>> they can escape their history and build a better future if we do our part. host: yesterday, we heard from two former u.s. president to help the people of haiti. today, "the washington post" about this and ask the question, for how long? this is sunday, january 17 and would begin with the u.s. efforts in haiti. we heard from secretary of state hillary clinton who was there yesterday. u.s. troops tried to prevent chaos in haiti's capital city. lutie louis coates flares were order breaks down. this question -- will there be a long-term u.s. commitment? the numbers are on your screen. the president will commemorate the birth of martin luther king and will campaign today for martha coakley for the senate seat given up by the death of ted kennedy. we'll talk about that later in the air but first, this piece this morning from "the washington post." clinton believes that the country can come back stronger in the future. bearing so, bottled water and other supplies, secretary clinton flew into the battered capital and told the haitian people that the u.s. will be here today, tomorrow, and in times ahead as the u.s. struggles to organize a relief effort for a barely functioning haitian government. mrs. clinton said she was here at the invitation of the country's president and came in large part to hear what was needed by the people. you can also send us a tour comment. you can send us an e- mail,[email protected]. caller: i think long term commitment should not be there. is this going to be a land grab with all these people coming inde? i don't think the united states should be there but the chinese or what ever could come in there. but fake with the closures and layoffs, more money should be thrown into our governments and our country first. that sounds selfish, i am sorry. i think there are many people, detroit, michigan, they have been really hit hard. in my city, there is a lot of foreclosures going on. i think that's terrible. that's all i have to say. host: we will go to the democrats learned from jacksonville, florida, good morning. will there be a long-term u.s. commitment to haiti? caller: yes, i think it will bid. these people are really suffering. that is all of the other caller to say that. we need to commit money to all these other terrorists in other countries, one of commitment to haiti? host: york city, on the independent life. caller: good morning, you have a great show. i would like to make an observation -about the condition of haiti. i am a professor and i was assigned to nasa for disaster in the united states. were a small atomic weapon to use. one thing we learn from katrina and learn from 9/11 and now you are learning it from haiti, the system is 80% cellular. what is needed here is the nasa program which put the cellular and telephone switching satellite. that is in case one of these disasters occur, god forbid, we have the port of north being run by dubai and so on, getting the device into york city might be rather -- into new york city might be rather easy. if you lost part of the city, the same thing as haiti, you really need a communications system that is not subject to attack. cellular phones are worth less and were worth less in katrina and 9/11. the military uses a satellite so that they cannot be affected. it has limited usage so the united states to pick about using mesopause advanced satellite as a backup -- using nasa's advanced satellite. it is something the united states has not learned from the past. i think it is something that the united states should consider. host: you are looking at the photos that have come to us over the last five days. there is a piece available from president obama. his piece is called, "why 80 matters." -- "white 80 matters." -- " why haiti matters." above all, we act for a very simple reason -- in times of tragedy, the united states of america steps forward and helps. that is who we are. the question is, how long? will be a long-term commitment for haiti? florida, republican line, good morning. caller: i feel the government should stay out of anything like this. the government got involved in health care and let the private market take care of it. host: who in the private market would fund the best? caller: you have welfare agencies, you have the salvation army, you have the red cross, all these agencies and people sending in money. the government should stay out of something like this. they ought to stay out of health care and stay out of desperatth. host: silver spring, maryland, you're next. caller: that guy did not know what he was talking about. we have to stay in haiti. become -- the country is completely destroyed. they need help. right now, they are doing a good job. a lot of countries all over the world are doing a good job. we should stay for a longer time over there. one thing about massachusetts, the democrats will win at the end of the day and they need to vote for health care in this country host: we'll talk more about health care. susan millikan will join us on the phone from "the boston globe." there is a special election on tuesday. "the new york post" the photo of the two former presidents. the report that already 20,000 bodies have been recovered since the earthquake on tuesday that was seven. s 7.0. bethlehem, pa., republican line. caller: acute for taking my call. i am disappointed in a lot of callers. with the history of haiti, we should know why they are destitute country like they are. it is because of the policies and things of the united states and france. i believe they should have a long-term equipment. what type of commitment? not the commitment that has gone on thus far but something new to help the people of haiti instead of keeping them down. i'm disappointed in president barack obama, former president george bush, former president clinton. it shows made it will retain the status quo and the people of haiti will not benefit from this. the people of haiti will continue to be poor. they will continue to live in a destitute nation. it is unfortunate. i want people to rededicate themselves. -- allow people to read and educate themselves. host: yesterday's visit of george w. bush to the white house was the first time he was there since leaving on january 20 last year. bill clinton talked about his long ties to haiti dating back to 1975 when he visited haiti along with hillary as portis -- part of their. a honeymoon. the death toll in haiti could top 200,000 people anchor has turned to violence on the streets of haiti. survivors are losing patience with the papal a slow process of getting international aid to the earthquake victims purgatories say may have killed up to 200,000 people. they have already collected 50,000 bodies, says the 80 interior minister. 40,000 bodies have been buried in mass graves. there is a story this morning about the oval office and rose garden event. unified u.s. from a but for how long that is the question we are asking this morning. the usual political animosities have crumbled along the images of buildings turned to rubble 100 miles south of miami. the three presidents pledged to work together to rebuild haiti. according to both white house on saturday, the president received nine briefings including one in the situation room. in a public remarks 3 tons. his office released and as a under his name that was -- that said it suggests it will not be that simple. debate about how long to respond to the reconstruction efforts including the massive efforts in iraq of denniston to rebuild schools and hospitals has sparked ideological debate among america's proper role of the world. another twitter reader says we should make long-term commitment to haiti and other countries around the world. this is the right way to fight terror. next is melbourne, florida, republican line. caller: i don't think we should have a long-term commitment in haiti. but the short term is we have our own problems in this country and our resources are finite. i always believed that charity should begin at home. many people are unemployed in this country and we have many problems that we need to take care of. host: 80 trickles into haiti. there is safe -- aid to trickle into 80. tennessee, democrats line, good morning. caller: i would like to preface my comments about our long-term commitment in haiti by making a couple points. one is that i am not a democrat, republican, or independent. all this with this in these images for the first time since 9/11, we are united in a sense of how horrible this tragedy is. where we are today in haiti, they have had a long history of the world coming in with emergencies it and leaving. i have a friend who is patient and she spoke about president preval and between the time reserved his last term and ran for election this term, he actually stayed in the country rather than going to paris or miami to live in luxury life. he was actively involved in trying to bring economic investment and opportunity to the haitian people. before this earthquake hit, eight he was probably positioned politically for the first time -- haiti was probably positioned politically for the first time in history when crime was way down and they had politicians that were not in it for themselves. as for is the future, this tragedy, to me, for the first time as putting haiti of the world stage and exposing it for the country that it is. they are 80% roman catholic, a 60% are protestant. it is not a shadowy, dark, voodoo-practicing country in our hemisphere. out of all this tragedy and rubble, i hope there can come an opportunity to do rebuild haiti re-forest the mounds and create economic opportunity for these people. as i observed -- and by of -- as i have read articles about the airports being clogged and it being the only way for a large amount of materials -- i am surprised no one has suggested to the pentagon or whoever is in charge that they quickly study the berlin airlift and organize the planes coming in and a bloating. -- and unloaded. ing. if anybody from the government is listening, you need to look at the berlin airlift so you can get the supplies of the plan, get the plans of the ground, and get more planes it. we helped 3 million people with the berlin airlift. we did it with great success we did with great honor to this country and there's no reason why we cannot do it now. as sad as this tragedy is, perhaps we can set aside our political differences and look at how each of us are human beings and american citizens are expressing our american ideals to the world to show our compassion. host: thank you. "the new york times" says tons of food is already in the country but some of the unrest in the capital city, a gunshot can be heard. -- gunshots can be heard. jaqnel is a port city. most of the world's attention has been focused on port-au- prince. there has also been a disaster of the southern coast. they have smashed buildings and extent of casualties. stranded residents are in the port city. they suffered widespread damage and that it has been cut off from port-au-prince to the north. they have been forgotten. four days after the earthquake, they are awaiting food, water, medical supplies, and relief workers. we're joined from wisconsin rapids, wisconsin. caller: as far as things go with haiti, many times things like the airlift and trucks are delayed not by our relief efforts. it is an internal politics they. ing. haiti is like the early days with afghanistan and iraq. i think will have a pronounced and long-term economic, political, and military presence in haiti because of the fact we want to go ahead and develop the country economically for future customers. and strategically for our own defense in that part of the hemisphere. i think our president will see the opportunity to open these markets strategically, financially, politically and this terrible tragedy is airport in the door. -- is our foot in the door. i think we will be in there for the long term. host: thank you for the call. more reported from "the new york post." dennis set up roadblocks in port-au-prince. -- deng's are setting up roadblocks in port-au-prince -- gangs are setting up roadblocks in port-au-prince. caller: i am a veteran and i think one of the biggest things we have to remember is the united states coast guard has been down there forever in and around haiti and cuba and miami and a guarantee you, there were the first ones on the scene. we need to make sure we support the u.s. coast guard and make sure that we give them all our support in this relief effort with haiti. that is all i have to say. host: next is a caller from new york city, on the democrats warn. polish their commitment be in haiti? caller: i think we owe a commitment to haiti. people do not realize that as it did -- that our trade policy has kept 80 impoverished. they were very valuable producers of sugar and rice. we subsidized our sugar in order to get it cheaper per it is costing us more money to subsidize our sugar then we could have imported it from haiti. or from cuba for that matter. we are responsible for their impoverishment. we survived an earthquake of similar magnitude in san francisco. we survived it with a little over 100 people dying as a result. thousands of people have died in haiti because it is their infrastructure. their infrastructure forced them to build in places that should not have been billed and the houses were not strong enough to survive. where possible responsible for their tragedy. that is what we owe them so much. we have to examine our trade policy all over the world. it is one thing to have opened trade but it is another thing to destroy the economy of a country where we can compete with them. we subsidize our own. host: if you have just joined us or are listening on xm radio, our topic is on the situation in haiti and whether or not there'll be a long-term u.s. commitment. the secretary of state travel there yesterday and we heard from two former presidents of the rose garden. we'll show you more from what president barack obama had to say. "the new york daily news" said we can let this prices be forgotten. and -- we cannot let this crisis be forgotten. more from the president yesterday at the white house -- >> every day that goes by, you hear more about the horrifying scope of this catastrophe. destruction and suffering that defies comprehension. we have communities buried under mountains of concrete, families sitting in the street, desperate for care. many thousands of our dead parrot our longer-term effort will not be measured in days. and days it will be measured in months and even years. that is what it is so important to sustain the support of the american people that is why it is so important to have a part of coordination for the support that extends beyond our government. here at home, president bush and clinton will help the american people to do their part. responding to a disaster must be workable bus. indeed, those wrenching scenes of devastation remind us of our common humanity but also are common responsibilities. this tunnel suffering can and must be a time of compassion. host: this is from "the weekly standard." the president's response to the patient earthquake has been short-minded and swift. he sees the opportunity as a moment that calls up for american leadership and has acted accordingly. we support this president without reservation. the moral case is self-evident. our hemisphere's poorest people have been visited with a disaster of epic proportions. we are in the position to offer them the greatest help but the strategic case is also compelling. haiti is our very near the paper with which we have a long cultural and political connection with a transition looming in cuba and central america, there is a political reason for them to be a strong neighbor. host caller: i am a first-time caller. in response to the first couple of calls, i have been much more encouraged by the calls that have been coming in since i have been on hold. i am glad to hear a more level headed approach and look at this issue long-term. it is inevitable. to say we will be there for the long term is not to say what will happen. i don't think we will just drop food and water and get out of there. to look at some long-term plans will prevent us from the kind of involvement that we do not want. we need to say how we will be involved in building. how will be involved in government assistance, not from our government but the government of haiti in building or rebuilding that government. to my friends on the far right, i understand a lot of christian values that come out of the right and the far right and christian values in this country have always taught us that when we are in trouble, you do not clench your fist tighter because you are hurting, you always open up. even if you have a slice of bread, we have learned to go ahead and share even if it is only a potato. share with your neighbor because that opens up a spirit of resilience. to those on the far left who see conspiracy and devilment and everything that everything do, i think neither one of those extreme views is the power to move forward. i don't think that is a spirit that will keep us going, even when we -- i think our financial crisis is not over here. i think people left to deal with harder times will learn something. we can learn something from the resilience of the people in haiti. host: the chinese commit $1 million to haiti and we commit $100 million which we borrowed from chinese. in haiti, which before the earthquake was suffering from the impact of floods and poverty, u.s. assistance has been hampered by decades of argument about who should lead the country. the clinton administration sought to restore and jean- claude are steep. -- aristide. this could be politically tricky despite the promising of unity from republicans. rush limbaugh offered an example of the vitriolic politics that often accompanied debates on his show this past week. he accused obama of using the haiti crisis to burnish his credentials with minorities in the country and around the world and confused rout -- and accused republicans of having no compassion. robert gibbs called his, it's stupid. we are joined from stephen city, va.. caller: everybody wants a time line and would not even begun to help people get riyrt. it is like borrowing the neighbor -- neighbors a shovel. how long will he have that? we need to help them first and we will decide when we can pull out not now. you are just loading the buses. why wait for these questions to be answered. it is unbelievable. [no audio] our sunday roundtable will get under way in a few minutes. obama tries to rescue the massachusetts senate seat in a bid to save the race with more of the coakely -- martha coakley. next is angelo, from the orleans, the democrats' line. caller: thank-you for cspan. being a survivor of katrina, being in new orleans for eight days, i've never seen the red cross provide donated $10 to the red cross. in hope they would do a better job down there than they did during katrina. on a long-term thing -- we have three hospitals here that still have fences around them and our clothes that have not been reopened. it is five years after katrina. if you want to have a long-term commitment and actually do something, why don't we finish rebuilding orleans? in the short term, everyone is right, there are people dying and they need help now. heavy machinery, what ever it takes, helicopters, immediate response is very important. they have been standing in water for 26 hours of watching helicopters fly over backward over me. you realize what these people are going through. you do not want anybody to live through that. as for as long term, let's not worry about long-term now. let's worry about getting there and get them as much help, food, water. i was offered $20 for a gallon of water the second day in katrina and people turned me d