Transcripts For BLOOMBERG Charlie Rose 20170121

Times. A recent abc News Washington post polls shows his favorable rating is 45 work 54 having an unfavorable opinion. Joining me now with a look ahead jeffmorrows inauguration, greenfield and joining us from los angeles, president ial historian john meacham. Im pleased to have each of them here on the program. Kathleen, i begin with you, youre in washington, what is the mood of expectation there . Kathleen it promises to be rainy tomorrow, if trump is wise, hes got about 900,000 umbrellas printed with trump on them or make America Great again. Everyone is trying to guess what the president elect is going to say. Especially as he claims to have written it himself. As for the 60plus democrats who are not going to attend the inauguration, im curious to see who fills those seats and most of the action is going to be on the mall with all the protest groups coming in. I think theres Something Like 90plus, including all of those that dont require a permit because there are fewer than 25 to those particular group. 200,000 women are expected to march down pennsylvania avenue saturday and protest in protest of the then new president of the United States. Charlie jeff, what would you add to that . Jeff as much as i want to be on this show, i want to go out and print up a bunch of make America Great again umbrellas, i think i could do some business tomorrow. This is capitalism. I want to stand in front of the trump hotel where i cant get in and sell umbrellas. I was just on in the capitol. Its very interesting, actually. I was obviously both covering both obama inaugurations. And it the capitol is inundated with people who have come in for inauguration. And theres a lot of red hats, there are a lot of people who have driven far distances. I talked to some of them. A lot of people came by car from, i talked to a couple from florida, i talked to some from kentucky. Theyre very excited. They are, to me they were sort of the classic examples of the felt out and are coming to washington in celebration of their sudden inness. I would just add to what kathleen said, it doesnt feel the same way as it felt certainly eight years ago when it was a couple Million People and mainly people are talking about the impenetrable security that is going up all over this city. And the the thing that everybody talks about all the time, the weather. Charlie youve done more and longer pieces, i think, about president obama than moat. Give me a sense of how hes handled this departure from eight years as our president and his own attitude about trump and the coming of the trump administration. Jeff you look back to the day after trump won where he had to gather, the president had to gather some inconsoleable Staff Members together and say, look, guys, this is the way it works. He won. Were going to hand off power smoothly. And you know, the thing about obama is no very high highs, no very low lows. The statement i always have in my head from obama is a sort of very hawaiian thing i once heard which is, you know, his understanding of the world is that the tide comes in, the tide goes out, the tide comes and then the tide goes out. Hes been very smooth, sort of had an equick equilibrium. I cant say thats true about everybody on his staff. I was in the white house yesterday, its surreal, we were standing in the west wing lobby, moving men came with bidens furniture on pa lets going out the front door. Almost knocked Dennis Mcdonough down, the chief of staff. There is this kind of surreal feeling. I was walking out of the white house with a colleague and said it had kind of a saigon 1975 feeling. You half expect a helicopter to land on the roof, pick up the obama as and head out. We joked about what it would have felt like if hillary were moving in. Would have been a big difference. I think everyone is captured by the surreal quality of this moment. Charlie 24s from now, donnell trump will be president. If you were writing his speech, what do you expect him to say and what do you think he ought to say . I expect him to say some of what he ought to say. That is, every president since jimmy carter has had a grace note about the departing president , often about their defeated rival. I think, hard as that may be for trump to do, he will likely do that charlie hes been most gracious about obama. I expect to hear notes of, bind up the wounds. I want to be president of all the people. But i also expect him to draw, and i think you should, a sharp line, no more business as usual. You elected me. To drain the swamp. You elected me to change the culture of washington. Kind of like what obama said but in a much more militant way. I do think i expect to hear him say things like that, what i devoutly hope among other things is that he does not ad lib. This is an inaugural address. This isnt a rally. If he starts veering off, say, believe me, i bet 16 republicans and nobody thought i could win which is in his d. N. A. , that would not be a good arlie and he was constantly rallying constantly ad libbing at the rallies. This is not a statement of policy. The world will be looking that the unusual and unique figure, now that hes president what does he want to tell us . And i want to see who hes talking. To john f. Kennedy only talked to the world, nothing about domestic issues. Obama addressed economic things. I want to say one thing. One thing weve watch sod carefully with president elect trump is his tone and his style and its not to say that thats more important than what he the content of what he says but it is important. Forever, throughout the campaign, this is a man who almost never smiled. Was almost angry. In order to be the aspirational president were hoping to see tomorrow, i wonder if he is going to lighten his touch a little bit . It would be very nice to see the president of the United States smile at america and when that gos to the point about who is he going to be talking to . Its always this angry even the picture he had taken of himself allegedly writing the speech with the pad poised mid air, he was looking fierce again. With the supercilious eyebrow raised. Sort of, im going to get you, attitude. I would love to see that disappear and be replaced with something nor congenial as he tries to unify the country. Can i add one thing to what jeff said . Ive talked to a number of people who said that, you know, that the president and the president elect have been speaking regularly, president obama has made it a point to try to be communicative with him and respectful to trump. I wouldnt be surprised if trump has some very nice things to say about president obama. Because most of all , he wants to be respected, as we know, and i think that might show itself tomorrow. I wouldnt be surprised. Charlie i wouldnt be surprised either he has basically said measure more than once, i like barack obama, hes been nice to me, weve had a number of conversations on the phone, i like him, i hope he likes me. They talk a lot from what i understand. Charlie about what . Do we know about what . Well, you know, i have hopes that theyre talking about north korea and china and russia and all the rest and but i think a lot of it is mechanics. A lot of it is how do you actually daytoday do the job. Charlie i want to do this even though this program will air at 11 00. Can you tell us anything about the health of president bush 41 . My sense is, he remains in the intensetive care unit at Methodist Hospital in houston the prognosis over the last 24 hours has improved. Mrs. Bush who also went in with fatigue and coughing, has been diagnosed with bronchitis. But she is, i hear, her feisty self. I am also happy to report that when former secretary of state james baker went to call on them yesterday , he announced that today he was bringing a thermos of martini. I think that gives us some sense that as ever, the bushes march forward. Thoughts and prayers, 92 and 91, so whenever pneumonia and 92 are in the same sentence you dont like it, or bronchitis and 91, you dont like it. But these are formidable people. It should be mentioned, as you have written john, after the 1992 campaign, the elder bush and clinton formed an almost brotherly or familial bond and what strikes me is were talking about the tone tomorrow, yeah, it would be nice if the new president said a nice word about his the feeted rival but we should not forget that he also in the middle of the campaign called for her criminal prosecution. Thats part of what makes this such a tricky transition and movement in that the nature of the language in this campaign and the nature of the language after the election, during the transition, has been unlike anything ive certainly ever seen and i dont think ive ever read anything like this. And your mention of the elder bush reminds me of, you know, john kennedy said in his inaugural, civility is not a sign of weakness. Im not sure President Trump believes that. Charlie because of tweets hes able to find a way to engage in controversy as he did this week with john lewis and meryl streep and others. An easy paragraph that i think all of us would like to write and hear would be to take for trump to take advantage to have the fact that president carter, president bush, president clinton, secretary clinton, and president obama are all there and again, we could offer a prar that a paragraph that said, thank you to these president s who represent the american story, a farmer from plains, a son of texas, our thoughts are with George Herbert walker bush, the son of hawaii ich would be rich in its meaning, and a son of arkansas and this formidable woman who has given her life to public service. Theres a way of making himself part, at least symbolically, of a great transition an then go and draw the line youre talking about. Im not betting were going to hear that eloquent line that mr. Meacham just articulated for some reason. I just dont think its going to come out that way. My pipeline to trump tower is a little clogged, i suspect youre right. Charlie if in fact there was someone within the trump earshot who is likely to be able to press him to do that . Would it be his daughter . Would it be his soninlaw . Who would it be . Dont you think it would be priebus. Political professionals who know how to give speeches are supposed to go. Would he listen to them . The thing that makes the line that john offered understandably cynical as jeffrey said is, he is uniquely also ahistorical. You almost never hear trump talk about other president s, what tradition hes in. He never quotes even Ronald Reagan he says reagan was a great president , its as if he is a thing unto himself. Almost a selfcreation which in some ways he is. Thats another thing id love to see at the inaugural, some sense that he understands he takes his place as part this 200plus tradition. But its something i never heard from him. Hes never given us any indication that he thinks in terms of context larger than himself and the immediate moment. He keeps say, i can act president ial if i want to. Again, viewed from his perspective, it seems as though it is an act. And hell maybe hes watching movies or something to see how president s act, or old film footage of people who he admired. Like Ronald Reagan. Yeah, watch those. I would be a happy citizen if he said something akin to, im humbled by the fact that im moving into mr. Lincolns house today. Something like that. Anything along those lines which would say he understands the gravity of the moment, the gravity of the job, the gravity of the place. One thing we havent we havent seen that kind of humility and awe. No reports of that from people, even though we might not have seen it, no one as all of us here talk to people who talk to trump, dont hear that . Theres no one saying, look, youll be surprised at the fact that he understands the moment. Hes talked to president obama, hes talked to others, he understands that this is a humbling and sobering experience hes about to engage in . The president hes talked about i have heard charlie john first, then kathleen. The Maggie Haberman story from the dinner last night has him talking about Andrew Jackson. We know that steve bannon has talked about jacksonian moment. Its the president that i have heard the most comparesons obviously. I have some fundamental differences, i think the moment is jacksonian, i think we will be very lucky as a country if trump ends up having the, ultimately the discipline of Andrew Jackson. I dont think thats possible. John, you are the biographer of Andrew Jackson, i think won a Pulitzer Prize for that. What do you think hes reading into jackson . Bannon or trump. Trump is reading into it that jackson was the first selfmade man to become president , he was the first nonvirginia planter or adams to be president , the first six were very much part of the establishment. Jackson came to washington charging that the existing system had been corrupt and that he introduced populist economics in the words of the Bank Veto Message to protect the farmers they can lay bofferers and the mechanics. And that the people themselves seem to be with jackson and jackson went over the heads of the republican lower race r, establishment that had sprung up in washington since 1800. And that theres a great jacksonian moment. My own view is that i understand how thats an interpretation of it but Andrew Jackson himself was a highly disciplined man who understood his own weaknesses and was able to leverage those. He knew how to turn his vices into virtues. We have seen very little evidence of that so far. There are different kinds of disciplines. Evidently, donald trump is highly disciplined in terms of executing a plan to win the presidency. Maybe not disciplined in terms of resisting tweeting and resisting attacking opponents when its not in his interest to do so, but in terms of pursuit of the presidency, he was highly disciplined. Its interesting. I dont know, john, whether Andrew Jackson would have been a tweeter but in one sense, trumps embrace of social media and his willingness to send these messages that quite deliberately provoke in one sense is almost jacksonian in the sense that maybe steve bannon means it. I think theres also the point that when people write about Foreign Policy traditions in america, the jacksonian tradition of Foreign Policy is pretty suspicious about international relations, a kind of nationalist view that we really arent that keen about other places and i think you get a sense of that in the way trump talks about everything from nato to the european union. So i think without getting too deep in the jackson weeds, i will say thats absolutely true in terms of the popular impression. When an true jackson had ultimate power , he, for instance, defused a war with france through quite clever diplomacy , he defused a starnedoff with South Carolina which was causing problems through careful legislative diplomacy. My question is, an its my prayer in many way is that trump has that kind of jacksonian capacity to govern beyond the image. Out here in the hinterlands of washington, d. C. , you know, i think you have to take very seriously that donald trump views this as an executive decision. He takes seriously, this is the executive barrage, i am the boss, these are the people i have delegated, i will delegate these responsibilities to. I think his presidency will be run as a business almost and he will do whatever works best for the ultimate goals of that business as defined by donald trump. I think thats one thing. And you know, as to his his personality in the oval office. Once the president is briefed on what he really does have to manage, i think it does change a person. If it doesnt change donald trump at all, then i would be questioning whether hes a human being. I remember once interviewing president george w. Bush. He was telling me that, you know, people dont like me because of all the hard some of the things ive done. Ive done the hard things. But the next president is going to be grateful because hes going to need it. When he knows what i know, hes going to need all these instruments to manage this rather mind bogglingly difficult job. Charlie theres one point about that i think is crucial. In all the misunderstanding about donald trump, one of them i was hearing from republicans was, look, hell get he wants to be president but he doesnt really want to be president. Well send him thing it is sign. Itll be like mel brooks in blazing sad lts, work, work, work. It seems to me that that may be the most fundamental misunderstanding about this gay. I mean if he thinks, if hes the president and he wants, i dont know what, replacement for obamacare or a trade policy that is at variance with every other republican, either hes going to roll over and sign what ryan sends him has got to be the biggest fantasy of all. The other thing on the briefing point , in george h. W. Bushs diary, heres a man who had run the c. I. A. , been at the u. N. , Vice President for eight year, when he was briefed on the chain of command for Nuclear Codes he was shock he said it was stark and sobering. He had been Vice President for eight years and hes talking to himself into his diary as he realizes that he is now the ultimate authority in a nuclear age. I cant believe trurp hasnt that briefing. And we still have what we have. So i think the hoax that the hopes that somehow or another theres going to be a briefing moment and hes going to emerge as Franklin Roosevelt is a little troubling. The bottom line is we have no idea. Exactly. We have to hold out hope. The words of the moment. Charlie, we have to hold out the possibility that theres an interior here and that he masks he masks the feelings of awe and humility and being overwhelmed. As a normal person would be overwhelmed at this moment. At least im hoping that there is an internal recognition that he needs other people , he needs to proceed slowly and deliberately on issues such as the use of nuclear weapons. We havent seen a great deal of thoughtfulness in his discussion about Nuclear Related issues and those of course are the the only issue ultimately that matters immediately. Charlie we we do know hell be talking about general mattis who talked thought about that in a profound way. In the pentagon theyre pray for mattis confirmation tomorrow. They believe, its an interesting die nam ex. Dollar lot of people not only in the pentagon that believe mattis is the counterweight to trump. Thats the Single Person who will keep the thing on the rails. Charlie i hear that too. If somebody is an enthusiast about trump listening to this program, they would say, you miss the point. Hes going to washington, d. C. To be a different president. He rejects the entire two party sense of what should be done. If hes rude or as a rule fwar and if he counterattacks, you know, in an uncivil way like most president s havent, thats why we want him there. You guys said the same thing about Ronald Reagan, hes going to blow the world up. You can hear people say, this is another taste of misunderstand case of misunderstanding what it means to really send somebody who is going to what i hear from talking to mike pence and talking, last night and an hour with paul ryan, the thing you hear from them most of all is that they want to somehow go at regulations. They think that regulations are the thing that was slowed down the economy, whether its environmental regulations, business regular ligses, financial regulations, whether its doddfrank. I think thats true. Thats at the top of the republican agenda for a long time and throughout that eightyears of president Obamas Administration and the feeling is that much of the incentive for businesses to go elsewhere is that they are sort of highly, deeply regulated here and i think if you can loosen the strings in late strings a little bit in a wise way that doesnt cause harm but maybe fiend ways to tighten things up an loosen them at the same time if that makes sense, itll be easier to incentivize businesses to come back here and bring jobs and money to the United States which the promise trump has made. Thats been top of the agenda for a really long time. I do think you know, one of the things president obama said in his last News Conference yesterday was that it may be that when of course its natch rah that President Trump will initiate the policy he is came to town with, but that he also may find he has to end up being in a similar situation as president obama has found himself. Im rather curious to see what happens with obamacare because once, you know if the president intends to make sure every Single Person has coverage and id like to know how he intends to do that without keeping much of obamacare in place. In other words, whatever president elect trump has said, i dont think we can rely entirely on the results being what he has proposed. Its more likely hes going to do a lot more compromising than people expect because thats the reality. Reality has its own agenda hes going to have to make some compromises. I do believe that. Charlie i mean this in terms of both domestic and Foreign Policy but if in fact theres a nixon going to china idea here about donnell trump, what would it be . What is the idea that it would encapsulate . If you really mean a reversal of what we all assumed about him, it would be he said at some point in the campaign he thinks that the rich ought to be paying their fair share of taxes. It doesnt happen to be in the plan he submitted but that would be one example. I think the other one, the most dramatic, would be if he somehow decided, ok im going to make sure a large part of my infrastructure notion takes place in the inner city. I think thats something that Ronald Reagan could have done and didnt do. The idea that he would meet with africanamericans right in the heart of detroit, cleveland, philadelphia, wherever, and say, i know you people didnt vote for me, and hed probably say you people, but i mean to show you that my way of doing things will work. That would be the nixon going to china moment. Do i expect it . I can be the say i do. But hes talked so much about the devastation of the inner cities, i think it fit with what he would like to have people see about him. Charlie jeff, what would it be in Foreign Policy . Theres russia getting tough on russia. Or trump going to china and actually doing a little bit of brinksmanship and getting some concessions that are either real concessions or could be sold as real concessions. And then having a completely a relationship defined by exwhat anymority and cooperation. The other one that struck me when you asked the question, i had an arab foreign minister ask me a few week ago , he said, do you think that donald trump will go to war with iran . And i answered intuitively almost, i said, theres a chance that the United States will be going to war with iran at some point in the next four years. Theres also a chance that donald trump will be going to iran to open up a series of hotels and golf courses. I dont know. Its all transactional. Its all its all based on a calculus that includes respect nd dignity and opportunity and capitalist opportunities in particular. Not a lot of ideology there. He wants to seem tough but he also believes that i have a very strong feeling that he believes that diplomacy through trade is the way to go. So i would be i won be surprised by anything on that front. What if he ends up striking a fairly gentle immigration deal . Goes back to the gang of eight or whichever that gang was, some form of path to citizenship, amnesty, declares that we love everybody, lets say Economic Growth numbers go up, a lot of folks of hispanic descent are working. He ends up being the wall becomes a distant memory and he becomes a true working class hero . One of the exercises people have tried to do is, can anyone imagine anything that would alienate trumps hard core supporters. I have a feeling youve hit on one. If theres anything that sean hannity would say theres a thats a bridge too far or a wall too far or a nonwall too it. That would be thats what the right said about nixon going to china, which was the context. Both interesting. Kathleen, last word to you. I think the wall will not happen. But, well, im just still kind of stuck on the image of, instead of butter instead of bombs, its golf courses instead of bombs. Globalization may be one continual golf course and only trump could pull that off. Charlie i believe this is going to be one incredible year. Thank you jeff, thank you, john, thank you, jeff, thank you kathleen. Charlie mr. Vice president elect, thank you for joining us. Mr. Pence thank you, charlie. Charlie feelings of what, anxiety . Enthusiasm . Mr. Pence i feel excited and humbled and excited to get start the president elect is a man of Boundless Energy, to see him sit behind that kesk in the oval office and get to work for the american president. Charlie hes an unconventional president elect and an unconventional candidate. Odo you expect to be an unconventional Vice President . Mr. Pence thatll be up to the president to decide what role i play. I hope my experience as a governor, my experience on capitol hill will make it possible for me to support his efforts to advance the agenda and the promises that we made to the American People and frankly right now, charlie, im very encouraged at the enthusiasm that the president elects agenda has been met with on capitol hill. Weve been working not only in the transition assembling our government but with leaders in the house an senate, rank and file, put together plans to repeal and replace obamacare, and at the same time to roll back excessive regulations to start discussions of tax reform, all focused on keeping our promises, getting this economy rolling again, and i cant wait to get started. Charlie two things. Number one, the idea is that as you know you enter this white house and this city with the lowest Approval Ratings of any person who has asthimed presidency. What kind of challenge is that and at the same time how important is it to double the forts to reignite because of that . Mr. Pence the American People will see a president inaugurated this friday who is going to keep the promise he made on Election Night to be president of the all the people of this country. I think when they see the energy and the determination that he brings to getting this economy moving again, to reviving our cities, restoring our schools, rebuilding our infrastructure, rebuilding our military, unleashing the Boundless Energy of the american economy, i think youll see tremendous unity across this country. Were going to see americans come back together. But i have to tell you, the polls werent always right during the election year, i have skepticism about polls going into the inauguration. I can tell you the president elect and our whole team are ready to go to work and really, just advance the kind of policies that, to borrow his phrase, will make America Great again. Charlie youve been asked this before im sure are the tweets, a, necessary, and b, distract, and does he have to tilt at every windmill that criticizes him . Mr. Pence one of the really refreshing things about the president elect is that he speaks his mind. And the American People hear him louded on clear. Sometime he is does that from a podium. Sometimes he does that in an interview. Charlie does it get in he way of his message on the economy or Foreign Policy . Mr. Pence i dont think it does. Charlie youre ok with that . Mr. Pence i will tell you, some of the treatment hes gotten and continue to get by some in the media is frustrating. His ability to reach tens of millions of people with his view of a particular issue or particular news is of value to the administration. I expect him to continue to use that. Charlie as the at the same time you say that, you come here to this town with the lowest polls of any president taking office, and the exiting president is leaving with the highest polls hes had since 2009. Mr. Pence first, i think theres always good wishes for departing president s and the sacrifices their families have made. I would echo what the president elect has said. President obama and the first lady have extended such hospitality, their teams have work sod closely with our team in the transition, i think the American People can be very proud. Charlie joe biden was a man of congress. Youve a man of congress. Youre close to paul ryan. Has that relationship healed between paul ryan . Mr. Pence what i can tell you is that speaker ryan and leader mcconnell and i talk on a regular basis but they also talk on a regular basis with the president elect. I think the American People are going to see a level of collaboration between the oval office and the congress, the likes of which we havent seen for some time in this city. Ive always been reaching out, charlie work the democrats. In the house and in the senate. Sitting town, looking for ways to we might be able to Work Together on issues like infrastructure, child care in particular, that i think represent a real bipartisan opportunity. But charlie let me interrupt you if i may. Other than infrastructure and child care, where are the areas that you think, maybe tax reform, you can find Common Ground with democrats to push an agenda forward . Mr. Pence i think theres brd bipartisan support for tax reform. The fact that we have a tax system today that traps the profits of American Companies overseas, has always enjoyed tissue enjoyed broad bipartisan support for reform as the president elect has called for. Let me tell you, were going to repeal and replace obamacare at the same time. We understand the democrats are not enthusiastic about repeal. But frankly i had meetings even this week with leading democrats on capitol hill talking about our desire for their input on what that Replacement Program will be. Charlie when is that Replacement Program going to be presented to the congress . Mr. Pence its being assembled right now with leaders of congress and policy Leaders Within our incoming administration. I would expect in the every he weeks of our administration the American People will see that plan and start to charlie perhaps next week . Mr. Pence might not be that quick but itll be quick. Youll see a tremendous amount of activity, particularly both signing executive orders, repeeling executive orders, rolling back excessive regulations and of course the president elect said hell be announcing his choice for the Supreme Court of the United States before the end of the month. Thats all going to be part of a very, very busy start. But were assembling that plan. Its going to be a plan that the American People are going to see will allow them to Purchase Health insurance across state lines. Itll be an orderly transition, not creating anxiety for the American People but the promise of lower cost Health Insurance and lower cost Health Insurance and improving the lives of the people of this country. Charlie chelsea manning, her term was commuted, do you approve of that decision by the president . Mr. Pence i do not. Private manning was a traitor. Compromised sensitive intelligence of the United States of america. Endangered lives of our troops and those who support our troops down range. I strongly charlie was there a humanitarian reason to do it, seven years in prison a couple of suicide attempts last year . Mr. Pence again, i believe that while i think there was a 35year sentence initially, it s a life sentence, but the compromise of classified information that literally compromised the safety of american troops down range and those who were supporting american troops down range, we actually, i read an account this morning, i havent within briefed on it but i read an account that some of the Information Private manning released was on a hard drive of osama bin ladens computer. So this, you know, we have to take the protection of our nations secrets seriously. Thats why you heard the president elect speak so strongly about his opposition and concern about leaks coming out, about intelligence information and i think this sends exactly the wrong message about the seriousness with which we protect our nations secrets an protect those who wear the uniform. Charlie are gow doing to be a kind of Prime Minister for this president . Mr. Pence the president has asked me to engage a long with my seen yoreo team and chief of staff on issues like obamacare, immigration, building the wall. And im just hear to im just hour to serve. I hope my experience as a governor my 12 years on capitol hill, will make it possible for me to get up every day and help members of congress and help people around the country. Support the agenda of our new president that i truly do believe will revive our country and strengthen our country at home and abroad. Charlie all american, i think, wish you the best in trying to do that mr. Pence thank you, charlie. Good to see you. Charlie the nfl playoffs continue on sunday with two high ly anticipated conference title matchups. The day kicks off with the n. F. C. Championship when the Green Bay Packers take on the Atlanta Falcons at the georgia dome, led by quarterback matt ryan, atlanta is the leagues top scoring offense. The Pittsburgh Steelers meet the new England Patriots in the second game to determine the affect title. Joining me now is bill cowher, he coached the steelers for 15 seasons where he won two affect championships and the super bowl in 2006. He is currently a studio analyst for the nfl today on cbs. Were pleased to have him back at the table. Bill good to be back here. Good to talk to you. Charlie has it been a good season for the nfl . Bill i think it has. Theres been a lot of story, the attention Colin Kaepernick brought early in the season, i think we moved forward, all the story lines unfolded. I think when it was all said and done and the dust cleared, i think you have the four best football teams in the National Football League Playing this weekend. Charlie even though the Dallas Cowboys had the best record. Bill themplet best record, youth, set for the future, but look at the four quarterbacks. When you think about Aaron Rodgers, ben roethlisberger, tom brady and matt ryan. Three of the four outside of matt ryan have all won at least one super bowl. Matt ryan arguably has had the best statistical season of the year. So you know, when you look all these teams so hot going into the playoffs. Pittsburgh, new england, theyve won nine straight. Aaron rovepblgers and green bay, eight straight. Falcons have won six of their last seven games. This will be a very intrigues intriguing week of games. Charlie if you assess these four quarterbacks, all, all star quarterbacks as you said but different styles. Bill very different. Very unique. Look at tom brady, the classic pocket passer a guy that can pick you apart, a guy that you better not give presnap information to. Very comfortable in the pocket and can spread and utilize the field. Charlie and read the defense. Bill a the ball is out so quick. Youre not going to get to him. He loves to get rid of the ball quickly. The converse to that, Aaron Rodgers. The master of extending plays. We watch him hold on to the ball nine seconds at a time. Sit in the pocket. Out of the pocket. Back in the pocket. The unbelievable sense of where he is, presence on the field. Right now his accuracy throwing the football, amazing. Ben roethlisberger. Out of the pocket and in the pocket. A guy who really las vegases to play through improvisation more or less. Yet gives had some of the best weapons around him we talked about matt ryan. Matt ryan, more like a tom brady. Athletic enough to get out of the pocket. An amazing amount of weapons. Maybe the most balanced offense we talk about, running and throwing in the playoffs right now. I think hes had that type of year, hes hit i think 13 different receiver the year hes had, the consistency with which hes pleaed with all year long, when you look at the body of working i think he ke serves it. Charlie would you rather have a Aaron Rodgersled offense or bradyled offense . Bill i think brady is the master of dissecting the defense. A master of understanding what the weaknesses are. Understanding what to look for in matchups. Aaron rodgers to me is so much fun to watch. I mean he you know , he can take you, he can take and throw things on a die. Throw things with timing. But then he can extend a play. Has this great presence on the field where hes at. You know, you look at all four of these guys, i think you could argue pli say all four of these guys in the fourth quarter, theyre at their best and they all do it in their own unique style. Charlie what rodgers does is nine seconds at a time , he can scramble back there, throw then erun, can find the Perfect Place to hit the ball, throws it hard, im told, because he has the biggest hands of any quarterback in the league. Bill not just hard, youve seen the hail marys. Its not always hard. He can get height on the ball when needed. Es got great touch as well. Charlie does that mean the game will be decided by the ability of the defense to get to the quarterback . Bill yeah. Especially against atlanta. Beasley jr. Led the league in sacks. Theyre playing a home, theyll have noise as an advantage for them on defense. But Aaron Rodgers, his offensive line has been good, hell throw it quick, they like to do the screen game which can slow down a rush. But he loves to continue to hold the football. Its th could be imperative, i think, for atlanta not to give up the big play bus to give pressure on him. On the other side, one thing atlanta does is run the ball so well. They play action. They got the big receiver in jones. I think for Green Bay Packers, the biggest thing for them, theyve got to get some takeaways in this game. Theyve got to turn over and get the ball back into the hands of their offense. I dont see a lot of punts in this game between freeb an atlanta. I really do think it could be the case that the quarterback that has the ball last would win it. I think youve got to be careful how much time you leave on the clock for the other guy. Charlie have you seen a better game than the packers against cowboys . I think the only better game ive seen is clemson vs. Alabama. Bill it came down to, you had the sack, when Aaron Rodgers got hit in the last series, people were think, wheres the ball. You thought it would be a sack, a fumble, it was a sack , he held on to it. I thought he was throwing it away, threw it town there hits the tight end, jared cook, coming across, beautifully touch tele. Pinpoint accuracy. Sets up for the gamewinning field goal. Two 50yard field goals in the last minute of that game. Charlie if you were coaching today and assume you had an allstar quarterback, what would be your next priority . Would be it be a run, an offensive line or defensive line . Or defensive safety . Bill number one work a good quarterback, it start twhess offensive line. You need to protect them. You need to be able to run the ball or throw the ball. You can have a Great Quarterback but if your offensive line doesnt protect him, hes going to get hurt. When you look at these four teams you could say these are the four best offensive lines. The Dallas Cowboys no doubt about it. They have a great offensive line. Charlie who had the best special teams . Bill look at last week, field , boswell kicked goals. First time ever they were outscored by two on touchdowns but still won the game. In atlanta, ryan, one of the best field goal kickers in the game. In new england that guy is good as well. You i dont know who has the best, i think theyre all very solid. Thats why with all these teams, theres very few holes you have o these games will be decided, probably the specialization, i always talk about, you know, winning the situational football. Situational football is scoring touchdowns in a red zone, not being held to field goal. Converting third downs to extend drives. Situational footballs is the end of the half, the end of the game, not giving the ball back to one of these quarterbacks with too much time on the clock. So situational football to me will determine and define a lot of these game this is weekend. Charlie the game has become so specialized for me as a fan and spectator. There are people now who do nothing but brilliantly run back punts. Bill yes. We saw devin hester a week ago, almost make a tinches for the Seattle Seahawks going against his exteam atlanta. Unfortunately a penalty wiped out a couple of those returns. Theres no question, those are the type of game plays you go in these games, were talking about matchups, offense and defense, youre right. Its that return game that can make a difference in a game like this. Edelman returning a punt. Antonio brown, rushing a point. These are guys that can make big plays, have made big plays in the past, they may node them again this week. Charlie and the four coachs . Bill theyre all good. They have all also won super bowls. We know tom bradyBill Belichick, sixth straight championship game, unbelievable run theyve had. Mike mccarthy and Aaron Rodgers have won a super bowl together, been together for nine years 0 year. Same with mike tomlin an ben roethlisberger. Theres a connection with the quarterbacks here that they thrive on they understand on, they have been in these pressured situations before. Like the only one you have is dan quinn and matt ryan and you almost feel for matt ryan. I think the guy, in his nineyear career, hes been one of those underrated quarterbacks because he hasnt won the championship or been to the super bowl. And look at him and the fire in his eyes, the leadership he has, you almost would like to see him get one and win one just to validate the type of quarterback he is. Charlie its been his year. Bill this is a game that defines you. Charlie the opportunity to prove that thats not true. Bill ive been in six championship games and lost four of them. I went to two super bowls. When you lose this game,s the one that hurts the most. You know, you get to the super bowl, you lose a super bowl and say, boy that must be theheartedest one to lose. It really isnt. Because this is the one right here where youre this close, youre one game away and its with a chance to win a championship. When you lose this game, you have two more weeks to listen to the team that just beat you. And you kind of like have to hear football for two more weeks. And how great this team is. How great this is. All the story lines you lose the super bowl, its over. Theres a finality whether you bin or lose. This is a hard one. Youre so close. Charlie almost like the best weekend in football. Bill. I think championship weekend is the best weekend. Having been there six times, won it, lost it, the pain hurts, ive lost the super bowl. It hurt more for me losing the championship game than it did losing the super bowl. Charlie more losing the championship game than the super bowl. Wow. Bill we were that close. We had some of the teams we had uric get to the super bowl, that is all you can ask for. You have a chance, its one game. You get to this game, youre one game away. And you have to listen for two more weeks. Charlie what do you think is going to happen on saturday and sunday . Are both games on sunday . Bill both games on sunday. First one is green bay and atlanta. And then pittsburgh at new england. Green bayatlanta, honestly, i said it before. Im not sure if the last quarterback who gets the ball doesnt win this football game. Theres some injuries that that concern you with the Green Bay Packers, particularly jordy nelson has been out. Devontae adams. Got hurt last week. How healthy will he be . Seems like falcons are healthy. Thats going to be a tough test for green bay. I think for the Pittsburgh Steelers, theyre as helicoptery as theyve been. But owe know, how do you bet against tom brady and Bill Belichick at home . Theyve been there six straight games, this is their sixth straight championship. Theyre 1 at home, 11 i think on the road. Theyre 0 away. So playing them up in foxborough is a tough task for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I got to tell you, theyre probably playing as good football as anyone. Thats going to be a game to watch. Both of these teams, nine game winning streak going into this ame. Charlie wait and see. Bill. Thank you, my friend. Charlie great to see you. Youre watching bloomberg technology. Look at the th a news. With far fewer crowds than his predecessor and protests across the country, donald j. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. He wasted no time attacking the establishment, vowing to return power to the American Public and deliver on campaign promises. He pledged that u. S. Interests will be front and center of his presidency. Police and protesters clashing several times today in the Nations Capital as donald trump was sworn in. Authorities had to resort to teargas as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators did damage to city blocks. More than 90