off the hoff. he's there for all to enjoy. not unlike the sun, like the stars and the gentle spring breeze. the point is, would you steal a rainbow? no, you wouldn't. well, maybe if you were in college and your friend's >> "outfront" next. paul ryan hits the casino looking for cash from a billionaire. romney's pick wastes no time in walking the slippery slope of politics.

biden makes a campaign stop and accuses romney of chaining the audience. did his comment go too far? and a model of technology, why it may be crucial to the defense in the future. let's go "outfront." ♪ >> good evening. i'm in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, paul ryan hits the casino. the clean-cut vp presidential candidate is in sin city tonight for what the campaign is calling a finance event where he'll come face to face with the highest of high rollers, sheldon adelson. the man who has put the most chips on the table during this campaign by far. this is not a campaign on the cheap. an unprecedented amount of cash is expected to be spent on the campaign. about $2.5 billion. much of that is from super pacs and a small group of donors.

only 100 individuals account for 50% of the $319 million donated so far this cycle. mr. sheldon adelson is top of the pile. he's put $36 million into the pot so far, more than 10% of all super pac donations. adelson has also donated more than any other contributor, more than the next four super pac contributors from both parties combined. all of them except for one is a republican. but don't feel bad about his bank account. adelson is a very wealthy man, worth about $24.9 billion, according to forbes. so $36 million is the equivalent of $112 donation made by the average american family. this is a man whose bank roll is largely built on a bet that his cau casinos would pay off an they have.

his company generated $91 million from its casinos in las vegas and pennsylvania. properties in macau brought in four times that amount, $429 million. he's a friend to china, it's been good to him, unlike the man he's supporting. >> it's good to trade with other nations, good for us to be able to trade. it creates jobs for us, but we have to make sure that when nations like china cheat, we hold them responsible and make them accountable. >> it's not just adelson bringing baggage to his millions. take foster freeze. remember the guy who bank rolled rick santorum's primary campaign. he got the candidate in some trouble when he weighed in on contraception back in february of this year. >> this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it's so inexpensive. back in my days, they used bayer aspirin, the gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly.

>> ah, yes, the question, is all this mayhem worth all this money? "outfront" tonight dave politico who's been tracking money. >> sheldon adelson said this, i'm against very wealthy people attempting to influence elections. but as long as it's doable, i'm going to do it. when you hear that a hundred people are accountable to all the donations to super pacs and this man has given 10% alone, how do you not come to the conclusion that the super rich are distorting american politics through super pacs? >> there's one thing to say, do the super rich have a disproportional access to candidates in this race and are they putting more money into the races than ever before? yes, absolutely true.

but what are they getting for their money? are they getting policy prescriptions that they want out of this? are they getting the win of the election? are they going to win because of their disproportionate money in the election? it's yet to be seen. but more money doesn't buy you an election. just because you're putting more in, doesn't mean you get the policy prescriptions that you're after. i'll say one more thing. you have always said sunlight is the best disinfectant. because there's full transparency, you know exactly how much money the hundred wealthiest americans have donated. do we not have a more open and transparent system? >> we'll get to the question of how people are hiding money in a second. but one point margaret made here, she's got a point. adelson doesn't share romney's views on china, doesn't that mean there is a limit to the influence he can buy. >> certainly. a lot of people would argue he's

not that influential, but thea the same time, he's been in all aspects of the campaign, traveling with mitt romney overseas, in las vegas today. he's been donating more to a greater degree than any single individual to a super pac in this campaign. so at the very least, he's made himself out to be a major player in this campaign. with that type of access, of course he can bend the ear of the person who they very well be the next president of the united states. that counts for something. >> you got a point. absolutely i give it to you. he certainly does have access and an ability to make his case to him. but does that mean much? he's for telling the israeli -- saying that there should be no peace process between the israelis and the palestinians because he doesn't think the palestinians want peace. it would be crazy for mitt romney to listen to that. he's said forget tell aveef. mitt romney said something similar. so, yes, they have the ability

to get in the ear of candidates, but ask that mean candidates are going to listen? candidates have to justify their re-election to a larger electorate. >> and they can't phone up and say, i want time to talk. >> that's a fair point. he has access and that is something that we should discuss. >> david, one other point that's come up is the point of transparency. the grand bargain, with citizens united supposed to unleash this golden age. this was was going to be unlimited donations in exchange for unprecedented disclosure. already we've seen the growth of these organizations that effectively hide the number of donors. we don't know how much money is going in there, indications are at least as much are being put in transparently. is that where the real potential for corruption will be? >> many people think super pacs don't have to donate -- or disclose their donors, they do.

but it'st non-profit organizations that are set up as social welfare organizations under the way the irs works. if they're advocating for or against a presidential candidate they don't have to say who's giving them the money to go and tear apart candidates or lovingly promote candidates. it's been an issue that campaign finance reform advocates have taken up the banner, saying, what is wrong with our system? this is all screwed up, but at this juncture, there's been nothing in a material way that has really caused all of this money to be unearthed. >> i think we'll see when it's all over, the impact one way or the other. republicans say joe biden dropped a race related bomb in an ethnically diverse audience today. we'll look at three myths about mormonism which is the faith of the gop nominee. and cops release a video showing how a handcuffed man

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

welcome. >> good to be here. >> the obama campaign issued a response on the heels of the romney campaign. here's what they said. for months, speaker boehner, congressman ryan and other republicans have called for the unshackling of the private sector from regulations that protect americans from risky financial deals. we find the romney campaign's outrage over the comments today ip critical and the campaign is right on that point. here's what they're referring to. >> what we needed was to liberate the economy from the shackles of washington. >> so, fair point? >> listen, i'm a big boy. i understand politics, and i understand rhetoric in politics. i think it's a little disinjennious to say this is full outrage. i think the real question would be if this comment had been made by someone other than a democrat, particularly the vice president of the united states, would they be afforded the same degree of restraint that people

are affording vice president biden. >> that's a reasonable point a double standard. but do you believe the vice president was intentionally making a racially loaded metaphor? >> the vice president has been prone to gaffs so often that it's tough to suggest this is by design. however, i think the fact of the matter is, it's offensive. i'm not one that looks for race-baiting underneath thinly-veiled comments, but it does deserve commentary. >> to his point, certainly republicans have gotten beaten up using racially loaded language, let's refresh your memory on a couple of examples. >> barack obama seems to want to do, go back to before those days when we were in different classes, based on income, based on color of skin. >> if there's a problem, then president obama is the problem for failing to utilize the tools that he has.

this is just about waving a tar baby in the air and saying that something else is a problem. >> now, that's not nearlas subtle i'd say. but is there a double standard? >> no, it's not a double standard. harry reid caught hell in the last election cycle, we heard his comments and people were just as outraged. i would critique it the same way. the double standard term means two people who are the same are treated differently. we have to consider their backgrounds and the context. often times the republicans don't have the track record to make comments about the moral majority. not letting democrats off the hook, but take it into consideration. >> i would suggest strongly there's never been any accusation with respect to race, with respect to mitt romney, his father george romney was active in the civil rights movement. paul ryan has been active.

>> no one considers them racist. >> however, the vice president if you were to take it to an extreme, the vice president did suggest, perhaps that shackling african-americans. >> unshackling wall street is a different claim. instead of economic policies is that he's trying to say. >> chains, probably not the ideal metaphor in retrospect. the romney campaign said it was a new low. they lost no time sending that out. we asked our political strike team, independent analysts and journalists whether it's the most negative campaign in history. here's what they came up with. 75% no, 25% yes. people aren't saying that this is -- just in terms of rhetoric, we've seen this before. >> we've been around politics every time and every year they say this campaign is more negative than the next. so i think that i would suggest

the public is numb to this type of activity. the romney campaign wants to talk about the economy, taxes, the debt. i think that's where the campaign will turn, but i think it's worth noting that the vice president made an inpolitic remark. >> i think that has been noted. >> i'm sure if he could have a do-over, he would. he doesn't want to be talking about this. he'd rather be talking about the issue. >> the idea of the most negative campaign ever, we have plenty of examples through history. but negative ads in the cycle, 79% of the ads in this political season have been negative. now, backed by unprecedented dollars. so that's something that is different, just the relentlessly negative tone on the airway. you understand why people are cynical and feeling divided? >> yeah, but if you mark them positive or negative, there are

more negative. but the intensity of the negative ads is greater. when president obama had to defense his citizenship and his humanity. >> in 2008 the president ran as a transformational candidate who was going to change the tone in washington. i think that he's been an active participant in making it one of the more negative campaigns and it's not healthy for the democracy. >> but i think the president has been doing it from a defensive posture much over the last four years. >> nothing says hope and change like a negative ad. but is there a line in politics about when people go too far and did joe biden cross it today? >> i don't think he went too far at all. i think part of what you can see is the crowd's response. they were cheering. and the groans weren't in response to him, they were in

response to the proposed policy. i think mitt romney is willfully misinterpreting this for his own benefit. >> i think that the voters will determine whether or not the vice president went too far or not. >> how? >> well, they'll factor this as one of the -- >> you're saying if president obama wins the election, didn't matter. if he loses, it will be because of this? [ all speak at once ] >> there's 130 people aren't going to decide the presidency. >> so you dismiss the fact that those voters count as much as -- >> i'm saying that the election doesn't hinge on this comment. it won't be an index of anything. >> i'm not suggesting it hinges on this comment. i do suggest there will be a billet of evidence of information that people take in to make decisions. that's what campaigns are all about. >> that would be very foolish. >> to make this decision based on the fact that -- god forbid president obama and mitt romney

are so vastly different that if you make a different decision on who you're going to vote for based on that comment, that's unwise. both camps have made gaffs and said something untoward. i think you should base it on policy, not a gaff. >> i think the gaff feeds into the policy argument. >> how so? this gaff speaks for policy, how? >> the obama campaign is implying class warfarewarfare, making the commentary that it's wall street versus main street, this gaff was in the context of that -- >> i don't think -- >> there's no question there's a little bit of question in there. this is virginia, every vote counts. there's a reason they call it silly season thanks, guys. >> sure. >> you're able to go from new york to l.a. in less than an hour with today's military technology.

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>> it used to be that stealth technology was the most advanced technology in the u.s. military arsenal. we'd see pictures like this one of the b2 spirit stealth bomber, making its first flight in 1989. despite its age, still an amazing piece of engineering innovation. china, russia, india, all working on some form of stealth aircraft. this is just one example. when it comes to military technology, no one manages to have an exclusive weapon for very long. everyone's trying to one-up each other. that's the story of medieval history. the number tonight, 3,600, that's home miles per hour, the new wave writer will travel.

it was set to drop off the coast of california. if all goes as planned. it has a four-second free fall before its engine kicks into action. it will climb to a height of 70,000 feet reaching mach 6 before falling into the pacific ocean. but it's breaking a different barrier as well. you could fly from new york to california in under an hour. before you start envisioning communities between the coast, it doesn't being tested for commercial use. it's for military purpose. you could bomb a target on the other side of the world before they could scramble their jets. when it's ready, it could keep the u.s. one step ahead of threats by other nations, if, of course, those other nations don't get it first. "outfront" next, how long can the syrian government hold out against sanctions?

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♪ welcome back to "outfront." our third story "outfront," iran teaming up with syria. that's the warning coming from leon panetta tonight. >> iran is playing a larger role in syria in many ways, not only in terms of the ritc, but in terms of assistance, training. there's now an indication that they're trying to develop or trying to train a militia within syria. >> now, this comes as "the wall street journal" uncovers evidence that the syrian government is planning to use russian banks to bypass sanctions by the united states and the european union. ruia is the key ally to the syrian government. it's been the country's principal arm supplier from 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke. an "outfront" update on standard charter. that's the british bank we've been telling you about since last week. it's accused of hiding $250 billion worth of transactions with iran over the past ten years. today the bank and new york state regulators announced a settlement.

the bank will pay $340 million to settle the case. it's agreed to allow regulators to install a monitor at the bank to evaluate money laundering. standard chartered will put its own auditors in place. this isn't new. it was discussed just last week. >> you look at banks that have been censured for doing business with rogue states including iran. the u.s. has gotten a lot of money from violators. credit swees paid more than half a billion. the netherlands bank, img, abm amrorks half a billion. that's a lot of money. does the u.s. say itit easier on look the other way and just get the money? i know that sounds incredibly ugly, but is it? >> i see your point. obviously it's punishment to the banks, but more so it's deterrent to others for breaking the law, or breaking these regulations and prevent them

from aiding iran. iran is probably the greatest threat to international security today and others shouldn't be working with them. >> now, this isn't the end of the road for standard chartered, the u.s. prezery department and the fbi are still investigating the bank for violations of u.s. sanctions. now let's check in with sole dad o'brian with a look at what's

>> you know, that's an interesting question. so far this musical which has been part of the mormon moment has been contained to manhattan. having traveled with mitt romney, i think it could really bring his religion to the forefront. whether that hurts or helps him will depend on whether he's addresses it. he's been reluctant too so far, but i think it will make it a bigger issue. >> let's address misconceptions about the mormon faith. one act in the play is help mormon hell. help folks understand what the mormon conception of the afterlife really is. >> for one thing, mormons don't believe in hell, no fire and brimstone. mormons believe that the afterlife for almost everybody will be a time to learn and progress. you hear a lot of people say

mormons believe they will get their own planet. that's in the musical. in reality that's not part of official mormon doctrine. we believe mormons will continue to grow and become more like god. that's where it comes from. mormons believe that basically everybody will come to some level of hench after their life. so it's a common misconception that's advanced in the musical. >> that's take on another misconception advanced in the musical. mormon undergarments. separate fact from fiction on that. >> sure. one of the things that a lot of people say and you'll see this on the internet is that mormons believe they have magic underwear. in reality, the most devout mormons wear an undergarment, it looks like a t-shirt and briefs, but it's a symbol of our faith, not necessarily magical. there are no special powers assigned to it, but it's something that mormons wear and you'll see it in the musical to

remind them of their kofenance, of their faith and to oboy the commandments, it's not as mysterious or crazy as its made out to be by mormonism's critics. >> we certainly have seen critics and people speaking from ignorance on this subject. that's why we wanted to have you on to clear it up separate fact from fiction on that. in part because we no longer have a draft. but specific question about the romneys. mitt romney famously protested in favor of the vietnam war but did not serve in the vietnam war. he was on missionary work in france. none of his five sons served in the military either. help us understand if that's related to their mormon faith or missionary work in particular. >> reporter: sure, well, for one thing, a lot of mormons do serve in the military. and there's no pacifist element to mormonism.

but one thing i think might hold back a lot of mormons from serving, including romney and his sons, is they're taught from the time they're young boys to serve mormon missions at the age of 19 which is really a time when a lot of people join the military, so it can sort of stand in the way of a natural time to join the army or another branch of the military. but like i said, a lot of mormondo serve, serve abroad and serve in wars. i think romney and his sons would of course appreciate that, but they all served mormon missions and that might have been one of the things that stood in their way. >> sure. mckay, one big question out right now is the question of how mitt romney might deal with his faith. in the traditional way played in the convention. for someone who by all accounts of exemplary personal character, his character has been shaped by his faith, how do you think he might deal with his faith in that reintroduction to the

american people? >> reporter: yeah, that's an interesting question. i think somewhere in some dark room in boston or -- there are videographers who are trying to decide how to tackle this issue. it has been part of his story. from the time he served a mission in france to being a bishop, an ecclesiastical leader in the church, i think now is the time, if there is ever going to be a time, for him to introduce his faith on his own terms. like we said with this musical and other factors, there's a good chance other people will be talking about this. this is a chance for mitt romney to really introduce his faith in a way that he would like to discuss it, the experiences he's had, the people he's helped in his faith and how it's shaped his character. will that happen? it remains to be seen. >> thank you for coming "outfront" and helping us clear up some misconceptions about the mormon faith. >> thanks for having me on.

>> now, mitt romney has just started delivering a campaign speech in ohio. let's listen in. >> uniting to build the greatest economy in the history of the earth. uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness. everywhere i go in america, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for liberty. there's no mention of their race, their party affiliation or what they did for a living. they lived and died under a single flag fighting for a single purpose. they pledged allegiance to the united states of america. [ applause ] so, mr. president, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting america.

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

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