john: don't forget, there's one big wildcard. ♪ mark: welcome to las vegas, site of tomorrow night's democratic presidential debate. first, obama. in an interview with 60 minutes that aired sunday, the president was asked about hillary clinton's unusual e-mail practices. he offered a few words of defense for his former secretary of state. he said the issue is being

politicized. leather is no sign of a breach into her system. there is no sign of a breach into her system. overall, the president's defense of his former secretary of state was notably lacking. president obama: she made a mistake, she has acknowledged it. i think it is in part because of politics and i think she would be the first took knowledge that maybe she could have handled the original decision better and the disclosures more quickly. it is important for her to answer these questions. john: that is kind of stunning. did he leave her out to dry? john: in the political parlance we call that minimal coverage. according to every source we

ever talked to in the white house, it's felt she violated the spirit of the letter of the law and he still angry about it and cannot help but let that show. mark: there are so many ways he could have answered that question that would have been better for her that would have had no political cost. interesting he said no national breach, as if he has been briefed on the fbi investigation. i think her greatest vulnerability is if the fbi comes back and says -- if the president was to play his hand, although the interview was bad news for her, it would be good news longer-term. john: i find it hard to believe that president obama would say that on 60 minutes in that form if he did not know it was going to come back to haunt him later. again, we never know, but i feel like you are right, in the long run he covered her on the biggest vulnerability. mark: i would be worried this shows the president is not going to play favorites in her

direction. he may well favor joe biden. john: the recently fired investigator with the house benghazi community is accused of focusing more on hillary clinton than on what went wrong in libya three years ago. today the new york times took a close look at whether politics was in fact playing up role in the committee's work. ever since kevin mccarthy's now infamous comment about the committee, the committee has been on its heels and under attack. how much worse politically does this make things for the chairman and his committee? mark: he has no backup, no documentation that has come forward. hillary clinton has gotten a huge ride in the press because of that. the more dangerous thing for the committee, basically they failed to do what they should have done. once the e-mail's came out, they should have given that to a different committee. the benghazi investigation now intertwined with the e-mail

thing, given what mccarthy said. unless hillary clinton just messes up when she testifies next week, she is over this. john: you mentioned that gaudi wanted to get rid of this element of the committee. about the number of witnesses they wanted to call, the way in which the probe seemed to shift. you could argue that was ok, but some of the behavior described in that story, talking about glocks and gun clubs. it's the kind of stuff that makes these people not sing serious. mark: hillary clinton has more e-mail problems coming, but if the committee is fouled beyond redemption, if the president tipped his hand, she is over.

there is more coming in terms of the e-mail, but she is over a lot. on the other side of the aisle, the democratic national committee is dealing with the report of its own today about the dnc. a newspaper reported an aid to the committee chairwoman supposedly disinvited the dnc vice chair to the debate tomorrow night, after the congressman spoke out publicly about the party's decision to limit the number of democratic debates to just six. the dnc says it's all just a big misunderstanding. is this fueling those who say the dnc is stacking the deck in favor of hillary clinton? is any of this going to matter? john: there is no doubt people think the dnc is trying to -- let's be clear. congressman wasserman schultz

made the decision unilaterally, she did not consult other vice chairs, she did this on her own. she might be able to get away with it and might not. it's not like there's a big clamor among democratic voters, but it looks, smells, fields, and smells stinky. mark: although martin o'malley and bernie sanders are raising it, it does look like they will get away with it. it is a disgrace and debbie wasserman schultz is facing some public heat and she's just going to sit and take it. john: she said the dnc as the nation is they did not disinvited her, but they called her -- the chief, someone working for wasserman schultz called her and basically said, if you are going to keep saying

that stuff, maybe you should stay away from vegas. it would be better if you stayed away. it is bad. i agree. mark: paul ryan is working overtime deciding if he's going to cave into all that pressure from those who want him to become the next speaker of the house. an extraordinary story is out right now that pulls back the curtain on why the deliberations are focusing on ryan right now. john: there are other names being floated but almost every name being floated says if ryan does it, i won't do it. it will be hard for anyone to get momentum. ryan doesn't want the job duties asking for to be structured in a and way that will be difficult

to do, but until he says no, i don't think anyone else is going to emerge. my gut says he's not going to take a job he doesn't want. john: today i'm still saying paul right will be speaker of the house. we see people take jobs all the time they don't want. he is under all this treasure. mark: name someone who has taken a job like this that they didn't want?

this job would ruin his personal life and maybe his professional life. john: he is being told by everyone around him he's going to confine the party to disarray and chaos. mark: we will get a de facto caretaker, not someone who says i'm only going to serve two years. basically someone who just keeps things going. mccarthy is going to basically be running the place. john: i'm telling you, in the end, he is a believer in his party and its ideas. he doesn't want to see the party fall apart. i think he's going to get talked into some kind of structural change that will never work out. coming up, my interview with one of the founders, the cofounders of black lives matter. the one question she would ask if she were a moderator at tomorrow night's debate here in vegas. then we go where no man has gone before, the first ever political on convention in l.a. all that after this. ♪

♪ john: this past weekend i went back to my hometown, los angeles. first, i had a chance to sit down with a california-based activist who helped found the movement black lives matter.

i asked what she hopes to achieve between now and the end of the 2016 election. patrisse: i think we need presidential candidates that will speak to issues of violence , so policing. we need a candidate who speaks to mass incarceration inside of this country. that looks like repealing the world drugs. that looks like a deeper reinvestment into poor communities, black committees in particular. it looks like our movement not just challenging presidential candidates, but also elected officials. john: the incarceration piece, the militarization of the police, then there's the economic piece, which is larger and more systemic, a more sweeping agenda. do you want to try to focus in the short term on the incarceration and police issues? is it a higher priority, or are

they equally high priorities? patrisse: they are equally high priorities. the contradiction that faces black people the most at this moment in history is policing and imprisonment, that has everything to do with why many black folks are unemployed. when you are a convicted felon and you come home and try to interview for a job, the first thing they asked on the application is, have you ever been convicted of a felony? that automatically disqualifies your family. we have to look at the system that is allowing for a cycle of joblessness and homelessness in our communities. john: so black lives matter have had to well-reported interactions with hillary clinton. one where you had a meeting with , not you personally, but the group had a meeting with her a couple of days ago on friday.

in that first interaction, she captured on film saying how she doesn't believe you change hearts, you change laws you , change allocations of resources in the way systems operate. it seems to me that systemic structural approach is something you would find positive. she got criticized by some for the way she handled that interaction. but focusing on that big structural thing, actual change. it seems like that would be the kind of thing you guys would want to hear from her. that is opposed to all the things that people have been saying for a long time. patrisse: the interaction between hillary clinton and our members was an interaction that i think she said the things she believed. we also wanted to hear her be accountable for the role she has played in producing a system that has locked a million black people inside cages. john: there is obviously a history with president clinton

and the policies that his administration pursued and enacted. but when you mention her and her personal accountability, what do you mean when she has to take accountability for past actions , specifically? patrisse: there is a moment in bill clinton's administration where hillary lobbied around punitive laws that impacted black communities pretty detrimentally. she lobbied around more policing and to really push for the war on drugs. we see this a lot with first ladies. of course they lobby in support of their husband, and she has played that role. and she is not admitting to that. the clinton administration was sort of seen as an administration that helped black people, but it was the clinton administration that paved the way for the end of the social

welfare state and the end to any black folks ability to not be completely criminalized. john: in your view, she has not taken responsibility for that and has not gone far enough for that responsibility accountability. , patrisse: it is less about if she has gone far enough and more about if she gets into office, will she commit concretely to those changes? she can say everything she wants right now. she is a candidate. but that moment she gets into office, we want to see concrete change. john: in the meeting that took place on friday, do you feel as though, i know you weren't there because you been in california, do you feel like that meeting was a step in the right direction? patrisse: any meeting with the candidate that is pressuring them around a certain agenda is

an important next step. john: toni morrison said bill clinton was the first black president, in a particular context. that was at the tail end of the impeachment drama. that was 1998. a lot of years later, in the light of history and perspective, when you read that -- toni morrison obviously an esteemed author, personal great respect within the african-american community. do you think that statement looks kind of ridiculous now? patrisse: i respect toni morrison so much, but i do think that was a mistake. when we say that anyone who is not black is a new black something, it is a mistake. especially the role that the administration played in just traumatizing black lives. john: you guys have had interaction with senator sanders, right? there was famously that disruption that took place in seattle in the summer, one of

the things that prompted you to write your op-ed. how have things gone with senator sanders since that disruption? have you feel that has gone? -- how do you feel that has gone? patrisse: i think it has been fine. these candidates are going to have to get used to disruption and meeting with the movement. they will have to get used to meeting with different black folks across the country. for us, ultimately, we are trying to use this moment to have a national conversation about black lives, and it's a perfect opportunity. john: for interest groups who are trying to achieve tangible change in the course of an election, they do it through a mix of carrots and sticks. you might be able to win more of our votes. the stick is if you don't, we will punish you in some way, electorally. i understand what the carrot is, you guys have been engaged with the candidates offering them , access to the movement and a

broader conflagration of average -- african american votes. but what is the stick, what happens if they don't engage with you and take you seriously? what penalty will they pay, and how you will impose that? patrisse: whoever gets into office will have to deal with us for the duration of time they are in office. part of the stick is a developing movement and growing movement. as we saw with the obama campaign, he received the vote of young folks in particular. we have that to our advantage. we also have to our advantage an obama administration that in large part didn't really protect or uplift the black community. you have a lot of black folks who voted for obama who are disappointed. they are not interested in this person who says they're going to change things and they don't change anything for black people. we have a lot of black people on

our sides who are trying to figure out who do i vote for, and do i even vote? john: on tuesday the first democratic debate is in las vegas. when you are watching that debate, what do you want to hear from these candidates, not just and senatorinton sanders? patrisse: i want to hear them talk about black lives matter and an economic platform that is about talking about how incarceration has impacted the black community. how policing has impacted black communities. i want to hear them act unapologetically and say this country needs to do a better job at serving black people. i want to hear them talk about black folks who have been dying at the hands of vigilantes, essentially. i want to hear all the candidates say they have a commitment to being engaged with the current movement. john: one last question, if i gave you a spot as moderator in

that debate, and you could ask the candidates one question, what would that be? patrisse: if they could have a commitment to decarcerating, would they make a commitment to that? with they do that here in this country. ♪ >> guess who we got to wear a donald trump mask. ♪

mark: the past weekend, john and company went to politicon. we sent resident filmmaker to check it out and they ended up going native. ♪ [laughter] good to see you. welcome to politicon.

>> i'm james madison. >> dirty old men. that's what they call me. >> it is a comic-con style event for politics and pop culture. anybody who dresses up in political cosplay gets in free. >> i can get in for free if i dress up? i will be right back. ♪ >> newt gingrich is here today, so i think i will probably meet him. >> you want to practice? it i have a newt gingrich mask. >> it looks like the botox you have had recently has taken such a toll. [laughter]

that's the way politics works nowadays. >> do you have your own copy? >> speaker gingrich. will you sign this for me? i've got to do it myself. ♪ >> congresswoman bachmann, do you recognize me? i look at today's republican party and i don't know if i fit in. win me back. michele bachmann: you have had an extraordinary post-presidency. everyone loves you. they are naming things after you. >> hanging out at politicon, loving every minute of it. who is under the donald trump mask? >> hi, donald. it is good to see you again.

>> would you be my running mate? >> of course i would, absolutely. >> we are going to get newt gingrich. i have your original 1994 contract with america. would you mind signing it? right here would be perfect. i got it, i got it! we will make a pact. >> i want to be lincoln next time. you can be a dr. -- fdr. >> it's a deal. ♪ >> i did it, i did the cosplay. >> you did it. you get in free. well done. >> donald, awesome, as usual. mark: we will be right back. ♪

mark: we love vegas. we are back here tomorrow for

special "with all due respect." ---hourwe are prevailing previewing the democratic debate with our guests. john: we will see you tomorrow from vegas. sayonara. i just had a horrible nightmare. my company's entire network went down, and i was home in bed, unaware. but that would never happen. comcast business monitors my company's network 24 hours a day and calls and e-mails me if something, like this scary storm, takes it offline. so i can rest easy.

what. you don't have a desk bed? don't be left in the dark. get proactive alerts 24/7. comcast business. built for business. emily: dell buying emc in the largest tech takeover ever -- the question is whether other tech giants will follow. ♪ emily: i'm emily chang and this is "bloomberg west." coming up, my exclusive interview with steve wozniak to separate fact from fiction in the latest steve jobs movie. plus rodeo drive meets the facebook mobile app -- the social network is planning a new shopping section.