Transcripts For BLOOMBERG Charlie Rose 20160801

I begin with john heilemann. Did Hillary Clinton advance her cause . How will it benefit her . John the big answer is yes. Interested in the conventions, that is what the conventions are. They are a Big Television production. This was a wellstaged, wellcrafted convention. We often talk about how one big speech is the thing that people remember. Usually the nominee speech out of the convention. This convention i think will be received more holistically. They put together for nights obviously, very strong speakers biden,chelle obama, joe barack obama, of course, and Hillary Clinton. But the convention enhanced an argument and the argument was an argument that was an argument about the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are the optimistic, patriotic party. In the Republican Party is the pessimistic party. I think that the sum total of this argument is the way that people saw it at home. I think that would do a lot of good for Hillary Clinton. Translates to a large bump in the polls or not, i dont know. I think in terms of advancing the kind of case that she wants to make against this particular republican nominee, i think it was laid out in a rigorous and powerful way. Think what the convention did a relatively good job of doing was trying to humanize Hillary Clinton. We have seen her on the campaign trail as this more robotic politician. That has been the big knock against her, that she is not loosen off, that she is not herself, that she is not saying it like it is. What you had at that convention was be chapter speech going out and showing who Hillary Clinton was behind the scenes, what she was like as a wife and mother, how she has played into this political world we live in now years. Past 3040 i think they did a good job of that. Does that translate to voters . I was speaking with a republican operative who believes it is a question of her trustworthiness and they did not get to that point last night. Of course, the democrats would disagree. one of the issues for Hillary Clinton is the fact that we are talking about this so much, how much we have had to humanize her even though we have known her for three decades in the public eye. Journalists are talking about. In some ways, it is back the point it brings back the Point Charlie i thought they did humanize her and they embraced this question that she was caricatured as a cartoon figure. That is the dynamic they set up by calling her the real one and calling him a cartoonstyle character. You had bill clinton saying that. Chelseas speech last night could have been a little bit stronger. She talked about what it was like growing up, but that momentum and enthusiasm in the crowd for that speech. Still, when you look back at this, john is right. Michelle obamas speech, talking about how important it was to her daughters to have a woman as president , i thought that was one of those artful and galvanizing moment. It was about presenting this progressive, optimistic image, in contrast to donald trump. At it was also, this is choice for the ages in terms of where we are going on the pathway. I thought they did a good job. This is a serious moment. John redefining Hillary Clinton, who has been a major figure in american politics for more than a generation, is a tall order. Where they were successful is in this optimistic bridge vision. Teams that have been central to the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan have now found their voice at the Democratic Convention. Some republicans accuse them of stealing their message. Charlie that began with the barack obama speech. It did. Consider that speech for a moment. We have never seen a speech like that from an outgoing american president. Perfunctoryis a passing of the baton. This was not simply a praising of Hillary Clinton, but a takedown of donald trump by the outgoing president. He did not have Ronald Reagan going after Michael Dukakis in 1988. Bill clinton never mentioned george w. Bush at his convention in 2000. Charlie i think that speaks to trunk and who he is. What they did is used his words against him. And what i thought was interesting, explicitly with the speech by Hillary Clinton, but also in obamas speech, this is not a republican. Invokingillary clinton morning in america. You had obama invoking city on the hill. Two republicans made comments that were to the point. One was janet goldberg, who said that the Democratic Convention was about democrats loving america and the Republican Convention was about republicans loving trump. It does get to the thing i mentioned before, which we will get to. Second was the republican chairman, who said it was the best chair convention he had ever been to be he had ever been to. Clinton,party, hillary there was nothing where Hillary Clinton challenged democratic orthodoxy. It is a much more progressive party. Megan the democrats are trying to urge a seachange in politics and trying to woo republicans who are not enthralled by trump and do not believe he represents their values or their party or that he is not a republican. While donald trump is trying to sanders supporters on trade, Hillary Clinton is hitting security and american nationalism in order to get the republicans who do not feel they are being represented by donald trump. There is a significant portion of those republicans out there that could potentially be wooed. Said,the thing that trump there was one moment and he said , i know the system better than anyone so i am the only one qualified to fix it. You think about that convention, there was so much focus on lack of vetting a lot of the speeches. Particularly melanias speech, which contained a lot of plagiarism. , a more devastating failure real Political Writer would have said, this line should not be in the speech to the speech. It does come across as selfinvolved and egomaniacal. Charlie and they made the suggestion of fascism. John right, but to hear that in his own words and be able to avoid back and say, america is not about one person who can fix things. America is about we, not about i. It was true in obamas speech, Hillary Clintons speech. Charlie she was also challenging trump. She looked right in the camera and said, no, no, no. I thought she had more presence than i had seen before. I thought this was the best speech she had made. Not necessarily as what mrs. Obama did. She seemed to be having a conversation with the audience. Everyone else was making a speech and she seemed to be making conversation. Was one of the Great Convention speeches that i have ever witnessed. It was also one of the shortest. It was beautifully structured and did not attack trump by name , but it was a devastating takedown of donald trump. It was not overtly partisan. She was able to do this without offending the people who had been attracted to trump. Katy the line that sticks out, when they go low, we go high. Singling him out and trying to remind americans out there that this is the path. We are an aspirational nation. Do not let fear drive your decisionmaking. And really seizing the hand of history and what it meant to her as a black woman who has two black daughters running around on the lawn of the white house. Just powerful imagery. That was to with people. They will remember that speech. They may not remember much else. They will remember Hillary Clinton and what she looked like. I agree that she seemed to have more presence and got stronger and more confident as she went along. But that speech will stick in peoples minds. America, in the best of times, is supposed to be about. John it was not asked illicitly political explicitly political, but it was explicitly political. Childrene ads is watching donald trump speaker to this argument is what Michelle Obama is talking about. They are reinforcing this argument in advertising around the country. This is a president you might be ashamed of. You do not want to have as a role model. Dovetailed with what they are doing in much of the traditional political avenues out there. I think you will hear that through november. Is this really what you want your kids to have as a role model for the next 4 to 8 years . Charlie it depends on a referendum of who or what. Did the democrats come closer to making donald trump the issue . They did. Elieve we will see what kind of bomb she gets in the polls. This convention was a cohesive way to say donald trump is an answer to all your problems. Donald trump has said, i will give you everything. You can make your historical comparisons to that, but they are trying to say the donald trump is not somebody who can alone going to washington and fix everything and make everything better and give the American Public everything that they want. This is just an image that he is portraying. Ultimately, that he is out there for himself. He is accusing the democrats of being. Cares to talk about himself and how well he is doing. That is a message that has so far not gone over with donald Trump Supporters and those who want change in washington because they see him as, even with all of his faults, as someone who can go in and stir things up. Throw a theoretical bomb into capitol hill and make things change. And they want that. They do not care who it is. Donald trump is not a perfect messenger, but it is their messenger. The task for the democrats is to effectively poke holes in his armor. In his image. Who is he as a businessman . . Ho is he as a humanitarian does he give as much to charity as he says . Does he help is help other people as much as he says . So far, they are starting to do that. Charlie a successful businessman came out there to make that point. that was the thing when he laid it on the line. That was the key thing about that speech. Appealing to independent people. He went out there with a message of saying this is not a terrible decision for this man in terms of being a businessman. I am a businessman and i know. Jonathan the bigger thing is convincing people with doubts about Hillary Clinton that she is the alternative. He already has skyhigh negatives. Too. As skyhigh negatives, what this convention needed to do was not convince them that donald trump is unfit for office or someone who cannot be trusted, they need to make the case that Hillary Clinton can be trusted. Swathes of the electorate have doubts about that. This election will be determined about how well you can reduce your negatives. Jonathan right now, we have the extraordinary circumstance where both parties nominees are seen negatively by the majority of the electorate. I think she did make some progress there. We got the sense before the speech clinton people were saying that she was going to express the knowledge acknowledge the people who have doubts about her. She did not quite do that in her speech. John the other thing she has to , because of comes positions on a lot trumps positions on the leftright continuum have been has been scrambled. This is more about inside and outside. There is a lot of energy for change and outside right now. Isrlie to suggest that she not necessarily a change agent. Have they understand they a vulnerability in that area. It is a real problem. Energythere is a lot of on the populist outside. Being the insider candidate who is the candidate of continuity in this cycle is a disadvantage that Hillary Clinton has to overcome. I am not sure she made much progress. If the idea becomes this is a third term for barack obama, that is not change. That is continuity. Downside. Is the there is an upside. One of the most powerful thing that people remember is the image of barack obama and Hillary Clinton on the stage together. Given the way the Electoral College works in the way the elections have been for the last five elections, Hillary Clinton holds on to all of Barack Obamas voters, she is going to win the election. There is a downside as being seen as the candidate of continuity and a third term. On the other hand, if she can get those obama voters to come out for her, she will win handily. Charlie explain this to me. I have asked everybody about this. How is it that the right track, is so high inll terms of america is on the wrong track and at the same time, barack obama is experiencing very good numbers. Really think we overfocused on right track, wrong track. Barack obamas number four years ago was almost as high as he is now. The reelection handily. Part of the reason people say the country is on the wrong track, you do not know anything about clear blaming. A fair number of people are saying it is on the wrong track because of republican obstructionism in congress. It is a really blunt instrument. It is a course reading of people being concerned, but not who they blame or why they are concerned. Jonathan regardless, it makes it harder to run a state of Course Campaign if people think were going in the wrong direction. Charlie a number of people on the inside say this election will turn on turnout and that is what the democrats are most concerned about. The know they have constituency and have come out of a good convention with no mistakes and some very good speeches, including by the candidate, but they worry about turnout. They have to inspire voters to come out and vote for them. Donald trump has done a good job inspiring voters to come out for him. The older white man or older white women who feel like they are disenfranchised or left behind in the progressive last eight with the years of a progressive president. They wanted to go back to the way things were before, when coal mining jobs existed and manufacturing jobs were still very beneficial, when there was not globalism. Hillary clinton needs to find a way to inspire her voters, but also minority voters. The latino vote is going to be huge in this election if they come out and vote in the numbers the democrats hope they do. So far, with the latino vote in the past, it has not been as strong a turnout as the democrats have hoped. It has been ok in the past eight years because they were able to beat mitt romneys speech on mccain. But the latino vote could swing this election entirely if they go to the polls. That is what the democrats have to work on. The republicans are going to do their best to get the turnout on the older white side to be as high as it possibly can to mitigate that. When i have asked about outreach for africanamericans and latinos, the answer i get from the campaign is dont worry about it. We are going to do it. It is going to be fine. Or donald trump saying, as of yesterday, that he believes the women vote is going to be a sleeper vote for him. There is no outreach coming from the donald trump camp right now. Part of the democrat answer to that is barack obama. I think that is what he is there to do. John undoubtedly did this will appeal to you, being the lover of narrative. One of the Great Stories is the role that barack obama played in this regard. Think about four years ago, when you had barack obama, an incumbent president , facing stiff headwinds. He turns to bill clinton, the husband of the woman he defeated in 2008, to be the ultimate validator. He goes out in charlotte and gives one of the great speeches of his life, one of the few speeches that moves the needle. People in the obama camp will say that was one of the most important moments of the entire campaign. Four years later, Hillary Clinton facing headwinds. Who does she turned to . She turned to barack obama, who is able to return the favor to the Clinton Family by going out and giving the speech, which was about him staying to his coalition, you have got to be with her the way you were with me. That is one of the big questions. Will the Obama Coalition turn out . That speech was designed to say to those groups, the stakes are very high. You must be with this woman if you are going to protect my legacy. Thing thatother Donald Trumps advisers believe is that brexit is paralleled with this race. Milestonek at the old , even if you look at the state in pennsylvania and ohio where he cannot get the votes, they believe that is not true. We are looking at a scenario where even the most predictive democratic models do not seem to work for them. Such horribly low ratings among latinos and africanamericans. They still believe it is a moment a movement. They are looking at that as a close parallel. Katy the minority vote in the u. K. Does not compare to the minority vote in the u. S. They do not have that in their favor right now. Charlie quick question about Hillary Clinton. There were a lot of questions about donald trump because he was never specific in terms of what she would do. She seemed to layout goals, but not steps to get there. Give her they did website. I mean, that is exactly right. She laid out the big goals. Many of them perfectly in tune with the goals of the Bernie Sanders movement. She mentioned the platform. Charlie Bernie Sanders was criticized for not being specific. You going to are get there . How are you going to pay for all of this . There were not a lot of specifics. Whatever happened to the National Debt and the budget issue here . Charlie we have not touched on tim kaine and his speech and how he helps her. John i thought that senator kaine i have thought about it a lot. The most important thing about that pic is they are super comfortable together. Comfortable together. I think he makes her better and she makes him a little better. I did not think his speech was particularly fantastic. It went on too long. I think the bottom line here is that, again, we have to come back to the fact that running mates do not matter very much. They clear the bar for being qualified to be president and we move on. There will be a debate between tim kaine and mike pence and it will be a debate between Vanilla Ice Cream and marshmallow fluff. Especially when you have two candidates who are hugely polarizing and famous people at the top of the ticket. The bottom of the ticket is never going to matter very much. Pence does think normalize him a little bit. He has been quite strong in recent days in terms of presence. I think he may be someone who is looked at as making him seem more on message. I think he helps not so much with voters, but with donald and keeping him disciplined. Katy we saw mike pence same there would be serious consequences if any foreign intelligence agency, russia, hacks into an american system. That repeatedly, donald trump dismissing that and tweeting that he is open to russia handing over those emails if they have them and same so in a press conference. The governor pence statement on russian hacking came during Donald Trumps press conference the other day, in which he was saying that he welcomed russia to give those emails. Governor pence was a there were serious consequences. The issue is that the two of them are diametrically opposed to each other sometimes when it comes to messaging. E saying he does not believe anyone in politics should call anyone else names. It is blind to the fact that his running mate is the chief name caller right now. Jonathan it is the greatest couple pairing since mccain and palin. Even though you are not going to see i do not think he will be very influential in terms of trump. There may be some impact. He will be out there as much as kaine is with clinton. I think that pic is important because it reassured republicans, what are we doing . Is a is it pence wellknown commodity. John trump apparently gave him a plane. He was talking about how much he enjoyed the plane. You are not going to see those two in the same room very often. Charlie National Security issues, including the issue of suggesting that russia go in after the emails that are missing, that she deleted. Is that continuing to be an issue . Will there be an investigation of that . John there is no doubt there will be an investigation. Issue is theigger issue that we just talked about. Charlie no hacking. John the bigger question is the relationship between trump and an issue that is interesting. You have a republican nominee who has praised Vladimir Putin as being a better leader than the United States president. A russian president who would clearly prefer to see donald trump win. And the possibility that everyone believes is true, that russia is actively trying to interfere in a u. S. Election. What are trumps financial ties to russia . Why is it almost certain that they are trying to interfere in the American Election . It is one thing to hack the dnc. He other thing is to have a , so that a favorite by hacking and releasing emails, you get your guy elected. John trump and putin publicly praised each other. We almost have evidence that it was the russians behind the dnc email hack to create disruption. Again, it is circumstantial. Charlie the former ukraine leader who fled to russia was one of his clients, i think. Megan this is an issue that journalists are delving deeply into. I think there will be more that come out. This wasng of this held back intentionally . It is also potential. All circumstantial. That the putin thinks United States is constantly interfering in russian politics. Charlie putin is convinced the in was behind the dismissal kiev that led to the flight of ninkovich yanukovich. Jonathan it is really National Security group one remarkable moment was general allen coming out and giving that speech and seeing very loud Bernie Sanders supporters out there, basically almost anyheckling mention of the u. S. Military. Charlie at the same time, on khan, aue, i think mr. Muslim american whose son was killed, i thought that was the emotional moment. Katy at the same time, donald trump was at a rally and saying he should bring back waterboarding. Once again, going against what so many generals say is the best tactic. Also, the other day, he said he would renegotiate the geneva convention. It donald trump is taking a position that almost nobody in the country has taken when it comes to fighting terror, using torture. It was such a marked contrast between what was going on stage at the Democratic Convention with khan talking about his son and bringing out the u. S. Institution. Donald trump seemingly unaware of what is going on, talking once again about waterboarding, even though he has been criticized by nearly everybody on that. Charlie if trump is elected president , you get the impression that the first 100 days are going to be spent renegotiating. John the reality is that both of these nominees are going to receive their last five intelligence briefings. People in the Intelligence Community are afraid of doing this for trump. That point. Ish that he will inadvertently disclose john or just out of an incapacity to control his impulses, that he will blurt out things he will be told. Harry reid has suggested a fake intelligence briefing. Jonathan we have paul ryan saying Hillary Clinton should not get classified briefings because she mishandled classified information on her email. When have we ever had a campaign where we have serious people, congressional leaders in each party, calling on the other Party Nominee not to get briefings . John both have had Serious Problems with the truth. Often stretches, benz, breaks, totally disregards what is fact. Hillary Clinton Clinton has a history and reputation with voters for being someone who is exhibiting the truth. Is they wantony the american the American Public wants washington to start working again. We have two politicians and political spectrum that is more divided than it has ever been. The idea that donald trump is going to be able to go in and find a way to reach across the aisle is becoming harder to understand what a minute. Given the amount of vitriol against Hillary Clinton, when you talk about paul ryan saying she should not be getting classified information and the ongoing saga for emails, you wonder how anything will get done if these other two politicians that we have to put up with at the moment. Katy forthank you, joining us, from miami. Thank you, megan john, jonathan. A very long week. We will be right back. Stay with us. Charlie Yvonne Charlie over the past two weeks, we have witnessed a lyrical oratory by political candidates, family members. Here are some of the things that were said that caught our eye and ear. Driving her toas the airport to fly back to chicago when we passed Little Brick House that had a for sale sign on and she said, boy, that is a pretty house. It had 1100 square feet, an attic, and no air conditioner in hot arkansas, and a screenedin porch. Hillary commented on what a uniquelydesigned and Beautiful House it was. So i took a big chance and bought the house. Mortgage was 175 a month. When she came back, i picked her up and said, you remember that house you like . She said, yeah. I say, while you were gone, i bought it. You have to marry me now. The third time was the charm. We were married in that little house on october 11, 1975. Friend. D my best after more in awe than four years of being around her at how smart and strong and loving and caring she was. And i really hoped that her choosing me and rejecting my advice to pursue her own career was a decision she would never forget regret. Hillary clinton understands that if someone in this country works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. She understands that we must raise the minimum wage to a living wage. And she is determined to create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads,ructure, our bridges, water systems, and wastewater plants. Theillary understands that president is about one thing and one thing only. It is about leaving Something Better for our kids. That is how we have always moved this country forward, by all of us coming together on behalf of our children. Team,unteer to coach that to teach that sunday school class. Because they know it takes a village. Heroes of every color and creed who wear the uniform and risk their lives to keep passing down those blessings of liberty. Police officers and the protesters in dallas, who all desperately want to keep our children safe. People who lined up in orlando to donate blood because it could have been their son or daughter in that club. Leaders like tim kaine. [applause] kids what decency and devotion look like. Leaders like Hillary Clinton, who have the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting glassacks in the highest ceiling until she finally breaks through, lifting all of us along with her. That is the story of this country. The story that has brought me to this stage tonight. The story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept hoping and striving and doing what needed to be done so that today, i wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. [applause] watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black, young women, playing with their dog on the white house lawn. We understand what it would mean for our growth our daughters and granddaughters when Hillary Clinton walks into the oval office as president of the United States of america. It will change their lives. My daughters and granddaughters can do anything any son or grandson can do. Think about that. Think about everything you learned as a child. No matter where you are raised. How can there be pleasure in saying you are fired . He is trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That is a bunch of malarkey. There are times when i disagree with Hillary Clinton. But let me tell you, whatever our disagreements may be, i have come here to say we must put them aside for the good of our country. And we must unite around the candidate to defeat a dangerous demagogue. Believe it is the duty of all american citizens to make our voices heard by voting in this election. If you are not yet registered to vote, go online and do it now. This is just too important to set out. Out. T standing here as my mothers daughter and my daughters mother, i am so happy this day has come. I am happy for grandmothers and little girls. I am happy for boys and men because, when any barrier falls in america, it clears the way for everyone. After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky is the limit. Solomon is here. He is an author of books about psychology, politics and culture. His personal account of depression in the newton day noon day demon won the pulitzer prize. His latest book is called far reporting from the brink of change. I am pleased to welcome Andrew Solomon back to this table. Welcome. Andrew what a pleasure to be here. Basically, we would all be better off if we traveled far more from adolescence on. Andrew i believe travel is a moral imperative and we live in a globalized world. When we close our sotloff our self off from other places, we do not understand the world were living in and we had we have unnecessary fear and serious dysfunction as a result. Charlie that has almost been a central truth about relationships, whether they are racial or cultural or political. Not to clearly understand or to. Ay in an expression once andrew jung said that if you do not know someone, you are likely to regard him as a fool. If you do not know a place, you are likely to regard it as ridiculous. When you start encountering places, suddenly, the world opens up for you. Charlie what has it done for you . Andrew it has many more aware of what is american and what is universal. It has given me a sense that a lot of the places we see as sinister and threatening our places where people are full of hope and making things better. When we talk about our enemies and the chaos in the world and building walls to keep immigrants out of our country, it is based on a real misunderstanding of what the gentleness is and the kindness that can be found as you encounter other places. Charlie how do you travel today . What is a journey for you about . Make a distinction between tourism and travel. I grew up as a tourist with my family and tried to become a traveler. Tourism involves looking at something and leaving. Traveling involves going and engaging with it. The most overrated virtue of our time is journalistic neutrality. When you visit someplace, you change it in some place in some way. Engage our job is to with it. To meet people, look at what is working in their system, look at what is not working, to stand shoulder to shoulder. Line in moscow during the soviet union. I hope to bring artists together in afghanistan. It is bringing together the people who might not otherwise be together and helped amplify their voices. Aung san soo chi once said charlie she is an interesting sort an interesting story in terms of what she has done and where she has been. Andrew the muslim problem in myanmar is enormous. I was very struck by the incredible stoicism of the people i met. I remember talking to a writer who had taken a job as her personal assistant during the time when she knew that, as a result of doing that, she would be sent to jail. She decided she was ready to go to jail. And she spent some years in prison. Spins, what was that it like for you . She said, i had the most marvelous time. I said, you had a marvelous time in the burmese prison . She said, the objective of our captors was to make us as miserable as possible. I knew that i could manage to have a good time in prison and their punishment had failed and i was the one who had won i met a bunch of people. That i got to be friends with. Some of them were prostitutes and thieves and we still get together and have lunch once a month. They are my favorite people in the world. Charlie what is your favorite place . Andrew the most beautiful physically are namibia and mongolia. The one i has i have the deepest connection to his england and russia. The place that i did not expect to like and loved it was afghanistan. I thought going to afghanistan would be a hardship and i would come back with an interesting story after an awful week. I have never gone anywhere where , felt more welcomed celebrated, embraced. People were thinking more deeply about what freedom is. Do you find people who have read your books . Andrew i do, which is gratifying. People have watched me on your show, each is also gratifying. Charlie you were kidnapped once. Andrew it was. I was quite young. Andanted to go see ruins the guide said, there has been some unrest in the area, but i guess we can go anyway. We were coming back and we suddenly arrived at a mountainous roads where there was an enormous boulder. Grouppped and suddenly, a of people jumped out from behind the bushes and began smashing the windshield and slashing the tires. Hut and werein a told that the people in the area were in revolt against the Central Government of ecuador because they did not like paying taxes. I said i was not so crazy about paying cap either. There were four or five hours that we were held there before we were let go. Charlie you were brought into question in libya. I went to libya. I had wanted to go and i applied as myself. I was told i would meet the libyan representation at the u. N. And they would help me get in. I could not get in. Passport. E a british i have a friend leading an archaeological survey. Instead, i went as a british christian archaeologist. When i did that, i got my visa, i arrived in tripoli, and i was assigned the head of the International Press office, an organization to keeping the International Press at day bay. It was the most dreary of the Police States that i visited. I have not visited north korea. Grim than the soviet union, posttiananmen china. I was called in everyday to meet with the people of the International Press office. They would question me. They knew everything i have been doing. They would come back to me with conversations i had with people the day before. I kept trying to get an appointment to go to the gaddafi compound. Then i went to a meeting. Basic a meeting of peoples congresses. Said,y through, somebody now we have with us an american who will stand up and address us on the future of the u. S. Libyan relationship. I stood up and the audience of 5000 people, tried to make through some discourse. The next day, i was on the cover of the biggest newspaper and i got the invitation from gaddafi. Charlie what was the headline . Journalist hopeful for u. S. And libya . Andrew i said that the call immediately after 9 11 meant something to americans. The headline was that journalists response shows that he is hopeful. Charlie he was one of the early people to respond. Andrew early people to respond and give out his nuclear arsenal. There was not much of one, but he gave up the program. Uprlie he really gave it after the u. S. Attacked iraq. Andrew he was frightened by al qaeda and islamic extremism altogether. As a greato was seen savior and is now wanted for crimes against humanity charlie and in captivity. Andrew he actually got out about a month ago. Charlie they let him go . Andrew yes. Charlie he will never stand trial in the hague or anywhere else . Andrew it does not appear so. Charlie did they find money . Andrew there was an enormous amount found in prison and it is still very shady. I have heard a variety of figures, between 10 billion and 15 billion. Charlie why didnt they kill him at the meeting . Was it people who got to him first and there was no Central Government to speak of . Andrew they thought he would be a good bargaining chip and if they held onto him, they could exchange him for various favors that they wanted with people who are in power. As the country descended into chaos, it became clear that morning him was not doing any particular good. Libya was, for me, the most humbling situation. It was so awful under gaddafi that i believed in it would be better. Ive wrote that it would be great if we got rid of it off it. Charlie do you still believe that . Andrew i believe that gadhafi was terrible, but what came after was worse. Charlie you feel the same way about iraq . Andrew i feel exactly the same way about iraq. Had we have rebuilt afghanistan instead of invading iraq, we could have spent the money differently and had a real ally in an area where we desperately need one. I think the Marshall Plan is the most successful piece of diplomacy that there has ever been. Afghanistan is interesting because, at the time , assuming they have stayed, and everybody seems to argue at this table that the war in afghanistan suffered because of the focus on iraq. Now you look at the taliban back andack roaring there is hope for negotiation. Andrew there is endless hope for negotiation, but the situation has degenerated terribly. Most people in afghanistan had to flee because it became untenable and they have children. They have gone to other countries. If we had rebuilt it, not only would we have established a real alliance, we would have established a base for people not to be running away from their own country and place. That would have affected all of the immigration that we are currently facing. , aew far and away collection of essays about his dedicated tooad, olivia, lucy, blaine, and george, who have given me a reason to stay humble. I have written a bit in the book about traveling with children. People said, they are much too young and will never remember the places you are taking them. I said, in the first place, i will remember it, so there is some validity to that. But they will grow up with the knowledge that there are different ways to live in different races to be an different attitudes to take. Itly, my son george said, george, if you could go anywhere in the world, and he is seven, i say, where would you like to go . He thought for a second and said serious syria. I said, why would you want to go to syria . And he said, somebody has to tell those people about unacceptable behavior. Charlie good for georgia. This is what you said in the dedication. Think of a long trip home. Where should we be today . Continent, city, country, society. Wide or free or here or there. Should we have stayed at home . Wherever that may be. Thank you. Andrew it has been a pleasure. Charlie thank you for joining us. See you next time. With all the respect to donald trump, the first rule of his miss is not what you know. It is who you know. I have no relationship with Vladimir Putin. I have never met him before. I do not know the president. Charles krauthammer is overrated. I have never met him. They had a general and i never met him. Knowshael bloomberg nothing about me. I do not know him