable trajectory. it is a choice. there's a difference. he is right. to the current liberal ascendancy in the united states

state rep in north dakota is losing by 9% to other on the ballot. i am not making this up. it is take back washington time. we've got the fever. we're ready for this change. thank you so much. i am so excited. in the next few moments that we had together, i want to discuss a topic that has been on my heart a lot lately and perhaps on yours, too. some words about that was mentioned this morning. he talked about a decline in america. the concept that has been coming to me over the last few weeks is that the joy of being an american is that we get to choose. we get to choose our destiny. whether it is declined or greatness, it is in our hands to make the choice. there was a pivotal vote -- pivotal article that was written lastw3 october. you love him, too. it was published in the weekly standard in october. it is called, decline is a choice. he made a very precious point. decline is not a condition for america, it is not our inevitable trajectory. it is a choice. there's a difference. he is right. to the current liberal ascendancy in the united states

it is snowing in north dakota. it is snowing in minneapolis. it is snowing in chicago. and then severe thunderstorms along the gulf coast with copious moisture feeding in to it. the atlantic ocean is available and throw this atlantic moisture and this will gang up, oh, and one more thing. see this upper piece of energy that's coming east, too. it will all gang up to be a tremendously deep storm off the virginia coast here and the beaches are going to get pounded with the wind and waves and blizzard warnings. even atlantic city to rehoboth we could be talking one to two feet of wind-driven snow. again the totals we are talking about 20. i 20 to 30 inches most likely areas north and west. you will be all snow for sure and maybe a little fluff factor there. an amazing storm. get to the seven-day forecast. we get a lot of snow. it will be a long duration event tonight and tomorrow especially very heavy. tomorrow afternoon things taper off late, 29. sunday 32. monday 34 and then next week a little system tuesday in to wednesday that could give us snow showers and then thursd

north dakota. >>> super bowl sunday now just four days away. but the big game is also classified as a national security event. right now, security teams are filing into sun life stadium in miami. the main operations compound will be about a mile away from the football stadium. but they will be able to monitor the game from dozens of surveillance cameras. >> what we're doing here for this super bowl is the first of its kind of terrorism is on everyone's mind. on a daily basis. what we're doing is we're made away of anything that comes up. not only locally, but nationally, and internationally. >> security will pat down every person before they enter the stadium. super bowl xliv air this is sunday, february 7, right here on channel 9, pregame coverage starts at 2:00 p.m. the actual game, about 6:30. >>> a cat lost for 14 months is back with his family, thanks to a pet psychic. nancy ruffner says her cat sam ran out of the house one night and never came back. finally, nancy decided to contact an animal communicator in georgia. told her sam was livi

state rep in north dakota is losing by 9% to other on the ballot. i am not making this up. it is take back washington time. we've got the fever. we're ready for this change. thank you so much. i am so excited. in the next few moments that we had together, i want to discuss a topic that has been on my heart a lot lately and perhaps on yours, too. some words about that was mentioned this morning. he talked about a decline in america. the concept that has been coming to me over the last few weeks is that the joy of being an american is that we get to choose. we get to choose our destiny. whether it is declined or greatness, it is in our hands to make the choice. there was a pivotal vote -- pivotal article that was written lastw3 october. you love him, too. it was published in the weekly standard in october. it is called, decline is a choice. he made a very precious point. decline is not a condition for america, it is not our inevitable trajectory. it is a choice. there's a difference. he is right. to the current liberal ascendancy in the united states

as a great school. >> in north dakota, we make that same claim. >> you have a comparative team and we usually lose to them in the playoffs. thank you for coming. >> thank you. >> i had a hard day and this know you're probably enjoying it. sorry to interrupt you. >> no problem at all. >> 70% of the debt to gdp ratio in 2013 is a goal. >> 70% by when? >> and then 60% by the end of the budget window. the peterson commission put out we are not in as bad a shape as japan, debt to gdp. we are not in as serious a shape as parts of western europe that confronted debt crisis today but it is very clear that we could, in very short order, confront our own debt crisis and the consequences to this country would be enormous. i wish it were not so. i wish it were not so. if you study the trendline that dr. marin and dr johnson, and doctors rhinestone, if there's anything that jumps out to you 10 years and out, we are really facing consequences that could have enormous adverse impact on this nation's economy. do you agree with that statement? >> absolutely. >> what leads you to that conclusion? i sai

kent conrad of north dakota shareschairs the budget committ. they create a bipartisan commission to look at long-term budget issues. the measure was voted down last week. this hearing is 2.5 hours. >> if this hearing will come to order. i appreciate very much witnesses being here with conditions as they are. i appreciate colleagues who were here and you are on their way and i especially want to think -- thank him for being here to represent the republican side of the aisle. senator gregg said he is not been able to get back to washington at the moment. he hopes to be with us soon. airports have been closed. anyone who was out of time has had a difficult thing that -- of town has had a difficult time getting back. i do not know what did the boats are going to come off or not. for those who are thinking about tomorrow, we have a hearing scheduled for tomorrow. we will make a decision about that soon. we have witnesses lined up. one thing we are considering is moving tamara's hearing to the next day in light of the threat of additional snow. if we

kent conrad of north dakota chairs the budget committee. he and ranking member judd gregg co-sponsored a proposal to create a bipartisan commission to look at long-term budget issues. that measure was voted down last week. from yesterday, this is 2 1/2 hours. >> first of all, i appreciate very much witnesses being here with conditions as they are and i appreciate colleagues who are here and who are on their way. i especially want to thank senator sessions for being here to represent the republican side of the aisle, senator gregg informed us that he's not been able to get back to washington at this moment and hopes to be with us soon, but airports, as you know, have been closed. so anybody that was out of town's had a difficult time getting back. i think the senate -- i don't know whether the votes scheduled this afternoon are actually going to come off or not. for those who are thinking about tomorrow we have a hearing scheduled for tomorrow. we're going to make a decision about that very soon. because we have witnesses lined up. one thing

in north dakota, this is no big deal. >> it is fine for me. i will walk around and see the beauty of the snow. it is really a stunning sight, but it does cause difficulties for travel. >> if you like the beauty of the snow, i would like to invite you to north dakota any time in january or february of next year. maybe spend all of january or february. >> maybe inviting you south would be a better idea. thank all of you for coming, and i look forward to your discussion. i do not know how well our actions worked after the collapse of the financial markets. those who supported it, promoted it, funded it, all tell us if we had not done that we would be so much worse than we are today, but forgive me if i am not sold. i believe that a lot of things had to be done, and i supported a number of things, but the fundamental actions we took were troubling to me, and the fed had to act. we know that, and the congress had some things it needed to do, but i am troubled by a doll -- by it all. $700 billion had to pass before the asian markets, and when presid

a legislator in north dakota rating -- this morning and ""washington times" from a legislator north dakota. their engines of job growth -- talking about some of the trade agreements -- which is the white house priority. walnut grove, georgia, on independent line. caller: good morning. no, i don't think the trade agreements will help any because it never has. just like the last two collars, which is now three in a row, there are no jobs. let alone, just sit there and say we are going to work against people who can do it far cheaper than us. we pay too much, we want to much, which is good for america and -- it will not work on this economic scale. we can't go with this. we can't compete with them. the set here and try to do this with this -- china is out producing us, all of our corporations are over there. it is insane. no trade agreements. no, get rid of it. host: of memphis, vivien on our democrats line. caller: they need to bring back jobs in america. stuff was made here when i was coming up. we did not have any bad products. everyone was proud of the product that our people made here. t

in places like nevada, connecticut, colorado, michigan, north dakota doss the liberal left is running scared. the bottom line is that it has been a year now. voters are going to hold them accountable. out here in the cities and towns across this great country , we have some big problems to solve. we have gotten tired of looking backwards. to look forward --we want to look forward. the future looks really good. if there is open massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. he --" in massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. [applause] brown's victory is exciting and is a sign of more good things to come. they are going to put it all on the line in 2010. this year there are born to be some tough primaries --going to be some tough primaries. i think competition is good. i hope you will get out there and work hard for candidates who reflect your values and priorities. despite what the pundits want you to think, this is democracy at work and it is beautiful. [applause] i was the product of a competitive primary where running for governor i faced by guys. -- faced five guys. we put our ideas up f

north dakota state going to take it all again? >> caller: i don't know. it's kind of a tossup. i don't follow it that close. >> that's all right. i'm getting focused because it's near the season. >> caller: my question is on motorola. i bought it back at nine and was kind of hoping the droid would spur some growthing. >> i don't know. listen, nate, i got to tell you, motorola i thought the breakup value, have you cash. i think you can hold it but you can't buy because there is what i call no catalyst. where there's no catalyst in a stock like that, i'd rather see an apple than see you in motorola which has no catalysts. i hate to end on a downer but the truth has no deadline and the lightening round is over. >> the lightning round is sponsored by -- straightforward is the way td ameritrade does business. ning round is over. >> the lightning round is sponsored by -- >>> people accuse me of not getting enough letters. we have back-to-back mail. this one says, hey, jim, i have been struggling with hewlett-packard for support and every time i am given the run b around and hung up o

as a great school. >> in north dakota, we make that same claim. >> you have a comparative team and we usually lose to them in the playoffs. thank you for coming. >> thank you. >> i had a hard day and this know you're probably enjoying it. sorry to interrupt you. >> no problem at all. >> 70% of the debt to gdp ratio in 2013 is a goal. >> 70% by when? >> and then 60% by the end of the budget window. the peterson commission put out a goal of getting to 60% by 2013. i'm talking about being less aggressive than they are. this morning, i looked at a plan that would get us on that path. >> it is daunting. >> it is, it is truly daunting. i hope that my colleagues understand how serious the situation is that we confront. it is dire. the long-term circumstance that we confront is truly dire. we are not in as bad a shape as japan, debt to gdp. we are not in as serious a shape as parts of western europe that confronted debt crisis today but it is very clear that we could, in very short order, confront our own debt crisis and the consequences to this country would be enormous. i wish it were not s

the bank of north dakota is a legacy the dates back to the progressive era about 80 years ago now. and it's quite a success for all. it makes money for the state and help support its economy. you have exhibit and other countries. i was in brazil i guess i should say last year they have a number of state banks that have helped foster the development. china has extensive system of state banks that helped them stimulate their economies of china rather than going into a downturn the head over 8% growth last year and a lot of that was because you had state-run banks they could tell them make loans to keep things going to redesign intrigued by that. what i would like to see is something along we could do more experience along the north dakota model where you could have state-run banks that compete. i don't want to just hand big wads of money to state-run banks and tell them do whatever you feel like the north dakota bank that's not what they do. that the turnout successfully. so i think you could explore whether there is market niches that are going. we already knew this to some extent.

north dakota state going to take it all again? >> caller: i don't know. it's kind of a tossup. i don't follow it that close. >> that's all right. i'm getting focused because it's near the season. >> caller: my question is on motorola. i bought it back at nine and was kind of hoping the droid would spur some growth. >> i don't know. listen, nate, i got to tell you, motorola i thought the breakup value, have you cash. i think you can hold it but you can't buy because there is what i call no catalyst. where there's no catalyst in a stock like that, i'd rather see an apple than see you in motorola which has no catalysts. i hate to end on a downer but the truth has no deadline and the lightening round is over. >> the lightning round is sponsored by -- ( whooshing ) announcer: you could buy 300 bottles of water. or just one brita filter. ( drop plinks ) brita-- better for the environment and your wallet. transform drinks you want, into cold medicine you need. introducing fast crystal packs. a new way from alka-seltzer plus to... get cold and flu relief in a taste-free, fizz-free powd

what i would like to see is something, we could do more experiments along the north dakota model where you could have state run things that compete. i don't want to hand big wads of money to the state run banks and tell them do whatever you feel like but the north dakota bank, that is not what they do. they compete and do so fairly successfully so i think you can explore those market niche is going on now. we already do that to some extent that the small business administration. so i think there are routes like that that could be pursued. we have to do it cautiously. but i think it can be more room for state banks that compete with the private sector and in fact give additional competition and keep them on this. if it turns out they can't do it, that is great. the private sector is more efficient, find that ilc-- >> host: amity shlaes. >> guest: the question you want to ask is this the state one bank make capital available to the person who will create the jobs and in india there was a long history of government in the financial sector and the capital was not available. they even have

as a great school. >> in north dakota, we make that same claim. >> you have a comparative team and we usually lose to them in the playoffs. thank you for coming. >> thank you. >> i had a hard day and this know you're probably enjoying it. sorry to interrupt you. >> no problem at all. >> 70% of the debt to gdp ratio in 2013 is a goal. >> 70% by when? >> and then 60% by the end of the budget window. the peterson commission put out a goal of getting to 60% by 2013. i'm talking about being less aggressive than they are. aggressive than they are. @@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ it is very clear that we could, in very short order, confront our own debt crisis and the consequences to this country would be enormous. i wish it were not so. i wish it were not so. if you study the trendline that dr. marin and dr johnson, and doctors rhinestone, if there's anything that jumps out to you 10 years and out, we are really facing consequences that could have enormous adverse impact on this nation's economy. do you agree with that statement? >> absolutely. >> what leads you to that conclusion? i said something that

went to fargo, north dakota. that was his first stop in january of '05. it was resoundingly rejected by the american people. we didn't have any tea parties back then. joining me now, ohio senator sharon brown. good to have you with us tonight. i took some of your time there. i hope you're not mad at me on this. >> i listen to you sing, it's just fine. >> these are allocated funds, are they not? money that has already been, "in the system," budgeted for, the $30 billion, money that the congress was willing to take from taxpayers to go use it to save wall street. we have that right? >> yeah. this is money that when george bush started the program and start bailing out the banks and we knew we had to do it to make sure the economy didn't implode in november, december, january, february when president obama then took office, let me tell you, one good reason why this $30 billion makes so much sense. the reason i didn't get here quite at 6:00, a group of about a dozen small alternative energy manufacturing companies in ohio, there are people all over the countr

dakota, they've got the liberal left, that establishment running scared. the bottom line is this. it's been a year now. they own this now. and voters are going to hold them accountable. because out here in the cities and in the towns across this great country we know that we've got some big problems to solve. we've gotten tired of looking backward. we want to lookforward and from here, my friends, the future it looks really good. it looks really good. because if there is hope in massachusetts, there's hope everywhere. brown's victory, it's exciting and a sign of more good things to come. more commonsense conservative candidate are going to put it on the line in 2010. this year there are going to be tough primaries. i think that's good. competition makes us work harder and be more efficient and produce more. i hope you will get out there and work hard for the candidates who reflect your values, your priorities because despite what the pundits want you to think, contested primaries aren't civil war. they're democracy at work and that's beautiful. i was the p

i say to my friend from north dakota, none of us want to do nothing but we want to start over and we had a discussion about the 800 thousands carveout and other special deals and special interests included in the bill which is more than offensive. but i want to talk about one specific issue on deficit reduction, medical malpractice reform. last year, mr. president, you said when you gave -- spoke to congress, you asked your distinguished secretary of health and human services to say look at ways we could address the issue and then again this year, and i pay close attention to all your speeches. >> thank you. that's more than michelle does. >> and the -- and the point is that we don't have to go invest very far. there's two examples. medical malpractice reform that is working. one is california, the other texas. i won't talk about california because the arizonans hate california because they stole our water but the fact is texas established a $750,000 cap for noneconomic damages, caps doctors at 250,000, hospitals at 250,000 and any additional institution 250,000. and patients harm du

five senate democrats are now vacating their seats, including connecticut's chris dodd, north dakota's byron dorgan, roland burris in illinois, and ted kaufman in delaware. republicans are leaving, too. that party will defend six open seats this fall-- in missouri, florida, new hampshire, ohio, kansas and kentucky. but retirements only begin to tell the story. incumbent democrats are at risk in arkansas, pennsylvania, colorado and nevada. the president travels this week to both nevada and colorado, where democratic leader harry reid and freshman democrat michael bennett, respectively, are each struggling. arizona senator john mccain, who was the republican presidential nominee just two years ago, is being challenged, too-- this time, from his right flank. former congressman j.d. hayworth. >> you could say there are two john mccains-- the one who campaigns like a conservative and the one who legislates like a liberal. ( cheers and applause ) in fact, when it comes time to debate, i'm going to ask for a third chair in case both john mccains show up. >> ifill: mccain jabbed back at haywor

democrat kent conrad of north dakota said proposals for reducing future deficits are well short of what's needed. >> as the recovery takes hold, we then must pivot and deal with the long-term debt. and the place where i'd fault this budget is i don't see the pivot. i don't see the pivot. i don't see the focus on bringing down that long-term debt. i don't see us getting below, as i look at the numbers, 5% of g.d.p. in the next ten years. >> sreenivasan: in response, vice president biden said the administration understands how serious the deficits are. he told msnbc, "if we don't do something about it, they could and may become a national security issue." there was fresh evidence today toyota's huge recall is hurting business. the company reported sales fell 16% in january, as it stopped selling eight models to fix problems with gas pedals. taking advantage of toyota's troubles, ford sold 24% more vehicles in january than the year before. general motors saw a 14% increase. nissan's numbers were also up, by 16%. but chrysler was down 8%. for the record, toyota is a pbs newshour funder. wall

north dakota, delaware, nevada, colorado, illinois, pennsylvania, and of course, now, indiana. now, to make it even a remote case for winning control of the senate in 2010, they need candidates in three of these long shot states to become more serious challengers. california, connecticut, new york, and up in the upper northwest, washington and oregon. i can can tell you this, wisconsin and washington, they're very active in candidate recruiting there. california, a very expensive state. we shall see. of course, the republicans have their own share of senate seats that they still have to defend. nearly a half dozen. for us political junkies, though, there's going to be maybe 20 to 24 competitive senate races come november. unbelievable. moving on. can a democrat from miami tap into nascar nation, i say, tongue and cheek. well, on february 13th, the top democrat in the florida senate rate, kendrick meek, will be the lead sponsor for mike wallace's number one car at the nascar nationwide series. that's kind of the minor league of nascar races. it's in daytona beach. said meek, i'm

that leaves seats up for grabs in indiana, illinois, north dakota, and connecticut. at the winter olympics in vancouver, canada, american skier bode miller broke his losing streak and won a bronze medal in the men's downhill competition. he did not win any medals at the last olympics in turin, italy. miller was .09 seconds behind the gold medal winner, didier defago of switzerland. the silver went to norwegian askel lund svindal. those are some of the day's main stories. i'll be back at the end of the program with a preview of what you'll find tonight on the newshour's web site. but for now, back to gwen. >> ifill: and still to come on the newshour, the rising costs of health care; the dangers of some olympics sports; in california, a debate over d.u.i. checkpoints; and remembering the poet lucille clifton. >> woodruff: that follows our look at counter-terrorism policy in the u.s. how much has changed between this white house and the last? we begin with some background on yesterday's clash between officials from both administrations. >> woodruff: on valentine's day m

dakota, folks who've tried to work together. and now they think they may have an opportunity to do so and when they do that that's when government is at its best. we've lost that comity. tom daschle was good at it. i worry today we're at a point where it needs a lot of repair. >> woodruff: norm ornstein, we're hearing these two former senators talk about ways the two parties can work together. but the way it's working right now the senate is... i mean, critics, democratic critics, are saying basically the will of the majority is being ignored. so is that an overstatement? >> it's an overstatement in part. you know, when you use the filibuster for issues of great national concern or moment, which is traditionally the way it's been used-- and that would include health care, by the way-- than having a hurdle of 60 is not necessarily a bad thing. what's happened now is the rootinization of the filibuster for issues where there has been a reach across the aisle. this last year, for example, we had a bill that ultimately passed with u

it looks like north dakota in washington d.c., right now operated as knowing a lot. caller: i ask that question because the examplesñr that you said were things that were definitely anti-liberal. i am wondering how objective your group is. guest: i think we are not saying that it is a bad thing or a good thing to be a liberal or conservative. we are pointing out, and this has to do with reams of evidence that shows the political identification of college professors, that it could be, and this wouldÑi bear further scrutiny, it could be the fact that some of this impact of college on people's beliefs and those issues has something to do with who is teaching them there are other impacts on public opinion and we will not sit here and say it is all because of that. if you teaching college the way i have for 10 years, it is pretty clear who dominates the academy. host: this book is "choosing the right college per-quo what is the idea here? guest: this is like a consumer's guide to college. instead of going by the u.s. news and world rankings which take the college word f

the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: madam president, we're approaching a one-year anniversary of the fatal crash of continental connection flight 3407 in buffalo, new york, and today the national transportation safety board is actually holding a public meeting to consider the final report that they are making on that crash. i think almost everyone has heard the tragic story of that crash last february 12. two pilots, two flight attendants, 45 passengers on that airplane, and one person on the ground all lost their lives. this flight was operated by colgan. the plane was a bombardiier 8-200. operated by a cap pain and copilot -- cap pain and copilot -- captain and cob coby. they revealed their inexperience in the cockpit i listened to. inexperience in the voice recordings. the captain had failed a number of tests in his career as a pilot. and the ntsb is now considering 45 findings and conclu

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north dakota is recognized. mr. pomeroy: i commend the gentleman so much on budget matters. receiving fiscal lectures from this crowd is a little bit like getting financial advice from bernie madoff. you know, when george bush took the presidency, the debt was $5.6 trillion. and under house majorities in the house and senate with a republican president, the debt doubled. part of the reason is the expiration of pay-as-you-go budgeting principles. don't take my word for it. the record is clear. when we adhere on a bipartisan basis with the bush i agreement, the budget 1997 agreement and the democrat passed 1993 agreement to pay as you go we set the path toward surplus. when it expired, the deficits exploded. now as we get our handed around this fiscal -- hands around this fiscal situation, my friend, mr. ryan, is in part right when he says that this is not a full measured response. you know, we've got a long journey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. pomeroy: we have to begin with a solid

dakota. that isç from "the washington times" if you want to read more about peace. here's a piece in "the new york daily post" -- "the new york post." >> this has been catnapip in this on organizable band of rebels. it would be wrong to think they have not had any successes. they're responsible for killing the health care scheme. they sounded the alarm during a town hall meetings in august. it was after this wave barrelling that republicans woke up and answered the call. china will get broken. the dot has too much fine -- the gop has too much fine china. they are wrenching the mantle of conservatism and making them burnt it back. we will get back to your phone calls. we will go to your phone calls there's also a commentary section on "the washington times" this morning. this time to offer a real contrast. this was written this morning by a writer who heads up gopac. it is a piece that he writes that there is five principles. no obama care. hold the unions. cologne scott brown, to give you a

higher medicaid payments for north dakota providers. hawaii hospitals are getting exempt from the cut. and longshoremen exempt from plans. there are a whole series of special deals. so if you don't like a special deal for various states that your state doesn't get, you won't like this plan. i think one of the groups, and this is probably not exactly small that doesn't like this plan would be doctors. why would that be? what do -- does a doctor become a doctor? many of them will say they wanted to take care of people and help them with their health care. why would a doctor dislike this plan other than its great complexity? well, one of the things that is extremely frustrating to doctors as well as patients is something we don't like, but has happened, and that is, you allow an insurance company to come between a doctor and a patient. i think most people consider that doctor-patient relationship, certainly my republican colleagues would say if there's anything in that would be sacred is that the doctor and patient need to make the final d

dakota, that the liberal left is running scared. the bottom line is this -- it has been one year now. they own it now. voters will hold accountable. out here in the cities and the town's and across this great country, we know that we have some big problems to solve. we have gotten tired of looking backward. we want to look forward and from here, my friends, the future looks good. it looks really good there is hope in massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. [applause] braun's victory is exciting and it is a sign of more things to come. a lot of great comments from conservative candidates and they will put it on the line in 2010. this year, there will be some tough primaries. i think that is good. competition in the primaries is good. competition makes us work harder and be more efficient and produce more. i hope you'll get out there and work hard for the candidates to reflect your values, your priorities because despite what the president wants you to think, primaries are not civil war. they are democracy at work. that is beautiful.

north dakota rosenthal -- andy rosenthal wrote a story that the president is kind of out of touch in american society. this became a big story. the president wrote a letter to "the new york times" to correct the story. the original story stock. the president had a kind of nervous attitude towards the press. the second incident was on the berlin wall came down in 1989. a very important historic event in european history, during history, and east-west relationships. it was decided the president had something to say to the press. we had to say something. a press pool of about 10 or 11 photographers, print journalists would be brought into the oval office and the president would address them. we did that. the press came in. the president had a lackadaisical attitude. he said, this is a nice event. i am paraphrasing here. there was not a lot of emotion. the big story was depressed criticized him because it was such a big event but he was not celebrating or declaring the cold war over. he got a lot of criticism for that. he basically instructed the staff that there will be no gloating. the

i flew from fargo, north dakota, to atlanta, georgia. i was taken to a car dealership where i picked up a used car which i drove to here. >> why did you fly to atlanta, buy a car? >> the car is, what i would like to think of as a demonstration of commitment where i bought an unusual car and had it completely repainted for this event. because i think this is so critical to the united states. >> what do you mean by an unusual car? >> it is a 1955 limousine which i had painted purple, and the purple is to draw attention to the event and to god. >> how do you think the event is going so far? >> i think it is very encouraging. i understand there are only 600 tickets. everything sold out, and i think it is a great success for the convention goers as well as americans. >> what do you hope comes out of this weekend of activities? >> i would like to think of refocus of both of the big parties, the republicans and the democrats, and i would hope that they think about their policies going forward. and this tea party, apparently, is catching on like

jon: and for democrats, who are already looking at the possibility of losing seats in north dakota, with byron dorgan's retirement, and also in delaware with beau bidden deciding not to run for his father's old seat, democrats are looking, you know, at some potential big losses come november when it comes to the u.s. senate. >> and i don't think for president obama there would be probably nothing larger than losing his own seat, and if it's alexi grun you'llas, because he's a friend of obama, obama was key to alexi getting he elected to state treasurer when he was 29, 30 years old, so i expect we'll -- if the president has only been home once since he took office, i think we'll probably see him moreover the next year as he tries both to save the governor's race and senate seat. jon: we'll read more about it in the chicago tribune, bruce dold, thank you. jane: we're getting breaking news on a member of congress we wanted to bring to you, politico.com is reporting at this hour congressman jack mirth, he's familiar to you probably, big on the prop operations committee, they're reporting he'

. >> just about every state with the exception of north dakota and woeling, all states are facing deficits. when the crash happened in 2008 the bottom dropped out of revenues coming out of the national government. that doesn't mean run to the well and ask the taxpayers for more. we have to do what everybody else is doing, tighten your belt, live on less revenue until we get out of this hole. bill: give me a sense, when you talk about that, how do people in your home state react, i'm cool, i'm on board, let's suck it snup. >> absolutely they do. i go, in fact i was in a group yesterday and said if you're not in government, raise your hand if you're getting a raise or if you're getting your health care benefits increased or your family income or household budget has gone up. everyone is experiencing this flat revenue or declining revenue, job loss, furloughs, wage con -- concessions and they look at people in the government sector and say you guys should do the same. bill bin laden i think in iowa, i think memory serves, it might have been new hampshire, maybe a couple of months ago, do you

those of us from north dakota feel right at home in these conditions, but in fairness this city has done a remarkably good job given the amount of snow that has fallen. i certainly found that once you are able to get your car out, you can move around. hats off to the washington, d.c. government for doing a remarkably good job in extremely difficult conditions. this would be hard even back home. our hearing is about setting inappropriate target for fiscal sustainability. we are joined by a very distinguished panel of witnesses. i really cannot think of a better group of witnesses for a panel like this one. dr. whitner is from the brookings institution, and she is the co-chair of of the newly established bipartisan policy center debt reduction task force. they are doing very important works and could not come to a better time. the former vice chairman of the federal reserve, the first director of the congressional budget office. what a remarkable series of contributions. dr. riblen brings an incredible amount of experience to the table. mayam mcginnis appeared before this committee last no

i wanted to make sure i was here and i flew from fargo north dakota to atlanta georgia. i was picked up and taken to a car dealership where i picked up a used car which i had bought for this convention and i drive to defeat could prove that from georgia to national. >> why did you go through the hoops to get here? why did you fly to atlanta, rent a car? >> the car is what i would like to think of as a demonstration of commitment, where i bought an unusual car and had a completely repainted just for this event. and that's because i think this event is so critical to the united states -- >> what you mean by on usual karkh? >> it is a 1995 stretch limousine and it was black, but i had it painted brilliant purple. and a brilliant purple is simply to draw attention to the event. >> how is this convention going so far? >> to me it is encouraging. it is more than sold out. there were 500 people waiting list and i understand there were only 600 tickets. and i tried to get some extra tickets or complete coverage because i have to dinner tickets and only one convention ticket, and

some states showed increases, including small-population states like montana and north dakota, but also larger states like texas. eleven states have significant one-year declines. that is more than 5%, even when we include the stimulus from the better government. these states like california, michigan, ohio, washington, and virginia, all home to celebrated public research universities. at uc-berkeley alone research has led to almost 2,000 inventions, and its alumni have founded over 250 companies. the university of michigan has licensed close to 50 start-up companies and just the last five years. my friend, jim dudistat, the former president of the university of michigan has said funding public universities have gone from being a state-supported to the state-assisted to state-related and now state-located. i would suggest we are sometimes state-assaulted. one unprecedented enrollment growth, largely spurred by the country's recession, and the other is a growing need to prepare more students to a higher skill level. so our institute, so our situation is clear. public higher education is

pomeroy, north dakota. >> thank you, mr. chairman. comments from my friends on other sides of the aisle about aig and the other regulatory failures from the last and ministration, it seems to me incredibly out of place. we've seen a lot of regulatory resolve. i used to be an insurance commissioner. it does not mean that you don't watch the swindlers and short cuters. people are still picking up the pieces at great expense to the public for that misguided, unbridled faith in the marketplace that occurred in the last administration. the question i want to ask about relates to job growth. in this tight budget time frame, one area where we can have job growth consistent with sound budget principles -- we played a part in putting into law an extraordinary stringent funding regimen for pensions. i believe that it made no sense. that was before. that was before. we've got low interest rates which further produced a very onerous funding picture. i believe interim funding relief, not to the jeopardy of the solvency of the plan, but bringing fu

congressman earl pomeroy out of north dakota. so if you could show that, please. >> cuts in medicare 400 billion. raises taxes on small business, killing jobs and makes insurance you have cost more. earl pomeroy voted for this bill. how can we saddle our children and grandchildren with these huge deficits? >> i don't want the government to the my doctor. >> congressman pomeroy, you have betrayed us by voting to cut 400 billion for medicare. >> north dakota seniors will not forget. [applause] >> thank you. congressman pomeroy held a press conference out there and he said this is very intense political, and he said i've got to be honest with you, he said i couldn't watch football on sunday without the 60 plus association add coming on saying i was betraying seniors. he has been, i will tell you what, i'm afraid he is in deep trouble come november. [applause] >> i see my time is up. i thank you most sincerely for yours. thank you. [applause] >> thank you to our terrific panel. we have five remaining for one or two questions everybod

in places like nevada, connecticut, colorado, michigan, north dakota doss the liberal left is running scared. the bottom line is that it has been a year now. voters are going to hold them accountable. out here in the cities and towns across this great country , we have some big problems to solve. we have gotten tired of looking backwards. to look forward --we want to look forward. the future looks really good. if there is open massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. he --" in massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. [applause] brown's victory is exciting and is a sign of more good things to come. they are going to put it all on the line in 2010. this year there are born to be some tough primaries --going to be some tough primaries. i think competition is good. i hope you will get out there and work hard for candidates who reflect your values and priorities. despite what the pundits want you to think, this is democracy at work and it is beautiful. [applause] i was the product of a competitive primary where running for governor i faced by guys. -- faced five guys. we put our ideas up f

some states show increases, including small population states like montana and north dakota. but also larger states like texas. but 11 states have significant one year declined. that is more than 5%, even when we include the stimulus from the federal government. the states, like california, michigan, ohio, washington, and virginia, all home to celebrate public research universities. at uc berkeley alone, research has led to almost 2000 inventions, and its alumni have founded over 250 companies. the university of michigan has licensed close to 50 startup companies and just of last five years. my friend jim duderstadt, the former president of the university in michigan, has said about state funding, public universities have gone from being state-supported, giving state assisted, then state related, and now state located. i would suggest we are sometimes state of salted. complicated the decline in state support are two factors. one is unprecedented enrollment growth, largely spurred by the country's recession. and the other is a growing need to prepare more students to a higher