tv Piers Morgan Tonight CNN May 17, 2012 12:00am-1:00am EDT
12:00 am
anti-hero, oscar winner and angelina jolie's ex. >> i'm so normal that i would probably bore anyone to tears if they hung out with me. >> he tells all the rumors, romances and the one that got away. and keeping america great with president obama's power fund-raiser, the man they call the george clooney of hedge funds, knows wall street better than anybody. what does he think of the facebook frenzy, jpmorgan chase and that $2 billion mistake. plus only in america, why you should never, ever come between a man and his fish. >> they refuse to give us any more fish. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. we begin as we do every night with the big story. it's a very real threat of a war between iran and israel, one washington is desperately trying to avoid. no matter who wins the election in november, the president will have to face the reality that this country's closest ally in the middle east may be on the verge of attacking the islamic republic. the consequences could be catastrophic but is it too late
12:01 am
to stop? joining me now is defense minister and former prime minister ehud barak. and a friend of the show. thank you for coming back, sir. you're here because tomorrow you go to washington to see defense secretary leon panetta on funding for a missile defense system for israel. this puts the whole atmosphere about israel's security to the central political fore right now and key issue is iran. everyone says it's a tale of two barack obama and ehud barak. you are the key figure who is keenest on taking military action against iran. what do you say to that? >> i say we have a different political system. we have a government. we don't have -- i don't believe the key person, there is prime minister netanyahu, the government, they make decisions collectively.
12:02 am
i'm not sure whether we are yet on this decision. we are now face -- i don't like to use a word like catastrophe like you mentioned. it's not about catastrophe, it's about a real challenge to the whole world, not just to israel. i think that nuclear iran will change the middle east. we have to do something to block it from happening, be it sanctions or the negotiations. and i think now we are in the negotiations. and we have to see. i had talked with them in vienna. they seem -- probably they will meet again and then there is baghdad and we talked a few days ago in jerusalem. >> these are high level talks in baghdad, critical talks in many ways. leading countries meeting there to discuss what to do next about iran.
12:03 am
you are of the belief that the reason you have to get stuck into iran now rather than too late is because if you leave it too late, you see what happens in north korea, you see what happens in pakistan, countries that are unstable can develop nuclear weapons if people don't take action soon enough. you would point, i guess, israel to iraq and syria as cases where you intervened, you struck and were successful in stopping those programs continuing. do you see iran as being in those categories, that you have to get in now because if you leave it and they can protect themselves from air strikes or whatever, it becomes too late? >> i cannot improve your description, it was so close to perfect. but i think that the real challenge now is these negotiations and what should be done about the negotiations first. we strongly believe and rely upon the united states and the other members of the ap-5 plus
12:04 am
one and expect them to set the boundary that becomes clear however long it takes it will block iran from turning military nuclear. it means there is a need to stop enriching uranium to 20% or even to 3.5%. to take all the enrichment out of the country. you can allow them to play with a negligent lijable amount that will never be enough to one single air weapon. and basically there is an installation. so if all these elements are set and the iaea has kind of a inspection, that's it. but if the world community will set the threshold in a way that even is fully accepted, not to mention if partially accepted by the iranians, but if fully accepted it still allows them to keep moving toward nuclear and military program --
12:05 am
>> your concern. >> that's ridiculous. it's a delusion. >> but your main concern is that the iranians may in this time that goes on, they may start to move the uranium enriching process into areas, mountainous areas perhaps, where they cannot be destroyed. is that your primary concern? >> our primary concern is that iran will not be blocked when the time is still to block them. what they are doing, they try to reach such a level of redundancy so they can get into hills, spreading it on many sites or accumulating a lot of enriched uranium for possibly half a dozen weapons or whatever. it's still not fully enriched, but it will come inevitably because the iranians basically are trying to reach nuclear military capability. otherwise there is no need for all these sanctions and diplomatic steps. >> president obama clearly would
12:06 am
prefer not to see israel take any action before the election. so there is a time sensitivity here. he would see that as politically dangerous for his presidency and you would be aware of that. how much does that factor into your military planning on israel's behalf, that the president of the united states has an election coming in november? >> you know, first of all, we are trying to avoid letting it slip into anything that carries a certain relationship to internal politics here or in israel. but we basically share the same rhetoric. we say loud and clear, the americans say the same, the president says the same, a nuclear military iran is unacceptable.
12:07 am
we are determined to prevent them from turning nuclear. and that no option except for containment, no option should be removed off the table in order to achieve this objective. basically we are on the same page. the rest of it is about our difference is we try to discuss them fairly and honestly and we -- when we say no option should be removed off the table, and when the americans say we assume, and i genuinely assume that the president means it and i can assure you that we mean it. >> you're a military man, and you know that there is always an optimum time to take military action in these cases. are you prepared to act completely unilaterally if you have to? >> i don't want to respond to this question, but i think that it is clear. we say -- the leaders of the world saying including the american president no option should be removed off the table and we basically mean it.
12:08 am
and we have said many times that we always listen to america, especially to america, our best allies, the most trusted and trustworthy allies of us. but at the same time we cannot afford delegating the responsibility for the future security of israel even into the hands of our best and most trusted, trustworthy allies. >> you've always been keen to say that the president of the united states and america are friends are israel. but friends can come in many qualities. who do you think -- >> high quality friends. >> okay. what would be a higher quality friend come november, president obama or potentially president mitt romney, do you think? >> oh, i can't say, i'm sorry. i don't think that there's a shortage of energy in this race in america. i just noticed here joe biden
12:09 am
speaking. i couldn't hear him, the volume was muted -- >> it was unbelievable. >> there is energy, kind of into this race. i don't think that we have to contribute to it in any way. >> you're not concerned about the outcome either way. you think whoever wins would still be a resolute friend of israel. >> i think it's improper for an israeli political leader to express a public -- publicly any judgment or even to make remarks. it doesn't mean that we -- we just respect the american process and want the american people to make your judgment. it's up to the american people. our tradition is -- american presidents all along the years, from both sides of the political aisle, be it in their first term or second term were always friendly toward israel because
12:10 am
it reflects something much deeper that goes to the american society. we're sharing the same values. when we look at the arab spring that turns now green, the kind of environment, it's extremely, extremely disturbing and israel is the only outpost of democracy, of stability of the western way of life in the region. >> how concerned are you of the situation in syria giving that it's getting the world attention as it often does. it's started to move into other areas, but the situation remains unchanged there. it's still very dangerous and very unstable. >> i'm quite frustrated for the slowness of its collapse. i believe that he is doomed anyhow. i believe that there is a need to raise our voices both for moral reasons and practical as
12:11 am
much more loudly and to make sure that every possible step is taken by world community, by nato, by the united states, by the russians, turkey could have a special hold to it, to accelerate the whole thing. >> it seems to people there's a different way of dealing with syria than there was to libya, for example, and the main reason is that the russians and the chinese are more concerned about syria, but from a humanitarian point of view, why should that come into it? shouldn't the international community now be driving as hard against syria as they did in the libyan situation? >> i think that they have to push -- i don't want to make comparison because the russians were quite against their judgment dragged into the libyan story. and here in syria, they see the only successful outpost of them
12:12 am
in the middle east, they invested political capital and financial resources for two generations almost now in this family and group. i think that a way should be found while pushing harder to change administration in syria, preferably so the yemenite example, namely to let assad and his group go out and try to -- not to repeat their mistakes, not to dismantle the party, the intelligence, the armed forces, to find a way to keep a role for russia, a leading role around the table for russia. because if you try to do it in a way that will deprive them from their only other darling in the middle east, they will resist it and it could be extremely influential. but to mention iran, it will be a major blow to iran when assad falls and they are now supporting him very actively. it will be a weakening blow to
12:13 am
the hezbollah and probably islamic jihad. so basically something -- you know, some people contemplate -- i believe it's better to reach a conclusion and try to keep civil society, the presence of power basically in place without the elite, which was kind of extremely intimate and closed to assad. >> thank you very much for coming in. coming up, my primetime exclusive with billy bob thornton. the man angelina jolie says is not a normal person.
12:15 am
12:16 am
12:17 am
that changed his life. he was number one anti-hero, 30 films to his credit, grosses about $1 billion but he's remained as mad as hell throughout it all. he's also a tabloid superstar but he tells all of it in a brilliant new book. this is a fascinating life. >> it's been different. >> it certainly has. what i love about it, i can't think of anybody else who would have had a forward written to their book by one of their ex-wives who just happens to be one of the most famous women in the world. and it is such a brilliant forward, i thought the best way to start this interview is to go through what angelina jolie says about you and get you to respond
12:18 am
to in some cases i would even use the word "allegations" because it's fascinating. she says that before she met you, shared friends described you as like the hillbilly orson welles. fantastic phrase. how do you feel about being called the hillbilly oarson welles. >> i guess if she means my mind or my body. but, no, i mean that's pretty cool. actually the person who coined that phrase for me was robert duval. >> was it really? >> yeah. so i think she picked up on that from him. but, sure, i'd rather be called that than a lot of other things. >> she says that she went to a theater alone full of strangers, engrossed in sling blade. i just want to play a clip from that movie and say what she said about it because it was really interesting. >> my mother, she jumped up and hollered what did you kill j.c. for, what did you kill j.c. for? i don't rec on my mother minded what jesse was doing to her. i reckon that made me madder
12:19 am
than what jesse made it. some folks call it a sling blade, i call it a kaiser blade. then i hit my mother upside the head with it. killed her. >> utterly compelling performance there. i remember watching it. but she watched it alone, like i say, in a theater full of strangers. she said engrossed in the film. every nuance, every facial gesture. the sound of the chairs on the floor, the characters, each one completely original. you watch as a filmmaker helps you to understand a place in time and people who he knows so well. you're getting to know him, his mind, his humanity. an amazing thing for somebody to be observing about a man she doesn't know, who she then goes on to marry.
12:20 am
>> mm-hmm. >> what do you think of that description? >> well, you know, i'm honored any time anyone talented says anything nice about me. but i did find that interesting, and it's happened to me a couple of times also, for someone to see you in some other way before they meet you and feel some connection to you. you know, that's always an interesting thing. >> she said that -- i smile as i write this as my instinct is to say simply he's not a normal person. but he isn't. i've known him for more than a decade. i still haven't quite figured him out. not that i want to. the puzzle is so much fun. do you like being a character of mystique, even to your loved ones? >> well, it's certainly not on purpose. i don't feel that i, you know, purposely sort of shroud myself in mystery or anything like that. i think it's that maybe i don't
12:21 am
do enough of the things that people are expected to do when they're in the entertainment business or something. i kind of live sort of -- 50% of the time i'm so normal that i would probably bore anyone to tears if they hung out with me. and that's one of the things -- >> that can't be true. >> well, it's kind of a misconception that i'm such an oddball because -- i mean there are a few things. but this whole idea of excintrisities, you could probably walk up to anyone in new york city and talk to them about ten minutes. >> you're an agoraphobic. >> a bit, yes. >> angelina said it was a miracle that you'd even get out of the house to make films. if you had your way you'd make them in some underground dungeon inside the house. >> i wasn't always that way. i've been driven inside in the last few years a lot more. >> by tabloid attention? by being that guy that used to
12:22 am
be married to angelina as much as everything else? >> well, no, not so much. it's really more about the sort of -- i'm more afraid of people now. not afraid of them physically, but afraid of the -- well, it's like the social network, you know. it's kind of a creepy thing to me. and i think it's doing something to people. and i know that sounds like i get signals through my head or something from mars or whatever, but no, it's really -- i'm just observing people's behavior these days and there's a real lack of privacy now. and i think we're living in a more cynical society. and that's one of the reasons i like to stay home is because, you know, people are really --
12:23 am
it's almost like a witch hunt in some ways and it kind of creeps me out so i stay in the house. >> let's take a short break. i want to come back and talk about brad and angelina getting married. are you going to get an invite. [ thunk ] sweet! [ male announcer ] the solid thunk of the door on the jetta. thanks, mister! [ meow ] [ male announcer ] another example of volkswagen quality. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month. that's the power of german engineering. we have product x and we have product y. we are going to start with product x. the only thing i'll let you know is that it is an, affordable product. oh, i like that. let's move on to product y, which is a far more expensive product. whoaaa. i don't care for that at all. yuck. you picked x and it was geico car insurance and y was the competitor. is that something you would pay for year after year? i, i like soda a lot but for a change of pace...
12:24 am
homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief, i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. if you want to make a difference, you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i am committed to making a difference, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. [♪...] >> announcer: with nothing but his computer, an identity thief is able to use your information to open a bank account in order to make your money his money. [whoosh, clang] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or
12:25 am
go to lifelock.com today. customer 1: a hot dog with relish and onions please customer 1: what's this? vendor 1: hotdog contract customer 1: what? customer 2: that's your standard two year hotdog contract vendor 1: one hotdog per day limit voiceover: hotdog's don't have contracts customer 1: but what if i want two hot dogs vendor 1: (laughs) vendor 2: hey uh uh very expensive voiceover: getting the internet should be like hotdogs get clear unlimited 4g take it with you internet with no long term contracts and no data limits plans start at $34.99 a month call or go online today clear the way the internet should be
12:27 am
back with special guest billy bob thornton. a riveting book. i love the way you've done this. so many people contributing. angelina jolie one of them, obviously, but lots of other great actors and fends of yours really capturing the essence of billy bob thornton. she says, this is really an insightful thing to you. one of the favorite things an liena felt when she was with you was to watch billy play an entire game of baseball with himself on the tennis court. only himself. he threw the ball, called out the action moment to moment, caught the ball. he would scold or congratulate teammates. it's fascinating.
12:28 am
some who don't know him well might call him crazy. she watched it for hours on end but then you don't know billy. i'd say it sounds pretty crazy, billy. how long have you played baseball with yourself? >> not much lately. i'm getting older. the old arm is not what it used to be. but, yeah, out on the -- we've got a court out there with basketball goals and everything. i was a pitcher growing up, a pretty decent pitcher so i made a target out there on the wall. i would throw the wall and it hits the wall and bounce back to you so i would play out the action. we did that when we were kids. >> to him i am the number four. that sounds strange but it means a lot to me. >> well, those numbers are assigned to different people in my life about it has to do with my obsessive-compulsive disorder. when you have ocd a lot of it is about -- a lot of abused children have ocd because they don't feel a way to control anything in their world so they use different things like if i count to this before my dad gets home, then everything will be okay or whatever. you start developing things like
12:29 am
that. and then it gets worse and worse until suddenly you feel responsible to the entire world. and so the next thing you know, people get numbers assigned to them. but, no, all the people who were friends and loved ones in my life all have a special number and, you know, it is impossible to explain. but it makes complete sense to me. but if i -- once again, not enough time here to tell you exactly how that works. >> that's very nice. chapter 14 is entitled simply angie. she's a golden gypsy lighting up the way for anyone who needs her night or day. they are thunder casts a special in magic turns, her lightning strikes and courses through your bones. her power leaves you spent there where you lay and leaves you trying to find something to say. beautiful is all that comes to mind. you clearly have to this day an incredibly close relationship. is it strange when you see angelina go off, now getting married to brad pitt? probably the most famous female celebrity in the world with
12:30 am
arguably the most famous male. do you find it odd, the circus that goes with that? the sheer oddity of having somebody so close to you become such a ridiculously famous person? >> well, i'm not -- i don't really follow, you know, the celebrity news much. >> do you care? >> that's an overstatement, i would say, that i don't follow it. but i only see her occasionally when she comes to town, and i talk to them on the phone sometimes, you know. she's a great friend and would be there if i needed her and vice versa. and brad's a great guy and i love them both. and they're terrific people. but, you know, when you're inside a situation, it's so much smaller, you know, than it is to the public sometimes. in other words, you know, they'll have a big news story. and if you're the person involved in it, you know exactly how it is and so people say to me what do you think about her getting married and all this kind of thing. and it's not like i didn't know this. it's not news to me or anything
12:31 am
like that. so it's -- there's not much that shocks me or gets to me. >> will you be at their wedding, do you think? >> i don't know. i mean -- >> would you feel odd about that? would you feel uncomfortable? >> oh, gosh, no, not at all. no, if i were invited to something, i would go for any friend of mine. like i said, they're friends, and they're great people. but if i didn't go, it certainly wouldn't be because of being uncomfortable, it would be because i don't go anywhere. i mean you're lucky to drag me to a funeral, much less a wedding, you know. so any place i don't go, it's simply because i just don't feel like getting out of the house. >> let's take a short break. when we come back, i want to talk to you about connie, the woman you've been with the last ten years who's managed so far to avoid becoming wife number six. my mother froze everything.
12:32 am
i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country. from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn... financing industries that are creating jobs in boston... providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community... and lending to ensure a north texas hospital
12:33 am
12:35 am
12:36 am
some drawing. don't know how to draw. >> it runs in families. >> yeah. >> he was a good kid, you know. he was a really good kid. he was so good. he was -- he really, he loved me. he really loved me. >> of that the movie that earned halle berry an oscar and billy bob thornton is back with me now. tell me about connie, the woman in your life the last ten years. you've married five times but you haven't married connie, why? >> well, i told her, i i said, look, when you think of it this way, this is my longest relationship and we're not
12:37 am
married. it's not real hard to figure out. and plus, you know, if you do that, then you're going to -- the press would get into that. it would be like call her number six or something like that and that's not fun. but we're doing just fine the way we are. we have a beautiful 7-year-old daughter. it's all fine. so i just said let's leave well enough alone, you know. >> great stuff in the book about the -- you touched on this earlier, about modern life. you know, you've got this thing about you don't like the whole iphone, ichat, twitter, facebook society that we've become, everyone being led by gadgets. i was very struck by what you said about the nature of stardom, the proper movie stars in the old days. you didn't know much about them. you knew what you saw on screen and became kind of wonderful, mythical figures, steve mcqueen. it's just not possible anymore. we all know way too much about people because of the nature of everybody wanting to be famous, everybody having the ability through social media to become partly famous and chipping away constantly at famous people's lives so they become just like everybody else, killing the mystique. i was very struck by that. tell me about that. >> well, i think it's -- it's really easy to brush it aside because it's so convenient, and
12:38 am
it is providing so many people with entertainment and a lot of other things. so i have nothing against as an inanimate object some gadget. it's what they say about guns, guns don't kill people, people kill people. so i see some value in having a cell phone. i have one. if you're away and you need to contact the family, if you have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, that's a great thing for phone calls and all this. but when it becomes a tool for people's hatred and jealousy and whatever it is, and like you said, and like i talk about in the book, we're losing the magic in life because people are communicating and they're not going through the process of life anymore. i mean part of the joy and the magic of life is the process, is the journey, and there's no journey anymore. i mean america has become one big drug addict and the drug is technology. and the thing is, you can say
12:39 am
it, it's not just 19-year-olds or 12-year-olds. i hear guys who are 65 years old an they're saying i just tweeted somebody something. first of all, it doesn't sound like a word an adult should be saying. but it's really interesting to me that when you say this stuff, people always go, yeah, i agree with you. we all look at our phones and all this kind of thing now. but just like a drug addict, you can say that to a drug addict, you know, we've got to stop this cynicism, there's no privacy and people go yeah, yeah, yeah, while they're doing this, you know what i mean? so i think people are in real denial that they're losing the magic in life. the system has always found a way to control people. and i think this time they have done it by selling them things that make them feel accepted, loved and important, you know. and everyone should feel that, but i think you should feel it through natural things, instead of all this other stuff. so they call stuff youtube,
12:40 am
iphone, myspace, it's named after people and they sell it and these people make billions of dollars, while the people think they're important. i just think it's a very dangerous thing and they're taking away, like i said, the joy in life. you know, i came up the hard way in the entertainment business. horrible things are said about people like me and all the other people in the entertainment business all the time now. we've become fodder, you know. which is a real shame because we had heroes and idols and it made you feel good to have those. and now it's anti that. >> what do you think of america generally in the sense of where it's gone with the whole financial crisis? a lot of people wanting to blame lots of people. do you think enough americans lead lives of sensible frugality if you like, who take personal responsibility?
12:41 am
>> i think we as a country are very happy as long as we're comfortable in our own house and our own backyard, and i think that may be one of the problems, you know. so once that comfort goes away, then all of a sudden we're mad at everybody, you know. i don't -- i'm not a very political guy. i don't know enough about it to talk about this stuff. but it seems like to me that the economy usually is at the center of every political debate these days because it's not doing so well. some years they don't care about that. if that's okay, they're talking about something else, gasoline or whatever it is. i think if people started looking around the world a little bit more and started to see how it's actually our culture that's crumbling, i think if you start there. in other words, if you have a
12:42 am
foundation in your culture, if we keep learning and if we start paying attention more to our history, learning lessons from our past and things like that, i think it would help us in these times. i can say one thing and this goes back to the social media thing. i believe one reason that americans aren't getting what they want right now is because we don't have leaders, and i'm not talking about political leaders, i'm talking about leaders among ourselves out there, who step to the forefront and get on a soap box and start talking about this stuff. because during the american revolution and many other times during our history, we've had people who would step out. patrick henry or whoever it would be, benjamin franklin, someone, who would come to the forefront and start talking. we need more people to talk about real things as opposed to, oh, guess what happened to actor x or this, that or the other, you know. i think we've gotten a little
12:43 am
shallow. and i think it's our fault in a lot of ways. you can't always blame the system, in other words. the system is an eating machine. and it's always been an eating machine and always will be an eating machine so you can't blame them. you've got to blame yourselves at some point. people have to come together and start to live meaningful lives again and everything, pause i think if you have that foundation when a financial crisis hits, you're more prepared for it. >> you know the strange thing about you, billy bob thornton, you just sound resolutely normal to me. >> i don't know -- >> i was expecting some weirdo monster and you've just been talking in a way that i've been nodding to everything that you've been saying. you're about as normal an oddball i've ever met. >> i'm also the most pessimistic optimist you'll ever meet. >> you've got a current movie with kevin bacon and robert duval. tell me about that film quickly. >> when i was a kid, my dad would bring my brother and i to car accidents. that was where we bonded. he would literally take us to the aftermath of accidents all the time.
12:44 am
he was fascinated with them. from the time i was a little kid, i was at these horrific scenes. and i'd always wanted to put it in a movie, but i didn't know how to make that the movie. but i had this idea for a long time about a british family and an american family who are related to each other sort of loosely through a common mother. because i love -- i love british and american culture clash, which at the end of the day you find out is not one, because we come from that, you know, here. and so i sort of put those two things together and the movie, at the end of the day, it's a movie about the -- how generations view war and how it manifests itself in families and how these generations don't always pass the lessons along.
12:45 am
>> and when does it come out? >> in the fall. >> good luck with that. it's a great book. i love this book. "the billy bob thornton." i love you on the front. it makes you look completely mad, when you're totally not. it's been a pleasure. come back. >> i'll do it. coming up next, the man they call the george clooney of hedge funds. what he thinks wall street can do to keep america great. i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin
12:46 am
designed for men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day men's 50+ healthy advantage. to support cell health. those surprising little still make you take notice. there are a million reasons why. but your erectile dysfunction that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready
12:47 am
anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that
12:48 am
your body needs. welcome to the sleep number memorial day sale. where you can celebrate our 25-year commitment to a single mission: better sleep for both of you. never tried this before. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the hips. take it up one notch. oh gosh, yes. when you're playing around with that remote, you get that moment where you go, "oh yeah" oh, yeah! ... and it's perfect. they had no idea that when they came to a sleep number store, we were going to diagnose their problems and help them sleep better. and right now, you can save 40% on our innovative sleep number silver edition bed-for a limited time. once you experience it, there's no going back. wow. hurry in to the sleep number memorial day sale between now and june 3rd. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699.
12:49 am
i want to turn to one of my favorite topics on the show, keeping america great. one man who knows about that is the chairman and ceo and co-founder of avenue capital group. he's also a power fund-raiser for president obama and a man who's been called the george clooney of hedge funds. he's profiled in the new book "the alpha masters, unlocking the genius of the world's top hedge funds." it's a very successful one. now it carries with it a dirty
12:50 am
connotation of capitalist pigs freezing the populist. how do you feel about that and how are you trying to change the image, if you are, of hedge funds and hedge fund managers? >> look, i think what we do, or at least what i try to do, we're trying to return an investment. and i try to make them money for their holders. i think day in and day out as long as we end up generating returns for our investors, we're trying to do our bid to help. >> when you see the scandal at jpmorgan erupting, who has taken a big hit, no regulation coming
12:51 am
in really and everyone says, we can see that, squandering, risking billions of dollars, what do you think of what happened to jpmorgan? >> i don't know all of the details, but i think what happened is i think jamie or jpmorgan was actually trying to reduce risk. the problem in all of this is when things don't go the right way, everybody looking at it and says, look, you made a huge mistake. i think the intent there was to try to minimize risk so to try to protect part of the bank's balance sheet, look, it went wrong. part of the problem is i look at what we do, day in and day out, we're making investments.
12:52 am
you hope that those investments work out and you hope that you're right and when you're not, everybody looking at that and says, well, how did you not know that? >> let's turn to facebook. happier story, an amazing success story for american capitalism. is it worth $100 billion? >> that i don't know. >> is there any way of valuing facebook in any sensible way? >> that i don't know. that's a complicated -- >> how big of a slice of the facebook pie are you hoping to carve out for yourself? >> zero. >> nothing? >> nothing. >> why not? >> i think what we do is we try to invest in companies that are in trouble. so facebook is not one of those companies at all. i think facebook, it's a phenomenal company, it's going to do extremely well. the question is going to be two or three years from now is the valuation today the right valuation. we may fine out it's too low or too high. >> you raise money for president obama. >> yes. >> you make no bones about that. you're probably on both ends of the spectrum. a good democrat to him but you're also in the 1% that he wants to flay and flog, tax to high heaven. are you prepared to be buffetted, to be taxed at a much higher level?
12:53 am
>> i personally don't have an issue in paying higher taxes. i mean, i think the law is the law and i'm happy to pay whatever my taxes are. i think personally i'd rather have taxes -- higher taxes be used to reduce the deficit, but that's my own personal view. >> do you think obama is going to win easily or does he have a hell of a fight on his hands? >> i think it will be a difficult election. i think ultimately a lot will be on what's going on with the economy. so if the economy is doing well, i think president obama wins. i think if the economy isn't doing well, i think then it becomes a little bit harder. >> for everyone in america struggling a bit, but they have a little bit of money to invest, what is the kind of thing you would urge them to consider as a relatively safe bet right now? >> i think the safe bets are investing in the u.s. treasuries. i mean, i -- i think today there's a lot of risk in the system. and when you look around the world you look at what's going on in europe. you look at what's going on outside. there's just a lot of risk so the question is are you getting
12:54 am
paid for those risks? i think for most normal americans, today i would be trying to take less risk until things calm down a little bit. >> thank you very much. >> a pleasure. coming up next, "only in america" back away from the buffet when all you can eat doesn't mean all you can eat. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪ dude you don't understand, this is my dad's car. look at the car! my dad's gonna kill me dude...
12:55 am
[ male announcer ] the security of a 2012 iihs top safety pick. the volkswagen passat. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $209 a month. and people. and the planes can seem the same so, it comes down to the people. because, bad weather the price of oil those are every airlines reality. and solutions won't come from 500 tons of metal and a paint job. they'll come from people. delta people. who made us one of the biggest airlines in the world. and then decided that wasn't enough. agents, when it comes to insurance, people feel lost. that's a dead end. don't know which way to turn. this way. turn around. [ woman ] that's why we present people with options
12:56 am
12:58 am
for tonight's "only in america" fish, fried and fed up. one wisconsin man is as mad as hell and help won't take it anymore. he really loves all you can eat fish fry and it does say all you can eat. the thing about he is he stands 6'6", weighs 350 pounds. for him this is a pretty good deal because he can eat a lot. but then came as brando said in the apocalypse now, the horror. >> we asked for more fish and they refused to give us any more fish. >> yep, you heard it correctly. they stopped serving mr. with his fish.
12:59 am
he had 12 portions and they said that's enough. they said we'll run out of food. but that's not really fair, is it? because they are offering an all-you-can-eat deal and bill with is a big guy who hadn't finished eating. and he wanted his contractual rights so he called the police and said, i want my rights and i want my fish. chuck's insists they had no choice, which may be true. but you know what? you had a deal and if you have a deal in america, you should keep it. shame on you, chuck's place. give bill his fish. that's all for us tonight. "ac 360" starts now. we begin tonight keeping them honest with a report about a group that claims to be
83 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNN Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service The Chin Grimes TV News ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on