roommate took it for him. >> okay, not to condone theft, but you have to kind of admit, a life-sized cutout of david hasselhoff holding an iced coffee, that is one sweet decoration for a dorm room or for e riduculist. well be counting down the top five riduculist crimes all week. you can still vote for your favorite at ac360.com. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. romney's pick for vp wastes no time. and current vp joe biden makes a campaign stop and accuses romney of planning to chain the audience. did his comment go too far? and a marvel of technology. why it may be crucial to the defense of the united states in the future.

let's go "outfront." >> the clean cut vp presidentialal candidate is in sin city tonight for what the campaign is calling a finance event where he'll come fies to face with the highest of high rollers, shell madison. the man who has put the most chips on the table during this campaign by the far. an unprecedent amount of cash is expected to be spent on this election. about $2.5 billion. according to the senator for politics. much of that is coming from super pacs. only 100 individuals account for 50%. but when it comes to the king of donations mr. shell madison has

put $36 million in the pot so far. that's more than 10% of all super pac donations. adelson has donated more than any other tributetor. all of them except for one is a return. but don't feel bad about his bank account. he's a wealthy man. worth about $24.9 billion. so $36 million to him is the equivalent of $112 donation made by the average american family. adelson is not just a shark in las vegas. this is a man who's bank roll who's for tune is built on whether his casinos would pay off. and pay off they have. its properties have brought in

$429 million. so adelson is certainly a friend of china. >> it's good for us to be able to trade. it creates jobs for us. but we have to make sure that when nations like china cheat we hold them responsible and make them accountable. >> now, it's not just adelson who's bringing baggage to his millions. take fofter freeze. you might remember he got the candidate into a little bit of 2rub8 when he weighed in on contraception back in february of this year. back in my days they used bayer aspirin. the gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly. >> the question is all this mayhem worth all this money? "outfront" tonight, dave.

>> i'm against wealthy people attempting to influence elections. but as long as it'sdoabl'm gog to it. so when you hear that o 100 peope accountle for 5 enall thedonation toss super pacs and tis one given 10 alone, the equivalent of 100 and change to the average american family, how do you not come to the conclusion that the super rich are distorting american politics through super pacs? >> do the super rich have a disproportionate access to candidates in this race and are they putting more money into these races than ever before? yes, that's absolutely true. but what are they getting for their money? are they getting policy prescriptions that they want out of this? are they getting the win of the election? those things have yet to be

seen. but what we've seen in the past is that more money doesn't buy you an election. what we've also seen more in the past because your putting more money in doesn't necessarily get the policy prescriptions you're after. you have always said sunlight is the best disinfectant. what we know now, there isful transparency, you know exactly how much money they have donated, do we not have a more open and transparent system. >> we'll get to the question of how people are hiding money in a second. but first i want to get to a point margaret made. given the fact that adelson doesn't share romney's views on china, doesn't that mean there are limits to how much influence he can buy? >> certainly and a lot of people would argue that he's really not as influential as a lot of people would make him out to be. at the same time he's been in all aspects of this campaign for better or worse. he's been traveling with mitt romney overseas.

he's been donating more than any single individual to a super pac in this campaign. so at the very least he's made himself out to be a major player in this campaign. and with this type of access he can bend the ear with the person who may very well the next president of the united states. that certainly does count for something. >> you've got a point. he certainly does have access, an ability to make his case to him. but does that mean much? he's for telling the palestinians or the israeli -- saying there should be no peace process between the israelis and the palestinians because they want peace. he's also said move the embassy to jerusalem. he said he'll do anything in consultation with the government. so yes they have the ability to get in the ear of candidates but does that mean they're going to listen? of course not. they have to justify their election to a larger elect rate. >> they can't just phone up the

candidate to say hey i want to talk. >> that's a fair point. he has access and that is something we should discuss. >> david, one other point is this point of transparency. the grand bargain if you will with citizens united was supposed to unleash this golden age. that it was going to be press unlimited donations in exchange for unprecedented disclosure. already we've seen the growth of these organizations that effectively hide the numbers of donors. the indications are probably it's at least as much being put into super pacs transparently. >> many people think that super pacs don't have to disclose their donors. they do. but it is these nonprofit organizations that are set up as social welfare organizations under the way that the irs works. and ght now if they're advocating for or against say

presidential candidate or a congressional candidate, they don't have to say who is giving them the money to go and tear apart candidates or promote candidates. so it's been an issue that finance reform candidates have taken up saying what is wrong with our system. at least at this juncture there's been nothing in a material way that has really caused all of this money to be unearthed. >> well, i think we'll see when it's all over the real impact one way or the other. still "outfront," republicans say joe biden dropped a race related bomb in front of a diverse audience today. and cops release a video showing how a handcuffed man might have shot and killed himself in the back of a police car. does this new theory add up?

our second story "outfront" tonight, the biden gaff machine rears its ugly head. in danville, virginia, in a city where a large majority of the population is african american. joe biden said something that set off a storm of controversy. >> romney said in the first hundred days he's going to let the big banks write their own rules. unchain wall street. he's going to put you all back in chains. >> now, the romney campaign immediately issued a statement that read, quote, after weeks of slanderous and baseless accusations leveled against governor romney, the obama

campaign has reached a new low. so here's the question. is this a manufactured controversy or sincere outrage. mark and dylan. welcome. >> good to be here. >> the obama campaign issued a response on the heels of the romney campaign. here's what they said. for months, speaker boehner, congressman ryan and other republicans have called for the unshackling of the private sector from regulations that protect americans from risky financial deals. we find the romney campaign's outrage over the comments today hypocritical. and the campaign is right on that point. here's what they're referring to. >> what we needed was to liberate the economy from the shackles of washington. >> so, fair point? >> listen, i'm a big boy. i understand politics, and i understand rhetoric in politics. i think it's a little

disingenuous to say this is full outrage. i think the real question would be if this comment had been made by someone other than a democrat, particularly the vice president of the united states, would they be afforded the same degree of restraint that people are affording vice president biden. >> that's a reasonable point a double standard. but do you believe the vice president was intentionally making a racially loaded metaphor? >> the vice president has been prone to gaffes so often that it's tough to suggest this is by design. however, i think the fact of the matter is, it's offensive. i'm not one that looks for race-baiting underneath thinly-veiled comments, but it does deserve commentary. >> to his point, certainly republicans have gotten beaten up using racially loaded language, let's refresh your memory on a couple of examples. >> barack obama seems to want to

do, go back to before those days when we were in different classes, based on income, based on color of skin. >> if there's a problem, then president obama is the problem for failing to utilize the tools that he has. this is just about waving a tar baby in the air and saying that something else is a problem. >> now, that's not nearly as subtle i'd say. but is there a double standard? >> no, it's not a double standard. harry reid caught hell in the last election cycle, we heard his comments and people were just as outraged. i would critique it the same way. the double standard term means two people who are the same are treated differently. it's not the same thing. we have to consir their backgrounds and the context. we have to consider their track record. often times the republicans don't have the track record to make comments about the moral majority.

not letting democrats off the hook but we have to take things into consideration. >> i would suggest strongly there's never been any accusation with respect to race, with respect to mitt romney, his father george romney was active in the civil rights movement. paul ryan has been active. >> no one considers them racist. >> however, the vice president if you were to take it to an extreme, the vice president did suggest, perhaps that shackling african-americans. >> unshackling wall street is a different claim. what he's trying to say is a set of economic policies will lead to that. chains is metaphoric. probably not ideally metaphor in retrospect. the romney campaign said it was a new low. they lost no time sending that out. we asked our political strike team, independent analysts and journalists whether it's the most negative campaign in history. here's what they came up with.

75% no, 25% yes. people aren't saying that this is -- just in terms of rhetoric, we've seen this before. >> we've been around politics a long time and every year they say this campaign is more negative than the next. so i think that i would suggest the public is numb to this type of activity. the romney campaign wants to talk about the economy, taxes, the debt. i think that's where the campaign will turn, but i think it's worth noting that the vice president made an inpolitic remark. >> i think that has been noted. >> i'm sure if he could have a do-over, he would. he doesn't want to be talking about this. he'd rather be talking about the issue. >> the idea of the most negative campaign ever, we have plenty of examples through history. but negative ads in the cycle, 79% of the ads in this political season have been negative. now, backed by unprecedented

dollars. so that's something that is different, just the relentlessly negative tone on the airway. you understand why people are cynical and feeling divided? >> yeah, but if you mark them positive or negative, there are more negative. but the intensity of the negative ads is greater. than 2008 when president obama had to defend his citizenship and his humanity. >> in 2008 the president ran as a transformational candidate who was going to change the tone in washington. i think that he's been an active participant in making it one of the more negative campaigns and it's not healthy for the democracy. >> there's no doubt there's been negativity on both sides. but i think the president has been doing it from a defensive posture much over the last four years. >> nothing says hope and change like a negative ad. but is there a line in politics about when people go too far and

did joe biden cross it today? >> i don't think he went too far at all. i think part of what you can see is the crowd's response. they were cheering. and the groans weren't in response to him, they were in response to the proposed policy. i think mitt romney is willfully misinterpreting this for his own benefit. >> i think that the voters will determine whether or not the vice president went too far or not. >> how? >> well, they'll factor this as one of the -- >> you're saying if president obama wins the election, didn't matter. if he loses, it will be because of this? >> i think it will be all part of the panoply -- >> those 'hundred and 30 ople -- >> no i'm saying -- >> i'm saying that the election doesn't hinge on this comment.

>> i'm saying that the election doesn't hinge on this comment. it won't be an index of anything. >> i'm not suggesting it hinges on this comment. i do suggest there will be a billet of evidence of information that people take in to make decisions. that's what campaigns are all about. >> that would be very foolish. >> to make this decision based on the fact that -- god forbid president obama and mitt romney are so vastly different that if you make a different decision on who you're going to vote for based on that comment, that's unwise. both camps have made gaffes and said something untoward. i think you should base it on policy, not a gaff. >> i think the gaff feeds into the policy argument. >> how so? this gaffe speaks for policy, how? >> the obama campaign is implying class warfare, making the commentary that it's wall street versus main street, this gaffe was in the context of that -- >> i don't think -- >> there's no question there's a little bit of question in there. this is virginia, every vote

counts. there's a reason they call it silly season. thanks, guys. >> sure. >> you're able to go from new york to l.a. in less than an hour with today's military but that's not what today's test was about after all. an update, a bank slapped with millions of dollars of fines today. did it go far enough?

it used toe that stealth technology was the most advanced technology in the u.s. military arsenal. we'd see pictures like this one of the b2 spirit stealth bomber, making its first flight in 1989. despite its age, still an amazing piece of engineering

innovation. these planes aren't unique to the u.s. anymore. china, russia, india, all working on some form of stealth aircraft. this is just one example. when it comes to military technology, no one manages to have an exclusive weapon for very long. everyone's trying to one-up each other. that's the story of medieval history. until today. the number tonight, 3,600, thasz that's how many miles per hour, the new wave rider will travel. it was set to drop off the coast of california. if all goes as planned. it has a four-second free fall before its engine kicks into action. it will climb to a height of 70,000 feet reaching mach 6 before falling into the pacific ocean. but it's breaking a different barrier as well. at those speeds you could fly from new york to california in

under an hour. before you start envisioning commutes between the coast, it isn't being tested for commercial use. at least not yet. it's for military purpose. you could bomb a target on the other side of the world before they could scramble their jets. when it's ready, it could keep the u.s. one step ahead of threats by other nations, if, of course, those other nations don't get it first. "outfront" next, how long can the syrian government hold out against sanctions? tonight accusations another government is keeping them run. and the family says it doesn't add up, but police say there's a new video that shows how a man may have shot himself despite being handcuffed in the back of a police car. if you are one of the millions of men

who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding

should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, andlood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news.

welcome back to "outfront." our third story "outfront," iran teaming up with syria. that's the warning coming from leon panetta tonight. >> iran is playing a larger role in syria in many ways, not only in terms of the irtc, but in terms of assistance, training. there's now an indication that they're trying to develop or trying to train a militia within syria. >> now, this comes as "the wall street journal" uncovers evidence that the syrian government is planning to use russian banks to bypass sanctions by the united states and the european union. russia is the key ally to the syrian government. it's been the country's principal arms supplier from

2007 to 2010. "outfront" tonight, former state department official and an expert on sanctions, and bob bear, former cia operative. bob, secretary panetta says iran is trying to develop and train a militia in syria. is there precedent for this kind of involvement and what are the ramifications? >> never in syria. the iranians have always kept their hands off syrian politics. this is unprecedented. i think what we have to understand is, iran intends to fight for this regime right until the end. it does not intend to lose that supply route to hezbollah, which is a creation of iran. this is a key policy objective to hold on to this part of the arab world and they'll do anything from training, to sending money, to sending ammunition. we can expect a long, very hard fight.

>> david, it's the sending money that's an issue. it comes no supplies syria is trying to side step sanctions using russian banks. but how important is the loophole to syria right now? >> what we see from this article "the wall street journal" is two trends. first of all, sanctions are having an impact on syria. and it's become a little more difficult for syria to get funds and revenue and a little more difficult to sell oil. so what syria is doing, is exploiting the big gap that exists in sanctions. both russia and china have vetoed three u.n. security council resolutions. that would have created a stronger sanctions regime. no surprise there. syria is going to russia to help find tactics to evade sanctions. this includes setting up off-shore companies in russia and using russian banks to move money through, in order to get funding from the oil that they really need to sell.

the oil revenues are the life line for the syrian regime which is embattled right now. >> bob, following up from that point, the new coalition we're seeing in the u.n. and other places, russia and china, trying to bolster a nation like syria. are we starting to see the outlines of new coordination on the world stage that has serious implications for the west in the 21st century? >> well, i think it's serious. this is a new cold war. russia and china do not intend to let the middle east slip under the u.s. umbrella. that's the way they look at it, from egypt to saudi arabia, even to a degree, iraq. they can't let it happen. china needs the oil. russia wants the political influence. they will support our enemies in that part of the world, whatever they have to do. and as you said, it's the oil. it's selling at $15 discount.

the russians are arranging a russian businessman is buying this stuff, you mix it with oil in the sea. it's coming to refineries all around the world. it's a life line for the syrian regime and it's got state backing. >> david, to that point as well, how long on the ground can syria continue to survive with the sanctions imposed right now from the u.s. and eu? and what will it take in terms of broader sanctions for them to feel the pain and change their actions? >> that's the million-dollar question. how long can they survive? certainly they're struggling a little bit. military is spread thin, running out of resources. so they're on the run. but part of the question of how long they'll survive will depend on how many allies do they have that will help them evade sanctions. how can they continue to get funding and, and how can they continue to get refined products which they need to keep the country running and to keep the army running. those things were some of the things that really put a strangle hold on gadhafi in libya.

with libya, we had a stronger sanctions regime, passed by the u.n. security council. and all member countries were required to follow it. >> does the united states have a strategy to deal with the new alliance between russia and china that bolsters rogue states like syria? >> i think there's not much we can do. we're doing better now. we can impose sanctions on iran and syria -- we have to put more pressure on russia and china. the question, how bad do things have to get before the russians finally throw the towel in? >> thank you both. our fourth story "outfront," suicide or police cover-up? a 21-year-old javis cartis died while handcuffed in the back of a police car in jonesboro, arkansas. authorities say he shot himself after being arrested for marijuana possession.

his family says the police killed him and they're trying to cover it up. arkansas police have issued a video showing how they believe carter killed himself. in the video you can see the officer pull out a fake gun and demonstrate how this could happen. does the video tell the whole story? the question, does this add up? have you ever seen anything like this, someone committing suicide with a handgun, handcuffed in the back of a police car? >> this is the most bizarre alleged police shooting i've ever seen. i've never seen a fact pattern even close to this. carter was handcuffed behind his back. the police would have had to have missed a hidden weapon when they put him in the back of the car. and they say he committed suicide. would a 21-year-old kid on a marijuana charge kill himself in the back of a police cruiser? a bizarre fact pattern and one that's going to be very, very hard for the police to defend against. that is the charge that they're

responsible. >> how common are suicide in police custody? >> surprisingly, over 2,000 people died in police custody in a three-year study done by the department of justice. of that number, 12% were suicide. so over 200 people actually did commit suicide while in police custody, according to federal statistics. that's a three-year study. so it does happen. but i've never seen one case involving a handcuffed man using his own weapon. >> the flipside is questions of police brutality. it's hard to imagine a young man arrested for marijuana possession is so overcome with grief he decides to commit suicide in the back of a police car. we've come a long way since days when police brutality may have been more common, but what's the likelihood that this would occur? >> the flip side is why would the police kill somebody in this way? you hear about cases that cops stage a killing. maybe look like they were being

assaulted when they were not. but here, would they shoot somebody in the head and then handcuff him behind his back and put him in a locked police car? it doesn't really create a scenario of defense for the police officers involved which makes this one of the most bizarre shootings i've ever seen. now they've staged this thing with the police officer demonstrated how it could be done. you could get a cirque du soleil contortionist to cook an omelet wearing handcuffs, but that doesn't prove that's the way things went down with real live people. so could this young man have shot himself? i think if anything, it's going to turn out to be an accidental discharge of the weapon, as mr. carter was trying to get the weapon out of his back. that would be something maybe that the police could live with in terms of an explanation, but to say he was trying to commit suicide, i think they're going to have a hard time with that as an explanation. we'll see. forensic evidence will be key and it's not all in yet.

>> it's hard to imagine how that could happen, accidentally shooting yourself in the back of the head. >> well, maybe it's a saturday night special, he's trying to wrestle it loose, it hits the bottom of the floor and discharges upward. i'm speculating because we don't know the forensic evidence. >> and everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but there's a lot about this case that doesn't add up. >> they don't deserve anymore doubt in a murder case. the law holds them to the same standard. >> thanks for coming "outfront." >> nice being with you. >> the hit broadway show book of mormon kicks off its national tour tonight in the swing state of colorado. what does that comedy highlight about mormonism and could it hurt the gop nominee? tonight's moment of sanity. a guy who thinks america should be taken back from the politics of polarization.

[ male announcer ] its lightweight construction makes it nimble... ♪ its road gripping performance makes it a cadillac. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with advanced haldex all-wheel drive. [ engine revving ] it's bringing the future forward. it's bringing the future it's something you're born with. and inspires the things you choose to do. you do what you do...

because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people when technology works for you. to dream. to create. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones.

but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪

i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing.

an "outfront" update on standard charter. that's the british bank we've been telling you about since last week. it's accused of hiding $250 billion worth of transactions with iran over the past ten years. today the bank and new york state regulators announced a settlement. the bank will pay $340 million to settle the case. it's agreed to allow regulators to install a monitor at the bank to evaluate money laundering. risk contrs. standard chartered will put its own auditors in place. this isn't new. it was discussed just last week. >> you look at banks that have been censured for doing business with rogue states including iran. the u.s. has gotten a lot of money from violators. credit suisse paid more than half a billion. the netherlands bank, img, abm

the netherlands bank, img, abm half a billion. that's a lot of money. does the u.s. say it's easier on look the other way and just get the money? i know that sounds incredibly ugly, but is it? >> i see your point. obviously it's punishment to the banks, but more so it's deterrent to others for breaking the law, or breaking these regulations and prevent them from aiding iran. the big thing here is that iran is probably the greatest threat to international security today and others shouldn't be working with them. >> now, this isn't the end of the road for standard chartered, the u.s. treasury department and the fbi are still investigating the bank for violations of u.s. sanctions. now our fifth story "outfront" tonight. "the book of mormon."

could its popularity end up impacting the presidential race. the musical is one of the hottest tickets, already grossing $102 million since opening in february of last year. but when the republican nominee is a mormon, it could perpetuate myths about an american faith. time to have an honest and thoughtful discussion. that's why we brought "outfront" our reporter is covering the romney campaign and is a practicing mormon himself. i started by asking him whether the show's tour could help or hurt mitt romney. >> you know, that's an interesting question. so far this musical which has been part of the mormon moment has been contained to manhattan. having traveled with mitt romney, i think it could really bring his religion to the forefront. whether that hurts or helps him will depend on whether he's addresses it. he's been reluctant too so far, but i think it will make it a bigger issue. >> let's address misconceptions about the mormon faith. one act in the play is about

mormon hell. help folks understand what the mormon conception of the afterlife really is. >> for one thing, mormons don't believe in hell, no fire and brimstone. mormons believe that the afterlife for almost everybody will be a time to learn and progress. you hear a lot of people say mormons believe they will get their own planet. that's in the musical. in reality that's not part of official mormon doctrine. we believe mormons will continue to grow and become more like god. that's where it comes from. mormons believe that basically everybody will come to some level of heaven after their life. so it's a common misconception that's advanced in the musical. >> let's take on another misconception advanced in the musical. mormon undergarments. separate fact from fiction on that. >> sure. one of the things that a lot of people say and you'll see this on the internet is that mormons believe they have magic underwear. in reality, the most devout

mormons wear an undergarment, it looks like a t-shirt and briefs, but it's a symbol of our faith, not necessarily magical. there are no special powers assigned to it, but it's something that mormons wear and you'll see it in the musical to remind them of their faith and to obey the commandments, it's not as mysterious or crazy as its made out to be by mormonism's detractors and critics. >> we certainly have seen critics and people speaking from ignorance on this subject. that's why we wanted to have you on to clear it up >> the issue of missionary work versus military service. this is the first time that no one on either presidential ticket has served in the military. but specific question about the romneys. he famsly protested in favor of the war but did not serve he was on missionary work in france.

none of his five sons served in the military either. help us understand if that's related to the faith or missionary work in particular. >> sure. foone thing, a lot of mormons do serve in the military. so the romneys aren't necessarily representative of everyone in their church and there's no pacifist element to mormonism. one thing i think might hold back mormons from serving including romney and his sons that they are taught to serve mormon missions at the age of 19. which is the time that a lot of men join the military. so it can sort of stand in the way of a natural time to join the arm i or another branch of the military. a lot of mormons do serve abroad and serve in wars and i think romney and his sons would of course appreciate that. but they all served mormon missions and that might have been one of the things that stood in their way.

>> one big question out right now is the question of how mitt romney might deal with his faith. in the traditional exoin biography played at the convention. for someone who by all counts of exemplary personal character, how do you think he might deal with his faith in that reintroduction to the american people? >> yeahment well that's an interesting question. i think somewhere in some dark room in bostonr there are videographers who are trying to decide how to tackle this issue. it has been part of his story. from the time he served a mission in france to being a bishop, a leader in the church. i think that now is the time if there ever is going to be a time, for him to introduce his faith on his own terms. like we said with this music kal and with other factors, there's a good chance that other people will be talking about this. this is a chance for him to

introduce his faith in a way that he would like to discuss it. the experiences he's had, the people he's helped in his faith and howt's shaped his character. will that happen? it remains to be scene. i guess we'll find out at the convention. >> thank you for coming "outfront" and helping us clear up misconceptions. >> thanks for having me on. mitt romney has just started dlflg a speech in ohio. >> universitied to build the greatest economy, united to save the world from unspeakable darkness. everywhere i go in america there are monuments that list those who give their life for liberty. there's no mention of race, party affiliation or what they did for a living. they lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. they pledged allegiance to the united states of america.

so mr. president, take your campaign of division, anger and hate back to chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting america. up next, a former law maker asks, can we turn democrats and republicans into americans again? but i knew i was gonna get that opportunity one day, and that's what happened with university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky's the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. you'll inevitably find yourself on a desolate highway

in your jeep grand cherokee. and when you do, you'll be grateful for the adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts your speed when approaching slower traffic. and for the blind spot monitoring that helps remind you that the highway might not be as desolate... ...as you thought. ♪ questions. when you're caring for a loved one with alzheimer's, not a day goes by that you don't have them. questions about treatment where to go for extra help, how to live better with the disease. so many questions, where do you start? alzheimers.gov. the answers start here.

that's a dead end. ...don't know which way to turn. [ under his breath ] this way... turn around. that's why we present people with options... to help them find coverage that fits their needs. almost there. [ announcer ] we are insurance. -woo! ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪

now, for tonight's moment of sanity. this just in, a new gallup poll showing american's approval rating of congress has tied the all-time low at 10%. 10%. as john mccain once joked, that's pretty much down to paid staffers and blood relatives. what caused this new era of dysfunction and division and what can we do to improve it? i sat down with the republican congressman from oklahoma and author of the new book "the parties versus the people." can we turn republicans and democrats into americans? mickey, one of the things you write in this book is that the founding father's nightmare of our political system has come to pass. explain. >> absolutely. washington, adams, jefferson and

madison, all the things they disagreed about, they all agreed on one thing, don't create political parties. don't create permanent factions, always one party against another. >> how has it gotten worse since you've served in congress? >> it's gotten worse because it used to be members of congress were able to sit down. you and i might have different ideas but we knew we had to compromise. 300 million americans. you had to compromise to get anything done. that doesn't happen anymore. >> what can we do about it? what can folks at home who are frustrated about the status quo? >> there are a couple of ways to do it. you have to get rid of closed party primaries. you have to take away, in congress, this automatic division into rival clubs. you've got to be able to take away the ability of party leaders to say, john, you can serve on this committee, you know all the facts. you can't certain on the committee unless you promise you're going to start with the party line.