Washington Week

Each week, the country's top reporters join moderator Gwen Ifill for an in-depth discussion of the week's top news from Washington and around the world. The longest-running news and public affairs program on PBS, "Washington Week and National Journal" features journalists -- not pundits -- lending insight and perspective to the week's important news stories. Now, Ifill brings "Washington Week" online.

Ifill was online Thursday, Dec. 21, at Noon ET to take questions and comments.

Ifill is moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Ifill spent several years as a "Washington Week" panelist before taking over the moderator's chair in October 1999. Before coming to PBS, she spent five years at NBC News as chief congressional and political correspondent. Her reports appeared on "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw," "Today," "Meet the Press" and MSNBC. Ifill joined NBC News from The New York Times where she covered the White House and politics. She also covered national and local affairs for The Washington Post, Baltimore Evening Sun, and Boston Herald American.

" Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal," airs on WETA/Channel 26, Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. ( check local listings).

A transcript follows.

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Gwen Ifill: Hi everyone. Happy to be back. I could be doing last-minute shopping, but I'd rather be with YOU!

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Logan, Utah: How can we be talking about troop increase in Iraq when that is not possible for a long enough period of time to make any difference? The military is stretched to the breaking point -- this president has created an unforgiveable mess.

Also, will you ever go into politics Ms. Ifill? you are intelligent, calm and exude integrity -- we hope so and thank you for your work.

Gwen Ifill: It does seem clear from the President's statements this week that he agrees with you on at least one point -- the military needs some shoring up.

As for a life in politics...why ever would I want to have to answer the questions, when I can ask them???

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Lester Johnson, Mich.: Good Afternoon Gwen: I try and watch you Washington show ever Friday nnight in Detroit.

Can I take you to June of 2007, and ask do you think President Bush will be in a better position then as his is now. Or will Bush be in BIG trouble?

Thank you for taking my question

Gwen Ifill: My crystal ball is always on the fritz just when I need it.

I would hazard a guess, however, that it is probably among the President's dearest wishes that June 2007 look better than December 06 does right now.

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Rolla, Mo.: Simple question -- if the democratically elected government in Iraq can ask us to leave and we will comply, as stated in the past by the Administration, why can't they also ask us not to "surge troops" into Iraq? What is the difference in real terms, or are the previous assertions non-operative?

Gwen Ifill: Hard to know what any distinction is in "real terms" when we do not yet know what the definition of "surge" is.

Does it mean we will be staffing up only on training Iraqis? Only in hotspots in and around Baghdad? Everywhere.

It would be a surprise if the Bush Administration decided to do any of this without consulting with the Iraqis first.

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Raleigh, N.C.: I watch your show (please don't hate me!) about half the time. So I may have missed it. My question is, have you ever had experts, non-journalists, as panelists? Have you considered it? For example, now might be a good time to have on an historian expert on counterinsurgency, at least for the segment I anticipate you'll devote to the possiblity that Bush will go double or nothing in Iraq. Or is that type of thing not compatible with the mission of the show?

Gwen Ifill: Washington Week is a reporters' roundtable. If you want to see experts and newsmakers, the NewsHour is a good choice.

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San Francisco, Calif.: Good day, Ms Ifill. Now that the First Lady has revealed her cancer scare, don't you think it would be a legitimate inquiry whether she has quit smoking? I wonder if her doctors have advised her to do so, and what steps she's taken. Thanks for chatting today, and have a wonderful holiday...

Gwen Ifill: Excellent question. But given the reluctance the White House displayed in telling us about the First Lady's surgery, I am not optimistic that they would feel compelled to answer this question.

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Charlottesville, Va.: Do you think President Bush will condemn Rep. Virgil Goode's anti-Muslim comments? And do you think the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment on the Right could hurt Republican (especially evangelical) support for the Iraq War? After all, one of our main justifications for being there is that we are building a model Muslim democracy, with the cooperation of Islamic clerics. But if many conservatives come to believe that Islam is irredeemable, why bother?

Gwen Ifill: I have not heard if the President has had anything to say about Rep. Goode.

Goode, for those of you who have not read about it, wrote his constituents condeming the election of a Muslim to Congress from Minnesota. The new lawmaker, Keith Ellison, has said he would like to put his hand on the Koran when he is sworn in. Rep. Goode seemed to link this to illegal immigration, even though Mr. Ellison was born in Detroit, and nothing bars anyone from taking the oath on any book they choose.

That said, we can only surmise this is a policy glitch, and that Rep. Goode is speaking only for himself, not all conservatives or Republicans.

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Silver Spring, Md.:

The president thinks that maybe we need a bigger army so it won't be such a strain for them to get bogged down in failed occupations. I have a better idea. Let's not get involved in failed occupations in the first place! And while we're at it, maybe we should get out of the failed occupation we're in right now. Do you think those priorities deserve a hearing?

Gwen Ifill: I'm guessing every idea possible will get a hearing in the incoming Democratically-controlled Congress.

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Anywhere, USA: Hi Gwen!

Given the recent events over a senator's illness and its ramifications as well as the joy and glee that seems to be infecting political groups as an opposing group makes mistakes over whatever the "issue of the minute is" -- it's dishartening to those of us that are hoping that change for the better and co-operation might start happening with this new Congress. It feels like polticians are more concerned with "who might screw up" rather than how people can possibly work together to get some of these very serious issues worked out. Is that the feeling most media is getting?

Gwen Ifill: I can't speak for the rest of the people in my profession, but I am one of those cock-eyed optimists who think it is entirely possible that politicians can learn to talk to, rather than at, each other.

But the list of things I have been wrong about is long.

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Washington, D.C.: Ralph Nader said something to the effect that there is not a dime's worth of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans which, at the time, I thought was absurd. However, now I not so sure. What actions do you think the Democrats, about to take control of the Congress, will take on ending the occupation of Iraq, on reversing tax cuts for the wealthiest, and on setting automobile mileage standards to fight global warming that would distinguish them from the Republicans who have done none of these things while they were in control?

Gwen Ifill: With Ike Skelton overseeing Armed Services, Charles Rangel at Ways and Means and John Dingell at Energy, I believe some, if not all, of these issues will at least get a hearing.

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Cabin John, Md.: President Bush made clear this week that he won't withdraw the troops from Iraq without achieving "victory." Wouldn't this be a perfect time to revive the Aiken Formula? Sen. Aiken's solution for the Vietnam War was to declare victory and go home. President Bush could point out that the Iraqis, purple thumbs and all, have established a functioning democracy. Sure the Prime Minister is irrelevant, but that is true for the U.S., too, since Nov. 7th. And sure the violent crime rate isn't exactly zero, but it isn't in D.C., either. And there may be an illegal terrorist cell or two operating in the country, but that is probably true of the U.S. as well. So President Bush should proudly point to all of his accomplishments in Iraq, justly claim victory, and bring the troops home!

Gwen Ifill: If you really think that is all the President wants, you have not been paying close attention. I was struck during the President's last news conference that he described this war as the "calling of our generation."

James Brown used to end songs by saying "Hit it and quit!"

That does not sound like what the President has in mind.

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Re: Virgil Goode: Goode isn't the only conservative fearful of a Muslim in Congress. Talk show host Dennis Prager said much the same thing about Ellison taking the oath on the Koran. This has become a real cause celebre on the Right. Bush will eventually have to address this.

Gwen Ifill: Did Dennis Prager get elected to something that I am not aware of? And do Presidents have to respond to what talk show hosts say? Heaven forfend.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Thanks for taking questions. If the reports are correct that the Joint Chiefs are not keen on a "surge" in Iraq, is it really viable politically for the president to adopt that course. It would seem extraordinarily risky to go forward under such circumstances.

Gwen Ifill: He's the commander in chief of the Joint Chiefs. If he does not grasp the political and military risks in that approach, no one does.

That said, it would be interesting to see if the leader who always said he would follow the advice of his generals, might now do otherwise.

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Washington, D.C.: With the slip of his tongue, Olmert finally revealed what we knew all along, that Israel has nuclear weapons. Why wasn't there an official condemnation of this by the U.S.?

Gwen Ifill: Maybe they said it very quietly.

But I don't think so.

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Anonymous: Gwen, Keith Ellison would not put his hand on the Koran when officially sworn in. According to reports I have seen, members of Congress take the official oath office without any book, but can take a Bible, or other book, or no book at all, during a ceremonial swearing-in/photo-op occurring afterwards. Rep. Goode, and the conservative commentator (ironically, appointed by Pres. Bush to the board of the Holocaust Museum, I believe), did not mention this.

Gwen Ifill: This is correct. Thanks for the amplification.

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Bowie, Md.: Since it's end-of-year time, how about a quick rundown of what you think are the five (10 is too many in one quick sit) top news stories of 2006?

Obviously, no. 1 is the Democratic takeover of Congress.

What's next?

Gwen Ifill: Actually, I think #1 is the prosecution of the war in Iraq. Nearly everything else springs from that..including the election.

But it was an amazing year. It's easy to forget the indictments and port deals and resignations and Vice Presidential shootings we obsessed about along the way.

Phew.

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Anytown, USA: Ugh - "calling of our generation."

Who did the calling? I'm always struck by President Bush's claims that God has told him to do this and that in any situation...how far away is a theocracy then?

Gwen Ifill: Seems like a leap to me to take the word "calling" and turn it into a commitment to theocracy.

Overstatements don't help the underlying argument.

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Bridgewater, Mass.: Just a comment on your "other program": even if I've been glancing through the newspaper while some of the earlier segments have been on, I put it down for the Honor Roll at the end. The silence is absolutely approprite -- what really could anybody say? And even instrumental music would seem to "say" something. After hearing Jim Lehrer's (or is that Little Bo-Peep's?) speech on Marine Day I guess I realize why you guys do this. I'm really looking forward to the day when you can find someway else of ending the program.

Gwen Ifill: We believe it is important to look at the faces of the folks who sacrifice. And we do not add music or commentary, because we trust the viewer to honor the dead in his or he own way.

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West Coast: Do you think the media should reevaluate their portrayal of John Conyers Jr. as a wacko, considering the hearings he had to hold in the senate basement have essentially been substantiated as factual, and the American public has moved much closer to his position than towards the discredited position of Cheney and Bush?

Gwen Ifill: Wacko? That's so harsh. I haven't seen that anywhere. What have you been reading???

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Woodbridge, Va.: Dennis Prager was also roundly criticized by large numbers of conservatives for his comments about the Koran, and not just the libertarians. Many fundamentalist christians recognize they cannot demand to have a voice in the public square while denying one to those of other faiths. Besides, wouldn't it be rather meaninless for a Muslim to take an oath on the bible?

Gwen Ifill: Good point. Isn't liberty -- political, religious, whatever -- party of the essential definition of being an American?

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Will Keith Ellison get special protection on the Hill? The Right is really worked up about him, and I worry that somebody will get violent.

Gwen Ifill: If the "right" (or the "left," for that matter) decided to physically threaten everyone they disagreed with, would anything ever get done on Capitol Hill?

And before you cynics race to your keyboards, please resist telling me that nothing ever DOES get done on Capitol Hill.

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Rolla, Mo.: Re: "Wacko" -- When you get the chance ask Dana Milbank about his characterization of that "hearing."

Gwen Ifill: Dana = The Media. I see.

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Houston, Tex.: I didn't know Laura smoked. What brand does she smoke and is she able to smoke in the White House?

Gwen Ifill: Never seen her smoke with my own personal eyes, so I can't say.

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Capitol Hill: Will Sandy Berger ever show his face in public again? Or is he afraid of being laughed out of the country?

Gwen Ifill: Now, now.

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Washington, D.C.: So now that it's out there that Israel officially has nuclear weapons, how can the U.S. condemn North Korea and Iran for pushing a nuclear agenda when they in turn don't force Israel to give up their nuclear arms, while the U.S. still gives Israel billions of dollars in free money every year. We lose all credibility on this front.

Gwen Ifill: I am certain you realize that nothing -- not diplomacy, not credibility, not war, not peace -- is ever as simple as you present.

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Sewickley, Pa.: Is it at all conceivable that Jim Webb would run for president? I think a Webb/Obama ticket would be unbeatable. Your thoughts?

Gwen Ifill: I know someone from Sewickley!

Jim Webb for President? Now THAT would be fun to cover. And I don't need to tell you why.

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Gwen Ifill: Thanks everyone. You always get my juices going.

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the President's news conference, the new debate about troop surges, Sec. Rice and the Middle East peace process, and the beginings of the 2008 campaign...with Doyle McManus of the LA Times, Michael Duffy of Time, Andrea Mitchell of NBC, and Jim Barnes of National Journal.

For those of you observing...Merry Christmas!

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