Face the Nation (CBS) - 2008-11-16

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] Today on Face the Nation, should the

[0:03] failing auto companies get a bailout?

[0:06] And what is the future [music] of the

[0:08] Republican party? Close to collapse,

[0:10] Detroit's big three are calling on

[0:12] Congress to bail them out. What would

[0:15] happen to the economy should one of them

[0:17] go under? And will a bailout happen? If

[0:21] a bailout passes, will other failing

[0:23] industries [music]

[0:24] get in line? These are the questions for

[0:26] Congressman Barney Frank, the Democrat

[0:28] of Massachusetts, [music]

[0:30] who's leading the bailout effort for the

[0:32] Democrats, and Senator Richard Shelby,

[0:34] Republican of Alabama. He's against

[0:36] [music] it. Then we'll talk about the

[0:38] future of the Republican party with

[0:40] former House Speaker N. Gingrich, and

[0:43] Bobby Jindle, the governor of Louisiana.

[0:46] I'll have a final word on America's

[0:48] great parlor game, the transition.

[0:49] [music]

[0:50] Who's in, who's out, and who's in

[0:52] between. But first, bailing out the big

[0:55] three or not on Face the Nation.

[1:06] Face the Nation with CBS News Chief

[1:09] Washington correspondent Bob Schiffer.

[1:12] And now from CBS News in Washington, Bob

[1:15] Sheaffer.

[1:17] >> And good morning again. He's home in

[1:19] Massachusetts. The chairman of the

[1:21] banking committee, Barney Frank with us

[1:23] from Tuscaloosa, Alabama this morning,

[1:26] Senator Richard Shelby, the ranking

[1:27] Republican on the Senate Banking

[1:29] Committee. I want to start with you,

[1:31] Chairman Frank. Thanks to both of you

[1:33] for coming this morning.

[1:34] >> Welcome.

[1:34] >> Congress is coming back into lame duck

[1:37] session this week. Uh the purpose was to

[1:40] put together some kind of stimulus

[1:42] package for the economy now on the front

[1:45] burner should the big three in Detroit

[1:47] get some sort of uh financial bailout

[1:50] help. Uh but I have to be quite candid

[1:52] with you, Chairman Frank. I know you're

[1:54] for this auto industry bailout. I see no

[1:58] indication that Congress is ready to do

[2:00] that.

[2:02] >> Well, the House is ready to do it. I

[2:03] will say with regard to your first

[2:05] comment, Bob, uh I and I know the

[2:07] Democrats in the House would much rather

[2:08] be dealing also with a broad stimulus

[2:10] package. I think there's a significant

[2:12] consensus that given the serious

[2:14] economic problems. We've got

[2:17] unemployment sadly racing higher uh

[2:19] consumption down that we should be doing

[2:21] a broad stimulus package. Unfortunately,

[2:23] we've run into resistance uh from the

[2:25] president and others. And so something

[2:27] that's badly needed now is probably

[2:28] going to have to wait until Senator

[2:29] Obama actually takes office, but you

[2:31] will get one then. Uh, as for the

[2:33] automobiles, there were actually three

[2:35] different proposals coming forward now.

[2:38] All of which would result in the

[2:40] industry getting some short-term bridge

[2:42] help to see if they can dig themselves

[2:44] out of the hole. But you're right, they

[2:46] are different ones. As I understand, the

[2:48] administration's position is the 25

[2:50] billion that Congress already voted that

[2:53] did not seem controversial at the time

[2:54] the president signed it, which was for

[2:56] the purpose of having them become more

[2:58] energy efficient. The president's

[3:00] position appears to be to let them keep

[3:01] that 25 billion but take away any of the

[3:04] requirements that they move to energy

[3:05] efficiency. I think that would be a

[3:06] grave error. Um the Democrats in the

[3:09] Senate have been saying, well, it could

[3:10] be taken out of the existing uh $700

[3:13] billion rescue. Uh in the House, we

[3:15] think that would be wrong because that's

[3:16] not what it was explained as when we

[3:18] voted on it. I do think that 700 billion

[3:21] could be used, but I think uh respect

[3:24] for democracy means you have a separate

[3:25] vote on it and put forward something

[3:27] that would be a temporary bridge loan

[3:29] with very tough conditions with strong

[3:31] protections for the taxpayer uh until we

[3:34] get into a new administration.

[3:35] >> But I as as I listen to you here, you

[3:38] seem to be agreeing with me that it's

[3:40] probably uh not going to happen here. Uh

[3:43] >> but it may not be happen. Bob, you may

[3:44] be confident that all the predictions

[3:46] you make come true. I'm not. Um the

[3:49] there's no downside to trying. Uh and I

[3:52] yes, we'll do the best we can. In the

[3:54] end, there's no guarantee that anything

[3:56] will pass, but there never is in the

[3:57] Congress. Senator Shelby, you don't want

[4:00] this to pass. You think the autoh people

[4:03] ought to be allowed to go into

[4:04] bankruptcy if that becomes necessary. Uh

[4:06] do you think there's any uh chance that

[4:09] this this will pass the Senate this help

[4:11] for the auto industry?

[4:13] >> I hope not, Bob. I think this is the

[4:15] wrong road to go down right now. Uh we

[4:17] we know that there's no endgame here. Uh

[4:20] we've got failing autos, General

[4:23] Automobile manufacturer, General Motors

[4:25] got a bad model, got bad management, no

[4:28] innovation on models and so forth. Uh

[4:31] now we're talking about putting 25,

[4:33] another 25, and who knows where it will

[4:36] stop. Billions and billions of dollars

[4:39] into a a system, a model that's not

[4:42] going to work. It's like a dinosaur in a

[4:44] way. These companies need to either

[4:47] refurbish themselves, get new

[4:49] leadership, start all over in a sense,

[4:52] and save a lot of jobs, or they're going

[4:54] to inevitably going to go under anyway,

[4:57] even with the help of a lot of taxpayers

[4:59] money. And lastly though, Bob, the

[5:02] government, the US government, us the

[5:04] people have not here to to here to for

[5:08] chosen which companies would survive in

[5:10] the marketplace and which would fail.

[5:13] Well, companies fail every day and and

[5:16] others take their place. I think this is

[5:19] a road we should not go down.

[5:21] >> I don't think anybody would argue with

[5:23] you when you say that the these auto

[5:25] companies have made some big mistakes.

[5:27] But when you talk about uh the auto

[5:30] industry affecting one job uh in 10 in

[5:33] America uh with how many things are

[5:36] dependent on the auto industry, can the

[5:38] country afford to let uh one of these

[5:42] companies go into bankruptcy?

[5:44] >> I think well some people believe that

[5:46] chapter 11 bankruptcy would be a lot

[5:48] better management than what they have

[5:50] today where they would reorganize uh

[5:52] they would get rid of the management

[5:54] that has brought them to where they are

[5:55] today. uh uh bloated contracts,

[5:58] everything that goes with it. No profit,

[6:00] no products to sell uh to speak of. It's

[6:04] not the General Motors we grew up with.

[6:06] It's a General Motors that's headed down

[6:08] this road to oblivion. Should we

[6:11] intervene to slow it down knowing it's

[6:14] going to happen? I say no for the

[6:16] American taxpayer.

[6:18] >> Mr. Chairman,

[6:19] >> yeah. Um, first of all, I I know my

[6:22] colleague said some people say, "I'm

[6:24] always skeptical of arguments that

[6:25] begin." Some people say, "I'm not sure

[6:27] that the next line isn't going to be

[6:28] Elvis is still alive."

[6:29] >> No, I was talking about some people. It

[6:31] was Congressman Frank. I was

[6:32] >> Well, I understand that, but I I think

[6:34] we ought to talk about what we believe.

[6:35] And the answer is this. Yes, they ought

[6:37] to be sped up. The question is, how much

[6:39] pain are you going to inflict on the

[6:42] economy? One of the things we have to

[6:43] understand is the context here. We are

[6:45] in a terribly weakened economy. We have

[6:47] this credit crisis. We have on top of

[6:50] the credit crisis a very serious

[6:51] deteriorating physical economy. It might

[6:54] be one thing to tolerate a bankruptcy if

[6:56] we had a lot of jobs out there. If uh

[6:58] there was prosperity when you talk about

[7:01] the negative shock that would result

[7:03] from bankruptcies of these companies

[7:05] right now and by the way I wouldn't be

[7:07] blind about chapter 11. There are

[7:08] suppliers out there who are owed money.

[7:10] Smaller businesses they get hurt in a

[7:13] bankruptcy. There are a whole range of

[7:14] people who didn't make bad decisions at

[7:16] GM here. Secondly, what we're talking

[7:19] about is the 25 billion very much coming

[7:22] first in any repayment. The taxpayers

[7:24] would be protected by the bill we're

[7:26] going to be putting forward. Secondly,

[7:28] there would be a requirement that they

[7:30] come up with plans both to show that

[7:31] they can be viable and that they will in

[7:34] fact improve the environmental

[7:35] efficiency. And that's where we differ

[7:36] with the president because he's

[7:38] apparently prepared to take the 25

[7:40] billion they've already given and make

[7:42] that a no strings attached proposal

[7:44] rather than be one where they have to

[7:46] try and get more efficient. So the

[7:47] question is how much pain do you inflict

[7:50] on an already very weakened economy by

[7:52] blindly saying well let them have

[7:54] chapter 11. Uh that's going to cause a

[7:56] great deal of difficulty at a time when

[7:57] the economy really can't stand it.

[7:59] >> Uh let me ask you this chairman Frank um

[8:01] Rick Wagner who of course heads GM says

[8:04] that

[8:06] he is not willing to step aside if that

[8:09] is one of the conditions uh to getting

[8:11] uh this federal bailout. Shouldn't there

[8:14] be some sort of condition put on this? I

[8:16] mean uh shouldn't the taxpayers uh

[8:18] expect that maybe management is going to

[8:20] change?

[8:21] >> Well, we will have a number of

[8:22] conditions. First of all, there will be

[8:24] no dividends paid during the time this

[8:26] loan is is extended if the bill that we

[8:28] put forward passes. That's something you

[8:30] can't do if you just gave it to them out

[8:31] of the uh existing uh funds or if you

[8:35] simply reduce the uh environmental

[8:37] restrictions as the president has talked

[8:38] about. No dividends, no bonuses for

[8:41] anybody making more than $200,000 a

[8:43] year. a very tough oversight board that

[8:45] among other things could veto

[8:48] ventures that would take uh some of this

[8:50] money maybe and put it overseas um as to

[8:52] exactly who the management ought to be.

[8:54] Uh the oversight board which would

[8:56] consist of the leading executive branch

[8:59] officials who have jurisdiction whether

[9:01] it's uh commerce and labor and uh

[9:04] environmental and energy they would be

[9:06] the ones to uh to make these decisions.

[9:08] >> But you wouldn't make that a

[9:09] precondition. There'd have to be a

[9:10] change in management. No, because I'm

[9:13] not sure who I want the new management

[9:15] to be or how. Um, I think we give them

[9:17] these very strict requirements that say,

[9:20] well, the 25 billion is going to get

[9:22] them, it's divided among three

[9:23] companies. Uh, it gets them into the

[9:25] next administration before anything else

[9:26] can happen. Either they'll have to all

[9:28] pay it back and we're out of it, or they

[9:30] will come up with plans that can

[9:32] convince people that they can be both

[9:33] environmentally and economically sound.

[9:35] >> What about that, Senator Shelby? Uh, do

[9:38] you think that ought to be a

[9:39] precondition? If would that make you

[9:41] more amendable to some sort of bailout

[9:44] if management agreed to step aside?

[9:47] >> Well, I I wouldn't support it anyway,

[9:49] but I can tell you what, management's

[9:50] got to go. uh if you if you deal with

[9:54] with the people who brought the failure

[9:56] to these companies uh and keep them in

[9:59] office uh keep them in uh power with

[10:02] federal money, you're just going to have

[10:04] more of the same problem and nothing's

[10:07] going to happen except just a downward

[10:09] spiral. The model doesn't work. Uh the

[10:12] management is not innovative. Uh they

[10:14] need to go and they also going to have

[10:16] to be streamlined. They're going to have

[10:17] to get smaller. They're going to have to

[10:19] be able to be competitive. Why are they

[10:21] going to the federal government, Bob?

[10:23] Because there's not a bank in this

[10:25] country that would loan when a dollar to

[10:27] these companies because they know their

[10:30] failures and the models of failure and

[10:32] the government is going to go down that

[10:34] road and it's a mistake.

[10:37] >> Part of the problem, of course, is that

[10:38] there are a lot of people who are

[10:39] perfectly sound who can't get loans from

[10:42] banks in this country now because we've

[10:43] got this terrible credit crisis. And I I

[10:45] would hope the administration would do a

[10:46] better job than they've done of going to

[10:48] the banks that have been the

[10:49] beneficiaries of some funding and and

[10:51] press them to loan to all kinds of

[10:54] companies. Uh that clearly needs to be

[10:56] done and I we all agree that they need

[10:58] to make fundamental changes. The

[11:00] question is how much pain can the rest

[11:01] of the economy take while those changes

[11:03] are being implemented.

[11:05] >> All right. Well, gentlemen, I want to

[11:06] thank both of you for uh being with us

[11:08] this morning and bringing some insight

[11:10] into this. We're going to come back and

[11:12] talk some more about this and uh in

[11:14] specific where do the Republicans go

[11:17] from here

[11:29] and we're going to talk now a little bit

[11:31] about where the Republican party goes

[11:34] from here. And uh two people who are

[11:36] worth listening to are with us this

[11:38] morning uh in Louisiana. the governor,

[11:40] Bobby Jendle, here in our studio. Uh, N.

[11:44] Gingrich. Um, Governor Jendle, uh,

[11:47] there's no question now the Republicans

[11:48] have got a lot of work to do. What What

[11:50] should be the first thing they do?

[11:53] >> Bob, well, thank you for having me this

[11:55] morning. Clearly, first of all, we need

[11:56] to congratulate Senator President-elect

[11:59] Obama. I think Senator McCain was very

[12:01] gracious on election night. As

[12:03] Republicans, we need to do three things

[12:04] to get back on track. Number one, we've

[12:06] got to stop defending the kind of

[12:08] spending and out of control spending

[12:10] that we would never have tolerated in

[12:12] the other side. You know, when voters

[12:13] tell us that they trust Democrats more

[12:15] to cut their taxes, control spending,

[12:17] that tells you something is wrong with

[12:18] the Republican party. We've got to match

[12:20] our actions with our rhetoric. Number

[12:21] two, we've got to stop defending the

[12:23] kinds of corruption we'd rightfully

[12:25] criticize in the other party. The week

[12:27] before the election, our most senior

[12:28] senator is convicted on federal charges,

[12:30] and that's only the latest example.

[12:32] Number three, we've got to be the party

[12:34] that offers real solutions to the

[12:36] problems that American voters, American

[12:38] families are worried about. We don't

[12:40] need to abandon our conservative

[12:41] principles, but we need we can't just be

[12:43] the party of no. We need to offer real

[12:44] solutions on making healthcare more

[12:46] affordable, on the economic challenges

[12:48] facing families on the international

[12:50] threats. I think we're going to have a

[12:51] debate in this country. I'm opposed to a

[12:53] singlepayer governmentr run health care

[12:54] system, but that's not enough. We need

[12:56] to also show the American people that

[12:58] we're for tax credits. were for using

[13:00] technology to emphasize preventative

[13:02] primary care, electronic patient

[13:04] records, so every American has access to

[13:06] affordable private coverage.

[13:08] >> All right, N. Gingrich, do you think

[13:11] that there was any way John McCain could

[13:13] have won this election?

[13:15] >> Oh, in theory, sure, there were ways to

[13:17] win the election, but I think once the

[13:19] Wall Street crisis occurred, and once

[13:20] you had President Bush on television for

[13:22] 18 straight days, it became

[13:24] extraordinarily hard. Uh, by election

[13:26] day, President Bush's job approval was

[13:28] between 19 and 23%. So, McCain ran

[13:31] somewhere between 23 and 27%

[13:34] ahead of President Bush's job approval.

[13:36] That's a I mean, you can't ask a lot

[13:38] more out of a candidate than that. But I

[13:40] I think you're interviewing one of the

[13:42] people who's part of our future. When

[13:44] you look at the governors and you look

[13:45] at Governor Jindal and what he's doing

[13:47] in Louisiana, you look at Governor Mitch

[13:48] Daniels who won by 20 points in Indiana

[13:52] while McCain was losing it. You look at

[13:53] Governor John Huntsman who has the

[13:55] lowest employment rate in the entire

[13:57] West in in Utah and a billion dollar

[13:59] surplus last year, about a $300 million

[14:01] surplus this year. There are a lot of

[14:03] lessons to be learned out there and

[14:04] everywhere I turn, I find governors who

[14:06] are doing a very good job. Uh Governor

[14:09] Mark Sanford of South who just took over

[14:10] the Republican Governor's Association.

[14:12] So, I've been through this, you know,

[14:14] you and I have been around long enough.

[14:15] I've been through the 64 collapse when

[14:17] the Republican party was going to

[14:18] disappear and the 74 Watergate collapse

[14:20] when the Republican party was going to

[14:22] disappear and the 92 defeat of President

[14:24] Bush. Uh and and in each case I watched

[14:26] us within a short time focus on new

[14:29] ideas and new solutions and within a

[14:31] very short time come back as a a

[14:33] stronger and healthier party.

[14:35] >> So So what happened Governor Jendle at

[14:37] the Republican governor's conference

[14:39] there where you've heard what N Gingrich

[14:42] just said.

[14:44] It turns out that Sarah Palin stole the

[14:47] show. Was that a good thing for

[14:49] Republicans?

[14:51] >> Well, a couple of things. One, I think

[14:53] it's great for Republicans to have

[14:55] governors and others speaking out. We

[14:56] need as many as many messengers, but

[14:58] it's not the messengers. It's the

[15:00] substance. It's the message that's

[15:01] important. I know the pundits want to

[15:03] start looking at 2012. What's more

[15:05] important is what the speaker said. He's

[15:06] exactly right. Remember when he became

[15:08] speaker in the '9s? You had governors

[15:11] solving problems in states across the

[15:13] country. You had governors in Utah,

[15:14] Michigan, Wisconsin, for example,

[15:16] championing welfare reform. You had

[15:18] Republican governors saying, "Let's

[15:20] actually help people go back to work.

[15:21] Help them get education. Let's believe

[15:23] in the American dream. Let's believe

[15:25] that every American wants a better

[15:27] quality of life for their families."

[15:28] Critics said it wouldn't work. They

[15:30] brought those ideas to Washington. We

[15:32] saw the largest drop in poverty rates,

[15:34] largest drop in teenage pregnancy rates

[15:35] across the country. I think the

[15:37] challenge for the Republican party is to

[15:38] be gracious, work across party lines

[15:41] every chance we can, but to stand on

[15:42] principle when we disagree with the new

[15:44] administration, but most importantly to

[15:46] offer real solutions. I think governors

[15:48] can offer examples of what works across

[15:50] the country, and that's what this RGA

[15:52] meeting was about.

[15:53] >> Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me,

[15:55] but I thought I asked something about

[15:56] Sarah Palin there.

[15:58] >> Oh, well, sure. No, I think it's great

[16:00] that Sarah Palin is speaking out. I

[16:01] think it's great that the governors that

[16:03] the speaker mentioned were are speaking

[16:05] out. I I think the future I think the

[16:07] governor is going to play a great role

[16:08] and I think that you know our folks in

[16:10] Washington are going to have important

[16:12] work to do but I don't think all the

[16:13] answers and wisdom are going to be in

[16:14] Washington DC so I think it's a great

[16:16] thing that she's speaking out I think

[16:19] multiple governors

[16:20] >> how do you feel about that uh Mr.

[16:22] I mean, f first of all, Governor Palin

[16:23] is a real asset to the Republican party.

[16:25] She brought enormous energy to the

[16:27] party. She attracted very large crowds.

[16:29] But I would say, for example, to the

[16:31] Republicans who are about to face this

[16:33] question of how do you get the economy

[16:34] growing again? Bring in uh Governor

[16:36] Daniels and bring in Governor Huntsman

[16:38] and ask them, you know, how did they get

[16:40] to the lowest unemployment rate in their

[16:42] respective regions? Uh go back to a

[16:44] principled approach. If you want to

[16:45] understand healthcare, you can do a lot

[16:46] worse than to bring in Bobby Jindal, who

[16:48] may be may well know more about health

[16:50] policy than any other elected official

[16:52] in America and is doing an extraordinary

[16:54] job in Louisiana. If you want to look at

[16:55] education reform, you can look at

[16:57] Governor Purdue in Georgia. You can look

[16:58] at that Governor Haley Barber in

[17:00] Mississippi. There are a lot of people

[17:02] doing smart things. The natural pattern

[17:04] of the news media is going to be they

[17:06] know how to spell Sarah Palin's name.

[17:07] They've got it locked in their word

[17:08] processor. She's going to be a much

[17:10] bigger story in the short run. But I

[17:12] think as she goes back to be governor

[17:14] and as she works in Alaska, you're going

[17:17] to see a group of governors emerge, not

[17:19] just Sarah Palin. And there are 36

[17:21] governorships up in 2010. And I think

[17:24] focusing on rebuilding the Republican

[17:26] party from state legislature and

[17:28] governor to Senate and House is the

[17:31] right model. And I think that the

[17:32] Republican governor's association is

[17:34] probably more important than the

[17:36] Republican National Committee in trying

[17:37] to get this done. So you do not see her

[17:39] as the de facto leader of the party at

[17:41] this time?

[17:42] >> No. She's a wonderfully intelligent,

[17:43] aggressive, hardworking person who got,

[17:45] you know, hammered very badly by the

[17:47] press, I think, fairly distorted ways,

[17:49] but I think that she is going to be a

[17:51] significant player, uh, but she's going

[17:53] to be one of 20 or 30 significant

[17:55] players. She's not going to be the

[17:56] deacto leader.

[17:57] >> I'm going to run by a couple of

[17:59] statistics by both of you. U, in 1980,

[18:02] Ronald Reagan got 14% of the black vote.

[18:05] Uh, this year, John McCain got 4%. Now,

[18:08] that's understandable. You had the first

[18:09] African-American candidate, and I think

[18:11] both of you would agree he was a very

[18:13] good candidate who ran a good campaign.

[18:16] But look at the rest of this. Ronald

[18:17] Reagan got 37% of the Hispanic vote.

[18:21] George Bush got 44%. John McCain 31%.

[18:26] Uh Ronald Reagan in 1984 got 61% of the

[18:31] youth vote. John McCain got 32%.

[18:35] Now, doesn't that tell you that that you

[18:37] can't concentrating on the wrong things?

[18:40] >> Wait a second. You take Reagan's

[18:41] greatest reelection in ' 84 and McCain's

[18:45] defeat and you compare them and guess

[18:46] what? The guy who lost got fewer votes.

[18:49] >> Well,

[18:49] >> but but that was Reagan's greatest

[18:51] single vote. Now, I look, I think,

[18:53] >> but doesn't that mean that you're

[18:54] concentrating? Haven't you put too much

[18:56] uh emphasis on social issues here and

[18:59] not enough on issues?

[19:00] >> You know what the number one issue was

[19:01] this fall? Number one issue this fall

[19:03] was that the Bush administration had

[19:05] failed. Okay? And that the Republicans

[19:07] in the House and Senate had failed. This

[19:09] was a performance election. You're a 20,

[19:11] 25, 30 year old person. And you look at

[19:13] this mess and you say, "Gosh, do I like

[19:15] this attractive new articulate candidate

[19:17] named Obama who's for who's for change

[19:19] we can depend on, or do I want to vote

[19:21] for the party that has just been

[19:22] failing?" Now, I think we have

[19:24] temporarily a big problem. I think if uh

[19:27] President-elect Obama is brilliant and

[19:30] and committed and lucky, uh he might

[19:32] well consolidate that vote. On the other

[19:34] hand, if they watch what you just said

[19:36] in the first half of this show and you

[19:38] end up with Congress bailing out

[19:40] billions to failing companies and those

[19:42] 20 year olds and 30-y olds start to

[19:44] figure out they're going to pay the

[19:45] taxes, they're not getting the billions,

[19:47] I think you might find a lot of

[19:49] dissatisfaction by next summer.

[19:50] >> How about you, Governor General? What

[19:52] about this bailout?

[19:54] Well, I I think that the speaker is

[19:56] right. I think the American voters,

[19:57] American taxpayers are are rightfully

[19:59] skeptical. You go back to September,

[20:00] what we heard from Washington was it was

[20:02] absolutely urgent. They passed this bill

[20:04] right away. And then since then, we've

[20:05] heard multiple different explanations of

[20:07] how they're going to spend this money. I

[20:09] think taxpayers are right to say one,

[20:11] we're the ones that are going to be

[20:12] paying the bills. Secondly, they're

[20:14] looking for competence. I think this

[20:15] election certainly shows us that the

[20:17] American people are I think we still

[20:18] live in a center right country, but

[20:20] they're looking for competence. They're

[20:21] looking for real solutions. to your

[20:22] earlier question. I think the Republican

[20:24] party needs to fight for every single

[20:26] vote. I don't believe that you win or

[20:28] lose elections based on identity

[20:29] politics. I think you build majority

[20:31] coalitions by showing that we want every

[20:33] single American to be able to live the

[20:34] American dream. And I think we do that

[20:36] by offering real solutions. I think as

[20:38] we do that, we can do what Reagan did.

[20:40] He got those so-called Reagan Democrats

[20:42] to vote for a Republican candidate, not

[20:44] based on party affiliation, but because

[20:45] he had the best ideas, the best

[20:47] qualifications to help them send their

[20:49] kids to better schools, earn more in

[20:51] their careers, and have access to

[20:52] affordable healthcare.

[20:53] >> So, what he is saying, and I think you

[20:55] agree, people voted against

[20:57] incompetence, not against ideology. I

[20:59] >> think that's right. And if you look at

[21:00] at Senator, let me just say for a

[21:02] second, Bobby, if you look at Senator

[21:04] Obama's campaign, he's promising a

[21:06] middle class tax cut. That was a

[21:08] Reaganite position. All right. Well,

[21:10] gentlemen, I want to thank you both very

[21:11] much. Very much. Thank you very much,

[21:13] Governor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We'll

[21:16] be back with some final thoughts in just

[21:17] a minute.

[21:24] [screaming]

[21:31] And so, the great parlor games have

[21:34] begun. The news that Barack Obama is

[21:36] considering Hillary Clinton for

[21:38] Secretary of State makes it official.

[21:40] The transition, that period between

[21:42] administrations, that time of high hopes

[21:45] and great speculations about who's going

[21:48] to do what is underway. Transitions used

[21:51] to be fairly simple, but underline used

[21:54] to be. After George Washington left

[21:56] town, for example, his servants got

[21:58] drunk and tore up a lot of stuff before

[22:00] John Adams took over. But that was the

[22:02] only real problem. As recently as 1960,

[22:06] Jack Kennedy ran his transition from his

[22:08] Georgetown home, picked his cabinet

[22:10] officers in his living room, introduced

[22:13] him to the press on his front porch, and

[22:15] his dad paid for the whole thing. But

[22:18] everything changed when the government

[22:20] began appropriating millions of dollars

[22:23] to pay for transitions. Ronald Reagan

[22:26] won election by promising to reduce the

[22:28] size of government, but he brought

[22:30] thousands of transition advisors to

[22:32] Washington, discovered to his

[22:34] embarrassment he had created

[22:35] Washington's fastest growing

[22:37] bureaucracy, and had to ask for more

[22:40] money to pay the rent on all those

[22:42] offices. Bill Clinton's largely wasted

[22:45] transition is best remembered for

[22:47] turning up would-be nominees who

[22:49] employed illegal aliens as nannies.

[22:52] Smooth transitions are better than bad

[22:55] ones, but it is worth remembering that

[22:57] Clinton and Reagan survived bad ones and

[23:00] eventually got a lot done. So, settle

[23:03] back and enjoy the parlor games. I mean,

[23:06] is it really going to be Hillary? Back

[23:08] to

[23:19] our broadcast for today. We'll see you

[23:21] next week right here on Face the Nation.