Khalilzahd weigh in on whether its too late to save iraq. We hope to have a new republican majority in the United States senate. Primary season is almost over. So our political roundtable will survey the Political Landscape for novembers midterms. And remembering president reagans press secretary, the legacy of jim brady. This is state of the union. Good morning from washington. Im candy crowley. American fighter jets slicing through northern iraqi air space this weekend targeting islamic militants and their arsenals. President obama said he will not put an end date on this operation. I go to cnns ana coren live in erbil. Is there any sense the humanitarian crisis is easing and are the air strikes doing anything to hold back what has been a pretty consistent isis march forward . Reporter well, candy, we are getting reports the humanitarian aid drops are reaching the yazidis, the religious minority that are trapped on mt. Sinjar. You have to remember they fled to that mountain several days ago with a lightning advance of isis. Isis considers theia zoodis to be devil worshippers and they know they were facing slaughter. 40,000 of them fled to this mountain, theyve had no food, no water or shelter, and you know, i have to point out, it is excruciatingly hot here. Theyve been going like this for days. There have been three humanitarian aid drops from the United States. The british have also delivered humanitarian aid a few hours ago, and the French Foreign minister, he has arrived a short time ago, and he will be overseeing the delivery of french aid, but certainly its getting to people. We understand that with the u. S. Air strikes, theyve managed to set up a bit of a safe passage with the Kurdish Forces have set up these safe passage. The people on the north of the mountain for those in the south, they are trapped, and the situation we understand is dire. Now, the air strikes, they are working, they are effective. There are reports that dozens of isis militants have been killed. The injured have been taken to hospitals in mosul, but we have to take into consideration, candy, that isis with its lightning advance has taken over at least a third of iraqs territory. So is the United States just holding isis where they are or are they going to push them out . That is really the big question, but as we heard from president obama yesterday, in that press conference, he said that its up to the iraqis, the iraqi lawmakers to really fundamentally push out Prime Minister nuri al maliki. That was certainly inferred. So that an inclusive unified government is formed with a leader considered acceptable to all the religious and ethnic sects here in iraq, because as we heard from president obama, there will be no u. S. Troops on the ground here in iraq, candy . Politically and militarily some really high hurdle there is. Cnns anna coren thank you very much. We appreciate it. Earlier i spoke with senator john mccain. He supports the president s actions but says mr. Obama needs to go much further. These actions are far from sufficient to meet the growing threat that isis poses, mccain says, the threats in the region have grown and now directly threaten the United States. Welcome, senator mccain. We appreciate your time this morning. Let me start out by quoting your initial reaction to the president s plans in iraq and that was it was pinprick and it was almost worse than nothing. You fear that he wouldnt follow through on what he said he was going to do. There have been now three u. S. Separate u. S. Air strikes aimed at isis forces in iraq. Are you reassured . Three air strikes, one taking out a howitzer and im not sure what the other two did. Meanwhile isis continues to surround these people. Isis continues to make gains in syria, destabilizing lebanon and jordan, even into turkey. The nearing erbil, the capital of kurdistan. Look what happened over the last few weeks since the crisis began, the president has continued to say this is an iraqi preoblem, this is an iraq problem but its a United States problem and it is a threat to our National Security and i say that with the full backing or the quotes from our director of national intelligence, our secretary of homeland security, the director of the fbi, and even the attorney general of the United States. This is turning into, as we had predicted for a long time, a regional conflict which does pose a threat to the security of the United States of america, and launching three strikes around a place where horrible humanitarian crisis is taking place, meanwhile isis continues to make gains everywhere, yes, its clearly very, very ineffective to say the least. Its been less than two days since the three strikes. I dont know whether you got a chance to hear the president s News Conference yesterday because you were traveling but i want to play you something that he said in response to a question, and first, he said that he would not give an end point, at which point he would stop the air strikes against isis targets, and then he had this to say. We have to make sure that isil is not engaging in the actions that could cripple a country permanently. Theres key infrastructure inside of iraq that we have to be concerned about. So theres going to be a counterterrorism element that we are already preparing for, and have been working diligently on for a long time now. So his talking about counterterrorism plans that theyve been working on. He has sent u. S. Airplanes other there for three missile strikes, which he says we will not put an end to, we are going to protect one of the towns you mentioned. Does it not sound to you like this mission is larger and more toward what youre talking about . The president made it clear that this was to avert the humanitarian crisis, that they were taking these actions and to protect American Military personnel that are in erbil and baghdad. Thats not a strategy. Thats not a policy. That is simply a very narrow and focused approach to a problem which is metathesizing as we speak. Candy there was a guy a month ago who was in syria, went back to the United States, came back and blew himself up. Were tracking 100 americans who are over there now fighting for isis. Isis is attracting extreme elements from all over the world, much less the arab world. And what have we done . What do you suggest, senator . We said this is a iraqi problem. Pardon me . What do you suggest . What is it militarily that you would do . As i understand it, youre not suggesting boots on the ground. What would you do . I would be rushing equipment to erbil. I would be launching air strikes not only in iraq but in syria against isis. They have erased the boundaries between iraq and syria. I would be providing as much training and equipment as i can to, as i said, to the kurds, and i would do a lot of things that we can not have to wait for maliki to leave, and i would be giving assistance to the syrian, free syrian army, which is on the ropes right now because we failed to help them, and this all goes back to a number of steps the president took including a failure to leave a resid yul force in iraq. Senator, i hear you, but i think when americans hear you, they see someone who wants to get america engaged in a part of the world that frankly americans are tired of in terms of having u. S. Involvement. They are now looking at a force that is using American Equipment that we left in iraq for the iraqi army against people we now want to protect. Doesnt that speak to a need for the u. S. To be pretty careful about who it gives weapons to . Well, obviously when we, i think when the president of the United States proudly announced the last combat troop was out of iraq, by the way its not a matter of weather, its a matter of when Bashar Al Assad will be leaving power and all these other statements about how the war, conflict is winding down, all of which have turned out to be false, because theres a vacuum of American Leadership throughout the middle east, not just look at the israeli hamas situation and others, but the fact is that theres no leadership. Decisions have consequences, and the consequences of our failure to leave a residual force and our announcement that we are leaving the area in a vacuum of leadership, especially in that part of the world, we are paying a price for it, and we could have avoided it, and it is not inevitable. Its not like an earthquake or a hurricane. These things happen because of decisions that are made, and again, i dont view the president stating that hes protecting american troops and trying to prevent a humanitarian crisis as an intervention that will have any effect what sore on the activity. Isis in the last few weeks, while weve been waiting for a change from maliki, they control the two major dams in iraq. They have the possibility of flooding parts of the country and cutting off energy. Meanwhile, isis is moving towards erbil. This is a cataclysmic this is a possibility of a cataclysmic scenario, and the president says that hes going to protect american troops and try to prevent humanitarian disasters. Thats the extent of his policy. There is no policy, and so there are theres no strategy, so there are things are going very, very badly. And senator, the result of this going very, very badly, when you say when this is a direct threat, i know others are saying that, too, but when senator john mccain says isis is a direct threat to american security, what people hear is, to the american homeland. What is it that you mean . Where is that direct threat . Well these people that are coming to fight on the side of isis are returning to their countries in europe and theres 100 of them that we are tracking in the United States. As i mentioned to you already, one was in syria, came back to the United States and then went back to syria, and blew himself up. Mr. Baghdadi, the leader of isis, when he left our camp b bukka, the camp in iraq, said see you in new york. We are the enemy. They want to destroy us. They are getting stronger all the time. They attracted thousands of young men around the world who are now fighting on their side. This isis is metasthesizing and their goal as stated time after time is the destruction of the United States of america, and its not john mccain thats saying it. Its the director of national intelligence, director of the fbi, the secretary of homeland security, and lately the attorney general. Senator mccain, lots of people, when we have you on, often say why do you have him on so often . We say because he answers our questions, because he expresses his views quite clearly, and very often, what we get back and i think you get it on twitter, too, thats just john mccain. There isnt a thing this president could do that john mccain would approve of when it comes to northeForeign Policy. Your reply . Well, my reply is that there are a number of things that the president has done Foreign Policy wise that i have not only approved of but supported. If i look at the world in january of 2009, and i look at the world today, i can tell you this, candy. Its very, very different, and i believe that its because, when the United States of America Withdraws from leadership from the world, it creates a vacuum, and bad things happen. And by the way, i predicted what was going to happen in iraq and im predicting to you now that if we pull everybody out of afghanistan, not based on conditions, youll see that same movie again in afghanistan. Senator john mccain, thank you so much for your time this morning. Thank you, candy. Still ahead, if not in, then the u. S. Is at least back over iraq, at what risk . Two key voices from the last iraq war give us their take. Senator john mccain, thank thats keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. At humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare changes. When frustration and paperwork decrease. When healthcare becomes simpler. So lets do it. Lets simplify healthcare. Lets close the gap between people and care. Caman thanks, captain obvious. Wouldnt stay here tonight. Captain obvious id get a deal for tonight with deals for tonight from hotels. Com. And you might want to get that pipe fixed. The ca illac summer collection is here. During the cadillac summers best event, lease this 2014 ats for around 299 a month and make this the summer of style. Will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather . A mouth breather [ whimpers ] how do you sleep like that . Well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. Allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow it instantly opens your nose up to 38 more. So you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do sleep. Add breathe right to your allergy medicine. Shut your mouth and sleep right. Breathe right. Add breathe right teasy like monday morning. S sundays are the warriors day to unplug and recharge. What if this feeling could last all week . With centurylink as your trusted partner, it can. Our visionary Cloud Infrastructure and Global Broadband network free you to focus on what matters. With Custom Communications solutions and dedicated support, your business can shine all week long. Live in the same communities that we serve. People here know that our operations have an impact locally. Were using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. The trucks are reliable, thats good for business. But they also reduce emissions, and thats good for everyone. It makes me feel very good about the future of our company. Attack on military targets in iraq and kuwait. I ordered our forces to launch a Cruise Missile attack on the iraqi intelligence services. American and Coalition Forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq. Today i authorize two operations in iraq. Targeted air strikes to protect our american personnel, and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians. President obama becomes the fourth u. S. President in a row to intervene with military force in iraq, although he may be the most reluctant of the bunch. Joining me now general jim jones, he was the president s first National Security ambassador and zal may khalilzad. You are familiar faces over all the years the u. S. Has been trying to get it right in eye ran rack. General jones first to you, a military question in that background, that is whats the risk to the u. S. With these flights, humanitarian and missile strikes . I think on the humanitarian side, its probably a low risk in terms of where the refugees are. We do have masses of people moving in, you know, seeking safety and so i think we can probably do humanitarian drops pretty safely. And why are they so its interesting, because we were told there were 40,000 or so people, refugees up on this mountain. Right. Being chased by isis, and were dropping 8,200 or something mres. Why is it so, you think of these huge planes, why is it such a small amount . Well, it can be more, and i think one of the things we mastered over the years going all the way back to iraq in 1991, with the kurdish refugees, we mastered the art of precision dropping, so youre not wasting a lot of food, and its not falling into the wrong hands, so we can be more precise, but we have enormous capacity to drop as much as we need to. And mr. Ambassador, let me talk to you about the situation right now in baghdad. Weve heard the president say over and over again, we need to have a Coalition Government in there, and once we have all the various factions or most of the various factions in iraq together, we can be more useful. How realistic is that . Well, the idea is a good one, obviously. If you have a unified government, led by someone who is competent and can bring the iraqis together, great. The chances of getting that, and getting it immediately is not very good. Number one, it is possible that maliki might go, but he could be replaced by someone who is not as competent in terms of bringing people together, not as competent as we would like in terms of leading iraqis in a military effort. It will take him a while to put a cabinet together. Take him a while to put the program together. As we know, maliki has been in there for some time. The u. S. Is very unhappy with him. Are we talking years . Definitely months, to put not only select someone but he then puts a program together, he puts a cabinet together. He gets to know his job, so lots of waiting. Its not a magical solution that tomorrow there is a government and erg will stavery start working. If you cant get this magical solution, general, then what happens . We heard senator mccain say we cant wait. These folks are on the march, this is a direct threat to the homeland. Where are you in your thought about how much of a threat this is and whether waiting is dangerous . I think time is not on our side. It certainly isnt on the iraqi side. I believe that the, they need to come up with a new Prime Minister very quickly, and hopefully it should not be al maliki. If they dont, is there an argument for weve got to do but the second thing i think is that new Prime Minister needs to reach out very quickly to the kurds and the sunnis, and anyone else he needs to, to talk about how were going to reconcile this country, which the current Prime Minister has failed to do. And you do that by giving the kurds things that theyve always wanted kurkuk and the sun is in their own area theres a lot of ways to do that and the third thing that has to be done quickly i think is to start neutralizing isis or whatever we want to call them these days. To me theyre terrorists and theyre murderers and theyre thugs and they dont deserve a proper name but we know who they are and we know theyre growing. I think senator mccain is correct in his estimate of over 10,000 in iraq and 40,000 in syria, but this is, this should not be, in my view, a u. S. Battle alone. Well, absolutely, thats one of the questions i wanted to ask. Lets just look at the neighborhood. Where is jordan . Where is turkey . Where are others . This is not just a threat to the United States. I think one of the things that we need do is to move quickly to internationalize the effort. I think with turkey, with some of our european allies, even some arabs need to be brought in. I think this is a moment for the president , for the United States to exercise leadership that has been a deficit in exercising leadership in the last couple of years, in particular. This is an opportunity, and i think what has happened already the last couple of day s has provided a positive image of the United States again, coming to the help of people in need. Dropping food. Water. Dropping food, dropping water, and also it has boosted the morale of the kurds, even limited as their action has been, it has a positive effect. We need to build on that, especially with regard to internationalizing. In the time i have left just briefly, is it possible that iraq, as we know it, can be put back together . I think its going to be hard to do. It doesnt mean that it cant survive as a state but i think its going to be a different state with more power to the regions. More autonomy for the kurds . Exactly. And if i could, candy, i think its absolutely critical that the United States come to the kurdish aid. The kurds have been our best friends for years. Yet we still list them as three terrorist organization which is in my mind ludicrous. The second ive had an email this morning from kurdistan and they need weapons, they need to be able to fight isis with the weapons that isis has, which is weapons that they captured from us. The kurds are our best friends in the region. We cannot let kurdistan fall to isis. That would be a strategic disaster. The other group that i would say is oppressed and needs our help is the mek, which is another oppressed minority in baghdad that several thousand of them are stranded and we should act more compassionately towards those groups. Mr. Ambassador, to wrap it up, so it sounds as though what im hearing is, perhaps weve been reluctant to give weapons to the kurds, seeing them as part of iraq, but perhaps this is the beginning of the splitting apart of of iraq, that iraq as we know it is over. Well i think the only way to keep iraq together is a kind of a confederal arapingment between kurdistan and baghdad. Where baghdad agrees the kurds could export oil, they could acquire their own weapon, control their own air space and i think we began to give them some weapons. I think we need to build on that, as we are going to limit ourselves to air power alone. We need to have people on the ground who can take advantage of the shift in balance as a result of degrading that we will do, and thats very important, similarly i believe we ought to start working with some moderate sunni groups to arm them. Thats what worked in 20072008, and we need to do that, but we also need to keep pushing the iraqis Political Forces to come together to form a central government, and internationalize the effort, exercise that u. S. Leadership that has been, that is a krequirement for success. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and general jones, thank you so much. Congress may be home for their august sabbatical but the matchup cards for the mid terms are almost set and republicans are hopeful they can go wire to wire and reclaim the senate. Our roundtable handicaps their chances, thats next. What they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Around the table today, former Virginia Attorney general ken cuccinelli, now president of the Senate Conservatives fund, Ted Strickland, former ohio governor, currently at the center for american progress, Stephanie Cutter, host of cnns crossfire and cnn political commentator kevin madden. Were going to take a righthand turn or a lefthand turn, depending which way you like to go. It seems to me we have spent the summer watching syria or watching ukraine russia, now all the attention back on iraq. Meanwhile an entire set of primaries has gone on. I thought youd be perfect to set the table for me. How are the midterms shaping up . It looks good in republicans. In broad terms well gain seats in the house and the odds are were going to take the senate. Theres still some interesting storylines ahead from a primary perspective. Louisianas primary is on election day, but otherwise, the republican side as a general matter looks pretty good. Can i disagree with that . You absolutely may. The fact is that i dont think were going to have a wave election this year. I think the Democratic Senate candidates are doing, many of them much better than we expected them to do. I think these races are going to be decided as an individual race, rather than some national sweep, and i think theres a very good chance that the democrats will, in fact, hold onto the senate, i certainly hope they do. I saw today somebody wrote a column, midterm is about nothing which would be a status quo sort of nothing really changes. I think what it is about, though, is that people are just angry at washington, both parties. No one is escaping from this. The same poll that showed the president at 40 Approval Rating, republicans were in the teens. Democrats were better than that but still, nobodys getting great ratings right now. Debris with the governor, this is not a wave election. Its going to go race by race. With historical trends basically every historical trend against the democrats, were still managing to hold our own, and most cases were tied or ahead, and thats, you know, evidence right there, this isnt going to be a tidal wave against the president or any type of referendum against the president. Its race by race. Real quick and this is why the democrats should worry. The historical trend related to the mid terms that probably fits the best here is the fact that the president s Approval Rating is so low. When the president s Approval Rating is this low his party tends to suffer at the polls, and probably the most, the number of think thats really driving the electorate, youre right, stephanie, that voters right now are very restless, they are very angry. The right direction, wrong direction right now, right direction is only 22 , and i think as a result, youre going to see the president and his party pay the price at the polls. One of the things, let me just throw into the mix, i do think that parties that are about to sort of lose in general some seats in location tend to say this is all about the individual races and the party thinks its some broadsweeping message that will propel them right into the president ial election. There are a couple different kinds of elections. Theres the sweep, theres the throw the bums out and theres the status quo. Given the kinds of numbers were looking at, 40 approval for the president , what about the throw the bums out election, just incumbents really taking on . If thats the case, then everyones at risk and i do think the American People, as stephanie said, i think theyre very disgusted, but the problem is, and this is from my perspective as a democrat, the problem is people sometimes paint with a broad brush and because the house and the senate is dysfunctional, they say theyre all bad, but i think there are major differences between the efforts of the democrats to move this country forward and the republicans who, in the house certainly, have been quite obstructionistic and have been totally unwilling, candy, to cooperate with the president in any way. Take immigration for example, the American People want immigration reform. The republicans wont even bring it up for a vote. The American People want an increase in the minimum wage. The republicans wont bring it up for a vote. If these issues came to the house floor for a vote, they almost certainly would pass. I agree with the governor there is a high level of exaspiration amongst the electorate. Where republicans are bet ear lined is that they have found themselves more in sync with voters that are tired of the status quo in washington, theyre tired of the spending, inefficient government, the fact that this president is being judged so harshly by the public on just his levels of competence and whether or not hes up to the challenges, i think that is really going to bode very poorly, thats going to be a very difficult challenge for the democrats come november. Kevin, you have to agree that despite all of the historical trends running against the president , the democrats right now, republicans really havent taken advantage of that in terms of message, of what they stand for, how theyre going to move the country forward. Theyre spending their time suing the president than actually putting a proactive agenda on the floor of the house. I would disagree with that. If you look at it if they had taken advantage of it, why arent they doing innet abouter in the poll. I disagree. State by state, race by ace, republicans are making the case theyd do better on spending. Why arent they winning . And also that the contrast that theyre drawing on oba obamacare is going to very a big, great deal. Weve obviously talked about this a lot. Its going to matter a great deal. In terms of obamacare driving out the republican vote but even republicans are admitting that is not the issue they thought it would be for the midterm election. Democrats are running away from the president. Now theyre searching for a message thats going to bring their voters out and they havent been able to find it yet which is why theyre suing the president. Going back to the governors comment, if it you looked at one person in congress that American Voters focus on, its not the republican, its not the house. Its harry reid blocking bill after bill after bill after bill that comes over. You can call the house obstructionist all you want because you dont like what theyre voting on but theyre voting on ten times as many things as the senate. Harry reid is blocking this and he is the lead blocker for the president , whose Approval Rating is so low in the sixth year of his terms that it is going to do harm not on a race by race basis but across the board, because of the utter failure of the policies, and its evident to the American People. But ken, in a bipartisan way, the senate voted to reform immigration. In a bipartisan way. It wanted to be brought to the floor for the house for a vote. The house . You dont like the bill that came out of the house last week . The Senate Wont Vote on that. So you want to blame the house. The house passed a bill. It was a bipartisan vote in the senate. If the house hasnt voted on a minimum wage, they havent voted on equal pay, they havent voted on college funding, they havent voted on the basic tenets of how you build a middle class in this country. If anything, theyre refusing to bring the Bipartisan Senate bills to a vote. Lets be real here. Thats what i mean by republicans not being able to find what their mess annual in this election is, except for no. You say the way of building middle class is through government. You named a whole series of government directs the world. I do think that women make the same as men is important to helping women enter the middle class. I think thats not government in the way. Its government making sure that everybody has equal opportunity. Theyre going to stick around for a little while. So coming up, normally media shy president did quite a lot of talking before he jetted out of town. More with our roundtable in just exactly what the president s trying to tell the country, next. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Good afternoon everybody. Happy friday. I thought id take some questions so with that, im going to take a couple questions. Good evening. Today i authorized two operations in iraq. It makes us proud to be americans as we always will be. So with that, let me take a couple questions. So, three press conferences and one military authorization later, the president took off for marthas vineyard. Were back with ken cuccinelli, Stephanie Cutter and Ted Strickland and kenneth madden. Our cup runneth over this week. The president three press conferences. Explain that from a strategy point of view . Any time a president is authorizing military strikes the American People need to hear from their president , their commander in chief, thats what you were seeing this week. He was talk to the American People, he was talking to congress. He wanted to make sure the rationale for military action was perfectly clear and i think he made that case. Think before friday we saw at least two, before he even announced it, he was quite available. Yes, i dont think its because he likes talking to the press or because the white house enjoys a lot of these high wire acts. I think its given by necessity and dictated by world events, and it is important any time that you have actions as important as that this is the president tell his story before his opponents do. Then and you go on vacation. I wanted to you about the vacation thing. Quite honestly i havent known a president that hasnt taken heat for going off and taking vacation paepts a great political talking point but is it a real thing . No, its not a real thing. George bush went to cut brush and Ronald Reagan went to cut brush and barack obama is going to ohio not quite ohio. But the fact is that this is not original with me but i heard someone say recently if the president walked on water, he would be criticized for not knowing how to swim. This president doesnt get a break. He really doesnt. So hes playing golf, but hes still the president. Hes still in touch. He is still having briefings, hes still in charge and theres nothing wrong with a few days vasion. I this president doesnt get a break and i thought here we go. Give me a break. The media deals with the way they deal with them, he had a lovefest to become the president , hes had lighter treatment from the media for president s for a long, long time, including denying them access after saying hed be the most transparent president ever and that just has not been the case and the media really hasnt, except on rare occasions, held him accountable for that. Debris with the governor that any time a president goes on vacation they get this, especially when things blow up in the world, they get unfair treatment. Thats true of both sides all the time both sides. And you know, i joke with some of my conservative friends who uhoh, look at the president , playing all this golf. What do you want him at his desk . I want him to play 36 holes a day and the reality is they all need, theyre all going to take a vacation and sometimes things like iraq are going to blow up while theyre gone but the reality is, as well that when that happens, the American People expect the president back. Sure. Its a convenient talking point for whoever is the opposition party. It works. Ive made that talking point many a times when president bush was going on vacation. At the end of the day the president is always the president , no matter where you are, and if hes dealing with issues while hes on marthas vineyard, which i guarantee you he will be, then so be it. So they hear first, bipartisan agreement that the president on vacation isnt terrible is phony talking point. Its not phony t works. Its a good talking point about nothing. Thank you. Did you know that the reagans once kicked their press secretary jim brady off the Campaign Plane in 1980 . That and other stories, remembering the life and legacy of jim brady, next. Woman jimmy, all of these travel sites seem the same. Captain obvious tell your grandmother with the hotels. Com loyalty program, shell earn free nights. So theyre not the same, because theyre different. Woman jimmys not my grandson, captain obvious. Woman man hes my lover. No. Jim brady died monday at the age of 73. He was president reagans press secretary, both severely wounded in an assassination attempt in 1981. On that day, journalist al hunt has within capitol hill. Joe lockhart would later become bill clintons press secretary when the Briefing Room was dedicated to brady and abcs ann compton 33 years ago and the legacy of jim brady. It was a day in which it was just so normal it was only 69 days into the administration and his deputy, larry spitzer, ill go in the motorcade. No, ill go. It was still somewhat new to jim. We had known him first on capitol hill where he was a creative thinking outside the box before people thought that way and i think he brought that creativity and that kind of Strategic Thinking to the press secretarys job which literally lasted 69 days for jim brady. His humor could get him into trouble. Ronald regan said trees caused more pollution than cars. They were fine to campaign in 1980. Killer trees. And the reagans getting kicked off the plane. They did but they brought him back. Did he set a template in any way . I think he did. I think it was his style. I used to review the transcripts of the briefing for one thing. If i saw the word laughter after something i said more than three or four times i knew it was a good briefing. Tell me a little bit about that day when you first learned that jim, although it was kind of a funny time because at first everyone thought the president was fine. There was one thing we knew for sure, the minute we saw that video and you saw jim brady on the ground but he was moving. What we didnt know is how gravely injured the president was. And you saw Nancy Reagans statement when jim brady died saying she remembers sitting in a small room in the emergency room with sarah brady, both of them knowing their husbands were in Critical Condition and not knowing how the day would end. Well, annie brings up an interesting part of this story, al. He was not particularly Nancy Reagans favorite choice for press secretary. Some of the things that i am reading, none of which are true, and nancy couldnt be more delighted and thinks hes absolutely handsome. She would not have picked him but you know something, jim baker and mike deaver went to a number of reporters and said, who should we pick as press secretary, and they all said jim brady because we trust him. Hes so good. I dont think a lot of people know this but he kept the title of press secretary. Larry speaks in that role was always the acting press secretary and the buck stopped with nancy reagan. She said, no, its jim bradys title. The post shooting jim brady, i often looked at him and saw him after the shooting, he did work with his wife, the Brady Foundation and the handgun which president clinton signed, the brady handgun control bill. So it was a life that just was toughly lived. He got dealt a bad hand and he still you still saw jim brady come back and do Something Different but do it really well. We throw around the word hero a lot in our culture, but jim defined it. He had something so tragic happen to him and he turned it into something so positive. I mean, lets look at how tough the gun control debate is. Jim brady got something done. I happen to believe in the brady bill because we have that same thing in california right now. Jim brady got a law passed that has saved lives. How sweet it is. In his life after the shooting he bridged the gap between republican and democrat. Those lines went before and how washington, theres still a core of family and camaraderie and people who respect peoples opinions. I think that kind of personification is exactly what jim brought. I agree. I think he did that. I also hope we remember him not only for his great intelligence and his great dedication but his humor. The phone rang every two minutes or so and i find myself heading back towards the white house to put out a fire or to start one. Bill, i want you to talk to me about the day they dedicated the Briefing Room. Sure. It was my favorite day at the white house. We came upon the idea that the one way to honor the legacy of jim and sarah brady and the work theyve done was to name the room after them. Jim brady is living proof that you cant kill courage, that it takes more than a cheap handgun to destroy a strong spirit. For everybody in that room, these reporters who had lived with him and loved him, me and my staff, the press secretary fraternity and the single most important thing is i have never seen such pure, unadulterated joy in another mans face that day, when he sat there with sara. Today i still miss some of you. Its good to be back. Narrator that whipped through the turbine which poured. Surplus energy into the plant which generously lowered its price and tipped off the house which used all that energy to stay warm through the storm. Chipmunk theres a bad storm comin narrator the internet of everything is changing how energy works. Is your Network Ready . The ca illac summer collection is here. During the cadillac summers best event, lease this 2014 ats for around 299 a month and make this the summer of style. Will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather . A mouth breather [ whimpers ] how do you sleep like that . Well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. Allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow it instantly opens your nose up to 38 more. So you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do sleep. Add breathe right to your allergy medicine. Shut your mouth and sleep right. Breathe right. Thank you for watching state of the union. Im candy control will you in washington. Be sure to watch us or set your dvr so you dont miss a moment. Fareed zakaria gps starts now. This is gps Global Public square. Welcome to all of you in the United States and arranged the world. Im fareed zakaria. The middle east on fire. In iraq the United States conducts air drops and airstrikes. Does this mark a return to war . In israel and gaza, on again off again ceasefires. We will take you live to the region and then bring in a great panel to ask where does this all end. Also, a few reasons to be optimistic about