They said if israel was going to invade gaza, they would have done so already. After israel killed hamas military commander in airstrike three israeli civilians have been killed and 70 wounded missile strikes that reached as far as tel aviv, 50 miles from gazas northern border. But israels iron dome Defense System has knocked down hundreds of palestinian missiles, limiting casualties and damage. They have launched 1300 airstrikes against targets in gaza. 106 palestinians have been killed in the fighting. Hospital Officials Say half of those killed were civilians. However, israeli Officials Say they believe the majority of those killed were militants for hamas or one of the associated palestinian terror groups. In bangkok thailand, president obama said sunday the u. S. While working to deescalate the situation and end the fighting would stand behind its ally. Were fully supportive of israels right to defend itself from missiles landing on peoples homes, workplaces and potentially killing civilians. And well continue to support israelis right to support itself. Eliot a poll said that 57 support israels israel. Egypt is serving as an intermediary in the ongoing talks vicinitys president told reporters if the situation was further escalateed this comean dire consequences, and we could not accept that, and the free world could not accept that. William hague seemed to agree. A Ground Invasion is much more difficult for the International Community to support. For more for the efforts to broker peace im joined by james traub and by Joe Cirincione president of the Global Security foundation and author of bomb scare the history and future of nuclear weapons. Why now . Why is this simmer conflict simmering conflict happening. There is an election coming up in israel. The cynical interpretation would be netanyahu has decided to have this censuscreating war. Now is that true . I dont know. The underlying israel point of view is that its the time to show hamas that this is unacceptable. The underlying question is given the occurrence of this event what happened four years ago looks almost identical to what is happening now. And it will happen again in four years no matter what the underlying cause. It will happen again. Eliot israel controlling the west bank and hamas controlling gaza. Eliot hamas will not agree to any peace deal unless its forced upon them between israel on the west bank. You heard what james just said. There have been ongoing attacks for more eternity it seems. The trigger is now in dispute. But when you want to put together a ceasefire what are the pieces to that puzzle . What is hamas demanding and what is israel demanding and what could last 24 hours or also for a year or so to create a breathing room to negotiate a real settlement. First of all im on the International Security advisory board, my views are my own. I dont speak for them in any way. Eliot absolutely. Its not clear of the final solution but what is clear is this is working in hamas favor. Theyre being elevated in status by this attack. When you look at the ongoing negotiations in had cairo with the turks and egyptians and other regional states trying to broker a ceasefire agreement. Its hamas setting up the dinner table. Its not israel authorities. Whatever its defensive rationale, and i support israels right to defend itself, its radicalizing the posturing. You see the arab world start to unite around hamas this is not good for u. S. Policy in the region. Eliot we have this mundane but nets question who is winning, and win something hard to define but joe you gave one interpretation, who is being elevated, who is gaining negotiating leverage in the long run. Do you agree that hamas is gaining ground in this . Yes, but they gain ground in the weirdest way. Hamas does not succeed by causing more pain to israel. Its the opposite. It succeed by forcing israel to behave in such a way that hundreds of civilians or dozens of civilians are killed. Hamas is not inflicting damage on israel as you pointed out in your statement. The iron dome Defense System has largely spared israel from harm. Israel succeed by harming hamas. Israel fails by harming hamas because they get credited for killing so many civilians. Hamas almost wantsthis may be why theyre goading israel. You said, youre not serious about this. You want a piece of me, come and get me. This is a go to them because they have learned from the policy experiences of the last 20 years. Every time israel launches these military strikes whether its on lebanon or gaza, the israeli intent is to coerce the opposition to collapse into compliance but the result is the opposition gets stronger. James, you were mentioning eight years ago we ask this, and the intent was to crush a hamas. You saw the Ground Invasion, an extended occupation, and they leave hamas as strong as ever. When this happened is four years ago you could say we were close in 200708 to peace negotiations. Nobody thinks that now. There is no sense now that there is any momentum at all towards an underlying solution to this problem. Eliot were going to get to that if we have time. The large macrosettlement has fallen off the map apparently over the past two years. James, you address the domestic is really politics. Is there a domestic gaza politics . Is this a way that hamas wants this and they need to show that theyre the more powerful, more potent within the middle east and islamic world. They were about to go to the United Nations and make a plea, a grandstand play to have palestinian recognized as a side. The u. S. Opposes it. Israel opposes it. Its likely to fail. But hamas now completely overwhelms any benefit they would get from this. Israel is undermining the most serious secular negotiator weve ever had on the arab side and radicalizing the west bank, radicalizing gaza, making it more likely youll see stronger islamist tendencies within the palestinian movement. Making it much more difficult to negotiate eliot let me say this if i can. The consequences of this combat is that hamas will be elevateed. West bank will be made secondary and abbass will become less important and less potent negotiator for the palestinians. Might even collapse. You might see the Palestinian Authority just disappear. So lets talk about this. A few weeks ago abbas made an extraordinary statement that was intended as an olive branch to israel. He said when speaking to an israeli office, he said, im from this town in northern israel. Thats where he was forced to flee in 48. He said, i want to visit my home but i know ill never live there. That was a coded sentence. It was meant to mean that i accept that the right of return, which is a big arguing point in terms of what are called final status negotiation, its not going to happen. Were not going to return. A few of us will return. He was assailed at home for what didnt happen is it was not embraced at all in israel. The president of israel said this is extraordinary Netanyahu Netanyahu eliot i for one could never understand what his game plan was. I want to switch gears and understand what role egypt is playing in this. How do you understand what Mohammed Morsi is doing. Is he trying to thread a more sophisticated needle and maintain egypt somewhat in the role of intermediary. Absolutely. And hes trying to show off his domestic base. They are threatening him so he doesnt want to see this radicalization. There is enormous anger in egypt what is going on in gaza, you hes trying to preserve his base, preserve his relationship with egypt, assert his new role in the region. Thats why he sent his Prime Minister to gaza. Youre seeing more foreign dignitaryies visit gaza than has in the last four years. Eliot is there anything that he could really do . Its really striking that obama has taken the tone he has. Before you pointed out that the british have said dont have a Ground Invasion. Obama has not said that. The french work with qatar, which is notobama has been completely in their corner. Why. He is not running for office. He doesnt need the jewish vote. He needs to build up credibility with israel as he understands now that he didnt in the first term if he is going to work with them on iran, or, i assume hes workingthinking about reconstituting the Peace Process. I think you thats absolutely right. Very insightful. Is hamas proxy for iran. No, its operating on its own and its getting more support. Four years ago its support came from syria and iran. Now it has turkey, qatar its less dependent on iran than it ever has been. Eliot unfortunately i think well have this conversation over and over and over again. James traub and joe many thanks tonight. Well go up the big top for the circus that is the modern gop with sam seder coming up on viewpoint. To me now . You know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials . Those types are coming on to me all the time now. vo she gets the comedians laughing and the thinkers thinking. Ok, so theres wiggle room in the ten commandments, thats what youre saying. You would rather deal with ahmadinejad than me. Absolutely. And so would mitt romney. vo shes joy behar. And the best part is that current will let me say anything. What the hell were they thinking . These talking points, that the right have, about the heavy hand of government. I want to have that conversation. Lets talk about it. Really . Youre going to lay people off because now the government is going to help you fund your healthcare. Really . I want to have those conversations, not to be confrontational, but to understand what the other side is saying, and id like to arm our viewers with the ability to argue with their conservative uncle joe over the dinner table. Eliot another disaster for which wall street was not prepared which brings us to the number of the day. Unknown. Thats the value of stocks and bearer bonds that the wall street banks may have lost when the vault holding the documents got flooded. They were stored at the deposit trucks and Clearing Corporation a Company Controlled by the biggest financial houses on wall street. They had just one job. Just one. Keep the stocks and bonds safe, secure and dry. But the underground vaults failed the test for waterproofing when the Lower Manhattan flooded last month. Now contractors are trying to salvage the paper by freezedrying it. How many assets are at risk . Estimates go as high as 70 billion. When it comes to losing money wall street has no end of games to play. And why do i get the feeling that if somebody should have to foot the bill, is very big bill, taxpayers will be getting the call to open their wallets yet again. Mix. Now its your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. Join the debate now. Eliot post november 6th, the Republican Party seems desperate to find a theme, an argument, almost a reason for being. Each of the potential leaders of the party has rejected mitt romneys postelection rationalizations. This was senator Lindsey Graham reacting to romneys comments. Were in a big hole. Were not getting out of it by comments like that. When youre in a hole stop digging. He keeps digging. Were in a death spiral with hispanic voters because of the rhetoric around immigration and candidate romney and the primary dug the whole deeper. Eliot it is fun watching him dig, i must say. Now joining us now sam seder. Youre not crying crocodile tears just to make it clear whose side youre on. No, im not crying crocodile tears. Its funny the day after the election i was on this program and i said the same thing. Theyre in a death spiral in terms eliot let me disfree with you. A death spiral sounds like there is something final and inevitable. I would remind you in 08 the euphoria of obamas original election parties rejuvenate. Thats why you see them spending so much time on ben gas did i. There is nothing left that isnt toxic in terms of what inspires their electoral base. They cant talk about taxation. They cant talk about the 47 . They cant talk about immigration. They cant talk about abortion rights and women having sovereignty over their own body, so they talk about bengahzi as if this is watergate. Eliot i agree with you and ill be doing a segment on the idiocy of their rants. Grover norquist is in the dog house. Jan brewer on immigration theyre saying no, that did not turn out so well. Were going in a different direction. But isnt stage one of their reforming themselves to actually embrace those issues that permit them to focus on those issues. Let me make that concrete. Theyll embrace Immigration Reform and say yes lets take that off the table. Now lets talk taxes only. Is that a strategy . I think its a strategy, and i hope that we get real Immigration Reform. Its possible in context of the establishment in washington. You know this, too the money has always been on the side of Immigration Reform. Because corporations want these guest workers. They want to exploit the visiting workers and whatnot and if it means that they have to give up some path to citizenship theyll do it. But the problem is theyve created analect an electoral base that is motivated by their issues with brown people, gay people, by their issues of cultural i i implications of women having control over their bodies . Eliot i agree. The issue for the Republican Party is that those issues that motivated them, as you said, were the social issues which lost the election for them. They are no longer the demographics of the electorate, and no longer permit them to get to 50 . Either popular vote for electoral college. They peel them off one by one. As they lose them they have no argument to make other than what john boehner sees left to make on taxes. Thats what he wants to do. Im not persuaded that that isnt a losing strategy or epidemic their only possible strategy. When the Republican Party comes around in four years three years well see them singing their old songs again but i hope youre right. I hope boehner starts to attack what you perceive as their strength. It will force the democrats to stand up for more traditional what we associate with the Democratic Party, which is were going to protector things like Social Security, medicare and well go further with more progressive taxation and expand Social Security because frankly it makes sense to do so at this point. Cenk the argument that paul krugman, who i come back to frequently because he has been about the only economist who has been right at every stage from precataclysm through now wait a minute weynes was right. Hes basically saying the social safety net is what we need to build a middle class and create the assumption and create jobs. We can create medicare and the government can provide less money for seniors. In the end it comes out of their kids pockets. Youre basically allowing for a tremendous amount of income inequality to continue in this country, and hopefully this will push the democrats to the left. If the republicans at least nominally shed some of these more social issues. Eliot ii love krugmans column twinkies being the age of stronger unions and this era that weve been talking about the definition of success actually was the progressive era era. Yes, of course, i think he refers to it as the great compression. You have much less income inequality. All of our Social Security shortfall to the extent that they really exist is a function of income inequality because were capturing less in the nations income through wage tax. Thats just one example. Eliot of course youre right. I want to switch gears. Youve been passionate about the socalled grand bargain. It is contrary to the principles of the Democratic Party. I agree with you, and i have a different take. If there is a grand bargain of some sort and we take 4 trilliondollar off the deficit in the next ten years then what . Suddenly were going to get through this. What then becomes the argument . How does this administration say we have the larger crisis which is stagnant median income. Are you saying that we would cut the deficit by 4 trilliondollar. Eliot this is what they would say. Its going to sink our economy. Over a tenyear period. I dont think if they do that over a ten year period theyll push it out. What do you do about median family income. Which is in the long term is the corrosive piece of social degradation. You need to build a stronger infrastructure of programs like Social Security. If you lower retirement age by two or three years youre going to help with jobs, free up extra cash for younger people who are taking care of their parents. There are all sorts of different opportunities for the administration. But i dont know that theyll take it. I dont think they will. But i want to focus. Time is up, unfortunately. You said lower the retirement age. Youre saying people could retire earlier, create Job Vacancies that could be taken by the younger under 30. We have millions unemployed. Your chances of being hired at this stage of the economy is incredibly low. The burden is now on their kids to support them. Were clogging up the system, and were bankly creating people who are falling through the net. Eliot host of ring of fire sam seder thank you for your time as always. If you think a feature without twinkies is bleak, its now off and then on again of the countrys favorite cream filled treat. Eliot coming up, jeffrey toubbin on the Supreme Court. But first the country continues to approach the fiscal cliff, and the middle east becomes increasingly unstable and Climate Change is all but unmentioned. What is everybody talking about . Twin keys. This is what everyone is talking about. The headachers of twinkies dingdongs and ohio houghs are going out of business. The most fascinating person of 2012 is the twinkie. Tell them about the twinkie. Really seriously youre not talking abou