Host welcome to washington journal. If you happen to have one or many past here or present, we are interested in hearing from you about your political hero, if you have one. Heres how you can call in this morning. You can also tell us your thoughts on your political hero on twitter this morning, or our facebook page. You can also send us an email. It was in the light of mayor cuomo, that cbs posted quotes from many leaders. The new York Attorney general said this got us thinking about this idea of political heroes, and if you have one. Again, you can let us know who your political hero is. It can be a political a present day hero, or from the past. All we would ask is that you take the line that best represents you. If you would, please turn on your television when youre on the air, and tell us why that person is a political hero. To give you a little bit of background this was released by gallup. They look at problems in 2014, look at concerns about the top political problem. In the top category was government, politicians, and congress. That was followed by the economy in general, unemployment and jobs, and healthcare. But, politicians and the government taking the top concerns for the poll from 2014. Again, when it comes to political heroes, that is our topic this morning. Tricia, good morning. Caller good morning. My political hero would be Abraham Lincoln. He was a Strong Enough moral character to know what was right, and he was going to do what he knew to be right in his heart. I feel that is missing a lot in our political leaders today. They say they know what is right, but in washington they are persuaded by the different factions. They go along party lines, regardless of i do not agree with it. They do not stand up for what they believe to be right themselves. I believe if we had more leaders politically, in general, more leaders in our society who stood up for what they believe to be right, we would be in a better place. Host you are in company because our first comment on twitter said Abraham Lincoln. When did you get attracted to Abraham Lincoln as a leader . Caller live in indiana, our general area illinois, kentucky it is the area that we live in. I am fascinated by the fact that he lost his mother at an early age, he was still educated, his life is fascinating. Host Abraham Lincoln is first up. Thomas from new jersey, go ahead. Caller i first want to say, i really enjoyed all the c span programming. The two political years i have i would like to extend my sentiment to Abraham Lincoln as well. Visible fact that he was a great man, and honest man, hero. He pushed for the 13th and 14th amendments to the constitution. My second hero would be Ronald Reagan. He held in the cold war, as well as get our economy on track. Host were you always a reagan fan . We influenced were you influenced by your parents . Caller i go on walks with my neighbor, and he is a proud conservative. I also did my own research, and i was drawn to his ideas and optimism for the country. At the same time, the understanding that we need to in the soviet union, and communism. Host joe is up next. Caller good morning. Is my political hero. Host why so . Caller Bernie Sanders talks to the real issues of the United States. Host what does he do that you agree with . Caller evening out the Playing Field on the taxes tthe 1 pay so little, and the rest so much. Host when did he come to your attention . Caller i have been following him all my life. He is probably the only person who carries the name as a socialist, but runs as an independent. My ticket would be Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren. Host weve heard from three people now. You can identify from one of the previously mentioned heroes, or mention one of your own. Next up is david from pennsylvania, aa conservative. Caller my hero is definitely Ronald Reagan. He was elected why was 21 years old, in college. He was a real inspiration. He inspired people like myself to work hard if you work hard, you will become successful, and be rewarded. He also inspired the country, and the world. He was anti communist. You have to give them credit for bringing down the berlin wall. Host irving from georgia. Caller thinks to c span. Without a doubt, my hero is the late great Martin Luther king jr. To give you a brief example in april 1968, i was nine years old. Two years prior to that, when i was in second grade when we speak of National Negro history week, this man was not even in the history books. Now, heres revolutionize world history. You can see in contemporary with the election of present barack obama finally, if Hillary Clinton declares her candidacy for present, it will be a landslide. Host that was irving from georgia talking about late reverend Martin Luther king in the pages of the New York Times this morning, thoughts from politics and policy interviews were done with tom harkin, republicans from georgia, rep. Waxman. It goes on to quote a couple of them. Starting with mr. Waxman. Again, you can read more from the New York Times. Dont forget, next tuesday, the return of the 114th congress. You will hear from freshman representatives. All part of a five hour package starting on tuesday. Calling in from kansas city, missouri. Caller howre you doing today. My name is pastor david liles. I want to say my political hero is james carburn. He did a lot for the people of South Carolina. I think he is a great political hero. Host calling in from texas, carlos. Caller my political heroes are Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and george bush. Host why reagan . Caller he was a very principled man that really advanced the christian social agenda. I really appreciate his service. Host lets try the next caller. Caller my hero is any of the political leaders that have stood up for the people instead of the money. Stood for the people when they needed them the most, instead of the system of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. As a liberal, i would say that i believe in the Second Amendment the right to bear arms. I believe in a lot of things that a lot of americans believe, regardless of the political party. I think the people must wake up, and not be divided by the powers that be, and make a change in our country. Host you mention ally characteristics at the beginning, who captures that for you . Caller i would say we have a few. I would go back to john f. Kennedy. He had his flaws, made many mistakes, but have the heart of the people in his mind. I would go to the present day today, and say barack obama, hhe has the heart of the people in his mind. That is the type of person that we need. We need someone responsible, who understands what the people are going through. Lets talk about the Affordable Care act. If bush were in, many more people would have lost their homes. Lets think about we have a present day cares about the people, cares about the needs of the people, who is making decisions now for the future. We know the history of the present of the United States today 20 years from now we can look back and see what he did, made a great difference. Host the next caller from texas. Caller happy new year. George bush is my political hero, as well as abe lincoln, and Martin Luther king. They all believe in peoples freedom and rights. They were not cowards and giving it to them, they were not trying to take it away like obama. I dont believe in obama. And the people who support obama, they do not believe in what Martin Luther king was for. Host did you stick with bush during the iraq war . Caller yes. Host another one for bush. In texas, a different bush sworn in as a land commissioner. Chuck from florida, your next. Were talking about political heroes, who is yours . Caller good morning, america. I would like everybody to think back to the 1992 election, and how precious ross perot was. He was pooh poohed by everybody when you think of the free trade agreement. Were living right now and exactly what he said would happen. He is my hero. The American People just werent smart enough to catch on. I think ross perot wouldve been one of the best president s that we wouldve had in this country. Host what made you think he was bright on his thoughts on trade . Caller it was obvious. He was for america. He wanted america to build have its own economy, and an economy that works for jobs, manufacturing, all the things that we need. He could see that the direction of the free trade agreements that were going on would make america basically a third world country lower us to the standards of the rest of the world, we would all pay for it by jobs, income. He was trying to tell us that, we do not listen. Host jerry is up next. Caller hello. My hero is one ive learned about when i was in College Milton friedman. Primarily, it was about the inflation. Host what was your First Experience with Milton Friedman . Caller and economics professor pointed out his work. I was trying to figure out what the problem was behind inflation. Later in life, when the collapse of soviet union, key he wrote an editorial for the New York Times on his work, series on capitalism, and freedom. He has really been key to the United States. Host isnt someone who currently captures his ideas . Caller it has really exploded. He thoroughly brings about a number of other people. He definitely influenced reagan, thatcher led to a lot of Economic Reforms that we see around the world today. China, russia. He brought freedom to a lot of people. Host your political hero, that is what we want to hear about. The Las Vegas Review journal has its front page article on harry reid. Again, next tuesday, you can watch it on c span, a five hour program on the 114 congress. Lawrence is up next. Caller my favorite is the first bush. I cannot find anyone who served both the public and private sectors. And quite frankly, if you look at the morals, ethics, and values that he brought to Office People have always spoken highly of him even across ethnic lines. The bush family was well respected by hispanics in texas. When you look at history he was one of those Common People who ascended to a great position. Host what you think about the first gulf war . Caller that is a great question. I think if anyone wanted to see excellence in leadership, that is an example where he pulled in his Political Capital from all the different positions that he held in government. Here line the world he aligned the world. Host richard from texas. Caller mine is truman and kennedy. Truman because of the decision they had to make on the atomic bombs in world war ii he saved a lot of american lives. Host truman is one, kennedy is another. John f. Kennedy . Caller yeah. He came out of a depression. Under eisenhower, i was working in construction all commercial construction shut down. If you wanted to work, you had to go to north dakota. He turned that all around when he came in. He did a very good job of bringing the economy back. Host lets hear from harold from wisconsin. Caller one person stole my thunder by saying harry truman. Being independent though, i have two that is eisenhower, but truman especially. I was at war in north korea, and he ended all that with atomic bomb. I really believe the eisenhower did a terrific job, especially interstate. Host why the highway system . Caller its so convenient. We used to drive to florida now we drive to florida in two days. It made a big difference in my life. I was in the air force when truman was present at than eisenhower came in, it was a great time to live. Reflecting, it is a good subject i wish you would have on the worst president s i would say obama. Host we will put on a list of topics to consider. That was harold from wisconsin. On the front page of the Washington Post a picture of the mayor of the district of columbia. The lead story of the Washington Post takes a look at the recent elections, republican wins, and how that will play out in the state. That is the Washington Post from this morning. Your political hero, we are interested in hearing from you in the next 20 or so minutes. It could be someone from the past, someone from the present. Economists have been mentioned, politicians have been mentioned. Whatever line best represents you, please call in. A couple of thoughts on twitter this morning one person saying it was andrew jackson. And then, john smith saying doctor ben carson is their political hero. Jackson from tennessee, go ahead. Caller thank you. My tv is turned down. Racism thats not what is going on in america. I live in a brutal rules, small town. I want to tell you about what is going on in america. Host before you do that, tell me who is your political hero. Caller let me tell you what is going on. Bill clinton was a good person. He sold us to china. He sold us to china i dont care what anybody says. Go back to all your corporations they want some free money. Host larry from louisiana. The political heroes is the topic today. Caller mine would be Thomas Jefferson. He was against Big Government. More recently, Ronald Reagan. United america, instead of trying to divide it. And actually put in place he gave us some growth in this country that we havent seen after the last recession. I think we could use another Ronald Reagan to realign this country back to the constitution. Host when did you know the Thomas Jefferson was a hero of yours . Caller i started reading on him about two years ago. All live the things that he wrote down governing a large area with one central government, it wasnt gonna work. He stated it in many papers that i have read. And many of his quotes make a lot of sense. Host do you have a favorite writing of his . Tammy, next up. Caller good morning. Sir, i just want to say, i have been discriminated against over the years. A lot has to do with bad choices that i had done. Meaning i do not finish school. I had no education. My background i am poor i come from a poor family. It started with my children. I couldnt support them. I was struggling. I couldnt get a loan, can i get i couldnt get a good job. I raise my children the best i could. I was working as a cocktail waitress, and an entertainer. Host were talking about political heroes, tammy. Is anyone able to as a hero as far as who you are . Caller since 2014, i noticed that i was getting assisted. It has been a fight. It is obama, and Hillary Clinton. Host thank you. Rick from new york. Caller my hero is Ronald Reagan. Number one, he rebuilt the military. It has been stripped down under obama. He had the greatest economy. Not coincidentally with tax cuts that he enacted in the early 80s. By the way, it seems to work every time that tax cuts are implemented in the u. S. He is my political hero. Host is that some of the best captures reagan for you in the modern day . Caller let me see. Potentially, it might be too soon to tell it looks like a new generation of republican leaders. Marco rubio and had crews are certainly in his aim. Theres potential there. Caller lets hear from tom. Caller definitely thomas paine. He got us started as a country. There were others, but he captured the spirit of the revolution, and wrote about it in common sense. His work in rights of man that was very instrumental in getting rid of the divine right of kings in france and across europe. And also, bringing some rationalism to theeuropean scene. His rights of man spread from france all the way to the Russian Revolution to get rid of the aristocratic class. Host how we lead to thomas paine . Caller just general reading. I was rather shocked by some of these other comments about heroes. Thomas jefferson was a slaver. His relationship with Sally Hemmings can only be described as rape. Andrew jackson, he inherited a lot of money. At one time, he had three slave plantations. How can this person be a hero . And reagan and bush ppeople are forgetting that reagan funded contra terrorists the white house recommends that they were terrorist, iran contra. Host calling from idaho, hello. Caller mind would be john f kennedy. Host why so . Caller mainly because i was a vietnam that. If they had not assassinate kennedy, i would of have a lot of friends to walking the earth today. Host lets try neil from alabama. Caller my political hero would be the rarest form of politician. My favorite quote from him is talking about the budget. Host maybe some people the audience would not know who he is. He has a building named after him here in d. C. For those who do not know, who is he. Caller he was a senator from wisconsin. I was a kid when i saw him speak. Like i said, he was the rarest of commodities. He was straightforward, told you exactly what he thought. He didnt really care if he was elected or not. Host that was neil. Even though the present is finishing up his vacation, the white house putting out statements on new sanctions against north korea. This is from the white house if you go to the white house website, you can read those documents in relation to the white house on north korea. Done under executive order, imposing additional sanctions with respect to north korea. Pam is next up from washington. We are