>> what do you think of when you see a tree? a treatment for cancer? alternative fuel for our cars? do you think of hope for the environment, or food, clothing, shelter? we do. weyerhaeuser, growing ideas. >> these are the leaders i have chosen to guide us through the difficult days at. >> this week on "inside washington," president obama orders a major restructuring of

his national-security team. >> if gas prices are $6, he certainly isn't going to wind. >> we are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers. >> the president releases his birth certificate. why did he take the bait? >> i feel i've accomplished something really, really important, and i'm honored by it. >> and the royal wedding. nobody knows how to throw a party like the british. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- as the week ended, americans were glued to their television sets watching the marriage of

prince william to kate middleton. the president was on the road to alabama, where more than 300 people have lost their lives in states hit by tornadoes. he was also going to florida to watch the launch of the space shuttle, but before he left washington, he shook up his national-security team. leon panetta as defense, general david petraeus at cia. what does the decision to put a four-star general who is an expert in counterinsurgency in charge of the cia mean, charles? >> the most important counterinsurgency we are running is in afghanistan and pakistan, and he knows it. he is a great general and i think he will make an excellent cia director. >> colby? >> the important thing is that he is a leader, and that is what the cia needs, a leader and a good manager who understands how the agency works and how it relates to other institutions in the government. >> nina?

>> it seems that he is the right person. sometimes you watch events unfold and you will like what you see but there's not much you can do -- do -- you don't like what you see but there's not much you can do about it. we are watching the intelligence community and defense community merge as one and that means less oversight from anybody outside, but i don't know what you could do about it. >>? -- mark? >> it means he will not be chairman of the joint chiefs of staff or nato commander, and he will be a four-star general according to a three-star general at intelligence, which is interesting. but he comes with high marks, as my colleagues said. >> former congressman and white house chief of staff, leon knows how to lead, which is why he is held in such high esteem not only in this city but a round of the world. as a cia director, he has played

a decisive role in our fight against violent extremism. he understands that even as we begin the transition to afghanistan, we must remain unwavering in the fight against al qaeda. >> he added that as a former omb director, panetta would he ensure that even as it makes a tough budget decisions it would maintain military superiority. read it in -- read between the lines on this one, mark. >> leon panetta did not know barack obama, so was all based on past performance. the predecessor as president bush sent in brought their entire congressional staff to the place. he went in with a one person, and one over the trust and respect of those there and in the process he won over the respect of the white house. he was a budget hawk when he was in the house, and has great relations on both ends of pennsylvania avenue.

>> i think the key word of what mark said its "budget." this is not a guy who was appointed because of strategic vision, but this is a guy who knows how to cut the budget and a signal that obama, as he said early in the week in talking about debt, that is the one place he wants to cut and panetta will be his instrument. >> i am not sure that is entirely true. panetta went to the cia and at the cia was very antsy about having him. he won over the agency. and that agency keeps people alive -- eats people live. you are looking to replace bob gates, probably the best defense secretary in modern times, and you want somebody who is a proven commodity, somebody who actually managed to do ok at the cia. that is a good recommendation.

>> and somebody who is savvy politically in 2012. >> they don't come better than that. i met leon panetta in 1970 when he was at the office of health, education, and welfare and the civil rights under richard nixon -- >> and quit. >> on principle, but he knows this town very well. he is the ultimate go-to guy. jim baker was another one in the reagan administration. rare commodities, people who are essential to government. >> another thing is, he actually wore the uniform of the best country in military service, which makes a rather rare -- makes him a rather rare. >> what is important in the two women's is what underlies them politically -- the two appointments is what underlies them politically. petraeus is the obvious guy you

think of to be chairman of the joint chiefs, but if he were that, he would be out in public, and if and when he retired, he would be a political presence in the country and a very attractive presidential candidate. this way, petraeus will be silent for a while. and not panetta, -- and on panetta, cutting the budget is his job. it is not allied strategy is out how to win at in afghanistan -- not outlining studies of how to afghanistan or libya. >> the cia has had a paramilitary for some time now operate out of that will be built up -- for some time now. i wonder if that will be built up. >> i assume that it will, and that means less oversight. one of the great things about the american military is that it has held people to the high standards in warfare. the cia does not necessarily have those same standards. it is a classic intelligence

agency, and i don't know what happens when you meld the two. >> it so happens that you have a good situation where you have panetta, who had to deal with that problem of the relationship between the cia and national security people, and petraeus, who understands that dynamic as well. >> bob gates was the one cabinet secretary that barack obama could not fire or replace. he had tenure in that office because of who he was and where he came from. he put the pressure on barack obama i afghanistan, and i think there's a certain resentment. or resistance -- respect. the other thing, ryan crocker back as ambassador -- >> came out of retirement. >> but it is a pity he is going to be in afghanistan. he ought to be in iraq, where he did an unbelievably spectacular job.

>> the president tries to defuse the birther controversy. >> we do not have time for this kind of silliness. we have got better stuff to do. i have got better stuff to do. we have got big problems to solve, and i'm confident we can solve them, but we have to focus on them. >> i am taking great credit, and you have to ask the president, why did he do this in my time ago? >> that is that donald trump, taking credit that the president of the united states has released his long form of birth certificate. trump is now questioning the president's academic credentials, how he got into columbia and harvard law school. by the way, he was president of "the harvard law review." "the new york times" said that the president's decision "was a profoundly low and debasing moment in political life." why did he do it, mark? >> he was interviewed by george

stephanopoulos, who has become a serious anchor on abc, and an interview on the budget and a foreign policy, and up comes a question about the president, donald trump, and teh birther movement, and it stuck in the president's craw. the other thing, they saw independents -- this thing was spreading it. there was a growing uncertainty about this, and i have to say that the best statement of the week -- i am a new fan of rand paul, a freshman republican senator of kentucky, who showed intended humor -- there is a lack of intended here in washington. he said, "i have come to new hampshire because i am concerned. i want to see the original -- for a certificate of donald trump's republican registration." [laughter] donald trump has given the thousands of dollars to charlie rangel and harry reid.

>> "the new york times" says that "is inconceivable that this would have been conducted against a white president." de you agree? >> i do agree, but i still think this is sort of looney tunes stuff -- >> why did he lowered himself to respond? >> mark is right, it just stuck in his craw. the better thing politically would have been to let it run a logger and make republicans look crazier. donald trump? it is all about him. "i am enormously honored, isn't it wonderful, me me me." >> colby? >> i was disappointed that the president did this, that he stooped to this, that he let them bring him to this point. worse than that, 41% of

republicans believe he was not born in the united states, on the basis of what? on the basis of what? no evidence at all, but they believe that. the whole idea of what has been going on the last two years is to delegitimize barack obama. earlier this week, president takes his family to church on easter sunday. during holy week, the president hosts the second annual meeting -- annual easter breakfast with clergy. the next day, easter monday, the president is accused of dissing christianity and giving easter short shrift. fox news picks up on it, brings in this reactionary preacher from dallas, texas, who implies

that maybe he has done this because -- is he perhaps a closet muslim? this is part of a campaign to discredit this president on a personal level. trump adds to this, the president needs to not respond to the stupid thing they're doing. >> i think is somewhat amusing to hear people on the left talking about how awful it is to delegitimize the president when the day is spent half a decade saying that george bush stole the election, the bumper stickers "reelect al gore," and questioning the legitimacy of his victory in 2000. on that issue there is a double standard and hypocrisy -- >> that is not personal -- >> you guys have spoken for about eight minutes. let me have one. the birther issue was hurting republicans. it is an idiocy and a conspiracy that was feeding on itself.

i commend the president, as did "the wall street journal" editorial board, who are not friends of the best in, for releasing it now. the president had begun to debate three weeks earlier on at the size of government, the ryan plan, and this was a distraction, so i'm glad it is over. >> is this the end of the controversy? i don't think so. >> conspiracies ever died. they become irrelevant, and this one is completely irrelevant. >> people still talking about it -- >> nobody is talking -- talking -- >> the adjusting thing about this conspiracy to react the way it played out is that -- the interesting thing about this conspiracy theory and the way to play out is that there are conspiracy theorists' who still think that george bush was responsible for 9/11. democrats treated that idea as total pariah -- >> except for van jones --

>> can i finish? anybody who did that publicly was run out of the party. republicans did not walk away from this right away. eventually, that the leadership came to see this as incredibly damaging and did start to walk away from that. >> i saw people on television analyzing thae long-form -- >> that is going to happen, that is given. there are a finite people in this country for whom barack obama can do nothing but die. how do you figure maureen davenport, member of the orange county republican committee, who sends out earlier this month a picture showing three figures --

superimposing the heads to chimpanzees. the smallest one has barack obama's face on it, and she says, "now we know why there is no birth certificate. ha ha ha, he is the child of chimps." >> mike huckabee had the best rebuttal when anybody came up to him and had this birther conspiracy bs -- "if this was true, do you think clinton wouldn't not have found out about it at a 2008?" i think it is a deep-seated antagonism, and it takes the form up he is not one of us, he is not like us. that is not going to go away.

there is a hostility and antagonism. >> what about charles' point that there was an attempt to delegitimize george bush -- >> you are going to consider a request now? we are running out of time. >> you may think it was not nice, but it wasn't personal -- >> when they called him hitler and said he lyders into a war -- lied us into a war? that is not personal? >> that is not the same as the saying you are not a citizen, you are chimpanzee -- >> that is much worse -- there is not irresponsible, serious republican leader who has been it feel --not a responsible, serious republican leader who has been a feeling desperate they are glad it's over the

hypocrisy on the other side is staggering, calling him a traitor who lied us into war and killed our soldiers is orders of magnitude beyond what the birther conspiracy is about. >> if the economy does not get better, i don't think he will win. if people don't feel better about government-run health care, i don't think he will win it. if gas prices are $6, he certainly isn't going to win. >> house speaker john boehner in an exclusive interview with jonathan karl of abc news. do you think he is right, colby? >> $6 a gallon will hurt any elected official in the city, not just to the president. but these things fluctuate and reflected the conditions of the world. >> boehner also told to jonathan

karl that maybe it is time to look at subsidies for oil companies. paul ryan said he agrees. i wonder if they will get in hot water for this, mark. >> no, i don't think they will, because oil companies are pretty damn unpopular right now. john boehner is right, at $6 a gallon, you don't want to be eighth library trustee in poughkeepsie, new york, running for reelection. it was $1.84 a gallon when he took office, it is $4 now. if it continues to double, that is a big problem for everybody. >> ryan and the republicans are running into the same problem democrats had in the 2010 election, medicare. the unions are dogging him as he goes around wisconsin to town meetings. >> what is interesting is that i

thought by the pulling it would be 3-1 against. it is actually neck-and-neck, 49-47 coup are against, which is pretty close. if you break it down by generation, the ones who are most opposed are the young. the seniors are in favor of this, because they understand it is not going to affect them. the young do not vote that much. at this point, with all the demagoguery, it is still neck- and-neck, and it is not the place and that the democrats are hoping it will be -- the poison that democrats are hoping it will be to the president in trouble because the gdp never was so low this week and if it is low and gas prices are high, republicans have a much better chance than anybody would have thought two months ago. >> pray tell, what are they neck-and-neck about? >> the ryan plan to voucherize

medicare. >> the polls i have seen -- maybe we do not move in the same circles. >> the one i saw asking whether you want fee-for-service versus premium support, cbs/"new york times" two weeks ago shows majority support for the ryan idea. >> i have seen consistently it 2-1 opposition to the plan as described. that aside, there is no question that republicans have been playing defense in this recess in town meetings, especially republicans in the northeast, especially republicans who have any kind of constituency that is blue-collar and older. that is where the defense of the plight has come. -- defense play has come.

young people are terrified that they want to pick up the tab for their parents. if you have parents who are approaching retirement age, you are looking at medicare to really be a cushion in their retirement. >> mississippi gov. haley barbour has decided not to run for president. >> it means much daniels is slightly more likely to run -- mitch daniels is a slightly more likely to run, because he and haley are friends and had that kind of an understanding that only one that would run. >> haley decided he liked to eat too much. he has been on a strict diet all year, and he may just have hated it so much -- >> if i had to choose between a pizza and air force one, i would choose air force one. >> i will tell you who loses, everybody who covers this race. haley barbour was likable, informed, fun, a good

politician. >> when you have been a lobbyist, a substantial part of your life -- my assumption is, a, i take him at his word that he did not have the fire in the belly, and b, you look at everything in your life and you see how it might be construed -- >> he is a realist, and he looked at the situation from all angles i realized he would have a hard time winning -- and realized he would have a hard time winning. >> other candidates want his support. >> he could be in the cabinet he has a respectable guy who knows how to run as states and run parties. >> he assembled one of the most able teams in all of politics, not simply on the republican side. >> and then he saw a giant pizza pie and decided he cannot do it.

>> if you get a donald trump- sarah palin ticket -- >> i am not taking the bait. [laughter] >> a word on the royal wedding, next. prince william and kate middleton and now husband and wife. trawls, what you think? good party. >> apart from the fact that british royalty is entirely harmless, somewhat ridiculous, partly e -- perfectly empty but rather expensive, i think they are a lovely couple and i wish them well. >> he is a search and rescue pilot, colby. >> i like a marriage. i like weddings. i've been married almost 50 years. i would like to see them five

years from now, 10 years from now. still married, and we can have a celebration. >> let me see a good word about the british royal family -- i have searched for one, and i have found it -- these at privilege people served their country in military service. would the united states have the same example of people in high positions of leadership have their children serve the country in the semi? >> -- same way? >> they had been together for 10 years in one form or another. she is so discreet that not once has she said anything to me about him in all of those years -- anything mean about him in all of those years. >> he said to her that he wanted her to take a good hard look at the life she was entering in case she wanted to back out -- [laughter] >> want to be a duchess --

>> why are americans so in love -- >> it is a great show. >> everything was a wedding. i even saw a shot of her parents on all the tv's. >> that enormous crowd walking up towards the palace, thousands and thousands of people, nobody pushing and shoving? only in great britain. >> americans love looking at twits in sashes. >> i thought it was a great show. last word. see you next week. for a transcript of this broadcast, log on to insidewashington.tv. vo:geico, committed to providing service to

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