syndicated columnist mark shields and new york times columnist david brooks. david, how do you read the politics of the copenhagen climate change summit. >> first thing, i was struck by how tough obama was, he got there, there was an insument from the chinese. he gave an 8 minute speech calling out the chinese for really not having integrity, not being trustworthy. not wanting to verify. so i was truck by the tough continues. which he has not shown, now at the end of the day as we heard already i guess they didn't get too much. i'm a long-term pessimism about this issue. i think it is very unlikely that any country is going to make, or at least the u.s. and china will make real economic sacrifices for this sort of long-term problem. so i remain and have been vifernd kated today in this pessimism. >> lehrer: are you a pessimist too? >> i am a short term pessimist. i mean until the crisis and people start choking and suffocating in the streets. >> lehrer: people don't feel there a crisis. >> i think there is less and less of a sense in this country of urgency an

. >> lehrer: and mark shields and david brooks analyze the week's news. that's coming, on tonight's pbs newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: monsanto. producing more. conserving more. improving farmers' lives. that's sustainable agriculture. more at producemoreconservemore.com. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. intel. supporting coverage of innovation and the economy. and by toyota. and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> lehrer: the u.s. house today approved the most sweeping overhaul of financial regulation since the great depression. and pay limits were extended deeper into executive ranks at companies the government rescued. newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman begins our coverage. >> holman:

health care spending goes -- continues david brooks, "is already zooming past 17% of our gross domestic product to 22% and beyond." then it's going to be hard to explain to the 9 million people that the congressional budget office letter said would lose their employer insurance under this bill why that will happen. of course, it will happen because under the bill as a whole, as employers look at the mandates and the costs, many will decide not to offer health insurance and so those employees will find themselves either in medicaid, the program for low-income americans into which 15 million americans are going, a program which 50% of doctors won't see new medicaid patients. it's like giving you a ticket to a bus when the bus only runs half the time. that's where many of these americans will go. or they'll go into the individual market and the individual market will have higher premiums. now, the other side says, ah, but there will be subsidies for some of you. but the premiums are going to be higher. the health care costs are going to be higher. the majority doesn't want to explain why t

health care spending goes -- continues david brooks, "is already zooming past 17% of our gross domestic product to 22% and beyond." then it's going to be hard to explain to the 9 million people that the congressional budget office letter said would lose their employer insurance under this bill why that will happen. of course, it will happen because under the bill as a whole, as employers look at the mandates and the costs, many will decide not to offer health insurance and so those employees will find themselves either in medicaid, the program for low-income americans into which 15 million americans are going, a program which 50% of doctors won't see new medicaid patients. it's like giving you a ticket to a bus when the bus only runs half the time. that's where many of these americans will go. or they'll go into the individual market and the individual market will have higher premiums. now, the other side says, ah, but there will be subsidies for some of you. but the premiums are going to be higher. the health care costs are going to be higher. the majority doesn't want to explain why t

. >> mark ields and david brooks look fward on health care and back on thdecade. warner: efforts to reform washington, d.c.'s public schools. then tells us wh's ahead. >> we have been totall disrespected. have been treated like we don't matter. >> reporter: that's all coming on tonight's "pbs newshour." major funding r the pbs newshour is provided b monsan. producing more conserving more. improving farmers' les. that sustainable agriculture. more at producoreconservemore.com. >> chevron. is is the power of hum ergy. d by toyota. and the lliam and flora wlett foundation, working to solve social and eironmental proble at home and around the world. d with the ongoing support o these institutio and fodations. and... this programas made possible the corporation for public badcasting. and by contribions to your pbs ation from viewers like you. thank yo >> brown: this chrisas day with all the chrisas festivits and observances but it was also marked by quesons about the pope's secury and by misery in the american midwe. >> we need help. >> we needome help! >> bro: for man

we'll see you on-line, and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: when someone you count on is not responsive, bad things could happen. grant thornton. monsanto. producing more. er

we'll seyou online, and again here tomorrow evening th mark shields d david brooks, among others. have a happy christmas eve thank u and good night. major funding for the pbs newsur has been provided by: >> this is thengine that connects abundangrain from the american heartland tharan's best selling whole wheat, ile keeping 60 billion pnds of carbon outf the atmosphere every year. bnsf, the engine tt connects us. monsanto producing re. conserng more. improving farmers'ives. that's sustainable agricultu. more at prodemoreconservemore.com. >> what makes us an engine f the ecomy? plants across amera. nearly 200,000 jobs created. we s beyond cars. >> cheon. this is the wer of human energy. inte supporting covere of innovation and the economy >> and by the ll and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea th all people deser the chance to live a healthy productive fe. and with the ongoingupport of these stitutions and fodations. and... this proam was made possible by the corporation for puic broadcasting. and contributions to your pbs stion from viewers like you. thk you. captioni

meanwhile, david brooks of "the new york times" has reported that when he had a meeting last spring with president obama's senior adviser, david off the iraq, mr. axelrod was conspicuously carrying a copy of edmund burke's reflections on the revolution in france. sam tanenhaus has taken it further. in the death of conservatism, he distinguishes between what he calls burkey and realists, the good guys in his formulation, committed he says to flexible adjustments, to changing conditions are and knows he excoriates as revanchists. ideologues seeking a destructive counterrevolution. according to him, the american conservative movement is dominated by extremist revanchists who have betrayed burkeians moderation for a politics of the stabilizing into grants. and houses book has been criticized by conservative reviewers as a contentious miss reading of american conservatism. what cannon house wants, they charge, is a passive, defeatist accommodationist conservatism that politely adjusts in the name of burke to a political and social order created and controlled by the american left. and arrange

. >> lehrer: we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. i'm jim lehrer. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> this is the engine that connects abundant grain from the american heartland to haran's best selling whole wheat, while keeping 60 billion pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> what makes us an engine for the economy? plants across america. nearly 200,000 jobs created. we see beyond cars. >> chevron. this is the power of human energy. intel. supporting coverage of innovation and the economy. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access

brooks in "the new york times" column yesterday call a huge -- create a huge tax, $1.42 trillion in the second decade of its operation to help pay for this, which the director of the congressional budget office has said would inevitably be passed along to consumers and cause premium costs to go up, not down, and which would expand medicaid, the other large government program that we already have for low-income americans, sending a bill of $25 billion to the states that has been roundly denounced by almost every governor in the country, democrat and republican, because at a time when the states are strulg ling, more than they have since the great depression with their budgets, when they can't print money, when they have to balance their budgets, we're expanding health care and sending them a huge bill to help pay for it, which inevitably will raise taxes, raise college tuitions, and in my state, the governor's considering releasing up to 4,000 nonviolent offenders from the prisons as a result of some of the pressures that are on him. so that's what we do know about the bill but we do

we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> what the world needs now is energy. the energy to get the economy humming again. the energy to tackle challenges like climate change. what is that energy came from an energy company? everyday, chevron invests $62 million in people, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, building. fueling growth around the world to move us all ahead. this is the power of human energy. chevron. >> what makes us an engine for the economy? plants across america. nearly 200,000 jobs created. we see beyond cars. intel. supporting coverage of innovation and the economy. >> and by bnsf railway. and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you

brooks, among others i'm jim lehrer. thank you and od night. major funding fothe pbs newshour is ovided by: >>his is the engine that connects abundant grain om the american hrtland to haran's best selling whole wheat, whe keeping 60 billion pounds carbon out of thatmosphere every ar. bnsf, the enne that connects . >> what makes an engine for theconomy? plants aoss america. near 200,000 jobs created. we see beyond cars. >> cheon. this is the wer of human energy intel. supporting coverage innovationnd the economy. >> and bthe bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea thatll people deservehe chance to live healthy productive life. and with the ongoing sport of these initutions and foundation and... this program was me possible by theorporation for public badcasting. d by contributions to your p station from viers like you. thank you. captioning snsored by macneil/hrer productions captioned by media access group awgbh access.wgbh.org

health care spending goes -- continues david brooks, "is already zooming past 17% of our gross domestic product to 22% and beyond." then it's going to be hard to explain to the 9 million people that the congressional budget office letter said would lose their employer insurance under this bill why that will happen. of course, it will happen because under the bill as a whole, as employers look at the mandates and the costs, many will decide not to offer health insurance and so those employees will find themselves either in medicaid, the program for low-income americans into which 15 million americans are going, a program which 50% of doctors won't see new medicaid patients. it's like giving you a ticket to a bus when the bus only runs half the time. that's where many of these americans will go. or they'll go into the individual market and the individual market will have higher premiums. now, the other side says, ah, but there will be subsidies for long-term insurance act, a new entitlement, which sounds wonderful, but the democratic chairman of the budget committee described it as a ponz

here's what david brooks of "the new york times" said in his analysis of the bill when he gave the reason for it and the reasons against it this week. and came to the conclusion that if you were a senator he would vote against it. the second reason to oppose this bill, said mr. brooks, according to the chief actuary from medicare, it will cause national health care spending to increase faster. that's right, mr. president. we're going to raise taxes, cut medicare, send a big bill to the state, all for what? quote, according to the chief actuary for medicare, it will cause national health care spending to increase faster. so if you're paying x. for premiums, you're going to be paying more as a result of this bill. health care spending, continue stainbrook, is zooming past 85 percent of our gross domestic product to 22% beyond. then it's going to be hard to explain to the 9 million people that the congressional budget office letter said would lose their employer insurance under this bill, while that will have. of course it will happen because under the bill as a whole, as employers look at t

i wanted to ask consent to introduce in the record a column by david brooks in "the new york times" on december 18. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: most of us, we're pretty split up here, 60 there, 40 here, this bill anyway, but mr. pwraorbgs who's -- but mr. brooks writes a column on the radio. he said he had a hard time making a decision about whether to vote for the bill or against it if he were a senator. he came to know -- and i think it's interesting to see his reasons. he gave -- the presiding officer: the minority time has expired. mr. alexander: i thank the president and i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: madam president, you just heard our republican friends say that it's very hard to defend our bill. now maybe it's hard for them, but it's not hard for the american medical association, the a.m.a., who have endorsed our bill. it's not hard for the american heart association who have endorsed our bill. it's not hard for the american cancer society action network, who have endors

host: david on the line for republicans out of chester brook. go ahead. caller: thank you. i think president obama is creating some kind of high expectation from people because of his capacity to speak well. and his i had yomatic expressions are quite impressive, and he's bringing high expectations to those who bought this for him. so high expectations under the muslim world, and i don't think to which match his actions, and this can create a situation, because some stations are very high. and it tomas seems that he is more inspired than things on pace with cooperation with everyone. and i think in the short run, he will win, obviously a lot of issues. but in the long run, i think it will maybe boomer rang against him. and i wish him if best. he is my president. but i think that we will see the result definitely until 2010. and i am predicting that it will be one -- he will be a one-term president. host: specifically, david, what should his priorities be in 2010? >> his president would be to find a realistic way to work with the republicans and great and for him to surnt hi

henry david thoreau, the famous poet from massachusetts, once wrote, "if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet his success unexpected in common hours." during world war ii, ed brooke answered the call of this nation. he served with distinction. he had the duty of defending a young black soldiers who were subjected to the rank mistreatment of segregationed. brooke became a soldiers are lawyers and those experiences shaped and inspired him to the call of public service. the commonwealth of massachusetts and the entire nation has benefited from his service. he has shown bravery, commitment, and wisdom in his whole life. we honor him today for that lifetime of achievement the country are appreciated. by ending decades of exclusion, some of the highest levels of our government, he helped reignite a spirit of hope that had dimmed after the civil war. president lincoln once said, "as our case is new, we must think and act anew." ed brooke is a dedicated servant who proved that america can act anew. congratu

henry david thoreau, the famous poet from massachusetts, once wrote, "if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet his success unexpected in common hours." during world war ii, ed brooke answered the call of this nation. he served with distinction. he had the duty of defending a young black soldiers who were subjected to the rank mistreatment of segregationed. brooke became a soldiers are lawyers and those experiences shaped and inspired him to the call of public service. the commonwealth of massachusetts and the entire nation has benefited from his service. he has shown bravery, commitment, and wisdom in his whole life. we honor him today for that lifetime of achievement the country are appreciated. by ending decades of exclusion, some of the highest levels of our government, he helped reignite a spirit of hope that had dimmed after the civil war. president lincoln once said, "as our case is new, we must think and act anew." ed brooke is a dedicated servant who proved that america can act anew. congratu

host: david on the line for republicans out of chester brook. go ahead. caller: thank you. i think president obama is creating some kind of high expectation from people because of his capacity to speak well. and his i had yomatic expressions are quite impressive, and he's bringing high expectations to those who bought this for him. so high expectations under the muslim world, and i don't think to which match his actions, and this can create a situation, because some stations are very high. and it tomas seems that he is more inspired than things on pace with cooperation with everyone. and i think in the short run, he will win, obviously a lot of issues. but in the long run, i think it will maybe boomer rang against him. and i wish him if best. he is my president. but i think that we will see the result definitely until 2010. and i am predicting that it will be one -- he will be a one-term president. host: specifically, david, what should his priorities be in 2010? >> his president would be to find a realistic way to work with the republicans and great and for him to surnt hi

a special jazz performance included david brew best beck's son was the highlight of the 9- year-old's birthday. >> i have had wonderful things happen, but i think this is the high point. >> reporter: the tribute to mel brooks kicked off by carl reiner who called his colleague. >> a genius brain and brilliantly unsensorrable tongue. >> a great drummer, but comedy paid more. so here i am. >> reporter: the trip down memory lane featured scenes from memorable works like "the producers." ♪ [ music ] the obamas presided over the gala for the first time, showing enthusiasm from the upper balcony. when the honors started in 1978 they would barely fill the house and the tickets were free. today it is one of the hottest tickets in town. especially with a-listers like aretha franklin. >> a voice that was a gift from god ♪ [ music ] >> today is an affirmation for all that i was striving for. & born in the usa ♪ [ music ] ♪ >> the grand finale was devoted to the boss ♪ [ music ] >> it is fantastic. i will never forget it. >> reporter: springsteen never dreamed he'd come this far. >> i wa

i am alice rivlin and it's my pleasure to be talking to david wessel about his book, "in fed we trust" been bernanke's war on the great panic which actually has a second subtitle as i read it. not every book has to subtitles, how the federal reserve became the fourth bank branch of government. it's a fascinating book. >> guest: thank you. >> host: i loved it and i think i should make that clear. at the outset you take the readers step by step through the crisis of the last couple of years from eyes of the chairman of the federal reserve ben bernanke was so the book lets you see what ben and his colleagues were thinking, would the minister, why they did what they did, the internal tension and uncertainty and how they were learning along the way. you are a very good translator federal speak by the way and i've been known to speak fed speed calvo i tried not to. [laughter] the last couple of years were a wild life at the fed and it's not necessarily over yet. i was watching closely during this period but i learned a lot from this book. there's other books about the crisis, quite a few of

he discusses his book with alice rivl and current senior fellow at the brookings and the two shin. >> host: hello. i'm alice rivl and it's my pleasure to be talking to david wessell about his book, "in fed we trust." ben bernanke's war on the great panic. it has a second subtitle as i read it. not every book has two subtitles. how the federal reserve became the fourth branch of government. it's a fascinating book i loved it and i think i should make that clear. at the outset, you take the reader step-by-step through the crisis of the last couple of years from the eyes of the chairman of the federal reserve, ben bernanke. so the book lets you see what dan and his colleagues were thinking, what they missed, why they did what they did, the internal intentions and uncertainties and how they were learning along the way. you are a very good translator of a fed speak by the way. i've been known to speak of fed speak though i always try not to air it but the last couple of years were a wild ride with the fed and it's not necessarily over yet. i was watching closely during this period, but i l

we will call to the witness table the second panel, the honorable david walker, the president and ceo of the peterson foundation, douglas told deacon, the president of dhe consultants and its former head of the congressional office, a senior fellow at the brookings institution, and the president of the committee for a responsible federal budget. thank you all for your willingness to testify here today. we very much appreciate your time if you're taking the time to do that. >> mr. chairman, i apologize for being a little late. i just want to reinforce the necessity that you have pointed out in doing this not by regular order. i do not mind giving regular order an opportunity -- i think we should -- but they have had an opportunity for years. and why the structure that we have come up with, which is essentially members of congress and the administration and a non-amendable event is a very important structure for the purposes of accomplishing our goals, and the logic behind that is very simple. you have to have the american people feel that this is an absolutely bipartisan and fair proce