WEBVTT - Cohen: rhetoric during primaries is embarrassing

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<v Speaker 1>Local business news twenty four hours a day at Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>This is a Bloomberg Business Flash and I'm Karen Moscow.

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<v Speaker 1>This updates brought to you by Marks penn of LLLP,

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<v Speaker 1>Chrysler Automobiles managed another US sales gain in February, extending

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<v Speaker 1>its streaked to seventy one months, driven by promotions tied

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<v Speaker 1>to the President's Day holiday and continued strong demand for

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<v Speaker 1>Jeep sport utility vehicles and Ram pickups and vans. Sales

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<v Speaker 1>climbs twelve percent Redefined Properties, a grain device of real

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<v Speaker 1>estate company Echo Prime Properties for a value of one

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<v Speaker 1>point three billion dollars to boost international expansion. US DOT

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<v Speaker 1>Index futures, meanwhile, are higher, with smp EMNI futures of

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<v Speaker 1>thirteen points. Dow EMUNI futures are up one seven. NAZ

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<v Speaker 1>Documity futures up twenty eight to take your treasury down

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<v Speaker 1>to thirty seconds the year one point seven four percent

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<v Speaker 1>NIMEX screwed oil up one per cent or sixty cents

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<v Speaker 1>at thirty thirty five, A barrel comic schooled up eight

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<v Speaker 1>ten percent or nine dollars forty cents at twelve forty three.

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<v Speaker 1>Eight announced the euro at dollar oh eight seven seven,

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<v Speaker 1>the en one thirteen point oh four, and Canada's economy

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<v Speaker 1>i'd expectedly grew in the fourth quarter as a week dollar,

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<v Speaker 1>reduced imports by the most and six years taking pressure

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<v Speaker 1>off the Central Bank to cut interest rates to a

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<v Speaker 1>record low. And that's a blue bird business flash. Tom

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<v Speaker 1>and Mike Karen, thanks so much from Washington this morning.

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<v Speaker 1>We tell you it is eight forty eight on Wall Street. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we've got a technical difficulty this morning in New York

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<v Speaker 1>that sometimes happens. Can tell you our technical director will

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<v Speaker 1>be upon it. Mike, why don't you bring in our

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<v Speaker 1>good guest. Is William Cohen going on here today? Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>it's very appropriate to talk to um. Well, I guess

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<v Speaker 1>you'd called him Secretary, Senator, Congressman Cohen because he served

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<v Speaker 1>in all of those roles Congressman and senator from the

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<v Speaker 1>state of Maine before becoming the Secretary of Defense. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And he served under both parties he served as Secretary

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<v Speaker 1>of Defense under democratic administrations and senator as as the

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<v Speaker 1>political parties fight it out on this Super Tuesday, I

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<v Speaker 1>UH am of mind of Senator Arthur Vandenberg and his

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<v Speaker 1>famous victim that politics stops at the water's edge. A

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people talk about that, but they don't talk

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<v Speaker 1>about the fact that he was a tremendous isolationist UH

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<v Speaker 1>when the country was heading into World War Two. It

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<v Speaker 1>was after the war that he became an internationalist and

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<v Speaker 1>led the Republican Party in that direction. I'm wondering if

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<v Speaker 1>we can, if that can happen, if we can get

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<v Speaker 1>back to that in the future, because there's sure is

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<v Speaker 1>a move towards isolationism right now. UH welcome disengagement. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's the way it's phrased now and a very

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<v Speaker 1>mistaken policy. The world has become much more integrated economically,

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<v Speaker 1>to be sure, and the notion that somehow we can

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<v Speaker 1>simply retreat to the continental cocoon of the United States

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<v Speaker 1>and watch events unfold on Bloomberg or CNN, etcetera is

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<v Speaker 1>is full hearty. What is most disturbing to me is

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<v Speaker 1>to watch this political process of ours UH and do

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<v Speaker 1>not feel a deep sense of embarrassment and shame. The

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<v Speaker 1>level of rhetoric taking place during these primaries has been embarrassing.

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<v Speaker 1>I I was in Europe in Munich two weeks ago

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<v Speaker 1>a major security conference. I think all of our allies

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<v Speaker 1>who were there are puzzled, embarrassed for us that the

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<v Speaker 1>people who are running for high office have been reduced

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<v Speaker 1>to caricatures. And I think it does not bode well

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<v Speaker 1>for the United States. So at the political level, I

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<v Speaker 1>think we've got we've seen it a a a defining

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<v Speaker 1>of decency down to paraphrase former Senator Moyne Hans phrase,

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<v Speaker 1>and we have lost our sense of what our role

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<v Speaker 1>in the world is, and so other countries look to

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<v Speaker 1>the United States for leadership. Well, there is a sentiment

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<v Speaker 1>of being expressed by candidates whore running today, especially in

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<v Speaker 1>the Republican Party, that we need to disengage from a

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<v Speaker 1>world affairs and focus solely on the United States. Big mistake.

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<v Speaker 1>What what should our role be? If you were a

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<v Speaker 1>candidate for president, what would you be telling the American

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<v Speaker 1>people about in a in a world, a multipolar world now,

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<v Speaker 1>about the United States role and its abilities to carry

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<v Speaker 1>out that role, or in a nonpolar world, which is

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<v Speaker 1>just as bad, if not worse, namely where you have

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<v Speaker 1>no country that is able to exercise a major influence

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<v Speaker 1>on shaping events that produce a more peaceful environment. My

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<v Speaker 1>advice to any president is to be engaged in the

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<v Speaker 1>world affairs and to go to the American people and

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<v Speaker 1>explain what it means. Right now, there was a sense

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<v Speaker 1>of nationalism building in the United States on the United States.

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<v Speaker 1>It's all over the world. You can see it in

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<v Speaker 1>the Baltic countries. You can see it now in Germany,

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<v Speaker 1>you can see it in Greece because of what has

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<v Speaker 1>taken place. So what has to happen. The United States

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<v Speaker 1>is the only country that can take a leadership role

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<v Speaker 1>at this point to try uh and and build a

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<v Speaker 1>system or create a new system whereby we can promote commerce,

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<v Speaker 1>peace stability. And right now there's a notion that we've

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<v Speaker 1>been overcommitted in time to recommit ourselves in build nation

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<v Speaker 1>building at also the mistake just the president, you need

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<v Speaker 1>to have the best possible people giving you advice and

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<v Speaker 1>rebuild your military capability because it has been heard very

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<v Speaker 1>badly by the sequester across the Pacome. Mr Secretary, I

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<v Speaker 1>have to rip up the script. It is time for

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<v Speaker 1>this new san Whenever anyone's views. You are more qualified,

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<v Speaker 1>literally than anyone I know, to speak of this. I

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<v Speaker 1>believe you grew up in the strangest of households Russian, Irish,

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<v Speaker 1>Jewish Protestant. You then went on and one time I

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<v Speaker 1>saw you you said, look, this future is a brown America.

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<v Speaker 1>You are married to the absolutely lovely Miss Langhart Uh

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<v Speaker 1>for as she's forty nine. I believe in holding last

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<v Speaker 1>I knew Secretary Cohen with what you have heard the

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<v Speaker 1>thirty nine excuse me, surveillance mistake. What you have heard

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<v Speaker 1>in the last couple of weeks strikes home to you

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<v Speaker 1>with the diversity of the Cohen experience. If Mr Trump

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<v Speaker 1>becomes your nominee, can you support him? Uh? That would

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<v Speaker 1>be very difficult for me, given what he has been saying,

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<v Speaker 1>appealing to very racist sentiments that are still are quite

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<v Speaker 1>prevalent in many parts of the country. Uh. To label

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<v Speaker 1>all Mexicans to be potential rapists, all potential immigrants coming

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<v Speaker 1>from the Middle East to be incipient terrorists, I think

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<v Speaker 1>this is this is not good to the country and

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<v Speaker 1>it's certainly it is not a brand of leadership that

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<v Speaker 1>I would be supporting. How did we get here? I

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<v Speaker 1>think a combination of things. I think what has happened

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<v Speaker 1>it started many years ago. But I think the whole

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<v Speaker 1>notion of degrading the government UH, and it started with

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps Senator Goldwater UH and President Reagan really fed into that,

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<v Speaker 1>saying that your problem is the government is a problem,

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<v Speaker 1>not the solution. And I think I've always believed that

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<v Speaker 1>the government is uh is your enemy until you need

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<v Speaker 1>a friend. And we've got to have a balance here

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<v Speaker 1>that you need government for a number of important functions,

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<v Speaker 1>but that government's hand has to be light and not

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<v Speaker 1>too heavy. But the notion of degrading government, I'm running

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<v Speaker 1>against Washington. I'm i'm i'm. I believe the entire system

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<v Speaker 1>is correc up. I think they're the system is corrupt

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<v Speaker 1>in the sense that a few people can raise a

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars UH and thereby have undue influence on the

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<v Speaker 1>entire political process. So there's that element to it. I

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<v Speaker 1>think we really have to get back to saying, are

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<v Speaker 1>we a United States for America's at e furbouse union

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<v Speaker 1>or is it eurbouse purse from many many? Uh? And

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<v Speaker 1>we we become fractured in that sense that I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know that we have, uh, the ability or the willingness

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<v Speaker 1>to say, hey, it's one America. We have our preferences.

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<v Speaker 1>My goodness, there are big issues out there, and we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about whether the size of somebody's hands or whether

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<v Speaker 1>the color of their face or hair. I mean, it's absurd. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>this goes back again the Secretary Cohen's book with his wife,

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<v Speaker 1>Love in Black and White, which was out a few

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<v Speaker 1>years ago. Secretary Cohen, thank you so much for joining

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<v Speaker 1>us today. William Cohen, of course of me, as was

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<v Speaker 1>the Angist king who we spoke of. Or that's a

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<v Speaker 1>wonderful Michael, just a great conversation to have after what

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<v Speaker 1>we've seen the last couple of weeks. But somebody from

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<v Speaker 1>the foreign policy side, and again he gets back to

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<v Speaker 1>Arthur Vandenberg in his view in the ninety fifties of

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<v Speaker 1>politics stops at the water's edge. We can't even get

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<v Speaker 1>outside of the capital. Yeah, that would be the debate

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<v Speaker 1>as well. Right now from Washington, it is eight fifty

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<v Speaker 1>six on Wall Street. The following is from Bloomberg View.

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<v Speaker 1>Opinions and commentary from Bloomberg columnists I'm Justin Fox, a

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<v Speaker 1>columnist for Bloomberg view. The cities with the healthiest job

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<v Speaker 1>markets are often those with the least affordable real estate. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>cities were housing is inexpensive usually don't have a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of great jobs on offer. Still, I figured there had

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<v Speaker 1>to be some places where jobs are plentiful and housing

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<v Speaker 1>a lot cheaper than in Boston or New York or

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<v Speaker 1>San Francisco. So I went looking for them in the data,

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<v Speaker 1>using a Brookings Institution report to identify metropolitan areas with

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<v Speaker 1>better than average economic growth since two thousand nine and

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<v Speaker 1>a National associ Station of Realtors report to identify those

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<v Speaker 1>with more affordable than average housing, and then sifted out

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<v Speaker 1>the areas with a below average share of college graduates

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<v Speaker 1>because education levels are a good indicator of job quality.

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<v Speaker 1>Five metropolitan areas met my test Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Minneapolis, Omaha,

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<v Speaker 1>and Pittsburgh. None of these is what you'd call a boomtown.

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<v Speaker 1>Columbus is the fastest growing of the bunch, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>only the twentieth fastest growing large metro area nationwide, But

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<v Speaker 1>these places all have unemployment rates well below the national average,

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<v Speaker 1>with Omaha's the lowest at just three. They could grow

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<v Speaker 1>faster if only more people moved there. So what are

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<v Speaker 1>you waiting for? I'm justin Fox, a columnist for Bloomberg View.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Bloomberg opinion and commentary, please go to Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>View dot com or view go on the Bloomberg terminal.

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<v Speaker 1>This has been Bloomberg View and Bloombergview commentaries compared hourly

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<v Speaker 1>weekdays on Bloomberg Radio. It is Super Tuesday. I'm here

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<v Speaker 1>with a super Michael McKee in Washington and support of

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<v Speaker 1>FM in Washington. Welcome all of you coast to coast

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<v Speaker 1>across this nation on an important political and economic day