Transcripts For WJLA This Week With George Stephanopoulos 20141012

Im martha raddatz, and as we come on the air today, we have breaking news from texas, the first possible transmission of ebola in america. A Health Care Worker who treated ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan has now tested positive for the virus. That word coming just hours ago, and its raising so many questions this morning. Abcs tom llamas has the very latest. Good morning, tom. Good morning, martha. We just got new information on this case. Health officials in texas speaking just moments ago and whats most troubling, they say this Health Care Worker was wearing the full protective gear while treating mr. Duncan and still got infected. This morning, Health Officials in texas say theyre very concerned. Overnight, dangerous developments in the fight against ebola. A Health Care Worker at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital testing positive for the deadly virus. If confirmed, this would be the first person infected inside of the u. S. The patients condition is stable. A close contact has also been proactively placed in isolation. Reporter samples taken from the victim have been transferred to the cdc in atlanta for further confirmation. The infected worker cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the first ebola patient diagnosed in the u. S. Duncan, a liberian, started showing simms on september 25th but was sent home by the hospital. Its still unclear why. He then returned when his condition worsened. Duncan died on wednesday after ten days in treatment. Texas Health Officials released no information on the identity of the patient, but they say the Health Care Worker reported a low grade fever friday night and was then isolated. That Health Care Worker is a heroic person. Reporter in a statement the Texas Health Department commissioner said we knew a second case could be a reality. We are broadening our team in dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread. This second possible ebola case coming the same weekend that new airport screenings for passengers flying from ebolainfected west african countries began of the enhanced screening including taking passengers temperatures started saturday at jfk airport in new york. No matter how many of these procedures are put into place, we cant get the risk to zero. Reporter and theyre now working to track down anyone who had contact with this Health Care Worker. They are decontaminate iing their apartment, alerting neighbors and testing this persons pet because the person had a pet inside their home and we also know this Health Care Worker is outside of the 48 people being treated so that pool is now growing. Martha. Thanks so much, tom. Now lets bring in abc news radios jim ryan, who is on the scene at the hospital in dallas. He joins us via skype. Jim, i thought they seemed to be saying the same things they had been saying for weeks, which has to rattle people. Well, i think youre right. Theyre issuing the same advisories but the same comfort in a way saying that you cant catch this from being sneezed on. You cant catch this from coming into casual contact with someone. It has to be the bodily fluids of a person showing symptoms of ebola. Thats what was repeated today by the texas county judge, by the Dallas County judge and by the mayor, as well. They do issue those advisories but i can tell you here in dallas people are a little on edge about this feeling that, are you absolutely positive about that, and i think thats why they keep saying that to us. And thats the problem. They keep saying the same things and yet you have this new patient. They themselves even seemed rattled to me in the press conference. I think youre right. I mean, it is early. This is new information to them certainly, but i think there was that sort of sense of unease. Its important to note and as you heard there that this person was wearing the protective gear but was treating duncan on his second visit here when he came in critically ill, not the first time two days earlier when he came in just feeling a little bit sick. When they knew he had the disease at that point. So lets take this to our experts. Our chief medical editor and former acting director of the cdc, dr. Richard besser, who has made two trips to liberia covering the Ebola Outbreak for us and dr. Anthony fauci from the National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases. Let me start with you, dr. Fauci. How could this happen with someone in protective gear . Thats whats so alarming about this. Well, certainly there has to have been an inadvertent innocent breach of the protocol of taking care of a patient within the personal protective equipment. That extremely rarely happens. Weve been taking care of ebola patients since 1976, groups like Doctors Without Borders who do that almost never have an infection because of the experience of doing this, so this happened certainly because there was and the cdc is trying to find out now just what that breach was, but this was a breach in protocol, unfortunate for this very courageous Health Care Worker. And do you know anything about this Health Care Worker, what the job was . We know that the person did have direct contact in taking care of the patient. Was it a nurse . Was it im not sure. Im hearing its a nurse, but i dont have direct okay, you talk about it being inadvertent. Dr. Besser, can we even trust that it was an inadvertent problem . I mean, do is it that fragile, these suits, this protective gear, could something have broken . But what concerns me having suited up and gone into an ebola ward in africa is that its not something that Health Care Workers in the United States normally go through. I was suited up by two people who have specialized training in that, who helped me get in the suit but also coming out they decontaminated me in a specialized way. The comments from cdc early on that this could be done in any hospital that is used to doing isolation just doesnt wring true to me. Groups like Doctors Without Borders, they have incredible training in this and they practice it and its the practicing that ensures that you dont have a slipup. For our first patient in america to lead already to a Health Care Worker getting sick really raises concern to me about treating these in regular hospitals. So should the cdc make changes . Is this enough . They if something can happen like this, it doesnt seem like it is enough. What the cdc is right now doing, first theyre going to be reviewing this particular incident to find out, try and find out exactly how it happened but then to fortify, as rich says, the protocol exactly what you need to do to make sure people are doing it precisely according to the protocol because we do know that when you do follow that protocol, it works. Let me talk about public trust, and thats what i was trying to get at with jim, as well. Weve heard all of this. You know, youll be fine. Everybody will be fine. Were very professional. This isnt west africa. The public trust has to be eroded right now saying, wait a minute, someone who wasnt even at high risk got it. Yeah, but, martha, i think we need to separate it into two issues. One is the public trust of were not going to have an outbreak in this country because this country is not west africa versus taking care of a specific patient under a protocol that might unfortunately get a Health Care Worker infected. Those are really two Different Things because the Contact Tracing that has gone on now regarding mr. Duncan has actually put an umbrella over the people who came into contact, they are being followed. The system worked in this woman, as tragic as it is if someone gets infected, she was on voluntary selfmonitoring. She found she got infected and she immediately did what she was supposed to have done was to be reporting it, so even in this troublesome situation, the system is working regarding preventing an outbreak. I understand the system so far is working there but im talking about public trust because you hear Public Officials saying, we know how to handle this. They have protective suits. I think whenever theres Something Like this that happens, the trust becomes an issue and it spills over into areas where i agree, the risk of this spreading widely is zero. The possibility of additional cases is real. But when theres a statement that you can do this safely in any American Hospital and the first hospital that tries has a problem, that can impact on trust. Thats the problem. And just go forward a little bit here. In the coming next couple of days, what will we see . Were going to see them doing exactly what happened with eric duncan in terms of identifying all her contacts and tracking those people. Theyll be monitoring fevers for 21 days, theyll be, as they were saying in the conference, theyll be decontaminating the place where she lived. And those steps will help ensure this doesnt spread further but weve not seen the last of ebola in america. Were going to see this elsewhere. And youve got Health Care Workers right now who im sure are pretty worried, as well. Stand by for just one moment as you know, this latest news comes as u. S. Troops are heading straight for the hot zone this weekend. The center of the Ebola Outbreak in west africa. Well get our experts to weigh in on their mission shortly. First heres Abcs Steve Osunsami in ft. Campbell, kentucky. Reporter its an enemy many u. S. Soldiers have never seen before already claiming more than 4,000 lives in west africa, and now hundreds of american troops are heading straight for the hot zone to fight it head on. Inspect your gloves, inspect your mask. Reporter major jim wade is 1 of 1400 soldiers at ft. Campbell in kentucky leaving for liberia next week to help fight the deadly virus. How does it feel . Good . Fine. Reporter trading the dangers of bullets and ieds for a pathogen you cannot see. How many people have done a deployment . Reporter like many this father and husband of two has already left his family twice serving two combat tours in iraq with the 101st airborne division. Were still separated. Theres still going to be that the missing the family, but when it boils down to it, its our mission. Reporter how long are you guys going to be gone . They gave us six to nine months. Reporter in all the pentagon is sending 4,000 troops to this International Effort to build Health Care Facilities for the sick and move supplies. Commanding general gary velaski will lead the mission known as leading some of the most difficult migs in war time. The training was direct. Its not a good idea to shake hands, keep a comfortable distance when talking to people on the ground and treat all animals as if theyre infected. Youre only supposed to eat mres so something cooked by the army, water provided by the army. Nothing from the local population. Reporter already the World Health Organization says 8400 people have gotten sick. But among the troops we talked with, no fear or apprehension, just focus on the mission. If any country is prepared to stem the tide of ebola its the United States and those people need help. Reporter and every soldier here plans to return home healthy. For this week, steve osunsami, ft. Campbell, kentucky. Abc news,. Our thanks to steve and back now with dr. Besser and dr. Fauci. I know those troops will go over there and do the best job possible. But i have no doubt that this morning some of their families after hearing this news are concerned. Should they be concerned in this case . Well, the troops are not going to be directly taking care of patients, so we shouldnt misinterpret that. There are medical personnel from the department of defense being there. Theyre going to do a very important job of logistics, engineering, command and control and setting up the field hospitals. Certainly going over there, they could indirectly get in contact but their primary mission is not to take care of patients. I realize that, but there is some possibility of indirect contact. Theres always yeah, right now we have a situation and this is one of the reasons why theyre going over, a situation where only 20 of patients with ebola are being treated in treatment units, and so there are a lot of people who have ebola who are not in a protective environment, so the possibility of a soldier getting ebola is very real and something we have to be ready for. And i know talking to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff that he said that they are prepared for that possibility and they do have a plan in place. Thanks very much to both of you. Up next, our exclusive interview with the president s top military adviser. Are air strikes against isis working . Campaign controversy. Why some say this new tv ad goes too far. And later, if Hillary Clinton runs could this be her choice for Vice President . Weve got Julian Castros surprising answer. Back in just two minutes. Announcer this week with George Stephanopoulos brought to you by pacific life. 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Our exclusive interview with the president s top military adviser, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general martin dempsey. This week hes holding urgent meetings with his counterparts from 20 countries, all focused on the fight against isis. Following news that the Jihadist Army is gaining ground. Followint army is gaining ground. Their fears, they could completely take over kobani, a key border town despite u. S. Led air strikes trying to hold them off. This morning, new images coming in of the fierce battle for that city, but i started off asking general dempsey if isil was within striking distance of an even bigger prize, baghdad. Isis is blending into parts ofhe disenfranchised sunni population so for indirect fire, the answer is, yes. Heretofore weve been successful, mostly the iraqis have been successful, in keeping them out of range, but i have no doubt there will be days they use indirect fire into baghdad. But perhaps most critical right now, keeping the Baghdad Airport out of the hands of isis. The chairman revealing a recent fierce battle near there between isis and iraqi forces where for the first time the u. S. Had to call in apache attack helicopters to prevent the iraqi forces from being overrun. Those helicopters fly low and at a much greater risk than fighter jets. The tool that was immediately available was the apache. The risk of operating in a hostile environment is there constantly. That was right by the airport . Well, this is the a case where youre not going to wait till theyre climbing over the wall. They were within, you know, 20 or 25 kilometers where of Baghdad Airport. Sure, and had they overrun the iraqi unit, it was a straight shot to the airport, so were not going to allow that to happen. We need that airport. Reporter then theres the battle in kobani near the Syrian Border where the u. S. Has launched air strikes to try to push back isis and the kurds now warn up to 5,000 people could be slaughtered if isis takes over. Whether there are still 5,000 people there or not is a matter of conjecture at this point. But i have no doubt that isil will conduct the same kind of horrific atrocities if they have the opportunity to do so. Is there more the u. S. And the coalition could be doing . We do think that theres more that the coalition could do inside of syria. Can you see setting up a nofly zone . Yeah, if you mean have i been asked to do it, the answer is no. Do i anticipate that there could be circumstances in the future where that would be part of the campaign, yeah. Its something the turks have been pushing for, meanwhile, since the Bombing Campaign began, isis has been changing tactics making targets harder to identify. With reports that only 10 of warplanes are actually dropping bombs. Is it harder to find targets . Is that an accurate figure . . Yeah, sure. I dont know if thats the right percentage precisely, but that wouldnt surprise me if thats the right number and the enemy, theyll be harder to target. Yeah. They know how to maneuver and how to use populations and concealment and so when we get a target, well take it. On the one hand, you say youve disrupted or contained them. On the other hand, if theyre going in and blending into the population and changing their tactics, that seems kind of a wash. Yeah, but, remember, now, sure. You have to be able to look at right now and you have to understand what its going to take over time to deliver a campaign objective. It wasnt so long ago that we were talking about the imminent fall of erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional government. It wasnt so long ago that the u. S. Embassy was actually feeling threatened in baghdad. None of those are part of the landscape right now. What is it like inside mosul and fallujah where isil controls those areas . Extraordinarily strict interpretations of sharia law, punishments, crucifixions and beheadings of a nature that the world hasnt seen in hundreds of years, but isil is also clever to give the enemy its due. They are also providing basic goods and services. They seek to reach out to children, to influence the next generation. It was, of course, dempsey who testified some weeks back if we reached a point where i believe our advisers should accompany iraq troops on attacks against specific isil targets, ill recommend that to the president. This after the president had said there would be no american combat boots on the ground. Would we be more effective against isis if we had u. S. Troops on the ground spotting targets, if we had those Ground Troops . Yeah, there will be circumstances when the answer to that question will likely be yes. But i havent encountered one right now. What kind of point i actually used the example of, you know, mosul will likely be the decisive battle in the Ground Campaign at some point in the future. When the Iraqi Security forces have to go back and yeah, when they are ready to go back on the offensive, my instinct at this point is that will require a different kind of advising and assisting because of the complexity of that fight. And instant analysis now from our abc contributor steve ganyard, a former marine corps Fighter Pilot and state department official. Good morning, steve. I want to go right to what general dempsey said. He said my instinct at this point said it will require a different kind of advising and assisting because of the complexity of that fight. What does he mean by that . What kind of soldiers does he mean . I think hes comfortable with the recommendation he made to the president that for now this static defensive positions we have are fine the way were doing it. But when they start going on the offense and when the iraqi army goes back to retake mosul, that offensive combat operations require u. S. Boots on the ground, combat advisers, people working to pick out targets to get Coalition Air power into the fight. Lets talk about baghdad. There is a lot of pressure on baghdad. News overnight, there are suicide bombings, theyre moving into al anbar province. Lets take a look at the map so you can see exactly what were talking about in terms of baghdad and where isis is moving. So i think that one the interesting thing here, you see that isis is beginning to create a circle around fallujah. One of the extraordinary things that was that the general mentioned today was that there was really two apaches between isis and the Baghdad Airport. We were the last line of defense. So it tells you how tentative the defense around baghdad is. And you can continue to see these attacks is baghdad really threatened right now . He seemed to say no. He seemed to say no but if theres only one set of two apaches that are stopping all of isis from what he say was a straight shot to the Baghdad Airport, thats concerning. Shows you how truly weak the Iraqi Military is. And very quickly, steve, if you can broaden it out, we know about kobani. He thinks it will fall. He fears it will fall. And what youre seeing across that swath of land. Right, so kobani, frankly, is a bit of a sideshow. Whats more important this week is anbar continues to deteriorate and were seeing hit, ra maam di, and theyre beginning to be overrun and Iraqi Army Troops cut off so anbar, losing anbar and that whole supply system coming out of syria would be a very, very terrible blow to the effort. And seems to get more serious every day. Thanks very much for joining us, steve. Up next, were isis terrorists caught sneaking across our southern border . Why one congressmans claims are raising alarms. Plus, who is trying to be mr. Smith now . 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Can we help you take a small step . For advice, retirement, and life insurance, connect with axa. Fonedad, lets goment, shoot some hoops. Id, i couldnt play with him. I didnt have the energy, i was just so overweight. It just made me feel like i was nothing. And then my sister introduced me to herbalife. I started drinking the protein shakes, she helped me plan out a more balanced diet. Ive lost 44 pounds. And now when my son asks me to shoot some hoops, i wear him out find out more at iamherbalife. Com trending right now, our fafacebook find of the week. Whats burning up news feeds . A high stakes faceoff over the isis threat. California congressman Duncan Hunter alleging members of the terror group were apprehended trying to sneak across our southern border. I know that at least ten isis fighters have been caught coming across the Mexican Border in texas. A stunning claim. But is it true . Not according to the Homeland Security secretary. We have no credible specific intelligence to that effect. Lets not unduly create fear and anxiety. But hunter insists hes right. His spokesman firing back, it makes sense that the left hand of the dhs doesnt know what the right hand is doing. Its been that way for a long time. Did congressman hunter go too far with his new claim . Lets take on our facebook find of the week. And the roundtable is here. Bill kristol, editor of the weekly standard, democratic strategic Donna Brazile and abc political analyst matthew dowd. Welcome, everyone. No one seems to have any evidence to back up hunters claims. Is he just seizing on peoples fears . Theyre pretty high this morning. Yeah, theyre very high this morning. And i dont want to conflate the two things with ebola and this, but many times fear doesnt have to be real to be powerful. And in the context of it, we dont often have to have facts to back up our fears. We respond to our fears. Everybody has the right to say what they want to say but they have the responsibility to say what maybe they believe to be factually correct. The congressman says he believes it to be factually correct but with terrorism and as you say with the ebola thing, we should counsel our fears and look for the fact sets. Lets a quick comment from both of you about the fears of ebola this morning. This is a pretty serious Major Development that really is going to scare people. Well, the president said its a national and security priority and i think the administration has been right to try to contain it in africa and also to put in place real strong measures here with the five airports to screen passengers coming from these affected countries, but we have to do more to make sure that we dont invent more fear. Airports enough . Look, i mean you and i watched that press conference this morning. That was not reassuring and i dont mean to blame people who are operating under a lot of pressure, Public Officials who are trying to adjust to changing circumstances but one doesnt have the feeling theyre ahead of the curve. One has the feeling theyre running to catch up and spending too much time telling us dont worry, we have it under control and we did this, this and this over the last week instead of being honest about how little they know and im afraid how much potential there is for real bad things to happen. And lets turn to isis, as well. Weve been hearing for many months now that the air strikes and you heard general dempsey say that, you know, they have been contained and degraded. But where does this go from here . This is a pretty serious development, all this with al anbar and kobani. Yeah, i dont even know that weve degraded some little bits parts of isis. I wish we degraded more but theyre on the offensive. Thats the big, unfortunately, the big picture. A couple months ago the president of the United States said were taking on isis and well degrade and destroy them. Two months later they are threatening genocide and the Syrian Border and more strategically they have opened up a huge supply line from syria almost to baghdad. They apparently were going to have a free run into baghdad it we hadnt deployed apache helicopters this. This is not fixed wing aircraft. We basically are engaged and for the president to still resist saying, okay, we need to send real troops in there to win this, i think is a little mystifying. And what happens if as colonel ganyard was stating and general dempsey was certainly implying i think you send in ground controllers on the ground real combat boots according to the definition that president obama has. Well, boots are already on the ground. Its just a question of whether theyre wearing loafers or boots or tennis shoes. Theyre already on the ground. Or barefoot. Yeah. This highlights a bigger problem. We constantly are debating the tack continues of what we should use for isis or in the midst of africa. Is president obama using the right ones or not . And republicans say hes not using the right ones or needs to use more. We really need to paint the strategy, the broad strategy, our Foreign Policy strategy and what does our Foreign Policy vision use of drones. The American Public does not think we have a real Foreign Policy vision, and i think thats a debate we should have, not tactics. And, donna, this week we saw another of president obamas former cabinet members, this was defense secretary leon panetta come out and criticize the president. Lets listen. The first four years and the time i spent there, i thought he was a strong leader on security issues. But these last two years, i think he kind of lost his way. Has he kind of lost his way . No, look, the president s elected a great group of advisers, Hillary Clinton, robert gates, leon panetta and many, many more with strong experiences, i mean, they came to the table with strong opinions, with great experience and theres no reason to suspect that leon panetta who after all left the Nixon Administration because president nixon wasnt enforcing civil rights strong enough, he criticized president clinton in his administration as omb director. Leon panetta is a very honest public servant. And he said a lot of great things about president obama in that 512page book. I havent read it all, bill. Sorry. Watching football too much but you know what me too. Yeah. But they know what parts people will read. They know what parts are interesting. To cherry pick out the bad stuff, but he said when it comes to making bad decisions, hes thoughtful, hes deliberate. He says hes helping the president. Look, it is very damaging, not just politically but really worrisome from the countrys point of view that leon panetta, Hillary Clinton and robert gates all have basically cast a vote of no confidence in the president s current Foreign Policy. They want to say in the first term they were able to keep some of the president s inclinations in check, but now he i do think in the last couple of years the world has gotten more dangerous and leon panetta deserves credit for telling the truth. This puts a bad thing on who will you hire in the future . If you write books while youre in the president s office it doesnt set you up well for the future of who you want in your office. You dont talk you need a prenup. Yeah, a prenup or better vetting at least. Coming up, Paul Krugmans big change of heart about president obama. But first our powerhouse puzzler. There were two winners of the Nobel Peace Prize this week including 17yearold malala yousafzai, who weve been profiling on this show. They inspired our puzzler, name the four president s who won the peace prize. Back in two minutes with the answer. 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. But when we start worrying about tomorrow, we miss out on the things that matter today. At axa, we offer advice and help you break down your insurance goals into small, manageable steps. Because when you plan for tomorrow, it helps you live for today. Can we help you take a small step . For advice, retirement, and life insurance, connect with axa. So which four president s were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize . Lets see what you all came up with. Teddy roosevelt, obama, carter, coolidge. Obama, carter, roosevelt. Obama, carter, roosevelt, wilson. Okay. Im going to look at the notes here. Teddy roosevelt, woodrow wilson, jimmy carter and barack obama. Wow. There you go. What a scholar. All democrats. Very, very good. Not a republican. Roosevelt. Roosevelt. And obama didnt deserve it. Okay. Dont say that. Well be back in just a couple minutes. Kid hey dad, who was that man . Dad hes our broker. He helps looks after all our money. Kid do you pay him . Dad of course. Kid how much . Dad i dont know exactly. Kid what if youre not happy . Does he have to pay you back . Dad nope. Kid why not . Dad it doesnt work that way. Kid why not . Vo are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed . Wealth management at Charles Schwab means keeping seven billion ctransactions flowing. G, and when weather hits, its data mayhem. But airlines running hp endtoend solutions are always calm during a storm. So if your business deals with the unexpected, hp big data and Cloud Solutions make sure you always know whats coming and are ready for it. Make it matter. And im here to tell hi,homeowners winkler that are sixtytwo and older about a great way to live a better retirement. Its called a reverse mortgage. Call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. It answers questions like. How a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money. And more. Plus, when you call now, youll get this magnifier with led light absolutely free when you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, youll learn the benefits of a governmentinsured reverse mortgage. It will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you taxfree cash from the equity in your home and heres the best part. You still own your home. Take control of your retirement today back now with our politics buzz board. Topping it off, with 23 days left, a critical North Carolina senate race debate. George moderating a candidate clash over obamas agenda. Youre proud of the fact you voted with the president 96 of the time. 100 of the time, his policies hurt North Carolina. It wasnt a great week for democrats in the bluegrass state. Republicans pouncing on this awkward video showing Alison Lundergran grimes refusing to say if she voted for president obama. Did you vote for president obama, 2008, 2012 . You know, this election isnt about the president. Did you vote for him . I respect the sanctity of the ballot box. And a stunning ad in the texas governors race. Democrat wendy davis accusing republican greg abbott disabled 30 years ago of hypocrisy. A tree fell on greg abbott. He sued and got millions. Since then he spent his career working against other victims. Abbott called the ad offensive. So add it up, nate silver and his team over at fivethirtyeight now give republicans a 58 chance of taking the senate, down one point since last week. And now we hit the road with hud secretary Julian Castro. Hes just 77 days into his new job, but ever since his swearing in, so Many Democrats have skipped ahead trying to figure out whats next for the rising star. Could he be on a president ial ticket in 2016 . Heres abcs jim avila. Reporter president obama called him an allstar and made then 39yearold Julian Castro the youngest member of his president ial cabinet. Housing and urban development secretary. Americas cities are growing again, and housing is at the top of the agenda. Reporter but with a rapidly growing latino voting population few believe he left his job as mayor of san antonio, texas, just to run a washington bureaucracy. So this may surprise you. Im not running for president. You know, i guarantee you that im not going to run for president and so this this time. Probably ever. Reporter the Texas Democrat picked by barack obama to keynote the 2012 convention was groomed by his political activist mother to break down racial barriers urging him to run for city council while still at Harvard Law School and hes backed by his equally political congressman twin brother joaquin castro. The democrats have not only a rising latino star in Julian Castro, they have an extra one of him in case he breaks. They are identical. Julian older by just one minute and still frequently confused for one another. I always tell people that im the better looking twin. My brother might disagree. Reporter the congressman says if anyone runs for president between the two, it will be his older brother. Their mother seems to agree. He would make a very good president or Vice President. I will support him. Of course, any mother is going to say that. Reporter but julian says with a straight face he does not have white house ambitions. Ive never woken up in the morning and seen in my future when i look in the mirror and said, oh, i think im going to be president. Reporter and he says, talk about him being on a Hillary Clinton ticket as the latino to bring out the crucial hispanic vote in 2016 goes way too far. I dont believe that im going to be Vice President. Reporter are you in washington, d. C. , have you been brought here, are you at hud because youre being groomed . Im here at hud because the president asked if i would be interested in serving in this role. Theres a tremendous upside in terms of the satisfaction of the work that we do. Reporter castro, who just turned 40, is now in charge of 8500 employees, the first hud secretary to run the very federal housing projects where his father was raised. I see folks who live in our Public Housing units as lks who have the same dreams, the same ambitions. Thats part of what drives my work to create greater opportunity for them. Reporter this week in providence, rhode island, 1 of 11 cities hes visited since taking over hud, he toured neighborhoods he aims to revive with grant money for lowincome housing. Is that right . In that house over there. Reporter castro is pushing mortgage banks to loosen credit restrictions that have stalled the housing market. Were still afraid of what happened in the bubble. Yeah. Some people got houses they couldnt afford because mortgages were too easy. The challenge now is that its the pendulum has completely swung in the other direction. In fact, we estimate that there are about 13 million folks who would be able to access credit for a home that today are basically shut out. Reporter castro says he plans to stay in washington through the rest of president obamas term and then its back to san antonio because while he may have never looked in the mirror and seen a president , he does admit to catching a glimpse of another reflection. There were definitely mornings when i woke up and wished there was a different governor of texas. Thats fair to say. Im 40 years old right now and i feel like i have a lot of time to figure out where the opportunities are. Reporter a political sprinter who has made it far and fast, acknowledging the marathon ahead. Hi, how are you . Reporter for this week, jim avila, abc news, providence, rhode island. Okay, and back now with the roundtable. Donna, you one of those democrats who sees a star rising there or are we just getting way ahead . No question, i have a button. You know, theres no question, castro for governor, 2018. He is a rising star, hes the future face of not just the Democratic Party but american politics. Hes a great public servant. I was in san antonio the other day and people want him to come home and run for governor. Of course, lets go the fact that donna has that button shows that shes giving up the democrat wendy the much heralded wendy davis who was going to take texas back this year. Now shes running this disgusting ad what about that ad . That ad is not look, let me just say this, the greatest hero of the Democratic Party Franklin Roosevelt was in a wheelchair, so we respect anyone with any disability. Its about his character. Its about greg abbotts character. Come on. You dont really believe that ad is appropriate, donna. I am looking at look, im not talking about the wheelchair. The point shes making, its a fair point about greg abbotts record of saying to others that they shouldnt get the same treatment that he received. Look, im saying that i would not have used that wheelchair but the fact that greg abbott is in a wheelchair, that is he has been in a wheelchair in an ad, so im not saying that this matt, theres got to be something in between. Well, living in austin, texas, im going to have to vote in this race so i have watched a lot of these ads. To me theres always three signs a campaign is in great peril and about to lose, first is when the Campaign Starts saying were not taking in account all the turnout models. Were going to change the turnout. The second when they say the only poll that counts is on election day, you know the campaign is in trouble and the third is when they do an ad like this. She didnt do an ad like this from a place of strength, she did a place from weakness, its only going to make it worse for her. How will that go over . Donna, do you think that will go over well . Look, that is not the ad i would have run but were talking about a candidate who is in a wheelchair. Are we so do you think that ad will work in texas . I dont i mean shes coming from behind. I dont know if that ad is going to put her over the top. Some people say its a sign of desperation. Some people i saw it in a newspaper, its ballsy, its a sign of inspiration. I dont know how that ad will cut. All i know is were talking about the ad and not the message behind it which says its not a good ad. She was going downhill. Now shes in a ditch. This ad took her into a ditch. So, lets talk about we got three weeks away till the midterms. High expectations that the republicans will take the senate. What if they fall short . Republicans will be despondent, donors will be despirited. Ill be despondent. Ive been critical of it. Im genuinely a pessimist, but i think theyll win and with a few seats to spare. It seems like its breaking in a democratic around colorado and iowa and kentucky where Alison Grimes couldnt just say, of course, i voted for president obama, im the Democratic Senate candidate but im my own person, et cetera. Thats an easy when a candidate freezes up like that and is unwilling to give the obviously correct answer its a sign her polling is collapsing and i think its happening around the country and republicans have an outside chance in virginia where theyve been counted out and ed gillespie is gaining on warner. Kansas where republicans are now scrambling to see if they can save pat roberts, and the state of south dakota where, again, republicans are nervous about their candidate, mr. Rounds, and whether or not hes going to be able to break 30 . Look, i still think its a 50 50 chance that the democrats will retain the senate and the reason why is because louisiana, yes, mary is still having a tough time with two republican candidates and we know we might send some time in louisiana during thanksgiving. North carolina, senator hagan is doing quite well because shes running against someone who cut education, overall its a still 50 50 chance theyll retain control but not going to be easy. Lets talk about kansas and south dakota, those races because something no one really expected and thats independents. Well, i think what were seeing now, everybody talks about these elections, theyre base elections, we need to turn out the base and 46 well win. I think what were finding more and more is a huge rise in independents going on for years, if you look at like the state of california, its now at the verge of leading the number of voters there. And you look at kansas, we could elect an independent and have three independents as United States senators in the senate next term and so i think thats what this is reflective of. I think its guaranteed. 100 prediction. Republicans will misread those results of that election and think it means more and democrats will misread the results of this election and think it means less. Thats what is guaranteed to happen. They will both misread this election. You got ten seconds, bill kristol. I think republicans will win youre only going to take five seconds. Turnout, turnout. For democrats to win we need a good turnout. And that is you need independents. And i wouldnt guarantee that. Well have to see but thanks, everyone. Up next, paul krugman takes on president obama. Now paul krugman and the tale of two headlines. There he is on newsweeks cover in 2009, an obama critic, the headline, obama is wrong. Fast forward to this week, krugman on Rolling Stones cover, in defense of obama. While hes been under fire from members of his own administration the New York Times columnist is rushing to his defense arguing he is one of the most consequential commanders in chief in history. Heres jon karl. Youre offering the most full throated defense of obama from basically anybody who is not on the obama payroll right now. Right. And its funny because i was critical but thats the point in a way. People who had this idea that obama was going to bring a transformation of america i thought were being naive but, by god, we got health reform. We got a significant financial reform. We are getting the Environmental Action is not everything you would have wanted, but its more than anyone else has done for decades. So, put it in context. What are you saying, one of the most successful, fdr are you putting him in that category . No, fdr is in a different league. Where are you putting him . In the end reagan did not leave the structure of American Society particularly different. He did not, in fact, change the basic legacy of Lyndon Johnson and fdr. I think if my ranking of consequential president s at least in modern history would probably be fdr, lbj, obama and then reagan. Leon panetta says that obama too often relies on the logic of a law professor rather than the passion of a leader. Does he have a point . Im allergic to this kind of does he have the leadership quality. Well, this is an important thing when it comes to a president. Obama is pretty professorial. Ive had a couple of meetings and i and other academics there and think hes more professorial than we are. Look at what he did. Bill clinton is an incredibly gifted politician. Bill clinton is in a room and doesnt matter how many are in the room you think hes talking to you b. You, in fact, bill clinton was not a consequential president and obama, although clearly not the natural politician, he is a consequential president. I think you would acknowledge the least convincing part of your article is on National Security. I dont think theres any way you could call him a great National Security president. I dont think you can call him a terrible one either, and what i say is, look, hes basically fairly typical for a postvietnam president. He hasnt done anything really stupid and that is a big improvement over his predecessor, right. So youre saying its not so bad, you have to grade him on a curve, it could have been worse. This is not a ringing endorsement. But my Ranking Health care is a huge achievement. Financial reform is a much bigger thing that people think. Environmental policy, theres some good stuff that is not getting enough credit. Economy could have been worse. So but and National Security wasnt a disaster. Right. Not everything is wonderful but some big achievements and no really huge disasters. But that does that really add to up one of the most successful . Who is better . Bill clinton would say eight years of prosperity and deficits coming down. But no real legacy in terms of policy. Whereas obama really has left the world has left america a different place. All right, professor krugman, thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. And our thanks to jon. See more of that interview at abcnews. Com thisweek. Back after now we shine our sunday spotlight on a hollywood classic. Mr. Smith goes to washington. 75 years after it premiered, Jimmy Stewarts cherished character, a man who unexpectedly becomes a u. S. Senator is still having an impact on some reallife politicians. Heres abcs john donvan. Reporter hes every elected officials ideal self. A senator who existed only in make believe. Mr. Smith goes to washington, a movie packed with idealism and flag waving and what some would say cornball. Look, there it is. Who, what . The capitol dome. Reporter if it werent for the way it also Shows Washington as a place where cynicism rules. This is a mans world, jeff. And you got to check your ideas outside the door like you do your rubbers. Reporter where the press is fine with lying. Why dont you tell the people the truth for a change. The truth. A man wants the truth. Reporter and where a good man very nearly loses his faith in america. An honorary stooge like me gives the tailors and panes and machines and lies. Its surprising to me how dark it is but the happy ending comes in the last 90 seconds when things are tremendously bleak leading up to that. Senator jefferson smith. Quick synopsis, he plays a naive outsider picked for a Vacant Senate seat who some corrupt politicians frame as corrupt himself. Hes trying to blackmail this senate as he tried to blackmail me. Great principles dont get lost once they come to light. Reporter in the famous filibuster scene, mr. Smith talks 24 hours straight to get the truth out but 90 seconds before the movies end, he finally runs out of gas. Believing himself defeated. Sufficient physical to say theres a surprise ending just after that which is more optimistic, but when the movie had its premiere in the nations capital, official washington hated it. This grand opening and, you know, suddenly people are walking out. There was a stund silence. Why . Why . I think because it did not reflect well on the permanent Political Class of the 1930s. Reporter but most of america loved the movie, and in time, politicians learned to love to identify with mr. Smith, one of them in particular. Ronald reagan really was the crystalizing figure in that he talked about it. He was actually an actor and pulled off the outsider, the folksy, the aw shucks role that Jimmy Stewart sort of embodied perfectly in the movie and ever since then a groundswell. Reporter other examples. Barack obama fashioned himself as an outsider, sarah palin, ross perot, the bumpkin shtick. I dont know nothing about how things work here in washington but im just talking for the people. Reporter indeed, democrat ned lamont went so far as to cut himself into the movie when he ran for senate. Im going to be there to fight for the people of connecticut. Reporter he ultimate ly lost maybe because the one thing missing from his scene, the real mr. Smith who after all only existed in make believe. John donvan, abc news, washington. And we close with good news. The pentagon did not release any names of Service Members killed in afghanistan this week. Thats all for us today. Well see you back here next week. Have a great day