topless. it's kind of cheesy, but not surprisingly, it draws traffic. "the huffington post" hasn't drawn a profit yet and wish it saw the value of paying outside writers for its work. so on this fifth anniversary, a tip of the hat to arianna. that's it for "reliable sources." thanks for watching. "state of the union" with candy crowley is up right now. seniority is power on capitol hill. long-time lawmakers have major legislative clout, loyal campaign donors and the best odds for re-election. 94% of house members, 83% of senators were reelected in 2008. this year feels different. >> there's no question there is at this moment an anti-incumbent mood. >> senator bennett found out on saturday, represent arv mulahan found out on tuesday night. it's politicians beware. >> 18 years in the u.s. senate,

utah republican robert bennett didn't even make the runoff for his party's nomination. democratic congressman alan mulahan, a 27-year veteran was thrown overboard by west virginia democrats in his primary. 2010 may be the year of incumbents living dangerously. today, two democrats battling for pennsylvania's u.s. senate seat. arlen specter, a 30-year senate veteran and his challenger, two-term congressman joe sestak. then republican senator robert bennett, the first high-profile casualty of voters' anger at all things washington. and we'll preview tuesday's elections with political reporters john mercurio and julie mason. i'm candy crowley and this is "state of the union." tuesday voters in oregon, kentucky, arkansas and pennsylvania go to the polls mostly for primary contests. this morning we start with a fierce race in pennsylvania. 80-year-old arlen specter in the

electoral fight of his life. the republican turned democrat once led his opponent, joe sestak, by more than 20 points but now specter is in trouble. one poll released this week has specter tied with sestak. another shows specter down by nine. elected to the house in 2006 sestak spent most of his life in the military, rising to vice admiral, a background which made him the democrats' go-to guy on defense and military matters. he is not the go-to guy now. the democratic establishment from the president down is behind specter. as aggressive as he is disciplined, sestak has largely gone it alone. so despite four years on capitol hill, he has campaigned as an outsider, a very good place to be on the campaign trail of 2010. joining me now, democratic congressman and candidate for u.s. senate, joe sestak. thank you, congressman, for being here. i have to tell you -- >> good to be with you, candy.

>> thank you. i say awe poll recently that really intrigued me and it was about approval and disapproval. 52% in these quinnipiac poll said they didn't know enough about you to approve or disapprove. that says to me that this is a race about the incumbency of arlen specter rather than about you. >> well, i think it's a race that actually where everybody knows washington is broken and everybody knows that if you're going to still send back to washington, d.c., a career politician that actually would switch his party, as he said, to keep his job, then we're not going to fix the mess that we got into by sending him back. and so, yes, he's a poster child for what's gone wrong in washington, d.c. a generation of politicians who think that they can take a position not based upon conviction or core beliefs but about their electoral prospects. so it is time people say for a different generation, a new generation, new ideas, new energy, and someone who would be willing to lose their job over doing what's right for the

people of pennsylvania. >> you are not at this moment really a washington outsider. you're a two-term congressman. but obviously senator specter has been around for five terms and that's a good deal longer in the senate as well. but are you saying that you do believe this is an anti-incumbent year regardless of whether you're a democrat or a republican? >> again, i really do think that massachusetts said it very clearly for everyone. we voted for change, not just in policy but politics. they are tired. people are tired of the old retread tired politics of old where we watched in that health care bill, the democratic establishment say through political calculation we might have a 60th vote with arlen specter and it continued down to ben nelson willing to give his vote up only for special interests. look, i want to go to washington and i want to be a public servant who does principled compromise but not a compromise

of principle. >> you're ascending in the polls because in most of them we're seeing you even or a little bit ahead with 12% undecided. but nonetheless, you are to the left of senator specter. do you see this as the left being upset with the direction of washington and particularly the obama administration? >> this is absolutely not about president obama. and i don't characterize myself as left or right. i look at myself at very pragmatic. i think that democrats can surely have somebody who believes with core beliefs in democratic principles and, yes, i am standing up against a democratic establishment in washington, d.c. i have been down there two or three years trying to effect the change that's needed and i'm not running on my congressional job simultaneously. this isn't about joe sestak or arlen specter, it's about the right policy for working families, educational opportunity and health care for

all. >> i know you don't like to characterize yourself on the political spectrum but the "pittsburgh post-gazette" in endorsing senator specter called you a true blue liberal who has little chance of winning. you've just gotten the endorsement of moveon.org which is a liberal organization. when you look at your record, you're almost 100% voting with speaker nancy pelosi. you have voted for every major spending bill so far in the obama administration. is it possible that you may be in sync with your party but not in sync with an elect rat in general and is really upset with spending. >> absolutely not. >> except for you voted for all of those bills. >> i went to washington, d.c. -- yes, but notice i voted for pay as you go, which arlen specter, and others tripled the debt. every one of those bills was

paid for without adding to the debt. and notice by the way against pat toomi arlen specter loses and i'm tied with him because people know from the military an my three years in congress, i do believe in the right investment. but in an accountable way. republicans i believe before george bush used to have a sense of accountability but arlen specter with george bush threw out that fiscal conservatism that i believe in. >> there's an article titled "the democrats' civil war." if you lose this primary will you support senator specter and urge your supporters to do so? >> what i know is this, that in a war you always know you're going to succeed and so i'm going to win and i'm looking forward to senator specter's after 18 may. >> and if you look forward to his support, can he look forward to yours? >> never deal with something that's not going to happen. we are going to win because the working families are the ones

that win when we do win. >> congressman, one last question, and i don't want to do a go-round with you about what happened when you left the military and what the circumstances were, and yet this has been an issue in your campaign. i watch politics enough to understand that if you've got a problem, the thing to do is to get things out there. so the question is why wouldn't you put your record, your military record out there to get the questions to stop because doesn't it look like you're hiding something? >> i 30-year incumbent republican senator who's left his troops on the field, the republican party, came to the other side to keep his jobs. as a 30-year veteran, i don't owe arlen specter anything. my record is public. i joined in the vietnam era and i retired on afghanistan and my chief of naval operations, the head admiral, went on the record to say joe sestak. he was courageous in changing the navy, he challenged people

in the rumsfeld administration that didn't want to be challenged. i asked to turn in my papers. my daughter had a brain tumor. i needed three years to retire as a three-star admiral. for arlen specter to say anything else is absolutely false. in fact sometimes, candy, you may know politics but you know what, i believe principle matters. and for arlen specter to use false assertions says more about him and what he'll do besides to switch the party. he'll just say whatever he wants in order to keep his job. we're not going to have it here in pennsylvania and i'm not ever going to be strong enough to say you arlen did it to john kerry, you did it to max, not again. >> john kerry did put out his records to again put that out there. is it about arlen specter or the people of pennsylvania. >> john kerry did but i stood

up -- people standing around me today care about one thing, candy, which arlen specter has never spoken about, even when he switched parties and said it was to keep his job. it's about their jobs. that washington, d.c., because of politics, actually let them lose. no. i have put out there time and again the pennsylvania working families plan, but during our debate not once did arlen say what was wrong with it or what he would do after having driven this economy aground with george bush. no, we're going to fight as we always have on the issues that will well with principled compromise, always letting principle triumph over politics. the policies that the people standing around here in philadelphia that lost 100,000 jobs over the last 30 years need. >> congressman joe sestak, not much time to go. actually we will see you up in philadelphia next tuesday. thanks so much for joining us. >> looking forward to it, candy, and thanks for having me. >> sure, thank you. up next, we will hear from congressman sestak's political opponent in this tuesday's primary, senator arlen specter is standing by. [ woman ] can't anything help these itchy allergy eyes?

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coming up shortly, a conversation with isn't that correct arlen specter first alektd in 1980, he has a reputation as a smart, exacting lawmaker with an independent streak and a flare for the cranky. specter faced some tough elections over the past three decades but always pulled it out with the help of supporters in high places. >> i'm here to say it as plainly as i can, arlen specter is the right man for the united states senate. i can count on this man, see, that's important. he's a firm ally when it matters most. >> president george bush was the marquee name in many of specter's 2004 campaign ads. let's fast forward to 2010, same show, a different name on the marquee. >> he's going to fight for you, regardless of what the politics are. i love you and i love arlen specter. >> this is not about a country that changed presidents, it's about arlen specter changing parties.

he made the switch as his prospects to be renominated by the pennsylvania republican party dimmed and shortly after he voted in favor of president obama's economic stimulus plan. president obama was arms wide open giving specter his full support, adding that the democratic party was, quote, thrilled to have specter. pennsylvania voters seem less thrilled. we will ask senator specter about his relationship with pennsylvania primary voters next.

joining me now from his home state of pennsylvania, democratic senator arlen specter. senator, thank you for joining me this morning. i know you're a busy guy, so i appreciate it. >> glad to be here, thank you. >> i have to ask you, i have seen your opponent use the endorsements from both president bush and president obama to great effect in his interview, which i'm sure you just heard, he didn't talk so much about senator specter as about

bush-specter, bush-specter. looking back on your decision to leave the republican party, do you wish you had worded it differently? >> well, listen, candy. for years i tried to moderate the republican party. and when the stimulus came up and president obama asked me for my support and it looked like we were sliding into a 1929 depression, i sided with president obama. it wasn't my job to be saved, it was the jobs of thousands of pennsylvanians and americans. look here, i had a clear shot at re-election. if i had stayed with the obstructionist republican caucus, i would have been re-elected easily, especially in a year when the party out of power is favored. >> but you were facing a stiff challenge within your party from the right. >> well, i wasn't facing the challenge until i voted for the

stimulus, candy. toomi had announced he was going to run for governor. i really had a clear shot all the way. look here, you mentioned the "pittsburgh post-gazette" editorial but also the philadelphia enquirer daily news. the newspapers look carefully at the voting records, they go behind the scenes, they interview the candidates. and the "harrisburg patriot" in endorsing me was very emphatic that my vote was a vote of principle and that i was really at odds with the republican party. there were irreconcilable differences, but they were caused by my stimulus vote. and my stimulus vote was not only about my job, in fact it wasn't about my job, i had a clear shot at re-election. it was to save a depression in this country. >> well, while your race does seem complicated by the shift in parties because you have on the one hand there was a headline

today in the philly paper that says, quote, "specter haunted by republican past." so you have on the one hand republicans who are angry with you, obviously they're not voting in the primary but who are angry with you for switching and then you have democrats who don't quite trust you. but layered over that, is there an element of incoumbency here that works against you having been in the senate for so long? do you think that is also in play as it is across much of the country? >> well, candy, that's the national attitude, but i have fought the bickering and the partisanship in washington. i've been one guy who's willing to cross party lines. look here, in my tenure in the senate, i have voted in an independent way. i've sided with the democrats more often on the big issues than republicans. i support a woman's right to choose, roe versus wade. i'm opposed to warrantless wire tapping. i voted to raise the minimum wage and take the bork

confirmation proceeding. it would be a different supreme court had bork within confirmed and i led that fight to defeat him. he didn't even believe that equal protection applied to women. so in the context of being an independent, it is true. i am not idea logically bad. when president obama made the commercial, he emphasized that. he said i saved the country from going off the brink, and that was the depression. >> well, let me just show you because it's on this subject matter. the quinnipiac poll, this was on your job approval. it was taken in early may. your job approval in pennsylvania, 38%. now, 2008 in november, your job approval was 62%. the only thing that changed between november, 2008, and now to bring that approval down more than 20 points has been your switch in party and your vote for the economic stimulus plan. >> well, candy, people

everywhere have had their polls go down, including the president. but that quinnipiac poll gave me a lead, still a slight lead. and i think the lead that i've had is because people recognize that i'm the only guy who can beat toomi. go back to that nationally televised town meeting in lebanon county. the tea party group was out, a guy charged me with his fists clenched, you're ruining the country. security wanted to throw him out. i stopped that. i didn't want the headline to read "citizen evicted" i wanted it to read "senator keeps his cool." and i fought him verbally and faced him down. wait a minute, where was sestak? back in his office where it was safe. so when you take a look at the real -- what's really at stake, it's keeping this seat in democratic hands to support the

obama agenda and sestak can't do it. you just saw him. wouldn't answer any of your questions. ducks and dodges, and weaves. you've got to face up to the issues, you've got to be strong and you've got to be tough and i'm the guy had to do it. >> i want to ask you something that i asked him. this has been a very -- seemed very personal race. your side has felt that he has tried to make you seem too old for the job. his side feels that you've tried to smear his military record, et cetera, et cetera. in the end, senator, if joe sestak wins this race, will you support him? >> sure. i'm going to support anybody against pat toomi. it's not going to happen, but i'll answer your question, candy. he wouldn't answer your question as to what he has to hide. he wouldn't answer your questions all over the lot, ducks and bobs and weaves. one thing i've always been is

candid. maybe a little too candid. sure i said my prospects were bleak because i'm being honest with the voters. i'm being honest with my votes. but my prospects turned bleak because i laid my job on the line. rendell put it best yesterday when he endorsed with my endorsement with the black clergy. rendell said arlen specter put his job at risk. i had a clear shot at being re-elected but i wasn't going to let this country slide into a 1929 depression. my job didn't mean that much. if it was at risk. in joining the obama team, i cast the critical 60th vote for health care. listen, of all the legislation passed during my tenure in the senate 30 years, that's the most important legislation. thousands of people die every year because of lack of medical care because they don't have insurance. >> senator, let me just --

>> insurance companies -- >> i just want to interrupt you because i wanted to turn the corner here and i don't have much time left. >> i'm glad to be interrupted. >> i wanted to talk to you about supreme court nominee elena kagan. this was another thing. you voted against her as solicitor general. certainly there's no other way to interpret your remarks after you met her as your being kind of pro the idea of putting her on the supreme court. again, as you know, joe sestak has used this as a way of saying this is an expedient politician, he's going to vote against her, now he's going to vote for her. why don't you tell the people of pennsylvania how you're going to vote. >> well, i want to go to the hearings, i want to listen to her, i want to confer with my clients. sestak wants me to announce my vote now. well, i don't rush to judgment. i make my decisions after very careful thought. but let me tell you why i voted against her for slefolicitor general.

>> if you can make it quick just because i'm running out of time because i'd like to hear it. >> well, it's your question. give me a chance to answer it. she wouldn't answer questions as to what she would recommend to the supreme court where the solicitor general has a big say in what cases she'd take. i wanted to know if she'd take the case involving the holocaust victims who were suing insurance companies and she wouldn't answer. supreme court nominees shouldn't answer questions, but when i met with her, she was very forthcoming. she told me that she didn't agree with the decision allowing corporations to agree in political campaigns. she told me that she would have deference to congressional thought. >> so we can sort of leave that as you have learned a little more. >> well, wait a minute. just 20 seconds more. i think that senators ought to insist on answers. otherwise the executive -- listen, we haven't had the

decision on warrantless wire tapping from the supreme court so i think my pressing her on solicitor general got more answers. she says that she believes the supreme court nominees don't answer enough questions. well, those confirmation hearings are to find out, to tell the senators and the american people where they stand as a matter of philosophy and ideology. and i think i'm making some progress on that, candy, by being a little tough about it. >> senator specter, thank you so much for joining us. you've got a busy couple of days ahead. we will see you tuesday in pennsylvania. >> great pleasure, thank you, candy. >> thank you. and when we come back, an early casualty of the animosity toward washington. utah senator bob bennett. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow

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the distaste some voters have for washington was last wednesday when bob bennett was rejected for re-election. senator bob bennett thank you so much for coming. it has been a rough week for you. >> this last week has been very relaxing compared to the six weeks that preceded it. >> i imagine, i imagine. is there a larger lesson in your loss? just to sort of give it the

reader's digest look for our audience, three-term senator. you've been there almost two decades. you are a bona fide conservative but as well a pragmatist seen as being able to work across the lines. >> right. >> what do you think happened here and is there something that has broader application? >> well, there are two separate questions, and i'll answer the one about utah first because we should be very careful not to take the utah result and try to extrapolate it across the country as a whole because the utah system is unique. we have a convention and a primary. in order to get to the primary you have to get through the convention. there's no other state that's like that. according to the polls, if i got to the primary and got before the voters, i would be just fine. the polls all showed me -- >> let me interrupt and just cut to the chase here. will you run on your own? >> i have made a very firm decision not to make any decisions for the time being. >> you had me there for a

moment. >> you thought you were going to make news. i could have won the primary, i could have won the primary very handily. i very clearly did not even come close in the convention, and there are studies being made how different the convention delegates are from the primary voters as a whole. right now that's completely academic to me because i am where i am. so the fact that i lost in convention in utah does not necessarily mean that what happened in utah can be extrapolated across the country as a whole. having said that, obviously there's something going on in the country as a whole that affected the people who are elected as delegates to the convention that i think can be looked at as some kind of a national trend. >> so look at it for me. >> anger against washington. and the other part of it that is very interesting that i don't think we've seen before, in this anger, people do not

differentiate between their representative in congress and, quote, the federal government. it isn't just the congress they're mad at, it's the federal government. and the federal government is seen as this overpowering entity, accountable to no one, completely out of control, that somehow we have to fight against. the best way we can fight against it is remove everybody that's connected with it regardless. conservative, liberal, black, white, male, female, doesn't matter, get rid of them all. that was the driving force behind the delegates. >> and if you take that and just apply your loss across the country, would we be wrong to take away from it that republicans don't actually want their representatives to deal across the aisle, because what was cited most were two things in which you did work with democrats. >> yeah, i was attacked because i was willing to sit down with democrats. >> so if you were still running and if you were a republican

running in a tough primary someplace or going to have a tough election coming up in november, would you just stop working with democrats? is that the key to getting re-elected in the republican party? democrats are in trouble too. >> democrats are in more trouble than we are in this one. you know, i probably would continue doing what i did because i thought it was the right thing to do. it's the way i am. quick factoid, four years ago, another candidate for statewide office did a poll to find out who was the most popular in utah so she could determine where to go for endorsements. i came out first with a 93% approval rating among republicans. four years later i have a 27% negative reelect and i haven't done anything different. >> the climate has changed. just quickly because we're running out of time, what's going to happen to your still colleague but former party

colleague senator specter? what's going to happen in that race? >> i'm not going to call that. i'm very fond of arlen as a friend. got to know him, worked with him, like him as an individual. he's gotten himself into real trouble partly because of the atmosphere, partly because of the way he handled things. and it doesn't look to me like he has a slam dunk in any way. i would not be surprised if he were defeated, but then the question comes, is sestak seen as part of the federal government and would he be thrown out as well in november. i think there's a very good chance he might be if he wins the primary. >> lots of layers to this. just lastly, when can we call you up and get an answer to the question of whether you're going to run as an independent? >> well, as i said to the press out in utah, as soon as i make up my mind, you'll be the second to know. so we'll do the same thing -- >> i hope your wife is the first. >> that's who i have in mind,

yes. >> thank you so much. i really appreciate. >> it my pleasure. good to see you. the finger pointing over the gulf seems to be spreading as quickly as the oil. is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. ♪ go ahead, get started ♪ this'll never last

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now to the politics of oil,

as the oil continues to spew into the gulf, president obama scolded the oil industry executives summoned to capitol hill to explain what was going on. >> i did not appreciate what i considered to be a ridiculous spectacle during the congressional hearings into this matter. yet executives of bp and transocean and halliburton falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else. the american people could not have been impressed with that display and i certainly wasn't. >> seconds later he added -- >> for too long, for a decade or more there's been a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill. >> and that line didn't escape the notice of comedian jay leno. >> and president obama says he is angry and frustrated with the oil spill in the gulf and the oil companies behind it. he said he is tired of all the finger pointing and then he blamed the bush administration for the whole thing. >> the politics of the oil spill now with our political panel,

john mercurio, executive editor for "hotline" and julie mason, white house correspondent for the "washington examiner." it does seem the full-on politics over this oil spill started and that the administration was caught a little flat-footed on the politics of it. >> i think you're right. the white house wants everyone to know more than anything that they're angry too, that they're outraged. the reaction and the response has been effective and they believe very comprehensive, but they feel people's outrage and they understand that whatever they're going to be able to do, they have to direct that anger at the oil companies. >> politically, yeah, there's no downside to being angry at the oil companies. it's like being angry with bankers right now, it's all the rage. bring them in. >> let me turn you to some of the races we haven't talked about because what a great tuesday, right. >> love it. >> arkansas. let's begin with that where we have a democratic incumbent being challenged from the left. what's going to happen? >> i have no idea.

that's why we have elections. that's why we have primaries. blanche lincoln is in the fight of her life against bill halter, who has been endorsed by organized labor. but he hasn't really, i think, been as effective as joe sestak as making the case against the incumbent. i do think it's going to be a tight race. if i had to predict if you're asking me, i think blanche lincoln pulls this out. i wouldn't necessarily say the same thing about arlen specter. >> i agree with john but whoever wins the primary will have a very tough race in november. >> it's interesting, though, all of the talk today is is it anti-incumbents on a revitalized liberal wing of the party. i think that blanche lincoln it's anti-washington. i think senator bennett is correct. >> yeah, there's a huge, you know, fever out there. i think it is complicated by switching parties because -- but it's still anti-washington because that's what people think of politicians. they'll do whatever they can to get re-elected.

i think specters problems are compounded. look at kentucky for me, which is, oh, my goodness, it's a fierce race and has an undertow. >> it's like an overlay because it's the tea partiers versus the traditional republicans and who's going to win. the one thing that concerns me is i think we might be overinterpreting what's going on because turnout has been so low this year. if it's just 20% of people voting in these primaries, what can we really extract from that? but i do think kentucky is a great laboratory for what's going on in republican politics right now. >> i think the turnout -- your point is well taken by somebody like bob ben net utah for whom the convention was about 3300 people so i think you're right. but i think on tuesday we're going to see in kentucky, i don't think that outcome is as unclear. i think at this point rand paul, who's running against trey grayson, the secretary of state, looks to probably come out as a winner. >> both of you stick with me for a minute. we have to take a quick break.

elena kagan's path seems pretty straightforward but will her political nomination become a proxy battle anyway.

so far so good for elena kagan who become the prerequisite charm tactic last week. if confirmed she'll become one of three sitting female justices. it's not a big deal anymore. still with all the gender and race, there are remarkable similarities on the highest court in the land. if kagan is confirmed, there will be four justices who grew up in new york city. justice ruth bader ginsburg, brooklyn, justice sonia sotomayor, the bronx, justice scalia queens and kagan from manhattan's upper west side. it would mean only the borough of staten island has failed to produce a supreme court justice. it also means that of the nine justices, only chief justice john roberts and justice

clarence thomas hail from someplace other than the east or west coast. even more uniform than supreme court geography is where they got their legal training. it is an ivy league crowd. if kagan is confirmed, all the justices will have attended either harvard or yale law school. there would also be another notable shift on the diversity scale. the court would look like this, three jewish members, justices briar, ginsburg and kagan and six catholics, roberts, skalia, alito, thomas, kennedy and sotomayor. with john paul stevens retirement there will be no protestants on the bench. more than half of americans identify themselves as protestant. diversity by any other name is still a complicated thing. up next, the politics of the supreme court and tuesday's elections with our two political reporters.

i'm joined once again by john mercurio and julie mason. just to sort of blend the show

here, the supreme court nomination of kagan and the pennsylvania democratic primary race for senate come together because of arlen specter. does that hurt him? >> i don't think it hurts him. i think he's done everything he can at this point to make it clear to democratic primary voters that he supports her or that he's at least looking very favorably. >> lots of winking and nodding. >> right. joe biden is going down there to campaign for him this week, a little last-ditch thing. it's interesting, i think you made an interesting point during the break that this country is so sharply divided, it's so entrenched, it's so partisan that i do think kagan will get a harder time than sotomayor because the country is a lot more divided than it was when sotomayor's nomination came up. >> i think republicans will use these hearings in order to motivate their base but i was frankly surprised that obama didn't choose at least for political reasons a more liberal justice that would motivate the liberal base of the party. i think the story line that's developed this year is that the conservative base is already as

motivated as they're going to be, i believe. so it's the liberals i think that the democrats -- >> who are not as motivated, and that's one of the things that's fueling sestak i think in pennsylvania. >> and who are not as motivated by kagan's nomination as i think other nominees possibly could have been. >> the nomination is kind of a snoozer so far but i think it will get more exciting as we get closer to the hearings. >> and i think there are certain things and i think in some ways both parties are running scared. and you have to be -- do i work with them, do i not work with them, do i beat up on her, do i not. i think in general the message the republicans seem to be getting is you better at least ask the right questions. i mean republicans understand they don't have the votes, but you need to be seen as fighting the fight. >> yeah. and i think they're frankly going to make the same types of arguments against kagan that they would have made against any obama nominee. this for them i think as john cornyn and michigan mcdonnell have said is more about the

obama white house because ultimately the midterm elections are not about elena kagan, they're a referendum on barack obama. >> and you're seeing republicans using the ties between kagan and obama who have been friends for more than ten years now as a wedge against her. >> i love it, you all need to come back. julie mason, john mercurio, thank you both so much. >> thank you. up next, the morning's headlines and the latest effort to cut government large, smoke and mirrors or real reform?

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now time for a check of today's top stories. first lady michelle obama addressed about 5,000 george washington university graduates this morning in washington. mrs. obama agreed to speak at commencement after they met her challenge, to complete 100,000 hours of community service. she urged the new graduates to keep giving as they enter the workforce. >> i have one more request to make of you. one more challenge. and that is keep going. keep giving. keep engaging. i'm asking you to take what you've learned here and embrace the full responsibilities that a degree from an institution like gw gives you.

i'm asking your generation to be america's face to the world. it will make the world safer, it will make america stronger and it will make you more competitive. >> the first lady received an honorary doctor at in public service. in thailand government officials have rejected overtures from protesters to negotiate an end to the crackdown. violence has raged across the capital since thursday. a planned government curfew is postponed for now. thai authorities said they will sending the red cross and other agencies into the protest zone to evacuate women, children and elderly men. at least 30 civilians have been killed in the clashes since thursday. the shuttle "atlantis" docked at the international space station this morning. "atlantis" and its crew will spend a week while undertaking such projects as installing a new russian compartment and fresh batteries. this is its 32nd and final

flight. those are your top stories here on "state of the union." up next, cutting government spending in an interactive way. . no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. the most comfortable line of furniture in existence. it's a motion line of furniture that conforms to your body and supports your head, neck, and back seamlessly in any position, leaving your entire body feeling rested and rejuvenated. [upbeat jazz arrangement] ♪ ...especially when it compliments your home. for a limited time, you can upgrade from our world of fabrics to our luxurious leather collection at absolutely no cost to you... experience the unparalleled comfort of stressless. ...featuring our entire stressless line.

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in our american dispatch this week, it's hard to wrap your mind around $13 trillion, so let's just say most voters

think that's too much money for the u.s. to owe, and it does. and this is an election year, overspending is fertile territory. >> we've been scouring the budget line by line, identifying more than $20 billion in savings this year alone. >> me too, on the other side where the number two house republican, congressman eric cantor, started a new program, inviting you to help your federal government figure its way out of this massive debt. "american idol" meets fiscal conservatism. >> today we are launching you cut, a project designed to take on the culture of spending in congress. beginning today, you'll be able to vote both online and on your cell phone on spending cuts you want the house to enact. next monday, may 17th, we'll announce the first winner and later that week house republicanss will offer an up or down vote on the spending cut you choose. >> you will find you cut on the congressman's website. there are five choices.

things like getting rid of the fund for presidential candidates or preventing wealthier areas from receiving money for community development. it's pretty good politics in a nation of voters growing increasingly uneasy, even angry with all the spending in washington. but in the real world, the plan has problems. for starters, democrats control the house and republicans are unlikely to even get an up or down vote on anything, and the cuts are anemic. even if all five initiatives suggested this week passed, the total savings, according to cantor's own figures, would be about $3.4 billion a year. the president proposed spending $3.8 trillion this upcoming fiscal year, so the cantor people's cuts would be less than 1% of the total budget, which is to say it would take some time to make a dent. still, the journey of $13 trillion begins with a billion or two and republicans will put something out there every week. if it brings voters to the