most uncooperative congress we've had in history. >> jimmy carter, his peace-making work around the world. >> if i had one constant prayer the last 35 years of my life, it would be to bring peace to israel. >> his place in history. >> reporter: what's the one piece of advice you would give any president when they walk in the oval office for the first time? >> tell the truth. plus, larry cuomo. what he thinks about the state of our union. >> we have extraordinary mobs at the same time. this is "piers morgan tonight." jimmy carter was president from 1977 to 1981, but his work since then has won him praise worldwide and a nobel peace prize. his latest book is "through the year with jimmy carter" and tonight i'm privileged to sit down with president carter. president, thank you for welcoming me to this extraordinary center. >> good to have you at the carter center. >> i love the dates here. you became president in '77. cnn is launched in 1980. the carter center's launched in 1982. >> right. >> so we're all kind of interwoven here. the carter center is unusual in the sense that most ex-presidents went for a big library and that would be the way they would do their work. but this center is really extraordinary. just walking around the library is really a small part of it. you've got all these different areas covering all kinds of global charities and things that you support and stuff. what was the overriding concept for the center? >> well, to promote two things, human rights and all of its ramifications and also piece. and we have started -- we started out just trying to negotiate peace between people and we still do that, but i think now, about 80 percent of our total budget goes to curing diseases or preventing diseases that afflict hundreds of millions of people in africa and latin america, but don't touch rich countries anymore. we also monitor elections. we just did our 89th election in egypt. we're still going on with that. we just finished in tunisia and this is a major part of the carter center's work. >> do you feel that you've achieved more outside of the presidency than you did when you were there? >> well, it's a different kind of thing. i couldn't have brought peace between israel and egypt. i couldn't have normalized diplomatic relations with china if i hadn't been in the white house. those two things might have momentous historic significance in the future, but it's a much more human, intimate relationship with literally millions of people. for instance, last year we gave treatment to prevent blindness to over 12 million people. and we have now just about eradicated a disease called guinea worm, which afflicted 3.5 million people. now we're down to about 1,000 cases. so we're almost on the verge of doing away with this disease. and i couldn't have gone to egypt and participated in a detailed meeting with all the political parties and monitoring the election if i had been in the white house. so it's a much more personal, intimate relationship with people who are in need than it could have been. >> do you think you get a bit of a bad rap for your presidency? the reason i ask that is that if you look at the achievements and you look at the egypt/israel treaty, which has stood to this day, you look at the way that you brought america back into relations with china, the most pivotal relationship now that america could possibly have, just on those two things alone, pretty big ticks in the box, weren't they? >> well, they were. and we kept our country at peace. we have a lot of challenges and a lot of opportunities, and a lot of advice, and i had to start another war. and so we not only kept peace for ourselves and promoted human rights, but we brought peace to other people and formed alliances, china's the most important one, that had been a strain on america for 30 years or so. >> you've just been in egypt, and obviously, this has been the most extraordinary 12 months. when you look at the middle east and egypt in particular and the repercussions for israel and the surrounding countries, what is your sense on the ground there? because the big concern is, after all the ewe foreya of a year ago, that actually the islamists are taking control in egypt and that this could be very worrying. >> well, we have to remember that egypt has about 90% muslims. and for muslim political parties to be elected is no surprise. and i think that the muslim leadership with whom i've met extensively during this past week are very determined to put on a good face for the rest of the world and to show that islamists can govern effectively and fairly and honor human rights. it remains to be seen, of course. one of the things that's important to realize is that the united states is now recognizing the right of the islamist parties to form a government. >> when you saw people like mubarak being deposed after 30-odd years, gadhafi killed and so on, i mean, extraordinary times, the kind of thing you couldn't have even imaged five years ago, did part of you celebrate and the other part slightly think, okay, what's going to happen now? >> well, both. there was a celebration, because democracy had come for the first time, really in the history of egypt, and some trepidation about the future, because it's unpredictable, as you know. and i think a lot of what happens in egypt, and also in tunisia, and also in the future in libya and so forth will depend on the attitude of the united states and european countries toward the new government. will we support them and say, these are the premises on which we will give you financial assistance and also give you economic and political support, or will we try to do away with them, just because we don't like the leaders who have now taken power? i hope that we'll reach out to them with a friendly hand, give them help, and let them have a chance to form a good government. >> well, what should america's role be? >> i think to promote democracy and freedom. and that is what has happened in egypt. they have a chance now for a democratic government, chosen by the people. and they have a chance for freedom, that is to have all the human rights that normally go with a free society. and in the past, we haven't always done that. for instance, there was an election in palestine in 2006 in january, when the muslim government won, the hamas won. and in advance of that, we had supported hamas and supported their candidates. but after they won the election, the united states said, no, we can't let them take office. so we declared after the election was over that they were terrorists. and we forbade them to take office. >> do you think that was a mistake? >> i think it was a mistake. we would have had peace nearly in the middle east if we had worked with them. but this is what we have learned in egypt and i think we'll take a different path and give them a chance to govern. >> israel is understandably pretty twitchy about what's going on. i interviewed president netanyahu and he took me to the map of the region, showing these big countries, and then he put his thumbprint on israel and you get a sense of the vulnerability they feel. you've always been criticized for being more pro-palestinian than israeli in the conflict. do you think naturally that you are? >> no, i don't. if i had one constant prayer the last 35 years of my life, it would be to bring peace to israel. becausion about the holy land, i've taught lessons about the holy land all my life, but you can't bring peace to israel without giving the palestinian also peace. and lebanon and jordan and syria as well. and i believe that this is still an opportunity for the united states and europe to play a positive role in bringing about a peace based on all the international agreements. that is, israel withdraws to the '67 borders with some modifications negotiated to allow the big settlements stay right near -- >> how much was junior view sligtly colored by the fact -- you said whenever you met mow knacken bayigen, he referred to every palestinian as a terrorist. but when you heard this, it perhaps lent you to move slightly more to their side in people's eyes. would that be a fair comment? >> i don't think so. when i first went to israel, about 15% of the palestinians were christians, and they were my friends and soul mates in the worship of the same god in the same way. now they've almost been removed spr palestine. the palestinians are human beings, just like the americans, just like the jews in israel are, and i think they deserve a right to govern their own territory. and their own territory is palestine. which has been defined by international law as a west bank and gaza and east jerusalem. and they can be some modifications to that, as president obama pointed out may of last year. but israel has to realize that they will never have peace unless they basically withdraw from palestine and have two governments side by side that is a two-state solution. and a two-state solution is what the international community all unanimously endorses. and in word of mouth, at least, primary netanyahu says we want a two-state solution. but their present -- >> do you think he means it? >> i'm not sure. their present policies are leading lead ing to a one-state solution, which i believe in the future will be a catastrophe to israel. >> to the israelis who say that uh yo don't fully, i guess, feel their pain of being on the receiving end of the suicide bombing and the attacks and so on, what do you say to them? >> i don't have much chance to talk to the israeli leader anymore, but last time i was over there, i did meet with the speaker of the house and i met with the deputy prime minister and also the mayor of jerusalem. so i still talk to some leaders. but i just encouraged them to treat the palestinians fairly and to honor international law and to realize that israel can be a strong, safe, and recognized country by all the palestinians if they go back to the '67 borders. i love israel, i've been there many, many times. i have many friends there, including mow knacken bagen, who was my close friend, and many of the other prime ministers. but the current policy by netanyahu departs from all his predecessor, including his most recent predecessor, olmert. i'm not sure that netanyahu will do that under any reasonable circumstances. >> you brought this amazing peace accord between egypt and israel. how much of this is down to individual personalities, leader who is just get it, and do we have the right people in charge of israel and palestine? are they the people that you could have done business with as president? >> ma knocken bagen, when he was the first elected, had a terrible reputation against peace, against any accommodation. absolutely rigid in his policies. in fact, he had been branded by the british government before that as the number one terrorist in the middle east. but he came around. because of persuasion by me and because of persuasion by sidot and because he knew what was best for his own country. the peace agreement we worked out had two major facets. number one was no more war between israel and egypt. nobody's violated it. the other ruz equal rights for the palestinians, and a withdrawal by israel from palestine, which he agreed to. and also the in israel agreed to that. that party has not been carried out. and i believe that's still an integral part of the future process. but i'm very close to the israeli people and i want very much for them to have peace, along with peace for their neighbors. >> let's take a little break and come back and talk about three less than peaceful parts of the world, north korea, iran, and syria. all of which you know rather well. >> yes. can i help you? yeah, can i get a full-sized car? for full-sized cars, please listen to the following menu. for convertibles, press star one. i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. representative. goodbye! you don't like automated customer service, and neither do we. that's why, unlike other cards, no matter when you call chase sapphire preferred, you immediately get a person not a prompt. chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. (phone ringing) chase sapphire preferred, this is julie in springfield. we have to thank you for the advice on phillips' caplets. magnesium, right? you bet! phillips' caplets use magnesium. works more naturally than stimulant laxatives... for gentle relief of occasional constipation. can i get an autograph? [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ it is a new world, but america should not fear it. it is a new world, and we should help to shape it. it is a new world that calls for a new american foreign policy, a policy based on constant decency. >> that's president jimmy carter speaking at notre dame in 1977. very prescient words there. i mean, that could almost have been a speech you'd be making in '09. because it really, american foreign policy is being reshaped before our very eyes. if you look at the way that iraq played out and even afghanistan, and then compared to someone like libya, you could almost see president obama watching your speech and thinking, here, i think this may be the way to go. >> well, that was a different time. that was when america first instituted the real application of human rights in dealing with other countries around the world. so we promoted human rights and transformed, for instance, all the countries in latin america were just about military dictatorship because of that policy, they soon all became democracies. and that's changed a lot for other countries around the world. and so, now, of course, it's a different time. and we see the so-called arab spring, which may bring 2011 into history books as a matter of transforming that entire region of the world into a move toward democracy, away from dictatorsh dictatorships. >> could that have happened in iraq if it had been left to its own devices? >> well, i certainly think so. and if we hadn't invaded iraq, which was a horrible tragedy and a mistake in my opinion, it might very well be that iraq would have been the first -- one of the earliest arab countries to fall as the people rose up to replace the dictatorship. and the fact that it surprised everyone when it happened in tunisia and libya and egypt i think shows very clearly that iraq would have been a likely candidate for that purpose. >> there are three danger spots for america right now, i would argue. i mean, correct me if i'm wrong. you know a lot more about this than i do. but iran, syria, north korea, traditional danger spots, but certainly more so now than ever with a change of leadership in north korea, with ahmadinejad in iran behaving ever-more erratically and threateningly, some would argue, and syria going up in flames. is there a consistent policy that america should pursue with the three or are they all very different cases? >> well, they are different, but there are basic principles that should be followed. one is to negotiate as best you can through directly or through intermediaries with the people with whom you have differences. for instance, north korea is a good example. i went over there in 1994 to help prevent an almost certain war between north and south korea. i negotiated with kim il-sun, the grandfather, and the most revered leader, and worked out an agreement that he would do away with nuclear weapons and that he would have peace with north korea and south korea. and president clinton adopted that agreement and put it into effect. unfortunately, when president bush came into office, george w. bush, he threw all that in the waist basket. syria is a different proposition. that's a case where the people are rising up, the regime in power, nobody knows how much support they have among their own people, still are very abusive, and i think the world is very reluctant to go in like we did in libya, to have a military operation against syria. it's a much more powerful company and much more a respected country, having been there since ancient times. >> should assad go, though, do you think? >> i think assad is very likely to go in the next few months, maybe during this current year. but i would like to see some effort made, the russians are now supporting syria, as you know, protecting them in a way, which they are in iran as well. but i think the russians would come on board if there was an opportunity for a democratic process in syria to be orchestrated, very similar to what we are now seeing in egypt, where the people will have a right to decide who will be their leaders, including their president, elect their own parliament and let the people decide. as far as other problems are concerned, like iran, there is a regime that i believe is very likely to go to a nuclear weapon capability. they swear that they won't. i don't agree with what they are saying. i think it's very likely that they will go to a nuclear capability. >> and the big question then is how does america respond if it has absolute concrete evidence that iran now has a nuclear weapon? >> i don't think america has that kind of confidence. and i don't think that our secret information, our intelligence information leads us to that capability. they have the right and ability to go there, not the right to build weapons, but they have the right to purify uranium. i happen to be a nuclear engineer by training and i understand the process. in order to use it in their research and also to use it to generate power. i don't know what the truth is, but i think we need to do everything we can to deter them from going that way. if we cut off iran's ability to export oil, which would face them with the prospect of a devastating economic blow, then i think that would be an inevitable movement to war. and i think it would be a very serious mistake. >> and you deliberately avoided any kind of military conflict with iran, when you were president? >> yes, i did. i was advised by many of our people to go to war with iran, to bomb them, and to punish them for holding our hostages. >> you still think it would have been a terrible error to do that? >> i do, because every one of the hostages came home safe and free. there was no one killed in the war. we didn't have a war with iran. i was a military officer by profession. i was a submarine officer and i know what it means to have a strong military so that we can deter other people from attacking us. but whenever possible in government, i think we ought to avoid military conflict and do everything we can to negotiate with other people, even though it seems like we're losing face. and if we can't negotiate directly with them, use intermediaries. so do everything possible before we go to war. >> what president obama or whoever wins the next election cannot afford to do, though, is to look weak in the eyes of the iranians. ahmadinejad would jump on that. at what stage would the american administration have to consider military action? what would need to precipitate that? >> i think a real threat against israel, for instance, of an atomic attack, and i'm not sure that the iranians are going toward a nuclear capability. looking from their point of view at all the pressures that would be exerted on them, if they do, but it would be suicidal if iran, say if they develop a few nuclear weapons like north korea has, maybe seven nuclear weapons, if they attacked israel, that would be wiped off the map by israel's 200 or 300 nuclear weapons. nobody knows how many they have. >> let's take another break and come back and talk about barack obama. i need say no more. so much to discuss with the next president. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. i want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to american democracy. too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. >> that was president jimmy carter delivering his so-called malaise speech in 1979, which didn't go down very well with the american people. and president carter is back with me now. i mean, you were right then and you would be right to say that today, wouldn't you? >> yeah. as a matter of fact, the immediate response of that was the most favorable i ever had to a speech. but later, then govern reagan and my democratic opponent ted kennedy attacked the speech. i never called it the malaise speech. it was just a frank analysis of how america needed to change and that we still had resilient strength to overcome any difficulty if we work together. >> but the reality is that americans carried on consuming and many of them carried on being self-indulgent and we ended up $13 trillion in debt with a catastrophic financial meltdown. so, you know, the grassroots were there, which you picked up on, but nobody listened? >> well, we had basically a balanced budget when we were in office, which was a very important thing for me. but that alienated some of the more liberal democrats. to support a kind of balanced budget strong defense. but you're right, since then, we've just abandoned those kind of principles and i don't how we're going to get out of this economic mess. >> one of the ways, may i suggest, this is your book, "through the year with jimmy carter." a fascinating book, because you took all these sunday bible teachings you've done for 30, 40 years, and you put them into an order that made sense, and you related many of your own personal stories, both from your life and your presidency. and it is absolutely absorbing. i used to have bible teachers when i was young, but they were never linked to events like this, which is what makes it so interesting. and one of the things you told in there, you told a story about you grew up on a peanut farm. everybody knows that. one of the questions people wanted me to ask was, do you like peanuts? >> i still grow peanuts and eat peanuts. >> you like peanuts? >> i wish everyone would join me in eating peanuts. >> i love peanuts. but you told the story about how when you were very young, you would get up at 4:00 in the morning and boil the peanuts, having picked them the night before, and you would walk off several miles and sell them on the roadside and with the money you made from that, you went and did something else, and then you bought some property, and sold that, and slowly but surely, you bought yourself a little empire. that kind of entrepreneurial zeal is just disappearing from modern american youth. and i don't blame them, i blame the kind of culture and lifestyle that they're being encouraged to lead. what do you think? >> well, i think that entrepreneurial spirit was very important for me as a remote, as a farm boy on a remote farm who didn't know anything about the outside world, but was raised with hard work and had a nurturing parents. and i made the best of what hi had. and then later all i wanted to do was go into the navy. that was my total ambition for life. >> when president obama makes his state of the union speech next week, would you like to see him do that kind of speech? what they call the malaise speech, but actually was a direct message to people. yes, we know times are tough. yes, we know that unemployment figures are very, very high. we know people are suffering. but actually, the first thing americans should be doing right now is self-starting, getting back on their feet, finding ways to make a living. doing the type of entrepreneurial thing that you did when you were young. >> well, i don't want to tell president obama how to make a speech, he's a much better speechmaker than i am. but i think always to tell the truth in a sometimes blatant way, even though it might be temporarily unpopular, is the best approach. let the american people know the facts as expressed to them very clearly and very concisely and inspirationally by the president who's in the white house. i think is always very good. and we need to be told the truth. you know, we're now approaching $15 trillion in debt, and if we do everything we're supposed to do, in a few years we'll be $20 billion -- trillion in debt. we haven't addressed that yet, but at the same time, there's a way to balance cutting back on expenditures with increased economic opportunity for american people to take advantage of our freedom, our liberty, our entrepreneurial spirit. if you put that together, which i'm sure he'll do better than i am, in these last few minutes, i think he'll make a good impression. >> how do you think he's doing as president? >> well, he hasn't been able to accomplish very much because he's been hamstringed by the most uncooperative congress we've had in history, in my opinion. >> which you never had to suffer from. >> i had very good support from democrats and republicans all throughout my administration. i had a very high batting average. we added more jobs per year in my four years than any other president since the second world war. we kept our country at peace. we had some problems, yes. but i think that's very much due to the fact that we didn't have the negative advertising that we have now. >> how do you personally get on with president obama? >> we don't have any relationship much. i met with him early in his administration, and we really don't have any relationship. >> are you sad about that? >> i wish it was a closer relationship. i get a briefing when i ask for it. for instance, before i went to egypt last week, i got a briefing from the state department about their policy which was to accept the results of the election, no matter who won, which was very gratifying to me. and when i go to north korea or when i go to some troubled place in the world and come back, i'll always make a report. in fact, monday morning, i sent president obama and the secretary of state, hillary clinton, and the secretary general of the united nations a full report of what my advice and impressions were. so i stay in close contact with them. >> i heard that you felt a little bit let down when the first chance he got to have you speak at a democratic convention, he asked you to do a documentary film instead on president clinton, and it was cut from 20 minutes to 4 minutes. and you were a bit cheesed off at this? >> well, i was, a bit. and people explained the reasons for that. >> were they good reasons? >> for him to get elected, yes. and i didn't need the exposure at the democratic convention. i've been out of office for 25 years at that time. i didn't need to make a speech to the people. so if four-minute documentary was gratifying to me and i did get the chance to get on the stage and wave to the people. i was forbidden to speak, but i think he wanted to win the election and i was -- we had 22 votes in our family, all 22 votes went to president obama. and one advantage he'll have going into next year, i think he's going to win, by the way, against any republican nominee, but i had also a divided democratic party, which is partially my fault. for the last two years i was running for re-election, i had ted kennedy running against me, which divided the party and we never put it -- >> and president obama doesn't have that problem. >> no, he doesn't have that. so he's been lucky in many ways. but i was lucky to get elected, i was lucky to be able to serve. and in a way since i left the white house, i've had a much more productive life and a much more gratifying and happy life than i ever dreamed i would have when i left office. >> let's take another break. and i want to talk to you about the republican field. we're down to the last five. the famous five, the disastrous five. i want to know what you think. [ monica ] i'm away on a movie shoot and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. this president is the most dangerous commander in chief we've seen since jimmy carter, and that's why this election is not just about the economy, it is about the security of our country. >> "barack obama is the most dangerous president since jimmy carter." >> well, we kept -- >> i never thought you were that dangerous. >> i didn't either. i thought i was probably one of the least dangerous presidents. >> you found peace wherever you went. >> i not only kept peace for our country but keptaccomplished ou goals. >> >> when you hear rick santorum using you as some stick to batter president obama, what do you think about that? >> i think he's mistaken. i don't think he's helping himself. he'll be campaigning in georgia, i got 85% of the votes in georgia, and for him to be attacking me before he comes here trying to prevail, i think is a mistake. >> is he meddling with the wrong guy here? >> well, i'm not dangerous to him. >> what do you think of the republican race? has mitt romney, from what you're looking at, has he got it in the bag, do you think? >> that's the indication now. but what happens in south carolina will have a major impact. but even if some other candidate should come in first in south carolina and mitt romney comes in a close second, i think he's still by far the most likely person to prevail. >> you've already said you think barack obama will win, whatever happens. what could prevent that happening? what are the warning signs for barack obama that you would, if you had the chance, you would say to him, watch this, be careful about that. >> well, as we mentioned on the program earlier, i think luck has a lot to do with it. the president has very little power over what happens in the economy. you know, the congress with their tax laws, the federal reserve on the supply of money. he's just one of the three players that have kind of an equal balance. so if the economy improves dramatically and he can take credit for it next year, then i think he'll have a much better chance to win. if the economy should go downhill or stay where it is now with 8.5% unemployment, i think that the republican nominee will have a better chance. but in balance, i think the republicans have taken such a right-wing extreme position to appeal to the tea party and others in their party that they have abandoned the central part of the campaign. but i know from experience, in my 87 years looking back on some of the campaigns, that both parties now, both democrats and republicans, will move towards the center as they get into the general election. and i don't know what's going to happen next year. this is an exact replica of your oval office, isn't it? >> same furniture? >> same carpet. everything's just the same. the same scene when you walk walk outdoors. >> that's the exact same scene item. >> springtime. >> when you come in here, what's that make you feel? >> it makes you feel at home. i remember the last three days i was president, i never went to bed at all. i never went to bed until i had negotiated the final release of the hostages. >> and jimmy and i used to put a table between those two chairs and meet, what was it, every wednesday? >> every week. we had a private meeting every week, just the two of us. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. you know what's exciting, graduation. when i look up into my student's faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor, i am committed to making a difference in peoples lives and i am a phoenix. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. i had[ designer ]eeling enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel. try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. mario cuomo is the founder of a political dynasty. now his son, andrew cuomo, is governor too. mario cuomo joins me now. welcome, governor, how are you? >> very well, indeed. >> i remember, this was my first anniversary this week, that you were larry king's first-ever guest. >> yes, that's true. and i was looking forward to meeting you what the differences might be, and there's a distinct difference in the english. >> that is definitely true. what is your sense for where we really are right now? where president obama is, where the country is, where the economy is. >> well, it's tough to do that in the -- in just a few sentences. we're still the greatest country in the world, we're still the largest economy, with all of our problems. we're still -- we're still the strongest military power. we still have the best rule of law and constitution. we have all of those things. but we have extraordinary problems at the same time, new problems. i was fascinated by one of the republican candidates who said, i think today, that the most important election in your lifetime is going to be this upcoming election. >> do you think that? >> and i think, no, the most important election, frankly, was 2000, when we elected bush and we got a false war and a huge tax cut that we shouldn't have paid for. and some years later, a recession. that was the most important election -- >> do you feel that kind of collection of things -- >> and we got it wrong. >> do you feel that that cumulative effect of all those te decisions that were taken, going into war, which many felt were a mistake at the time, the tax cuts, that were really unaffordable, do you think that all of that put together actually led america to the precipice that it found itself in a couple of years ago? >> it certainly helped push it in that direction. i think to understand where we are now, you know, it's helpful to look back to the clinton years, because of one thing in particular. the clinton years, first four years, he didn't do very well. second four years, he did sensationally. he wound up after eight years with 22 million new jobs, an upwardly mobile middle class, now our middle class is deteriorating, more -- fewer poor people than ever. how did he to it? newt gingrich and he and some others collaborated. that was the big thing about that period. and he left us after eight years with a $1.5 trillion surplus. now, it's important to remember all of that why? it's important to remember that because it means we can do it again. i mean, if clinton could do it, we could do it. >> you hit on the key thing. i interviewed newt gingrich last week, and he was talking very warmly about president clinton, about all the stuff they did together. and he was sort of highlighting the fact that washington this last year, since i've on air, has felt an almost permanent paralysis, and there's none of that negotiating that leads to any kind of compromise going on. i mean, this is bad for the country. and it's selfish, isn't it, of these politicians in washington? >> i don't want to be overly partisan here, but it's the republicans who are refusing to collaborate. it's not the president who's refusing to collaborate. >> speaker gingrich said that barack obama is not a good negotiator. and that's part of the problem. >> it may be that this president was born with two great gifts. one is an amazingly significantly excellent mind and the ability to give a great speech. but he had very little else going for him. he had no experiences in running a group of people, in managing, let alone managing the world's most important government. so i think it's fair to say that he started with some great gifts, but not the particular gifts that you need to run. and that was true of clinton as well. his first four years were not good. >> do you see parallels between where barack obama is now and where bill clinton was after first term? >> i like to see an end -- in obama, the traits that will make him successful this time around. that i think what they have to be is looking at the clinton years and learning what you can from that. but then, more generally, he sh the way franklin roosevelt spoke and act the way harry truman acted. if you look at the speeches by roosevelt, he never wrote a speech. he had a voice that was margic that you can't emulate. the words were simple and punchy and communicated clearly. he didn't need seven-foot sentences. obama has done that a couple of things. in kansas and etc. if he keeps making that kind of speech and acts more strongly which he started as well. >> what should he say from harry shumann? >> act, do it. don't talk about it. don't talk about it. do it. he has the republicans in a very interesting position. he did it to himself. they are now in a position where they started by saying look, we can't cooperate with him. if we cooperate it will make him look good and not be able to beat him in the presidential race. that was stupid. >> and self-defeating. >> what happened now is the people are beginning to figure out you guys this last jobs cut tax involved there, they made a good point for the president. what they are going to start figuring out now that they are near the real campaign is look, we have a choice. if we continue not to cooperate, he is going to be a death wish. he will keep coming with his proposals and some of them will be good. he will figure out what we have done and we can't possibly win. they will have to decide to cooperate with him to have a chance to win. >> which in itself could help barack obama. let's take a break and come back. i want to ask you what you think of the republican race. if you are in the white house, you would least like to see win that republican nomination race. >> all one question? >> that's only one question. [♪...] >> announcer: with nothing but his computer, an identity thief is able to use your information to open a bank account... in order to make your money his money. [whoosh, clang] you need lifelock-- the only identity protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock-- relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. terms and conditions apply. hey, i'm really glad we took this last minute trip me too. you booked our room right? not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? fret not ma'lady. i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played sir. download the free hotels.com app and get exclusive mobile deals. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. >> i protect my right to be a catholic by protecting your right to be a jew. anything you choose. >> there was a portion of then governor's famous 1984 speech and he came to be referred to as the liberal catholic speech heard around the world. storing time for you. when you see some of these republican candidates today using social issues like abortion and gay marriage and so on to try to in their eyes shore up their base, what do you think? >> i think the question that has to be asked when you get to religion and politics is if you are going to be the president, will you be ruled by the pope or the constitution? if you can't answer that question correctly, you are looking to be talking about religion. the first amendment is written with a high degree of intelligence and they said look, we are going to protect your right to have a religion, whatever it is. we are not going to allow the government to make a religion or to win the religion. that first amendment speaks very clearly and that's what you have to know. it's nice to be a believer whether you are a jew or an atheist. atheists believe in values. it's nice to be a believer. we have to get to t clear. that's the ultimate rule. that can be hard for some people to live with. >> when you look at the republican nomination race, clearly mitt romney has been the front-runner for a long time now. is it almost inevitable he will be the nominee? does anybody have the firepower to take him on? >> absolutely certain that is not inevitable. >> the one inevitable thing. >> my mother who is not terribly well educated and was an immigrant with my father and i talked to her once about the campaigns and the presidential campaign and we are watching the television and i asked her who do you think is going to win of this group? she said why are you asking? i said i want to know who you think. she said when is the election. she said seven months from now. >> she said between now and then a fourth will be born. all you have to do is say will wrong thing. all you have to do is have the wrong issue in your life uncovered. something you had been hiding. there all sorts of things that can change the mood of the people. >> who do you think