dinner. but it's nice to finally relax and wear what ann and i wear around the house. i was actually hoping the president would bring joe biden along this evening, because he'll laugh at anything. >> this is the third time governor romney and i have met recently. as some of you may have noticed, i had a lot more energy in the second debate. i felt really well-rested after the nice, long nap i had in the first debate. of course, world affairs are a challenge for every candidate. every some of you guys remember, after my foreign trip in 2008, i was attacked as a celebrity because i was so popular with our allies overseas. and i have to say, i'm impressed with how well governor romney has avoided that problem. >> just two nights ago, they were going head-to-head in a town hall debate. they did take some jabs at each other. we have jim acosta and jessica yellin and mark katz, former

speechwriter for president bill clinton and founder of the sound bite institute. jim, you cover governor romney. a lot of us that have heard president obama's humor before. he uses it often. governor romney's not so much. got some good lines in there. do you think tonight would help him with likability numbers? do they look at it like this? >> i think so. i think the headlines tomorrow, might be governor romney, what about your laughs? because he was pretty funny tonight. he had some good zingers. i talked to a senior romney adviser who said in addition to doing debate prep, he was working on his material for tonight. and he clearly brought his "a" game. anderson, this is a window into mitt romney. he's a hyper competitive individual. he had to know that the president, because he was so well received, because this president does pretty well at white house correspondent dinners, that he needed to bring some good material tonight and he did just that. >> president obama approached the night a little differently.

jessica, out to you. >> well, he's -- you know, he uses self-deprecating humor as one of his not-secret weapons. he's good at these dinners, the white house correspondents dinners because he has an ability to poke fun at himself. and it's one of the things that the campaign thinks is his strong suit. the likability number remains high, whether or not the unemployment number frankly remains high and something he always goes to. it's a strong suit he can build on. >> as a viewer, nice to see these two candidates in a different way and different sides of their personality. have you been helping candidates with humor for a long time. what do you make of how each of them did? >> i love watching these things. great opportunities to get -- say the things that otherwise never get said in the political arena. when i watch -- on my score card, i was keeping track of who is making self-directed humor

and who was going more on the offensive. according to my numbers, president making self-districted had you more 3-1 margin and governor romney going after the president on a 2-1 margin. i think you have to go after yourself before you can be self-deprecating on others. >> i heard you call yourself a problem solver. not a joke teller, what does that mean? >> you can use humor to solve a problem. the name of this game, figure out the worst thing your opponent might conceivably say about you and find a way to say it yourself. >> say it ideally before they say it. >> that's right. because it is all about likability. and you like the person who does the self-directed joke better than -- a great line about you, that joke would be better coming out of your mouth than mine. >> so, romney is saying, he's dresses around the house. he and his wife dresses in white tie. he gets it off before president obama might say something like that. >> that's right.

you want to beat your opponent to the punch and say the things that disarms your opponent. a whole strategy involved on who gets there first. >> jessica, the president was trying to keep things light when he taped an appearance on jon stewart's "the daily show." the conversation took a serious turn, as it usually does on jon stewart's show, regarding the attacks on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. what did he say? >> that's right. he told jon stewart in benghazi, the administration shared information with the public as it was coming in. and as the picture is getting filled in for them, they are sharing it with the american people. the president was asked by jon stewart at one point if the administration's response to the attack was not, quote, optimal. the president said if four americans get killed, it's not optimal. that's not an ideal way to phrase that, and the president taking some heat from that already from critics tonight. especially because this is such a hot topic under a microscope

on the campaign trail. and expect the phrasing to come up tomorrow from his critics. >> i already saw that online. and i was surprised by his use of the word optimal. but jon stewart used that word in the question? >> jon stewart used that word in the question. and it was -- somewhere lower down in the president's answer, rephrase, a repeat of a word jon stewart asked. but maybe one of the downsides of talking about the more serious issues on a comedy show. >> okay. jessica, appreciate that. jim, thank you very much. mark, as well. interesting stuff. good to hear. ahead on the program, new polling suggests that the number one issue for women in this campaign is abortion. it surprised a lot of people, the new gallup poll out. both campaigns are keenly aware of the importance of the women's vote this time around. we'll talk about it. keeping them honest, ahead. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac

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keeping them honest tonight. on what a new gallup poll says is the most important issue to perhaps the most important voting group in the most important states on the electoral map, women in swing states and abortion. new polling from gallup shows that abortion more than 2-1 is the number one issue in this election, followed by jobs, health care and the economy. this is getting a lot of attention because it is counter to what earlier polls have shown. not binders full of women but where each candidate stands on something involving real substance and differences between the two candidates. so, president obama is hitting this issue hard in recent days. in one case taking his opponent's words out of context. mitt romney seems to be trying to downplay lis differences with the president. some of what governor romney is saying about abortion and contraception is contradicted by

statements he has made in the past contradicting promises made before that. take a look at this exchange at tuesday's debate. >> a major difference in this campaign is that governor romney feels comfortable having politicians in washington decide the health care choices that women are making. >> i just note that i don't believe the bureaucrats in washington should tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not. and i don't believe employers should tell someone whether they should have contraceptive care or not. >> governor romney's record said otherwise. he strongly supported federal legislation tailored to restrict access to birth control and restated that when it briefly came into question. >> jim heath, a reporter for a tv station in ohio just tweeted a remarkable piece of news. mitt romney told him, he does not support the blunt amendment that would empower insurers to deny health coverage they find morally objectionable. what happened here? >> i didn't understand his question. of course i support the blunt amendment. >> that was back in february when he was battling for the

republican nomination and the blunt amendment failed. but as late as august, he was still pushing the idea behind it, allowing companies to restrict insurance coverage for birth control for certain reasons. tuesday night, apparently, he did a 180. when asked yesterday whether he did flip-flop, he said, not in any way. she went on to call the issue not really the point to most women out there. as we showed you, though, the polling suggests that it is, if you believe this poll, which may be why both campaigns now have attack ads running on abortion and contraception. here's a portion of the obama campaign's commercial, which uses a clip from a 2007 primary debate. >> roe v. wade was overturned and congress passed a ban on all abortions. if it came to your desk, would you sign it? >> i would be delighted to sign that bill. >> banning all abortions? >> i would be delighted to sign that bill. >> there is a big problem with the way the obama campaign uses that clip. we will show you that shortly. i want to quickly show you a portion of the romney campaign's reply. >> it turns out romney doesn't

oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life. >> both ads, keeping them honest. the obama ad suggests that mr. romney would immediately sign a bill to end abortion and ignores the context in which he calls such a possibility unlikely. >> let me say it. i would be delighted to sign that bill. that's not where we are. that's not where america is today. where america is, is ready to overturn roe v. wade and return to states that authority. if the congress got there, we had that consensus in the country, terrific. >> so, the obama ad clearly messes with the context. the romney ad repeats the governor's reassurances from tuesday night. and the romney ad makes him sound more tolerant on abortion rights than he actually is. it mentions all the instances in which mr. romney does support the right to an abortion.

it fails to mention that he outspokenly confirms overturning the right if in the first place. from his website, quote, mitt believes that life begins at conception and believes that while the nation remains so divided, he believes the right next step is for the supreme court to overturn roe v. wade. governor romney has taken different positions on roe v. wade and different abortion rights over the years. he is running against ted kennedy in 1994. >> i believe abortion should be safe and legal in this country. i have since the time my mom took that position in 1970 as a u.s. senate candidate. i believe that since roe v. wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it. i sustain and support the right of a woman to make that choice. >> in 1994 in his losing race against ted kennedy. in 2002, while running for governor, he ron as strongly pro-choice. years later, he talked about his pro-life record while in office. >> i have consistently been pro-life. >> even though you were

effectively pro-choice? >> you know, as governor, all of the decisions i made as governor and all of the bills that came to my desk, i came down on the side of life. >> that was during the republican primary in 2007. this time around, he said that he was a severely conservative governor and continued to doubt his anti -bortion credentials. but then, once nominated, he began sounding more moderate. here he was less than two weeks ago. >> do you intend to pursue any legislation specifically regarding abortion? >> there is no legislation with regards to abortion that i am familiar with that would become part of my agenda. >> a spokesperson immediately contradicted that. a day later, here is what he said. >> i think i said time and again, i am a pro-life candidate. i will be a pro-life president. the actions i will take immediately are to remove funding for planned parenthood. that will not be part of my budget.

>> so, was he just misspeaking the day before? you can decide for yourself. a lot of ground to cover. let's talk with bay buchanon and democratic strategist. bay, do you buy this gallup poll that says abortion is the number one issue for women right now? >> not at all. i saw polls again recently and have looked at them throughout the primary and the general election. the number one issue for women has always been jobs, the economy, and their concern for this future with respect to the economy. i have never seen anything that suggests anything else. >> so, what do you make of this gallup poll? it's just false? >> i think it is very interesting. look at the facts out there right now. the gender gap has just collapsed. mitt romney and all the polls, certainly gallup, shows it is a dead-heat with women out there. mitt romney has done a remarkable job bringing them over to his side in the last two, three weeks. why would that be, anderson? it is clear they were looking

for another option. in a 90-minute debate, they took a look and they have been watching the president for four years. his policies have failed and have hurt women, have hurt children. so, they have said, look, is there another option? they tuned in and saw the governor and said, my gosh, here is not only a good and decent man, but somebody that offers us a brighter future for our family and our children and they went with it. >> you are saying he is flat-out wrong? >> i think it cannot be accurate. let them say what they want. we have moved women into the column under mitt romney. that's the important thing. i believe it is because he offers a good and positive future for americans. >> do you buy this poll or believe this gallup poll? >> look, i don't know exactly how much abortion is playing in this election. i do think it has a higher importance to voters. i think it has a higher

importance to women voters. specifically, because contraception became such a flash point, such a flash point to voters in the public dialogue and republican primary. a lot of women were shocked that issues like contraception were up for public debate. women are looking for these positions. that's why i think mitt romney is hiding his positions on abortion and on contraception. he is simply wrong on tuesday night when he told the american people he is for contraception coverage by employers. that is false. that is not where he has been. that's not where he will be. he is saying that a few weeks before an election to try to do well by women voters. i think they are going to see through that. issues around choice are important. both campaigns are spending money on it. it is a problem for mitt romney that he has adopted such an extreme position on it. >> so, bay, what was mitt romney saying at that debate? if he is saying he has no problems with contraception? >> he has always taken the same position. all of what you have recorded looks as if it is confusing.

since he has been governor, i am a very strong activist in the pro-life movement. and the pro-life movement is extremely happy with his position because it has been consistent since the day he converted as governor. everything he has said has been strong pro-life. >> but on contraception. >> it has never been an issue for anyone in politics for as long as i have been involved. the key here is he is not against contraception. it should be out there. women should have access to it. but should the government fund it? that's the question. should employers be forced to fund it for their employees? if it is against their religious beliefs, obviously, they shouldn't be, because that would be a violation of the first amendment. of course, he is not for that. should they have access to it, absolutely. there is no effort by anyone i know to take that access away from them. it's the funding part that is a concern for us. >> neera, what about that? >> i think this answer really

demonstrates how all over the place they have been on this. obviously, he is not going to ban contraception in america but what he will do is say that employers, they will take away the right today that women have today to get coverage from their employers. that is a right that's been established. it is one that women believe they should have. as bay is saying, mitt romney thinks that is wrong. he will take that away. when he looked into the camera on tuesday night, he didn't want to tell the american women that he would do that. so, he said, i support contraception. but on this issue of policy, he supports the blunt amendment. he supports taking away this protection that president obama has provided. and i think that's one of the distinctions in this election. >> you know what's interesting? the liberals would actually think that as women across this country are facing such incredibly challenging times, nearly 500,000 women losing jobs in the last four years under this president,

watching their children graduate from college and not be able to find jobs and to see loved ones suffering enormously under these economic policies of his that they would think the key issue is whether they should get government to fund their contraception, that is more important than getting america back to work. women have shown that is not the most important thing. they are bigger and stronger and more worried making certain america gets back to work and can start take caring of themselves and their families. >> with all due respect, bay, there is a poll out, the gallup poll. anderson started with it. it says 38% of women care about this issue. you may think they don't have a right to care about that. but i am not going to patronize women that way. what their issues and concerns are ones they should respect. they are concerned because republicans have made it an issue. republicans have said in the primary, with all due respect, republicans said in the primary, mitt romney told people he was going to overturn roe v. wade

with his appointments to the supreme court. he made that pledge. he has made issues. he has said he is severely conservative president. he will be a severely conservative governor. he has said on issue after issue, he will vote in line with the pro-life. you are pro-life. >> he is pro-life, absolutely. >> and he has an agenda that will take away women's rights on contraception as well as reproductive health. >> that has never been an issue at all. he will be pro-life. he has taken that position. >> you are saying it is the funding. >> it is the funding issue. >> neera is saying it is taking away access for some women. >> he wouldn't think about doing that. it has never happened. it has been out there since the 1950s. nobody is suggesting that anyone take a woman's right to access for contraception away. that is completely false. what we are talking about? who funds it and should we require employers to do so or should they do it whether they would like to or not?

>> he would overturn roe v. wade. he would take away the right. >> thank you very much. let us know what you think on twitter. is this new gallup poll, is that the number one issue for women? let us know what you think. up next, raw politics, tough talk from president obama on the upcoming showdown over taxes and the budget. big deadlines coming up. the so-called fiscal cliff. and the president has threatened to give the republicans a shove. will that drag the economy down as well? details ahead. if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment?

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real politics now. a whole bunch of deadlines, the bush tax cuts expire and a whole lot of spending cuts kick in. people referring to it to the fiscal cliff and the country will go over it if washington can't make a deal. today, administration officials

say they are willing to play some cliffside hardball. the president will veto a bill that doesn't contain high tax hikes. they are calling in the "thelma and louise" strategy. a scene from the movie. the two went over the cliff. they end up in a freeze frame hanging in mid-air. the credits rolled. the real economy might not do that. let's talk about the possibilities. dana bash, and ali velshi and gloria borger. you say when it comes to the fiscal cliff, there is virtually nothing going on behind the scenes, not from the president or the speaker of the house or either of their staffs. >> that's right. they're not talking to each other at all. i am told from a leadership that the house speaker hasn't talked to the president since july, three months ago. you would think, they are not communicating at the highest levels. they are both kind of busy, especially the president. maybe they are talking at a staff level. nope. that's not happening either. there have been some white house internal meetings, contingency plans by democratic staff, and the finance committee, certainly. sources have been saying there

is no point. no one thinks it is worth it before the election. the dynamic of the discussions will be determined by who wins, who has the most leverage. so, that's the big reason why nobody is talking about it. >> ali, what does this mean, fiscal cliff? what does it mean for average americans? >> it is very serious. number one, the payroll tax credit gets eliminated and the bush tax credits get eliminated. everybody agrees the tax credits should be extended for middle-class working americans. the issue is whether or not it should be extended for the top earners in america. president obama is drawing a line in the sand saying we all agree that it should be there for 98% of americans. but republicans are holding 98% of americans hostage for the 2% that they want tax credits for. he is drawing a very philosophical line in the sand. this is very, very serious. the tax burden on average americans will increase by a few thousand dollars a year. we know what a few hundred dollars a year makes. this is very serious.

>> can that lead back to recession? >> absolutely could. that's the danger. we are growing at a rate of 1.3% in this economy. this is the type of thing that will tell american families, hold on, we are going to pull back and not buy a washing machine or go on a trip. that could set us back into a recession at a time when europe is recession and china is pulling back. very, very dangerous political game to be in right now. >> there is a lot of finger-pointing going on over this crisis. you say there is plenty of blame to go around. >> there is. don't forget, we were sitting here last july when a majority of congress tried to figure out how to raise that debt ceiling. what they did was a majority signed on to this scenario which created this super committee that was supposed to solve all the problems congress was not able to solve. at that time, people said, it wasn't going to work but they signed on anyway. and what was contained in that was, okay. if the super committee cannot come up with a deal, then you head over this fiscal cliff or

fiscal armageddon, as they were calling it. so, nobody is really surprised we are in this situation right now. my guess would be that at some point that they might end up with some kind of a patch. never underestimate congress' ability to do a patch when a real long-term solution is required. right now, it doesn't look like it. >> dana, is this just bluster from both sides? what's the chance some kind of grand bargain would be reached by the end of the year? >> i don't think the chances are very high. john boehner in several ways said he doesn't want that. people think, at least the republicans are going to push for replacing that $110 billion that gloria was talking about for spending cuts that may be more palatable. the republicans want to extend the bush-era tax cuts. privately, what republicans are saying, if mitt romney loses the white house, they will probably have to give on their no tax increases stance and

negotiations. on the democratic side, sources say they think if romney wins, there is a chance they could go off the cliff. why? republicans will want to wait until romney is in office to fix things his way. it used to be i would stand outside rooms where there were big negotiations going on. you knew at the end of the day, there would be a deal. now, there isn't that certainty. it's pretty scary. >> we heard from business leaders today, 15 business leaders from the country's biggest banks and insurance companies, sent a letter to the white house and congress calling for a bipartisan deal. they are not hiring right now because of this uncertainty. >> look, the banks don't carry a lot of sway with a lot of people in this country, because of everything they have gone through. there is a reality that business leaders understand that if you take a few thousand dollars out of everybody's pocket, that pulls demand back. everything depends on demand. why would i hire new staff or build a new factory if i think americans are going to pull back in 2013?

that's the issue. decisions that could be happening now to hire people to expand in 2013 with all these companies that have all this cash may not be happening. so, while there is probably a likelihood some deal will be made at some point at the last minute, it is really affecting spending decisions right now on the part of individuals and businesses. this is very dangerous. >> ali, appreciate you, dana bash and gloria borger. welcome back. the man who hid behind the screen name violent acres while moderating the forum jailbait, goes on camera for the first time since he was revealed. what you love. ps yg no wonder it's america's #1 selling pain reliever. you took action, you took advil®. and we thank you. -oh, that's just my buds. -bacon. -my taste buds. -[ taste buds ] donuts. how about we try this new kind of fiber one cereal? you think you're going to slip some fiber by us? okay.

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welcome back. i'm just finishing up some writing. a "360" exclusive. if you spent time online and read comment sections and websites, you have seen some vile, offensive comments written by anonymous people, saying things they would never say if their names were posted. that's free speech and people have a right to say whatever they want.

often these people are referred to as trolls. we're arn't editorializing, an internet slang for troublemaker. you are about to meet one of the biggest trolls on the internet. he is speaking out in his first television interview. if there are kids in the room, you might want to have them leave. you are going to hear a conversation geared towards adults. this particular troll created several controversial, many would say creepy and twisted forums on the website reddit. one area called jail bait, which featured sexually suggestive photos of teenagers. we reported on it last year. a couple of weeks later redit shut down the jail bait forum. there were others that featured pictures of dead children and other rape jokes. you get the idea. pretty vile stuff. for years, the guy who created and moderating these forums hid behind the online screen name violent acres.

but last week, the website gawker actually revealed who he is. this is michael bruch. this is what he looks like, that is who he is, a 49-year-old software programmer that lives in texas, married with kids. now, he is out of a job. he agreed to talk to drew griffin at a hotel room in ft. worth. he told drew that his employer fired him after the article. he had another life unknown. after a long day at work, he would unwind on the internet. trolling under halias. he was in the big league of trolls. he is a powerful online player, reported more than 3 billion page views. a good troll helps drive traffic on a website, violent acres, aka michael brooch, was so good that he says that reddit awarded him prizes. including one for the jail bait forum. that's how popular it was. how many teens were exploited by it, that's anyone's guess. here is drew's exclusive interview.

>> the problem is the kids, the teenagers, the pictures, weren't yours. >> that is correct. >> you didn't know who those kids were. >> and neither did anyone else. we did our best to maintain the anonymity of these people, without thinking, you know, about the wider repercussions. if people were to tell us, i know that person or this was me, we would remove them. i say we would remove them. i mentioned, you can't delete anything from reddit. >> if a teenage girl is out there and for some reason or another, a picture of her in her underwear gets posted on a site called jail bait, you would expect her to contact some guy named violent acres and ask for that picture to be removed from this website because it is very embarrassing to me? this whole thing, i have to tell you, it sounds crazy. i'm a father of a daughter.

i would be very mad at you. >> i understand that. all i can say is that, you know, i'm sorry. i have made mistakes. i understand that reddit encouraged and enabled this sort of behavior. and i shouldn't have been a part of it. nobody on reddit really had anything to say about it at all. since then, i have come to understand that there are, you know, situations where things are inappropriate. i started off posting lots of porn, mostly soft core porn. pictures of naked girls, that sort of thing. as i would find porn of

different types, like, if it was a picture of an african-american woman, i created a reddit called women of color. if it was a woman with large breasts, i created a reddit called boobies. i saw it as creating folders to file things in. i created probably 600 reddits or subforums in the time i was on reddit. i just put things as i came across images, i put them in these categories. there are hot button topics that you can make a comment about and just enrage people. sadly for me, i enjoyed doing that. i liked going in and making people really mad over what amounted to meaningless things. >> sadly, you say? >> well, yes. obviously, it has affected me. it has affected my family. it has -- >> some would say it caught up with you? >> well, it did. it actually did catch up with

me. i treated reddit like a game. apparently, i have a gift for pushing buttons. >> did you ever think -- i mean, jailbait, rapebait, incests, pics of dead kids, choke a bitch. did you ever think these aren't normal buttons i am pushing here? >> this is how violent acres character first started. this was my first thought. i see those pictures on my incoming image stream all the time. i could easily create a reddit for that and fill it up with some pictures. so, i did. to outrage people. no idea where the pictures came from. i created back in the day i created a reddit called "r" rape for rape jokes. one called "r" pregnant for pictures of pregnant women. >> are you apologizing for what

you did? or are you trying to make an excuse for what you did? >> i am to some degree apologizing for what i did. i was playing to an audience of college kids. and, you know, when two years ago, when i was -- when all of this was at its height, the audience was appreciative and supportive of the sort of gallows humor that i put out there. >> did you get a thrill out of that? >> honestly, the biggest thrill i got was those meaningless internet points. >> it is pretty amazing to hear. you see trolls on the internet all the time who hide behind an anonymity, to see one unmasked and see what kind of person he is. reddit gave him an award for creating this jailbait site. >> this surprised us. he was so proud of that award bobblehead, he brought it to the interview with him to show us. take a look.

>> this is the reddit, the little reddit alien. this is actually a gold-plated. they only gave these out to people who made significant contributions to the site. plated in gold. >> you are kidding. this is an award you got from reddit for creating jailbait? >> anderson, as you can imagine, reddit told us it now regrets sending that trophy. they said the award was based on what it called a community vote. >> it is interesting to me, because in that interview, he seems to be blaming reddit as if they were encouraging him. he has a mind, a free will. he can do what he wants. he clearly enjoys the attention that he got on it. he said at one point in your interview, he said, he has a gift for pushing buttons. it is not too hard to push buttons anonymously on the internet. it is a pretty easy thing to do. what about all the posts he made on the jailbait site? >> we asked reddit about it.

they sent us a statement. reddit follows all the legal requirements regarding illegal content including reporting to the proper authorities. the moderators have complete control over the subsections they start unless they violate site rules or the law. so, he was in charge of it, according to reddit, is how i interpret that. >> i'm fascinated by this high opinion he seems to have for himself, saying he has a gift for pushing buttons. he is a guy sitting in his lonely little room typing on a keyboard and interacting with people he doesn't know who they are. you have more, specifically whether he regrets what he has done or regrets that he got caught. it sounds to me like he regrets getting caught. when he talked about the impact this has had, he wasn't talking about the impact of some young girl's pictures and the impact it might have had but the impact

on his family, his job. he got fired. we are going to talk to drew coming up. we are going to have part two in just a second. the man once known as violent acres will answer more questions from drew ahead. ah.

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"360" exclusive. michael brutsch, whose identity was revealed last week by the website gawker.

agreed to sit down with drew griffin for his first interview. for years, he hit behind his online screen name, violent acres, while creating moderate controversial, many would call them twisted and sick forums on the website reddit. they have all now been shut down. now, we know who is behind them. here is part two of drew's exclusive interview. >> michael, i don't understand really why you did this at all? why you kept pushing the envelope. >> it had a reward. i'm like the monkey that pushes the button and gets the food pellet. it is addictive. why do people spend money playing w.o.w.? why do people play games like that to build up their meaningless stats? what does 300 million mite mean in kingdoms of camelot? exactly the same as 800,000 karma means on reddit. it is just -- i don't know. >> you were outed. >> yes.

>> so far, it has not been good. >> and i anticipate it will get much worse. i can't see it getting any better. >> was this a huge mistake? >> if i look back on it, yes, it probably was. >> what happens now? you have lost your job. >> i have lost my job. i am going to lose my home. my health insurance is gone. my wife is disabled. i really don't know at this point. i suspect i am going to probably move back up to arkansas with her family. and i really don't see myself being able to get a job. >> anderson outed you without saying your name a year ago, right? >> right. >> you could have stopped then. >> right. >> is the only reason you are stopping is because we now know who you are? >> yes. there is really no point anymore.

no one is going to buy into the violent acres mystique anymore, because it is gone. that and the fact that i have, as with the rape and pregnant reddits, i have come around over the last few months to understand that some of these things can be harmful to other people. >> wow. he has come around over the last few months to understand some things can be harmful to other people. i have to ask you. why do you think he agreed to talk to you? >> you know, his life is ruined, anderson. i think personally his life is ruined more than we even know. i know he has lost his job. he has lost his little violent acres identity. but his personal life is falling apart. i think he wanted to come on the air and truly apologize and try to explain maybe to his extended family and even his followers why he did this, why he created this character and somehow wiggle out of this to blame it

on violent acre, this character, who he says made up all this stuff, trying to distance himself personally from this character. he was very nervous. we thought, david fitzpatrick, the producer and i, thought up until the last minute, he is not going to come. not only did he come, he came to that interview. he came an hour early. he was eager to get on tv. >> we have free speech for a reason, people are allowed to say what they want. he has supporters out there as well in the online community. >> that's exactly right. i think, you know, free speech is free speech, as long as you are saying it outloud with your name under it. this guy was basically hidden away from anybody to see. anonymously posting stuff that he was just trying to tick people off. he sure did it. he got exposed. he has the right to free speech. he can say whatever he wants. we gave him that opportunity. he now realizes what he said was probably a big mistake. >> interesting stuff. drew, appreciate it. thanks very much. the ridiculist is next. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time,

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oh, yes. time for the ridiculist. tonight, we have a warning. if you should find yourself hanging around someone's pool when it's cold outside. and your friends are filming when you're about to do a cannonball to go through the frigid water to break through the ice, i want you to think back to what we're about to show you and reconsider. a german man found out that a cold cannonball may not be the greatest idea that someone has ever had. >> [ bleep ].

>> let's take another look at the precise moment when cannonball became costic slam, shall we? oh. ow. oy. all right. enough. let's see if we can try to figure out exactly what went wrong here because his form looks okay. he got a running start. the arm position was good. the knees were tucked into the chest. he had plenty of altitude. what possibly could have been the problem? i'm stumped. it looked like it was shaping up to be one hum dinger of a cannonball. maybe it will help to look at it in slow-motion. oh. goodness, that still hurts every time i see it. i'm no scientist. but i'm starting to think something may have been wrong

with that pool. why don't we watch in slow-motion and in reverse and see if we can pick up any clues that way. hmm? still don't quite get it. i don't know. it's a mystery why he didn't splash perfectly in the water and amaze his friends with his >> a stunning number about abortion and how crucial it is in the race for the white house, but does the poll add up. another psych rhett recording from mitt romney. what he told business leaders about their employees and an alleged islamic extremist charged with plotting to blow up mott manhattan building came to the united states on a student visa. we'll have an investigation about how easy it is to get one of those. let's go ""outfront.""