Guests: Michael Ledeen, FDD. Paul R. Gregory, Forbes.com. Yochi Dreazen, Foreign Policy magazine. Peter Berkowitz, Hoover & Real Clear Politics.

During his meteoric rise to the White House, President Obama was touted as a pragmatist -- one who overcomes ideology, transcends partisanship, and focuses on the practical and doable. The stunning repudiation of the president’s leadership on Nov. 4 exhibits the poverty of his brand of pragmatism.

On October 7, 2003, Californians go to the polls to vote in a historic election. They will decide whether to recall Governor Gray Davis and replace him with someone else. Davis is only the second governor in U.S. history to face a recall election. Is the California recall in the best interests of its citizens? Or is this recall election an example of direct democracy gone awry? And what long-term effects will this recall campaign have on politics at both the state and national levels?

Building America's electricity system was one of the great achievements of the twentieth century, providing inexpensive energy to homes and businesses throughout the country. But in the twenty-first century, two crises occurred. In 2001, California experienced massive electricity shortages, leading to rolling blackouts and skyrocketing electrical bills. And in 2003, a blackout swept across eight states in the Midwest and Northeast, leaving tens of millions in the dark. Why did these problems arise now, after a century of progress? Were they the result of ill-advised attempts to deregulate the utility industry? Or is more deregulation actually the solution?

On March 14, 2005, a California Superior Court judge ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violated the state constitution. Although the decision is certain to be appealed up to the California Supreme Court, California may now be on the road to joining Massachusetts in legalizing gay marriage. Did the Superior Court judge decide correctly? Just how compelling are the constitutional arguments for and against gay marriage? Peter Robinson speaks with Terry Thompson and Tobias Wolff.

AUDIO ONLY

In this wide-ranging conversation, Thiel discusses his politics, his campaign, and the scourge of totalitarian conformism in the United States and abroad; the problem with “following the science”; where President Biden deserves the blame and where he doesn’t; and why cryptocurrency may just save the world.

Clarity of purpose is only half of a winning political strategy. The other half involves a clear understanding of the possible. By Peter Berkowitz.

In Florida, where Democrats outnumber Republicans, Governor Jeb Bush won both election and reelection by comfortable margins, reformed education, cut taxes, stood up for traditional moral values, and left office after eight years with an approval rating of more than 60 percent. How did he do it? Peter Robinson speaks with Governor Jeb Bush about what it means to be a conservative, his views on America’s current domestic agenda and foreign policy challenges, faith and politics, and the 2007 Republican presidential candidates. Video transcript (32:40)

Hoover fellow Robert Zelnick, who coached David Frost for his storied broadcast bout with Richard Nixon, shares his glimpse of "the unleashed Nixon." By Caleb Daniloff.