should michael steele quit? caller: real quick, happy fourth of july to "washington journal" and all the true great americans out there. happy independence day. we have to remember that president obama did make the comment in the past that good war, bad war, the war in afghanistan was a good war and the war in iraq was the bad war. and i think that's what michael steele was referring to. it was kind of -- i don't know way off-base comment but we have to remember also about harry reed when he stood in the well of the senate and declared and waved the white flag of surrender that we lost the war in iraq. now, since then we've been very successful in iraq and however, i think what president obama needs to do is to establish clear objectives on winning and losing. he wanted to redefine winning. he's basically said we have to find out what our objectives are there and if we can achieve those objectives. and he needs to clarify that with the people. thank you. host: charlestop, south carolina. jim, republican. what do

michael steele is not problem with the country. michael steele says things that may not be the smartest things to say, getting atacked by lindsay graham or the john mccains or whatever. that isn't the issue. i'm not voting for michael steele tonight president of the united states or my congressman or senator. right now the republican party is winning. you don't change horses in july going into a november election. i'm sure governor kaine, would love to see the horse change and put somebody else in there, the fact of the matter is now is the knot the time. the governor said he would be fired if he said something stupid. they had howard dean for how many. how many stupid things did howard dean say? he still maintained his position. >> larry: in every offyear election, you know the other party wins in the first -- after the first two years of a presidency. >> from your lips to god's ears. >> larry: going to be unusual, would you be shocked if they don't win, right? mark, what you make of steele's remarks and whether he should keep his

michael steele's, other than raising money, michael steele's mission one is to for the last year now to harness this energy in the tea party movement, the conservative wing of the party, without days feking the folks in the middle that you need to win in order to become a majority party. but you just alluded to the controversies, michael steele's problem is he can't get out of his own way. and the latest controversy about his remarks on the afghanistan war and the fact that he took a position that is not like any republican, saying basically that he was not in favor of the obama policy in afghanistan, he had to walk that back, because that's not at all the position his party is in. again, he stepped on his own messaging, and therefore this mission of harnessing that tea party energy gets put to the side because he becomes a distraction to the conversation. >> lehrer: so he's not involved in this split, right? >> he's not. he's trying very hard to bring those two sides together into a winning coalition. he hasn't aligned himself with one side or the other. but with all of these gaps i

>> rep -- michael steele is supposed to reflect a consensus of republican platform and policies. if he does that, he could certainly remain trade if he is not willing to do that, if he wants to be a political leader on his own, there are plenty of seats open in november, i suggest you want -- i suggest he run for one of them. i feel very strongly is not my leader. he does not make policy for me. the fact is the national republican congressional committee is made up of elected republican leaders, 178 or so of us. we elect our own leaders and figure out what our policies will be going into november. we are figuring out how to get jobs going in america and get government out of owning corporations and distorting markets. that is what we are focused on. we are focused on jobs and the business of the people from a congressional standpoint. i'm sorry michael steele has become the news because he is a bubbling up of state national committeeman and he is post execute on behalf of their decisions and platforms. he does not represent me. i do not side with the statements he has made. but a

i won't say it is naked but it is pretty well exposed but as mar as michael steel is concerned, michael steel has had a gas filled year. he had his young donor meeting at the lesbian bondage club in west l.a. you must remember, that caused a stir, and caused the finance chief to leave, chief of staff to leave, political consultant to leechlt he predicted the republicans wouldn't win the house in 2010. it hasn't been sure footing for michael. i don't anybody looks to the party chairs to make foreign defense policy statements. and if it weren't the fourth of july weekend i don't know if the resignation would be news to tell you the truth. >> woodruff: anything about michael steel. >> it was historically inaccurate to say it was barack obama's war. it was stupid. he doesn't make policy. it was terrible all the way around. bill crystal my friend called for his resignation. i think it is right it has to be the last straw. i know the donors have been up in arms about their performance, not only the gaffes but the administrative performance. to me this has to be the end. >> woodruff: speaking

will michael steele stay on as party chair after the midterm elections? guest: it will really depend on the elections. if we will do as well as republicans hope we can do, it will be a different game. they will put this behind them. they will look at retooling and preparing for 2012. midterm is a report card on the president, his agenda, on how republicans organize themselves. there is a lot of the frustration, but there's also a lot of enthusiasm. despite the inner party politics, people are excited and want to get out there. host: we have been hearing from president obama. he was in kansas city. he is painting the republican party as the "party of no." they have been trying to fix the parties on --? healthcare and the problems with wall street. guest: that is not a new message. to some extent they thought it works. at the bottom line, if you look at independent voters, there's frustration with any incumbent. even our service will tell you that. there was one number who said favorability and -- the unfavorable was 49% for republican and democrats consist

steele, sharron angle, and president obama fund raising with harry reid. ♪ . maybe my home, my only home, was where i was born in new york city, -- mexico city, and it is the house that i lived in for almost 20 years, and i can remember the address and phone number, and that is the only time in my life when i have felt at home, and now, in the united states, this country has given me opportunities that my country could not give me, but, still, i have the sense of i am an immigrant, and i feel like an immigrant 27 years after getting to the united states. i still feel like i am an immigrant. there is no home for me anymore. host: why did you become a citizen note? >> it was important for me to participate fully in this country. it is a wonderful country. this country would treat other immigrants like me, and the millions of immigrants who came up to me, it is truly amazing note, and i was born the year there was a book written, and with the wonderful ideas, of course, he was killed in 1963, but in 1965, with the immigration act, everything changed, and because

next, but remarks for michael steele as well as the republican candidate sharon angl,. then a discussion of the future of education in saddam followed by a speech from the prime minister of spain. the nevada republican party held its annual convention on friday, posting rnc chairman michael steele. here is a look, starting with german steel. this is the key minutes. -- this is 50 minutes. are you ready to win? you have your work cut out for you. we have some things to do. it is important that you pull yourself together and pull yourself up by your bootstraps sampling over and help a major pull themselves of an elite over and help the crazy aunt pulled himself up we're going to bring the change that this country needs. we're willing to bring the change that nevada needs. right out, but what you have a great new chairman and he is quite a guide. he is ready to rock and roll and strengthen this party. congratulations on your leadership. . he has a great team and a great partnership. he has the wonderful national committee. thank you both for your leadership. thank you also

first, the republican national to the chairman, michael steele and senate candidate sharron angle speak at the nevada republican convention. later, president obama at a fund-raiser for senator harry reid. >> at the nevada republican party held its annual convention on friday, posting the rnc chairman, michael steele and u.s. senate candidate sharron angle, -- here is a look at the german steel. this is 30 minutes. >> i hope somebody is ready to win in nevada. you have some work cut out for you. you have some things to do. it is important that you pull yourselves together, pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, leaned over and help a neighbor poll themselves up and leaned over and help that crazy uncle pull himself up. family and friends, the moment to go out and communicate a powerful message. we are going to bring the change this country needs. we are going to bring the change that nevada needs and we're going to start by changing out harry reid. [applause] you have a great new chairman who i have had the pleasure to spend some time with. he is quite a guy. he is ready to rock and roll

steele and candidate sharron angle. this is 50 minutes. >> this is a special time. how is it going out here in nevada? [applause] i hope somebody up in here is ready to win. i hope somebody is ready to win in nevada. are you ready? all right now. i just want to make sure. you have your work cut out for you. you have some things to do. it is important that you pull yourselves together. pull yourselves up by your bootstraps. lean over and help a neighbor pull themselves up. lean over and help that crazy uncle. family and friends, it is the moment to go out and communicate a powerful message. we're going to bring the change that this country needs. we're going to bring the change that nevada needs. we're want to start changing out harry reid. bywe're going to start changing out harry reid. [applause] you have a great new chairman who i have had the pleasure of spending time with. he is quite a guy. he has shown his mettle. he is ready to rock and roll. congratulations on your leadership. it is a pleasure to be with you, bu

. >>> republican national committee chairman michael steele is under fire again. this time the heat is coming from his own party with accusations from the rnc's treasurer that steele hid more than $7 million in party debt to beef up its bottom line ahead of midterm elections. rnc officials deny the charges, which could carry a hefty fine. >>> in new hampshire, beach-goers beware. at least 100 people were stung by pieces of a dead jellyfish that scattered along the shore after lifeguards tried to remove it from the water. nine children were reportedly treated at a hospital for their injuries. >>> and if you think it's been a hot summer, imagine if the sun was 300 times its current size. now, this is not a doomsday report. however, scientists in england have discovered the most massive star ever, which is up to 20 million times brighter than the sun. >>> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,120 after tumbling 109 points yesterday. the s&p fell 13. the nasdaq lost 35. taking a look at overseas trading this morning

do you see donors avoiding michael steele and the rnc? >> well, we are where the action is. of course, in a mid term election the congressional races are where the action is. in a presidential year, the rnc is the party committee for the presidential nominee would tend to get more attention. but it's no secret the rnc has had some problems this time, and frankly we have reached out to major donors and said, you know what for this cycle we would encourage you to contribute to the senate committee because of the structure of the senate because of the importance of 41 votes. every additional vote we are able to get in the senate is going to be our chance to reorder the balance of power in washington, d.c. and it seems to be a message that people are accepting and responding to. >> republicans need 10 seats to gain control, and everybody claims the expectation in washington, john boehner said that maybe 100 house seats are in play. is lack of failing to win the majority a disappoint or defeat for john cornyn? assuming there are republican gains in november do you exspect gridloc

michael steele suggests that afghanistan is the cemetery of empires. that has been said many times before. is it still the case, do you think? >> well, there has been a lot of empires go into afghanistan and not a lot of them have come out in tact. the most successful was alexander the great who got in by marrying into the tribe. he set up a government structure that worked. this argument about graveyard of empires i think is overapplied in the sense that a lot of afghans have supported us, up to 65 supported us a couple of years ago. the russians or the british never had close to that level of popular support. but i think there is a truism there which is it is a lot easier to get into afghanistan than to stabilize it and ultimately get out. >> to your test here. define for me in today's world counterinsurgency. >> there is two meanings to it which i bring out in the book. the activity that pretty much every government in history has gone through, which is dealing with internal opposition and armed -- and all of those uprising that go to the romans or

donors avoiding michael steele and the rnc to bring your money -- to bring their money to you? >> well, we are where the action is. of course, in a mid term election the congressional races are where the action is. in a presidential year, the rnc is the titular committee for the presidential nominee and they would tend to get more attention. it is no secret that the rnc has had some problems this time. frankly, we have reached out to major donors and said, for this cycle, we would encourage you to contribute to the senate committee, because of the structure of the senate, because of the importance of 41 votes. every additional vote we can get in the senate is going to be our chance to reorder the balance of power in washington, d.c. it seems to be a message that people are accepting and responding to. >> republicans need 10 seats to gain control, and everybody claims the expectation in washington, john boehner said that maybe 100 house seats are in play. is lack of a majority -- failing to win the majority and disappointment or defeat for john cornyn? assuming there are republi

. >> michael steele, the -- issaa. michael steele the head of your party. >> the head of the republican national committee, not head of my party. >> you're a republican. is this somebody who should remain as the top executive of the rnc? >> michael steele is supposed to reflect a consensus of republican platform and policies. if he does that, he certainly could remain. if he's not willing to do that and wants to be a political lead owner his own, there's plenty of seats open in november, i suggest he run for one of them. and i feel strongly he is not my leader. he does not make policy for me. the fact is the national republican committee is made up of elected republican leaders. 178 or so of us, and we elect our own leaders and figure out what our policies will be going into november, and we're figuring out how to get jobs going in america and getting the government out of owning combingts and distorting markets. and that's what we're focused on. jobs and the business of the people from a congressional stand point. so

steele maybe and they've even except it bobby jindal and indian governor in the state of louisiana and now in nikki haley south asian woman to south in south carolina but that is they've only accepted these two people because they change their religions to fit in with american politics jindal always raise hindu then converted to catholicism haley's a sikh who became evangelical and now likes to pretend that it's always been that way. well now i think you have heard from a lot of people that you're not a christian and i really don't believe that in one ear if at a record straight that they are now and when did you become a christian well and thank you for asking the question i converted to christianity thirteen years ago we belong to now horribly united methodist church in lexington both of my children were bad and are christians and we live and strengthen our relationship with god every day through the christian faith. every day now you can preach diversity all you want but you know republicans would never ever elect anybody of the muslim faith into office they like to use that as atta

guest: michael steele is supposed to reflect republican policies. if he does that, he should remain. if he wants to be a political leader on his own, there are plenty of seats open in november. i suggest he run for one of them. i feel strongly that he is not my leader. he does not make policy for me. the fact is that the national republican congressional committee is made up of elected republican leaders, 178 or so of us. we elect our own leaders and we figure out what our policies will be going into november. and we are figuring out how to get jobs going in america, get the government out of owning corporations and distorting markets. that is what we focus on. we are focused on jobs, the business of the people from a congressional standpoint. so, i am sorry that michael steele has become the news because he is a bubbling up of the state national committee met and he is supposed to execute on behalf of their decisions and their platforms. he does not represent me. i do not side with the statements he has made. at the same time, i hope he realizes th

michael steele? guest: he is going to be the party leader of this election. his report card will come on election night. they will not get any changes from then. i went through a lot of criticism when i was chairman of the republican campaign committee and i kept saying my report card is election night. i chaired that committee in 2000, 2002 cycles. it came out with my shirt on. i think we need to focus on that at this point. and i think michael still needs to just focus on raising money and helping candidates. he does not need to be a policy wonk. host: you came in in 1995, the class of a new gingrich. cs obama not winning in 2012 against a republican. he is thinking about it. guest: he is, i thought, what ever personal foibles he might have had, coming out of that, he is a leader. i don't think anybody in our party with the kind of idea machine that newt gingrich has, being able to adopt that and translate it to voters. is this election in 2012 comes down to a referendum on obama and a choice, he i think could be a very able spokesman. you see in this count

we do not have the empty chair where michael steele was scheduled to be until he canceled and yesterday. we will try to soldier on without him. we are here to discuss the midterm elections. let's start with the overview question that everyone is wondering at this point. maybe chucked you can't kick off. what are the prospects that the republicans will capture the house, senate, or both? to get the house has never changed hands without the senate. -- >> the house has never changed hands without the senate. when you look at a few important poll numbers, but the most important are the correct right track/wrong track where more people are telling us today than even a month ago that the direction of the country is on the wrong track. the president's job rating has been going down and if you look at the president's job ratings in the 50 house seats that democrats have won over the past few cycles, these are very -- these are not solid democratic seats. they are swing seats. his job rating there is about where george bush's job rating was in 2006 these are places where there are not a lot of m

and we look of the nevada senate race with michael steele and the republican candidates as well as harry reid at the campaign even to with president obama. monday on "washington journal," a look at the week ahead with the chief capitol hill correspondent for "the capital examiner." then a discussion on unemployment with young adults. after that, a liggett lobbyists roles in shaping the financial reform bill currently in congress with steven brill, and as always, your calls, e-mails, and tweets, here on c-span. >> this week, on-line safety and the cable industry in europe. monday night on c-span

we don't have the empty chair where michael steele was scheduled to be a until he canceled yesterday. we will try to soldier on without him. overviewrt with the question that everybody is wondering at this point. what are the prospects today that republicans will capture the house or the senate or both? >> when you look at a few important numbers -- the more people are telling us today than a month ago that the direction of the country is on the wrong track. the president's job rating has been going down. if you look at his job rating in the 50 house seats democrats have won, these are not solid democratic seats. his job rating there is about where george bush's was in 2006. these are not a lot of minorities or hispanics. take away his popularity with those groups and he is sitting in the high 30's. combine those numbers and you look at clinton in 1994. all of the ingredients are there for a big wave. the white house is expecting it. all republicans need are another 8-10. that is where things are now. the game for the white house is saving the senate. the senate is stable for them bec

we have tim kaine and michael steele. we've got business leaders. we have a bit of a mix across the spectrum who will be there to talk positively about the pressing issues that face the country. >> anita dunn, you worked in the white house as adviser on communications matters. i want to get your response to maureen dowd's comments in "the washington times" because she has sharp words against clyburn. i don't think a single black person was consulted before shirley sherrod was fired. i mean, come on, said congressman clyburn of south carolina. he needs some black people around him. he said obama's inner circle keeps screwing up on race. some people over there are not sensitive at all about race. they really feel the extent to che allows himself to talk about race would tend to pigeon hole him or cost him support when a lot of people saw his election as a way to get the idea behind us. i don't think people elected him to disengage on race. just the opposite. the president shouldn't give sherrod his old back back. he should give her a new job, director

do you agree with republican chairman michael steele that afghanistan, you mentioned afghanistan, is now obama's war? >> well, since there are men and women, fathers and daughters, sons and daughters, cousins and uncles, everybody, all of america when you send your troops over there, that's america's war. and if you think that that is only one president's war, then you don't understand the obligation a country makes collectively, but the commander in chief ultimately has the decision. but the country is at war. i mean i can say this as a former congressman, whether you agree to it or whatever, when an individual, a family member has somebody over there, the entire country, that entire family is there. well, our entire country is there because that was a place, and the place of origin for the 9/11 crime that was committed and terrorist act commited in this country. and all of america is at war. and i think that's a horrible way, and a wrong way to look at it, and that's why i think a number of republicans have criticized chairman steele. all of america is there because there are peopl

and then a look at the nevada senate race with committee chairman michael steele and republican candidate sharon angle. >> this week, on "the communicators."on-line safety and discussions with the maryland attorney general and cable your president. >> the u.s. institute of peace hosted a discussion friday in washington examining the state of education in southern sudan in africa. experts from the state department and world bank discussed, the lessons learned on developing education systems in country's devastated by war and the future of education in the region. this is 1.5 hours. >> good morning, everybody. let me thank you all for coming. i am a senior program officer here at u.s. ip. i am going to ask everyone to please turn off your cell phones which can interfere with the communications equipment that we have here today. we appreciate the good audience, here. let me welcome a few people. i will notice that we are being recorded by c-span today so you might see yourself on tv. today is a somewhat significant day for sudan. we are six months away from the deadline on the referendum on

michael steele at the rnc, to block all stimulus and block all construction towards jobs? in particular $400 million of d.o.t. transportation funds from f.r.a. have been directed to ohio. i'm calling from the 12th district. there's been blockage at the controlling board by an apparatus set up by the republicans and their obstructionist techniques to have all d.o.t. funding have to go through a seven-man panel. it's become a block of mind set that it shouldn't be and in an apparatus of theatrical it should be technical for what's best for the country. >> i think it's been too big, hasn't done enough. i would just say that in terms of political games being played, you know, certainly congress does it and the states are not different. again, each state has its own political games, the g.o.p. and the democrats depending on the circumstance will use policies to advance their parties' interest. it's not something new but it does happen both on the national and state level. host: what's the role of the independents in these races? >> well, in terms of the candidates there are som

as michael steele's comments attest and obama is not oblivious to the implications. let's say that patraeus insists that july 2011, the time line, be pushed back a year which is possible considering the current problems on the ground. that means the deescalation will begin around 2010 just in final for the democratic national convention. we ain't staying long. caller: we are exceptional but the problem is in often blinds us to our shortcomings. host: which are? caller: well, de tocqueville was in the 1830's. nearly a century before that it was talked about what was america and what was exceptional about us. but we were murder iing native americans as we moved west. we enslaved hundreds of thousands of people. after enslavement, the whole segregation apparatus went in effect. immigrants coming into the united states suffered horribly. today, with our exceptional iis it keeps us from learning from other countries. the whole energy issue. we are being sideswiped by china, by others that are going ahead and making m.s. we -- by making movements. we don't want to do anyth

and i think michael steele slipped up by saying what he said at that convention or whatever they were having there and was telling the truth, and this is why they tried to run him out of office. but i want to say something to the republicans. you had power, you gave up power. based on what you were doing at the time. let's think about everything that was going on at the time and why did we put the democrats in office? they were put in the office to clean up the mess. you have got to think about this also. republicans voted for barack obama, too. so do we want to put you back in office so you can run the country back over the cliff again? let's see, let's give this man a chance. i don't think a year and a half or two years is enough time for any one person to fix everything that was going wrong in the country. host: here's the washington times story, if you want to read it on line. actually, this is an associated press story. dallas, texas. go ahead. caller: good morning c-span and good morning to everybody that's listening this morning. i would just like to say i have never heard so m

the chairman of the republican party michael steel recently said that president obama does not understand that the one thing you do not do is engage in a land war in afghanistan because everyone who has tried over 1000 years of history has failed. george will wrote that the american undertaking in afghanistan is a fool's errand and likened it to vietnam. these are strong voices saying that afghanistan could be a quagmire. do you agree, and if you do not, please tell the voters what specifically our mission is in afghanistan and how and when it is attainable? >> i think our mission in afghanistan is similar to our mission in iraq and that is to stabilize the country, allow the development of a government that functions, help reduce the corruption that the roads that government, and the decision about whether or not we belong in afghanistan was made on the day that president bush decid to sen troops to afghanistan. and once we make that commitment, its my view that we work hard to succeed. and i think it is especially important in afghanistan. this is the site of where the terrorists traine

the chairman of the republican party michael steel recently said that president obama does not understand that the one thing you do not do is engage in a land war in afghanistan because everyone who has tried over 1000 years of history has failed. george will wrote that the american undertaking in afghanistan is a fool's errand and likened it to vietnam. these are strong voices saying that afghanistan could be a quagmire. do you agree, and if you do not, please tell the voters what specifically our mission is in afghanistan and how and when it is attainable? >> i think our mission in afghanistan is similar to our mission in iraq and that is to stabilize the country, allow the development of a government that functions, help reduce the corruption that the roads that government, and the decision about whether or not we belong in afghanistan was made on the day that president bush decided to send troops to afghanistan. and once we make that commitment, it is my view that we work hard to succeed. and i think it is especially important in afghanistan. this is the site of where the terrorists t

the chairman of the republican party michael steel recently said that president obama does not understand that the one thing you do not do is engage in a land war in afghanistan because everyone who has tried over 1000 years of history has failed. george will wrote that the american undertaking in afghanistan is a fool's errand and likened it to vietnam. these are strong voices saying that afghanistan could be a quagmire. do you agree, and if you do not, please tell the voters what specifically our mission is in afghanistan and how and when it is attainable? >> i think our mission in afghanistan is similar to our mission in iraq and that is to stabilize the country, allow the development of a government that functions, help reduce the corruption that the roads that government, and the decision about whether or not we belong in afghanistan was made on the day that president bush decided to send troops to afghanistan. and once we make that commitment, it is my view that we work hard to succeed. and i think it is especially important in afghanistan. this is the site of where the terrorists t

steele, and his speech to the republicans. he campaigned for sharon angle on friday night. even see those remarks today at 6:00 27:30 p.m. eastern on c- span. tomorrow, the commission on wartime contract and on the defense department in afghanistan. we also have a look at the commission's report and the transition of functions from defense to state departments. live on c-span 2. >> c-span is now available in 100 million homeless, all as a public service. created by america's cable companies. >> representatives from the state department and the military talked about how to stabilize war-torn countries like afghanistan and iraq. the u.s. institute of peace posted this event. it is one hour and 10 minutes. >> think you all for staying with us. sheldon has estimated become moderator. we have a wonderful panel group with us, many i know from the past and some of whom i have just met for the first time. all of which was very actively involved in reaching out to the english-speaking world and trying to help. trying to bring a wide sp

honest business a lower import tariffs for steel products higher taxes for fairest metal producers and their more transparent pricing policy russia's big steel consumers want the government to take action against the way the steel industry does business and is a grand gathering of producers and consumers and this is the weekend it seems prime minister putin was happy to oblige. reports. let me put in regrets that his comments about metals pricing policy two years ago led to twenty percent drop in its share price but he clearly wasn't sorry about any other thank you may have had this time prime minister held up mitchell as an example for others to follow he said the company treats russian consumers well and was not under suspicion to price fixing the same could not be said about six other metals competitors. investigation for selling their product at a higher price to russian consumers than for export its alleged irregularities in transfer pricing where the producers sell product to a friendly offshore company at a much reduced tariff to avoid tax in the ocean a company that sells the s