Early. Morning joe starts right now. This book is 656 pages of shameless name dropping. Jim . Tanz mean Prime Minister ma zin go pin dand i do some planting at a womens cooperative in. She just happened to be hanging out with many zen go in lamb deez zi. Not impressed. There was no way on earth one woman can be in so many places at once. [ cheers and applause ] Hillary Clinton. Now whos a name dropper, stephen. Really . Name dropper, thats not what my
good friend tom hanks calls me when were hanging out at George Clooneys place. I loved george. I wish i could have joined her when i had lunch with merrill street and raphael pereira. Oh, raffy is such a cutup, especially when we go camping with oprah. Oh . Does that surprise you . No, o is what her real friends call her. I know paul mccartney. I negotiated with hamid karzai. I shared an office with steve carell. Ive held high level talks with Chinese State counselor. Well, now youre just making words up. I will have you know, madam, i once did an entire show with
president bill clinton. I hate to break this to you stephen, but ive met him, too. Good morning. Its wednesday, august 6. Good stuff. She did great. She looked great. She was funny. She should take him on in the stump if she runs. Former Communications Director for president george bsh nicolle wallace. Contributor john heilemann, Political Writer for the new york times, nicholas poff sorry. Ive said it a zillion times. Also in washington, White House Correspondent for the wall street journal carol lee. I want to thank all of you to join us this morning. A lot to talk about. Of course, the news out of afghanistan, just devastating for the military and it continues. This is the front page of the
wall street journal. Its the lead there. Also the lead story in the washington post. Its the lead story in the new york post. Everybody talking about that. Weve got that to cover and an awful lot more this morning. But this morning lets start with the pentagon investigating that attack in the military base northwest of kabul that left a two star Army Major General dead. Thats the highest ranking american killed in the iraq or afghanistan wars. In fact, youd have to go back to 1970 in vietnam to have another officer with that high of a rank killed. 55yearold Major General harold green was the second highest american serving in afghanistan. He saw the transition efforts to hand over to afghan troops. Other coalition officers were at camp tuesday when an afghan soldier opened fire, seriously injuring several before being killed by return fire. The 15 wounded they included eight americans, two british, one german and four afghans. These insider attacks as we all know have been largely on the decline as International Presence has started to wind down. In 2012 is when it was the worst here. The two attacks so far this year. To talk about it more lets bring in nbc news military analyst, retired general barry mccaffrey. First i have to ask you what are you thoughts about the tragedy in afghanistan . A huge loss, very talented officer, phd in political science, one of our real technical experts. Remember this comes on top of 22,000 plus killed and wounded in afghanistan. Theres been a pretty bloody conflict. I think the lack of transparency in reporting these insider attacks is something we ought to
be concerned about. Were only talking about the ones that result in u. S. Killed by the insider attacks. There are many more than this actually occurring. A huge chasm of trust opening up between the Afghan Security forces and the nato forces. So tell us what were not hearing. Why are these attacks being swept under the table . I think a lot of it, of course, is just an understandable feeling and a part of the isap nato headquarters. They dont want to accentuate the growing insecurity throughout the country. The reason i make a point of this, joe, looking forward, 10,000 troops spread out in small packets across the country. Our combat forces zero out, very vulnerable, not just killed and wounded but abduction. Its a policy process weve got to think really carefully about. Whats the best way forward . At the end of the day afghanistan is going to make it based on afghan people, political leadership, police and army. A robust u. S. Embassy with a lot of u. S. Marines around it, maybe holding open the airfield at bagram is what we should be doing and not thinking about an enduring presence throughout the country. This is an ethnic civil war that were unlikely to change substantially with a 10,000 person footprint. General, we were talking about the logistics of how this would work. We are working hand in hand, literally thats how our soldiers are handling this. How would it work . Would you envision our troops staying in a secure facility or embassy and troops will come in for Technical Training or for strategic training, how would the interactions work under what you envision sf. Im less clear on how it
would work than the valabilities of leaving packets of troops all over afghanistan. Right now we have Intelligence Officers throughout the country. They do pretty well. Remember theyre backed up by not just combat forces of the u. S. Army, but also medevac helicopter support, all thats going to disappear as we drop to a very small footprint. Again, i think we have to rethink that policy. We ought to find out how many of these inviteder attacks are occurring that dont result in deaths. Weve got a giant lack of trust going on at the lowest level between Afghan Police and army and nato forces. General, before we go, i need to ask you about this. Obviously afghanistan on the front pages of all the newspapers today. Over the past several weeks weve been seeing on the front pages of all the newspapers israel and gaza. Before that syria would bump in
and out. It seems to me, though, when i talk to military men and women, Foreign Policy analysts, they say the most dangerous thing happening on the globe right now is not even in the ukraine, its in iraq, its in syria, its i. S. I. S. Youve been there. You fought there. Do you agree right now that whats happening with i. S. I. S. Is something americans should be paying closer attention to . Well, its just another indication of an enormous shift. These post world war i boundaries in the middle east didnt make any sense on religious and ethnic grounds. Theres going to be a readjustment. Its going to be bloody, take ten years to sort it out. At the end of the day were more likely to see kurds and shia, if they dont trust each other, historically theyre well argued that they shouldnt. Inside iraq, for gods sake, when sunnis had control of the
country, they slaughtered hundreds of thousands. General barry mccalf free, thank you so much. We greatly appreciate you coming in. Thank you. You see the polls yesterday . Almost makes you feel bad for the president. It makes me feel bad for everybody. Its bad everywhere. The president at his lowest Approval Rating ever. Congress at its lowest Approval Rating ever. The republicans are hey, this is great for republicans, because the president is at his lowest ever. 75 of americans think were going in the wrong direction. Hey, republicans 80 seals, 90 seats, maybe 1,000 seats. Hold on a second, r Approval Rating is at 19 . Democrats are at 32. Not much better. Holy cow. This is like the friends and family plan. Friends am family report whats
happening in congress. Republicans at 19 . The president horrible at 40. The president aint running for reelection again. Republicans still sitting at 19 . Youve had bill kristol. Youve had moderate becomes, me, you, a lot of people saying for two years now it is not enough to be against barack obama. Youve got to do more than investigate. Youve got to do more than spit on the ground and grumble and scratch yourself when you go back to your district and grunt and say im against barack obama. Shut down the government. Youve got to do something. Theyre at 19 . Republicans, you can be pissed off at me if you want to. I dont know. Its the first republican elected in my district since 1873, won four landslides, won by 70 , 80 , i dont know, maybe i know something about this. I know you dont like when i talk about when i was in
congress. We love it. I love it. Thats why youre on the set right now thats the only reason. Most of america can listen to you talk about that, the mood of the country would lift. Oceans would part. Sunshine and rainbows for everybody. Let me tell you, at this point right now people would look back to this time as when the oceans receded, the earth began to heal itself. What else is he going to do for us . What else happened . The oceans would part, i think the big greek columns would be erected. The playing of frogs in washington according to those polls. But now the oceans is apparently not receding, locusts are coming from the heavens and eating the flesh of people in washington, d. C. Look at the numbers, Barack ObamasApproval Rating 40 . A lot of people not happy about that. 54 disapprove. Not sure, 6 . We have a couple more years of this going. You keep going through the polls. The other polls, nick, republicans sitting at 19 , democrats at 32 . Republicans win the generic ballot, 4243 . 44. 3. This number is troubling, 36 approval on Foreign Policy, 60 disapprove. It shows when the world is a mess, as Madeleine Albright said, people hold the president responsible. You go down the approval disapproval on Foreign Policy americans say we dont care whats going on in Foreign Policy, but boy when its going bad they turn on the president. A lot is happening. Theres a sense of the world is spinning out of control and the average person isnt quite sure why and they blame the president. I think the average person doesnt think the president
understands why. The public has lived through chaotic times. The public doesnt feel like the president understands. You look as the world is spinning out of control. I had a good friend say last night to me. Things are crazy, whats happening . Im scared. This was a liberal democrat. You look at the Approval Ratings we just flashed up, 36 approve of the Foreign Policy handling, 60 approve. Those are george w. Bush numbers. Yes. The difference being a lot of the disapproval around bushs Foreign Policy. Be had hundreds of thousands of troops deployed. People. Reporter very anxious and very angry. What was the low of your approval rate sglg that was george w. Bush minus 13 Percentage Points towards the end. About this time i think he was sitting about the same as barack obama. He started plummeting soon after that. The interesting thing about this is the point you just made,
in terms of practical consequences, no doubt the country is depressed and having a bad summer. That 43 to 44 congressional balance, its not a wider spread, youve got the crosstabs of this poll saying not a wave election. This doesnt look like 2006, doesnt look like 2010. Voters are not hugely motivated in looking toward the midterms. The people who thought this was going to be another big wave election seem on the basis of this poll to have been wrong. I dont know where the wave comes from. No galvanizing issue right now. Or candidates. Theres also not a group of candidates running on change or running on a new direction or running on a cohesive or understandable Foreign Policy. The Republican Party is pretty fractured. You dont have what you had in 2010 where you had a new force, new energy, the Tea Party Movement comes in and all get swept in, the establishment
candidates winning last night. Pat roberts, another establishment candidate. Our insurgencies abroad are bad for barack obama. Insurgencies at home for the gop are bad for the gop. There isnt a central organizing thing for anybody. Moreover, when you look at this poll, at first i thought, this is like were mad at everybody. Its two different houses casts potses on other houses. Half of the people say i want to elect a congress that doesnt block the president. Two Different Countries here and theyre divided. Carol lee, you cover the white house. What are they going to do over the next two years to turn this ar sflound we seem, do we not, when youre in there day in and day out, we seem to be stuck in a Holding Pattern . Thats absolutely right. If you look at part of the
problem, i think, if you look at what the president is saying, what his message is publicly, theres a total disconnect between clearly what the American Public feels and what he is saying is going on in the economy. On friday he came out and said things are getting better. Clearly people dont feel that way. The president was campaigning, raising money in california a few weeks ago and he was saying people feel better than they did five years ago. Some of the folks who were interviewed who participated in this poll explicitly said they dont feel better than they did five years ago. So i think what the white house has to contend with is how you match the president s rhetoric and how hes approaching the public on this issue with what youre seeing in this poll which is that people are not feeling good about the future. The 79 of people who think their kids future is not going to be better than their own, thats a huge number. That is a massive number. Nicole, things arent getting better. Listen, the economy is getting better. Ive got a news flash for everybody. You dont feel it and it certainly maybe its what Ronald Reagan said, a recession is when your nextdoor neighbor has lost their job. A depression is when youve lost your job. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. The divide is sickening and continues to grow. But the situation for the middle class is far better today than it was two years ago, four years ago, five years ago. Things are getting better. It doesnt show up in these poll numbers. And i wonder how much of that im not blaming the president at all. I will. Hes made it all political, joe. Its all political. This is a stylistic thing. The guy, ill just say it, everybody that knows him, everybody that talks to him,
everybody that works for him says the guy doesnt like his job. He doesnt want to be there. He also makes everything political, even the good things. Even when he goes out and talks about making Community College less expensive. Thats something more available to a lot of families than a fouryear university, its wrapped in politics. When he goes out and talks about income inequality or making taxes more fair for families, its always wrapped in politics. Dont all politicians do that . I dont think so. I think obama has taken it keep a straight face. I think obama has politicized things that previous president s have not taken to such a political i think the trash talking, the den grading of republicans, every policy announcement in a political wrapper is a loser. John heilemann, what say you . Theres a deeper thing going on. No doubt the economy is in a better place than it was three years ago and the unemployment
numbers are better and jobs are being created. In the end we still have flat wages in this country for the last 25 years and great inequality. People still feel that. The question about whether people think the world is going to be better for their kids and grandkids and about whether they see improvement, even if they have a job, theyre not keeping up even with minimal inflation. 40 of people have someone in their household who has lost their job in the past five years. Can you imagine how that echoes through the country . Its a sense of insecurity that is always there. It could be me next. Even if you have a job, it doesnt mean your life is getting better. Carol, youre right. There has to be great frustration for the white house. They see the economic numbers that look more positive than they were two, three years ago. And so does the president pivot back for the 28th time to a new job, hey, im going to focus on
jobs now. It has to be extraordinary frustrating. Is there any indication that he is going over the next couple years, especially if republicans win the senate, is he more inclined to have to sit down and strike deals with republicans that dont like him anymore than he likes them . Well, they would tell you that he has been trying to focus on jobs and the economy, hes stuck to that message di des despite some criticism that he should be folk kug cussing on some of the Foreign Policy issues on the front pages of the newspapers. But i think there is a theory emerging out there that if the senate switches over to the republicans, that the president will be freed in some way and be able to sit down and cut deals with republicans without having nancy pelosi and harry reid pulling him further to the left and that he does want to cut deals and they would be able to get things like some of the trade policies that hes been pushing which drem kratz do not
like or tax reform, comprehensive tax reform. The republicans want that, or even Immigration Reform. They still hold out hope for that. So theres the silver lining, if there is one, and were not going to see a wave election this year, the republicans will do well, and theres a good chance that the senate will go. But it seems like, you know, theres a possibility he could make some progress on some Economic Issues if it flips. Carol, the worst thing that happened to bill clinton, new Democrat Bill clinton was he was strapped with some left wing democrats in congress that would stop him from moving to the senate. The second republicans took over in 1994, the guy spent the next six years striking deals and making things