from changing regulations particularly telecom? >> not particularly. primarily because the steps that the president announced are steps that are well within his executive authority as president of the united states. and he's directed the agencies responsible for implementing the regulations to make the changes needed to reflect what the president believes is a more effective strategy for dealing with cuba. lou: this, of course, is the same president who ran on a platform of reining in executive power while blasting president bush's reliance on executive action to implement his agenda. here is then-senator barack obama. >> i taught constitutional law for ten years, i take the constitution very seriously. the biggest problem that we're facing right now has to do with george bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through congress at all. and that's what i intend to reverse when i'm president of the united states of america. lou: it would appear to be yet another misrepresentation. it's the subject of tonight's commentary as well, and tonight our guests include former u.s. ambassador to the united nations and former governor of new mexico bill richardson. here with us in moments. the fbi still silent on north korea's ties to the massive hacking campaign that targeted sony pictures. but hollywood's liberal elite are outraged now that the studio would bow to cyberterrorist demands to pull the controversial new movie "the interview." homeland security secretary jeh johnson claims the white house is weighing an appropriate response, despite the fact they aren't trod identify who that response would target? >> this attack is a serious attack. we're not at this point ready to identify who we believe is responsible, but the u.s. government is taking this attack very seriously, it is an attack on a company, an attack on its employees, and frankly it's an attack on the freedoms we enjoy in this country. we're reviewing a range of options for how we will respond to this attack. lou: not yet ready to identify absolutely who originated the attack. and today on wall street, another huge rally. the dow jones industrials up more than 400 points on the day, and up more than 700 points over the last two sessions. a two-day paper gain of more than a trillion dollars. we're taking all of this up here tonight. our first guest traveled to cuba in 2011, trying to free alan gross, but admits mistakes were made during the negotiations. at time he accused the cubans of not playing straight. joining us former u.s. ambassador to the united nations and governor of the great state of new mexico, bill richardson, also former secretary of the department of energy. we appreciate you being up so late. let's start with your thoughts about the unilateral efforts by this president to normalize relations with cuba? >> well, lou, i think it makes sense. this policy of the trade embargo, cold war relic wasn't working. i believe the president made the correct decision. i believe he's gotten something in return beside alan gross. i think having diplomatic relations will enable us to talk to the cubans about a bunch of issues where they need to make improvements like human rights, democracy, freedom of the press, private sector freedoms, internet freedom. but the policy just wasn't working, lou, and i think the president was thinking of his legacy, too. but before anything happened, you had to get the release of alan gross. as you mentioned, i tried to get him out four years ago. the cubans wanted the five spies that they had in u.s. prisons, and the u.s. wasn't trod do that. so this time, i believe it's a proportional and a good deal. lou: and a lot of critics of this deal, as you know, ambassador, they're saying we simply did not get enough, that the president is a poor negotiator. but i think whatever estimation you have of his abilities as a negotiator has changed the dialogue instantly with unilateral action. i'm personally more disturbed by his unilateralism and gaining momentum, unilateralism as seemingly an autocrat in the highest office of our land. are you disturbed by that unilateralism? >> lou, i think the president's looking at his legacy. he's got two years to go. he figures that an immigration reform deal doesn't look very good. talk about continued shutdown in government. hopefully there's a trade deal, a fair trade and free trade deal with asia and possibly europe. so i think in the foreign policy arena he's looking at ways that through executive action where he has more freedom. he's taking these steps. look, i personally would like to see more contact with the congress, but the reality is on this cuba issue, the president's not going to be able to do much on the trade embargo because the congress basically controls the decisions on the trade embargo by a decision made years ago, the helms burton act which basically said after the downing of those planes by fidel castro, that the executive branch could not make those unilateral decisions and president clinton signed the law. so you know, congress, those that are very concerned about the normalization are getting something too by keeping the trade embargo in their own hands. >> i want to turn, if i may, ambassador, to north korea, a country that few understand, better than any other american and find that important historical role and release of hostages and reserving what little relationship there is between the two countries. it is the judgment of the federal government, u.s. government, that north korea is the guilty party in attacking sony, carrying out cyberattacks against this country. is a military response appropriate, and how should we respond, if not? >> well, there should be a proportional response. i keep coming back to that word. what they did was very serious, what you don't want to happen is a cyberattack on the u.s. government or intelligence agencies or the pentagon. so there should be a response, i suspect that sanctions will be on the table, some kind of biting sanctions like banking sanctions, derivitive sanctions, because we've got economic sanctions all across the board on technology, military equipment, agriculture. but there has to be a response. i was surprised that north korea had that capability. i was there with the chairman of google two years ago, and they barely seemed to understand the internet. they barely seemed to have viable computer force, but they sure fooled everybody. if they are the conclusive perpetrator, then there has to be a response. lou: governor, we thank you very much for being with us, ambassador, i could go through your list of titles bill richardson for minutes here. i'll just say ambassador richardson, great to see you again, thank you for joining us. >> you can call me bill, lou, good to be on your show. lou: thank you so much. ambassador bill richardson. on wall street today, a huge day. stocks surging for a second straight session. the dow posting the best day's performance in three years jumping 421 points, the s&p up 48 points, the nasdaq gained 104. volume on the big board heavy trading, 4.7 billion shares. the wilshire 5,000 measuring today's paper gains at 550 billion, a whopping 1.2 trillion over the past two days. we're coming right back. putin meets the russian press and claims the west wants the russian bear chained up. maybe we do. general bob scales with us next. ♪ they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ho, ho, ho, ho] lease the 2014 cla 250 for $329 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. but a lot of us leave our identities unprotected. nearly half a million cars were stolen in 2012, but for every car stolen, 34 people had their identities stolen. identity thieves can steal your money, damage your credit, and wreak havoc on your life. why risk it when you can help protect yourself from identity theft with one call to lifelock, the leader in identity-theft protection? lifelock actively patrols your sensitive, personal information every second of every day, helping to guard your social security number, your bank accounts and credit, even the equity in your home -- your valuable personal assets. look. your bank may alert you to suspicious activity on your credit or debit card. but that still may leave you vulnerable to big losses if a thief opens new accounts in your name or decides to drain your savings, home equity, or retirement accounts. and your credit report may only tell you after your identity's been compromised. but lifelock is proactive protection and watches out for you in ways that banks and credit-card companies alone just can't, giving you the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. whenever the patented lifelock identity alert system detects a threat to your identity, you'll be notified by phone, text, or e-mail, helping you to stop identity thieves before they do damage. you even get a $1 million service guarantee. that's right. if your identity is ever compromised, lifelock will spend up to $1 million on experts to help restore it. you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. don't leave your money, credit, and good name unprotected. call now, and try lifelock risk-free for 60 days. act now, and get this document shredder free. that's a $29 value. ♪ or go to lifelock.com/go. try lifelock risk-free for 60 days and get this document shredder free -- a $29 value -- when you use promo code go. call now. . lou: u.s. officials reporting some success in the fight against the islamic state. recent airstrikes killing three key islamic state figures, a deputy to leader abu bakr al baghdadi, the governor of mosul as well, the general in charge of our forces fighting the islamic state is cautioning now the operation will take years. >> i think we've made significant progress, and in halting that offensive that i talked about, i think what we must do, especially inside of iraq is continued to build the capabilities. i think you're at least talking a minimum of three years. lou: more than a thousand more u.s. troops expected to be deployed to iraq in the coming week, that would up the number to nearly 3,000 in country. russian president vladimir putin claiming he will fix his country's economic crisis within two years, while blaming the west for trying to tame the russian bear. >> maybe the bear should just sit still and not chase pigs and piglets across the forest. but just sit and eat honey and berries, and then they will leave him in peace. they will never leave him in peace. they will always try to put him in a cage, and once they manage to get him in a cage, they'll yank out his claws and fangs. lou: joining us now, retired major general robert scales, former commandant of the u.s. army war college, fox news military analyst. say what you want about vladimir putin, the man is colorful in his language. what do you think? >> first all, be clear about the russian military, i love this take out the claws and taking out the teeth shtick. but the bottom line is the russian military in the ukraine and crimea has hit the stops. this is a 1970s military, with 1960s technology. they've got about 40,000 real effective that they've used in eastern ukraine and the idea that the united states of all people are somehow going to declaw the bear is ridiculous because the bear is really more like a cub when it comes to viable military capabilities, lou. lou: well, and what about the eagle, if we will, then. this eagle isn't flying right now, and it seems to be hooded and perched on the arm of a man who, well frankly, isn't much interested in anything in terms of confronting our enemies, a strategy, a destiny. i don't know what to make of anything the man is doing, but our military will be stripped again. it's astounding to think about it, we're looking at another 1$100 billion less in spending for our military as a result of sequestration. we can't continue this. >> true, but -- absolutely true. but the other side of it is conflict is essentially a test of will. it's a psychological battle between two contending powers. and right now, in spite of his military impotence, putin really owns the psychological high ground, doesn't he? he's the one that has the passion and the will and a strategic plan to take on the west. this administration is simply setting back and letting any number of bad actors in the world from north korea to cuba to russia to run amok in the world when we remain the world's greatest super power, seems so incredulous to me, lou. lou: incredulous, yet we're $18 trillion in debt. our aircraft for the air force, for all of our branches, talking 30, 40 years of age, fighting forces have been deployed around the globe, particularly to the middle east, over 30 years. i mean we are behaving like fools squandering our resources, our treasure, and unfortunately, many young lives, our soldiers, our troops, and at some point, we've got to come to a sensible judgment what is a balance here. on one hand, we want to open negotiations with cuba. we want to embrace china. we are not in anyway, in any way any more than passive as a nation that's seemingly incapable of preserving either its interest or those of its allies. >> right, if you talk to our young soldiers and senior leaders, they'll tell you the same thing. we have all this power. spent the last 12 years in iraq and afghanistan frittering away power and other nations are running amok, what soldiers understand better than anyone else is not everybody in the world is a good guy. there is evil in the world, and sometimes words are not enough to make your point, and if you can't back up your words with power. remember power consists of two things, a capability and a will to use that power. if the rest of the world views us as not having the will to use the power, then by all estimates we truly are a military force without a whole lot of compelling power in the world, lou. lou: our government looks like damn fools today, they were supposed to name the origin of those cyberattacks on sony pictures. there was supposed to be, one would assume, a response. had been the view of our military two years ago when they said there would be a proportion at response, an act of war. we have been attacked, we rolled over. >> right. lou: and frankly this looks like hell, for the president, for the government, and for this country. >> what's so interesting about north korea is 1.1 million men in uniform, and the military is older than the russian military. they have to attack us are asymmetrically. they come to us in the political domain, they hack south korea, they -- and they have this very, very vibrant cyberwarfare branch in pyongyang that employees over 1300 computer specialists. this is a country that doesn't have an internal -- lou: why don't we do this? go kidnap their cyberwarfare experts because we don't have those capable of responding proportionately or otherwise. we look impotent. we look feeble. we look silly. >> we do. and as someone said to me today that kim jong il and all his cronies are setting around in pyongyang toasting each other because this has been a great week for north korea. lou: a great week, and how many of these bad weeks, how many more of the bad weeks for america under this president can we stand? >> you know, it's a fire sale for autocratic states. they have two years to seize the territory, to overrun other nations, to hack into the western world, to build their military and gain their power, their status in the world, because in 2016, all of this is going to change. but right now it's free reign across the world. we have the world's most powerful military basically sitting back and watch this transpiring, lou. lou: general bob scales, thanks. >> thank you, lou. lou: we asked whether you believe this president is more of an autocrat than a democrat. 96% of you said yes. vote in our poll tonight, the question would a military strike against north korea be an appropriate response to cyberattacks against this country? cast your vote at loudobbs.com. we'd like to hear from you. up next, president obama's imperiast rule in stark contrast to bush bashing campaigns, remember those and litany of promises to, well, to reduce the imperial presidency to something more appropriate. more american. more constrained. do you remember that? we do. and we'll quote the president and show you his own words, next. you owned your car for four years. you named it brad. you loved brad. and then you totaled him. you two had been through everything together. two boyfriends. three jobs. you're like "nothing can replace brad!" then liberty mutual calls. and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. thanks. ♪ [ male announcer ] fedex® has solutions to able global commerce that can help your company grow steadily and quickly. great job. (mandarin) ♪ cut it out. >>see you tomorrow. ♪ feet...tiptoeing. better things than the pain, stiffness, and joint damage of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. before you and your rheumatologist decide on a biologic, ask if xeljanz is right for you. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz can relieve ra symptoms, and help stop further joint damage. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz and routinely check certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. one pill, twice daily, xeljanz can reduce ra pain and help stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. ask about xeljanz. even without methotrexate. as nations develop over the next here's a 25 years,for you: the world will have almost twice as many cars. how much fuel will be needed to power them? about the same as today? 50% more? 100% more? the answer is... about the same as today. by 2040, advances in fuels and vehicles could enable about 75% better fuel economy than today. take the energy quiz -- round 2. energy lives here. . lou: breaking news now, the department of homeland security review of the secret service accusing the agency of being insular and in need of a new director, a director from outside the scandal plagued agency. the panel was made up of two former obama and two former bush staffers, and it's the second highly critical report on the secret service since a man jumped the white house fence and made it inside the white house in september. the president today signing an executive order authorizing the creation of a task force on 21st century policing. to further the left wing assault on our law enforcement officers and agencies, this council will focus on policing practicing that can promote effective crime production while building public trust. that is a mouthful. now a shift in the president's use of executive power. mr. obama, by any test or measurement has been a failure as president. he lacks the power of communication, the power of persuasion, the capacity and temperament to build national consensus on it seems any issue. mr. obama energetically attacked president bush as a unilateralist and mr. obama always played the part of a wise multilateralist, when then-senator barack obama was running for office he declared he would not abuse his power like president bush. >> these last few years, we've seen an unacceptable abuse of power at home. we face real threats, any president needs the latitude to confront them swiftly and surely. we paid a heavy price for having a president whose priority is expanding his own power. the constitution is treated like a nuisance. lou: he could have hardly better described himself, a narcissistic petullant president punished his policy is repudiated and vengeance unleashed, a president whose unilateralism is anything far beyond imagined by previous presidents. no one, no government able to keep him in check. amnesty for illegal immigrants and reverse posture by the united states toward communist cuba. all amount to blatant disregard for the constitution, the congress, the laws they've created, and our national traditions. he is now lashing out at the american people who elected and re-elected him, and whom he now accuses of harboring deeply rooted racism and bias. his is a sad performance ahead of the curtain that is now coming down on his time as president. there is much less outrage than one might reasonably have expected toward a president who thinks so little of those he was elected to serve. perhaps because we now expect so very little of him. now our quotation of the evening. this from general george patton. we're coming right back. president obama's illegal immigrant amnesty executive fiat losing its first test in federal court. so what is the republican plan? we take it up with one of the country's leading experts on immigration. here next. no question about that. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. . lou: homeland security secretary jeh johnson today claimed the president does have the executive authority to carry out his amnesty plan. >> in my judgment and in the judgment of our office of legal counsel we have the legal authority to fix our broken immigration system in a variety of ways, including deferred action. lou: that despite a federal judge's ruling this week that finds mr. obama's policy goes as he put it beyond prosecutorial discretion authority exceeding the scorch executive authority, and joining us tonight, ali noorani, and great to have you here. >> thanks for having me, lou. lou: here we are, a president has signed, well, i guess he didn't sign, sent out a memorandum on conferring amnesty, de facto to five million illegal immigrants, and the last i looked, we're looking at a backlog of legal immigrants of 7 million people at cis. this is not something he's going to be able to do, i would say for sometime to come. >> expedite the process for those who are already in line. yes, u.s. citizenship and immigration services are going have to staff up, but the way they do that is by the fees and fines that individuals have to pay before the deportation, it is an organizational challenge, but at the end of the day, it is a lot better to bring the dollars into the system, make taxpayers out of the people instead of continuing to pay billions of dollars. lou: i'm not getting into the ideology or the practicality or impracticality. another government agency overwhelmed, add five million illegal immigrants and i don't think the republicans are going to be nearly as concerned as a lot of people might think they are. >> right. lou: now another problem, what are the republicans going to do with the new congress and the new senate? your thoughts? >> i think the republicans have an incredible opportunity in 2015. they can actually pass legislation that is conservative and pragmatic, that secures our borders, moves our economy forward and republicans get credit for. the only person that's winning in the broken immigration system is the unscrupulous employers, middle-class americans are frankly getting screwed, because that unscrupulous employer is exploiting the undocumented immigrant. this is a great opportunity for republicans to take credit for fixing the system. >> i wonder if they will be persuaded by you, but i give you credit for trying, and this is not just amnesty for illegal immigrants. it's amnesty for all of those employers who have broken the law by hiring illegal immigrants. >> i think senator rubio put it the best over the last couple of years, status quo is amnesty, let's fix the status quo. that is the opportunity the republicans have. lou: now you know senator rubio has run like the dickens away from the states. >> he puts together great policy. lou: or at least policy statements, when he was, before he wasn't in support of the g8 senatorial bill. >> voters whether republicans or democrats want elected officials to get something done. that's the frustration of the congress, and the frustration of the administration. lou: and the republicans in the house have tell you they've done, it moved four bills out of judiciary committee, they're incremental. they're critics, activists on the left call it piecemeal, e-verify, providing for greater security and a pathway for legalization if not citizenship. why in the world won't the leadership of the republican party take that up? i support it fully. >> that's what john boehner is do in 2015. a new leadership team. he will have a new larger majority to work with in the house, so let's get the four bills moving again in january and february and let's have speaker boehner and team run the process and go over to the senate. no reason they can't do it other than their own decisions. lou: it's anything to be interesting to see how it plays out. i'm sure you persuaded them to make an effort. ali noorani, executive director of the national immigration forum. speaking of speaker boehner slamming president obama for amnesty for illegal immigrants, this time in the form of -- you got to love this -- a holiday poum. >> reform is needed from home in ohio to capitol hill, but not by executive order, but instead by a bill. american people have spoken, they expect real solutions, more freedom and less washington that's defined by the constitution. for now we celebrate god's gift us to, glory and light, so happy christmas to all and to all a good night. lou: what did you think of that? are you persuaded now? >> i think speaker boehner should hold onto his day job and not become a poet. he can pass bills. lou: and it's all in the spirit of christmas. >> absolutely. lou: thank you very much for being with us. new e-mails provide evidence the internal reserve service did not act alone in targeting conservative political action groups. how far does this scandal reach in the obama administration? here next. stay with us. ♪ (holiday music is playing) hey! i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today. . lou: irs commissioner john koskinen warned that budget cuts could delay taxpayer refunds and affect enforcement. budget cuts not the only thing plaguing the agency, the watchdog refusing to share records with taxpayer information with the white house, joining us is tax attorney for wood llp and forbes contributor robert wood. good to have you with us. let's start with the koskinen statement that they're not going to be able to do their job and get people money back to them because of budget cuts, anything to that? >> certainly something to it. i think it's an unfortunate confluence of events, it's understandable that congress wanted to strike back at the irs. i think over a lot of these incidents that were plagued with. i'm not sure budget cuts is the right way to do it. but i understand the mentality wanting to restrict rather than expand the budget, and as i think commissioner koskinen, though i certainly disagree with him on a lot of things, i think he's right to say that there will be delays and there will be a lack of enforcement, fewer audits, many taxpayers are happy about. lou: i don't think that's going to upset anybody. but the reality here, it seems to me is no one believes koskinen. ironically, this is a man that brought a clean image at the head of a rancid agency management, top management team, and the only result has been for greater, greater credibility gaps. he's misspoken, i'm going to be kind, he's misspoken about lois lerner's e-mails, misspoken about e-mails being lost. i mean, there's no credibility. he has no credence whatsoever. >> it is too bad. i mean i -- i have to say that i think in retrospect, he hasn't proven to be the wisest choice. i think the tax community, i'm a practicing tax lawyer for the last 35 years, certainly the tax community looked a little bit askance because he was not a known quantity. he is someone who doesn't have at least prior to coming to the irs, didn't have any tax experience, and certainly you're right that he was brought in as a turnaround specialist to try to fix the irs and make it more transparent, and that really hasn't proven to be true at all. >> and your latest column, you point out, that the irs involved with the justice department for crying out loud. how can this be tolerated? >> yeah, i think, i think for someone like i may not appear this way in the column as you were mentioning, but i'm actually a big fan of the irs, they have an enormously difficult job to do. lou: if i were a tax attorney, i might lean that way myself. >> yeah, and i have to say that the job of the irs isn't easy, the tax code is enormously complex, way more than it should be. lou: let me assure you, i'm no way impugning the agency itself or the people the hard working men and women of the irs, i'm impugning, telling you there are skunks in too many places in posts in that agency including a number of acting commissioners? >> yeah, it is very sad, and i think more than anything else, i think that our system demands that we get to the bottom of this. i think it's very clear that the justice department is not doing its job with respect to the irs and is the wrong agency to look into the irs. lou: actually protecting the agency. >> indeed. and i think, i don't want to sort of sugar coat the targeting of any group. we all know political winds change, we all know administrations change. lou: it's impossible to do, there's no way the irs should have been involved in what it was involved in, that's just bald face front and center, the reality here. i apologize, we're really out of time here. we take note of your good feelings toward the internal reserve service, we understand them and applaud the critical judgment you bring to the agency's failings when they are revealed. thank you so much. >> thank you. lou: robert wood. another sign that jeb bush may want to run for president. former florida governor stepping down from his paid advising position at barclay's. of course, i was told you shouldn't quit a job before have you another. up next, president obama yesterday unilaterally trying to open up cuba to america, and today his spokesman didn't deny opening up the white house to raul castro. that's next. hard it can be...how ...to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled... ...copd maintenance treatment... ...that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells,... you can get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. sfx: blowing sound. does breathing with copd... ...weigh you down? don't wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. lou: president obama's unilateral action to try to normalize diplomatic relationships in cuba met with strong skepticism and praise as well from members of both republican and democratic parties. joining me now, representatives of each. former republican congressional spokesperson campaign consultant karen. karen, good to have you with us. fox news analyst doug. it's also good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> let me begin with you can be karen. we have a president who will normalize relations with cuba. he waited for a republican senate and house until they had left washington, dc, and he then put out the news. (?) any coincidence there? >> there's no point even trying to analyze why this president does what he does and when he does what he does. it's a -- lou: then i withdraw the question. >> well, let's just the look at just this year alone. nine months ago, this president was in favor of isolation. he told president vladimir putin, look, he threatened him with economic and political isolation for rolling his tanks into the ukraine and now nine months later -- lou: don't forget about crimea which he annexed. >> now isolation doesn't work in cuba. that's a reasonable argument we could have. it's not an argument president obama wants to have. lou: you're the one saying we shouldn't analyze him. you're looking for intellectual consistency and trying to remove contradictions. >> there is none. >> doug, let's turn to the issue of, what will he do with putin? what is this president has said or else, but he hasn't said what he demands of putin in terms of crimea. he hasn't said what he wants in terms of ukraine. >> well, he's said, obama, that putin must pull out of crimea. putin said in his state of the union that he will never leave crimea. we have not given -- lou: this is an impasse. >> we've not given the criminalliancriminallians aide. lou: we use that expression it's an entirely accurate expression, lethal aid. it's so clinical. we haven't given the tools with which to defend their nation and people. >> that is true. let me make a personal point. there are thousands of ukrainians who have put their lives on the line. sadly, many have lost them. about 4,000. they don't even have bulletproof vests or body armor. we said we'll give you ready to eat meals. that's all. that's a tragedy. lou: this president, will he be meet the with people decrying working with cuba. unilateralism i hate it, but it's probably right to make this adjustment. is there going to be an effort to roll it back in the republicans seem to have a penchant for not doing much, but passing ineffective legislation, and i guess, the possibilities they would do the same again. >> well, i hope that they actually take this as an opportunity to fix the mess that president obama has made with cuba. i think there's a reasonable argument to be made of lifting of sanctions, but there has to be something to back it up. republicans have an opportunity. look, they just passed sanctions against the political elite in venezuela denying them visas and also putting in a resolution that they just passed, that the president will sign, that will put money into voice of america so that we can get, you know, free and accurate information into venezuela. we need to do the same in cuba. we need to insist that any sort of trade agreement that we have with cuba includes internet access to people, media access to people. lou: i have to be honest with you. the reality is -- >> you don't think republicans will do it. lou: i really don't. that's a matter of opinion. >> there's no excuse for them not to do it. lou: i know these sanctions don't work. we're driving russia toward the potential of more extreme conduct. it is a nuclear power. we are right now opening relations, the president is trying to with cuba without a quid pro quo. venezuela, we're talking about more sanctions. this is madness. this country didn't get here by putting sanctions out. it got here by extending itself to regions and creating relationships. >> not all sanctions are bad. lou: i didn't say they're bad. they just don't work. >> some can be effective. some short-term ones can be effective. >> south africa is one. lou: oh, come on. it did not. the sanctions of the world. >> that's where sanctions worked. a clear answer to a clear question. lou: clear answer to a question i'll reform. name one instance in which united states sanctions have worked. >> i am less clear. lou: excellent. karen, the reality here too is that we have jeb bush who says we will be a baff zero president. and hillary clint who said she will be the same. they're both so coy and cute, i can't stand them personally. we have a clinton and a bush are the natural magical result of a political process that yields them as the most attractive candidates for the highest office in the land? >> because the media likes the story. because fox likes the story. cnn. nbc likes the story. look, republicans aren't clamoring for another bush and hillary showdown. i love fox news and i love you, lou, but if it wasn't for talk news or radio, i don't think jeb bush, his name wouldn't be on the lips of, you know, republicans right now. because that is not what i think the republican voters are looking for. lou: karen, thanks so much. great to see you. all the best. time now for your comments. larue: when the oath of office doesn't mean anything, god help us. linda wrote on my facebook page: makes me feel warm and cozy this holiday season that the president keeppedz releasing spies and terrorists back into society. barry: if the g.o.p. nominates chris, most people will stay home. what's the difference between these guys and moderate democrats? now our wrap up. the sign of our times. troubled times. army lieutenant general james terry, the commander to fight the islamic state today urged everyone to start calling the islamic state by the acronym dash. he said the use of the word dash is an insult to the enemy. you know, that's sort of interesting. if we could be an interesting. but i have to tell you, i don't blindly trust generals anymore or this white house. these are the same folks who can't bring themselves to call out the taliban, to say the word taliban, to call our global war on terror what it really is, a war against radical islamists. and now i'm supposed to believe that the pentagon wants us to call the islamic state daash because that's offensive to the enemy. general, it's the islamic state here on this broadcast. it's the taliban. their terrorists. their radical islamists. when you start calling our enemies by their name and concentrate instead on language and killing on them, my guess you'll be on the path to actually winning. neil: so we're kowtowing to these guys. it's not over. welcome. i'm neil cavuto. hackers take note. don't yell fire. threaten the theater. you have corporate america running for the exits. it's not so much sony caved on this stupid movie, but the stupid reason they did. hackers who have our number and i'm sure are having a few good laughs. bill, the joke is on us. they have our number. >> they do. they know how to get to us. they can do it to the government or the bigger commercial sector. they know how to get to

Related Keywords

Pyongyang , P Yongyang Si , North Korea , Afghanistan , China , Florida , United States , New Mexico , Russia , Washington , District Of Columbia , Ukraine , Iraq , Hollywood , California , Ohio , Cuba , South Korea , Venezuela , South Africa , Americans , America , Cubans , Ukrainians , Russian , American , Cuban , George Bush , Vladimir Putin , Jeb Bush , Neil Cavuto , Lois Lerner , John Koskinen , Lou Dobbs , Raul Castro , Barack Obama , Hillary Clint , Jeh Johnson , George Patton , John Boehner , James Terry , Ali Noorani , Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi , Fidel Castro ,