democrats worry, biden is blowing it. the president s decline is alarming. the progress against covid-19 is a major factor. one backer saying he s being hurt by the democratic deadlock over new spending. most people don t know what s in the bills. can you do a better job at messaging? you all could do a better job of selling it. that s not the media s job. he could be out after one term. michael gerskin calling a donald trump victory in 2024 the likely outcome. thank you very much. mr. president. but there s little chance to question the president. despite the gloom and doom forecast, biden remains a low provile media presence, granting no interviews and talking infrequently to reporters. that might have worked in the honeymoon period, now that the relationship turned rocky, he s not driving the news agenda.
building to building to determine where and who may be held at any given time, so this is going to be going on for some hours at least apparently as the situation, according to the state department, remains extremely fluid, andrea. jim, thank you very much. we ll be following your reports throughout the day. and can president obama and republicans agree on anything m next four years? virginia s governor bob mcdonnell just back from that house republican retreat in williamsburg, joins us next. former bush speechwriter michael gerskin who crafted both of president bush s inaugural addresses. [ female announceru really getting salon quality. or settling for wannabes? stop compromising! new vidal sassoon pro series. care and styling from the original salon genius, created to let you have it all at an affordable price. new vidal sassoon lets you say no to compromise and yes to very shiny. very silky. very sexy.
shows a little bit of guts, i think. michael, you haven t changed over the years. let s talk about the bush inaugurals and what you learned. how did it feel sitting up there? i was sitting near when you you talked at the time, and hearing the words that you had helped craft with president bush s message. what does that mean to a speechwriter and to a colleague working on such a big speech? well, i remember talking to you on the west front of the capitol in 2004, and i can just remember total blind fear that day because, you know, you look back, as i did, when i worked on inaugurals with the president, and read all of the past inaugural speeches, and it is just extraordinarily intimidating to even imagine yourself a very small part of that long story. and to try to contribute some way. it s just very intimidating. that s mainly what i remember. now, we had hope and change. we had calls for bipartisanship.
snoo as i said, it s just harder. you don t have the benefit of being new. there s a lot of preexisting conflicts. things had gone on for four years. in this case he didn t even get a honeymoon after his election. they jumped immediately into a divisive fiscal debate. normally that s a period where you detox american politics. our politics is more toxic than ever. there are only 16 people many american history that have gotten this second chance. there aren t too many memorable ones, except the most memorable one, which is lincoln s second inaugural. you know, what you want to do is call attention to, you know, this is a speech that speaks to all americans. not just to your constituency. call attention to the values that can unite us and move us forward. there s not too much more you can do in that context. michael, thank you very much. speaking of the values that unite us, this week as we remember the life and legacy of the reverend martin luther king
inaugural in 1985. the ceremony was held indoors because it was only 7 degrees outside. a lot colder, tom, the wind chill. 17 below we were told. well, we were hoping for warmer weather on monday. ronald reagan s first inaugural was bitterly cold. jane pauly and i were on the today show in those days, and that was the jimmy carter inauguration, and we were outside looking like third story men. we had stocking hats pulled down and big down jackets. actually, the reagan first was a balmy 55 because we were not even wearing coats. i remember being on the parade route with willard scott. when we look towards the inaugural, this is a second inaugural. not as much emotion as the first. coming after such a divisive campaign, what is the challenge for president obama to try to inspire the nation? i think i was listening to michael, who is a wonderful speechwriter, and i think he had it just about right. i would say that it has to be a mix of poetry, big ideas, where