ttv

the gavin newsom show is a search engine for solutions and that's the focus. we want to focus on solutions and ways of bringing people together. collective action is the only way we're going to solve the world's great vexing problems.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: 25 minutes after the hour. we're talking congressional politics. and what they're getting done and what they're not getting done with congressman john yarmuth representing kentucky, third congressional district. congressman, we've got some callers who have got some questions for you. in our next segment we're going to talk to cary who used to

represent the advocate about the issue that's come up in the last couple of days about same-sex marriage. the vice president coming out sunday saying he's totally comfortable with it. and then secretary of education arne duncan yesterday says he's supporting it. where do you stand on the issue? >> same-sex marriage doesn't concern me. i have -- i've always said marriage ought to be a state matter. our state has a constitutional amendment against it. that's what i think is causing some of the problems at the white house is that if you're in that position, you say okay, the defense of marriage act is unconstitutional. we should do away with that. let the states do what they want. i fully believe kentucky ought to recognize any marriage that's legally conducted in any other state even though we don't allow it. >> bill: do you personally support it? >> yeah, absolutely. absolutely. >> bill: maybe some day kentucky will change.

here's a question for you from steve in loachapoka, alabama. >> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: good morning. >> caller: good morning, representative yarmuth. >> good morning, steve. >> caller: i've never seen such unionification in the republican party and all of them have the same viewpoints, the same -- word for word -- they want to raise the taxes on the poor and raise interest rates on our students who need this education to go further. and it is all falling back on us. talk about raising taxes on those that have more than enough and it is oh no, oh, no. i've never seen such unification in one party like they have a lot of late-night meetings behind closed doors if you know what i mean. >> bill: steve, we got your point. that certainly seems to be their agenda, congressman. >> it is like groundhog day

listening to them. it is interesting. i have seen recently a glimmer of hope. i was speaking a couple of weeks ago to a new republican member from virginia, scott rigell and scott publicly renounced the grover norquist pledge. >> bill: no kidding. >>he publicly renounced it. he told me he had with very few exceptions, unanimous approval of doing it. he thought that there were about 80 members of the republican conference in the house who wanted to do that. so if you get that kind of movement, then i think there will be a difference in attitude and then our side would be forced to say okay, we will deal with entitlements if you're willing to deal on the revenue side, we'll deal with entightments. >> bill: that's what the president has said. it has to be a balanced approach. i appreciate you coming in. thanks for being here. such a good friend of the show for so long. come back again soon. >> announcer: this is the "bill

press show." vaccinations save lives. >>we are very committed to the safety of our products. >>but are mandatory shots doing more harm than good? >>i see children injured every day. >>the controversy has gone viral. >>how many are being sacrificed? >>see "the greater good" on current tv. >>and while you watch, join the live chat at current.com/greatergood. >>our system is not working. >>there are always some risks. >>i don't think it's that back and white. the science is not there.

>> announcer: there is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. it is tuesday, may 8th. this is the "full court press." coming to you live from our nation's capital. where the big buzz when we -- we talked about it on the show yesterday and it certainly was the buzz at the white house briefing yesterday is whoa! what's president obama going to do about the issue of same-sex marriage now that the vice president has come out and said he is all for it. and that was even maybe difficult. compounded for the white house yesterday when education secretary arne duncan came out and said he's for it, too.

two cabinet secretaries and the vice president. so what should president obama do? we wanted to turn to a good friend who has agreed to come into the studio and talk about that this morning. pleased to welcome a former white house correspondent for the advocate and my buddy down at the white house briefing room, kerry eleveld. >> great to be here, bill as usual. miss you guys, too but you guys are giving them heck over there so. >> bill: yesterday i have to tell you, it was uncomfortable moments for jay carney and sometimes you know, i feel -- because everybody was pounding him. first half hour of the briefing was all about this issue. everybody was pounding him. sometimes i feel sorry for him because they're all asking the same question and trying to put him on the spot. but yesterday i thought you deserve it! because -- >> poor jay carney. you have to feel a little bit for him. he's not in charge of making these decisions. he's just trying to defend them. when we used to go after robert

gibbs, i almost forgot his name. it has been so long. >> bill: you were unmerciful with robert. >> we used to go after him you knew he was an aide to the president. you knew he was part of the decision making. you go after jay carney, you know they've shoved him out there. he didn't have any say in this decision. he's trying to defend it. it is just -- it is dreadful. >> bill: we made this decision. now you defend it. >> good luck with this one! >> bill: our friends at think progress put together a little montage for ow viewers and listeners. this is what it was like. listen to a little bit of it. >> what does the president think of same-sex marriage? >> what the president has said in the past both during his campaign for president in 2008 ands in answer to a question at the end of 2010. i really don't have an update for you nora. >> is the president comfortable with the fact of men marrying men and women marrying women? >> the president is comfortable with same-sex couples as the

vice president said being entitled to the same rights and civil rights and civil liberties. >> bill: it went on and on like that. the bottom line is that jay carney said the vice president may have done this. sean donovan the housing secretary. arne duncan, the education secretary but the presidents thinking is still evolving. >> okay so -- right. >> bill: so as a member of the lgbt community. >> how long do we evolve, bill? a year and a half -- let me say this. this is such an interesting situation. the white house seems -- the white house seems constantly surprised that gay issues are an issue. they seem to trip themselves up. they trip themselves up on this executive order that would protect, you know, lgbt people, workers for federal contractors right. and that would provide protections on the basis of sexual orientation anybody who works for a federal contractor.

those protections don't exist yet and they don't exist nationwide. jay carney had a similar sort of eight minutes, not a whole half hour but had a similar eight minutes that was terrifying for him where he was trying to defend why -- why when the president is doing this whole we can't wait campaign and trying to alleviate ills that are facing other americans apparently we can wait on protections for lbgt workers which is such a basic no-brainer, very popular you know, executive order as well as legislation. so anyway but they seem constantly surprised about this and you just kind of wonder. people like me and other people have been warned through writing and some people are in their ear. writings that i've done or whatever have been warning them that gay marriage, same-sex marriage is going to be something that comes up again and again and again and yet they stumble over it all the time. one thing jay carney did yesterday was he said he did finally say well, the vice

president has one view and the president has one view. okay. if they had just left it at that, this would not have been a 24-hour news cycle. i think vice president biden would with have said what he had said on "meet the press" and they would have just said the vice president has his view. the president has his view. these are the type of conversations that are going on in the oval office just like they're the type of conversations that are happening across america. >> bill: yeah. let's remember, dick cheney was totally supportive of same-sex marriage and george bush was not. we knew that. it was no big deal at the time. >> but instead, you have immediately afterwards, the white house seemed shocked that gay marriage has come up and that somehow you know -- unfortunately, i mean -- well, fortunately and -- fortunately i actually thought that vice president's comments were very humanizing and talked about love and commitment and not right and wrong and evil and sin and whatever but like people wanting

to make life-long commitments to each other. you know, it was a very nuance sort of number of comments that he made. and informed comments, i thought. and then axelrod you know, the -- one of the top advisors to the campaign now you know, says oh, this is no different. he didn't say anything different than what the president's position is and tries to paint them as having the same exact position. then they turn the story that could have been you know, maybe a six to 12 hour story a monday morning story into a 24 hour news story and they get pounded. >> bill: let me -- so look, i believe the president should act now and certainly come out in full support of same-sex marriage and lead on this issue and not follow. but let me give you the arguments that they make. one is and jay carney tried to make this yesterday and nobody would listen. that you, you have to understand this president has done more for lgbt issues and people and the community than any other president has ever done. true or false?

>> i would say true. can i give you my pushback to that. >> bill: so then why aren't you happy? why aren't you satisfied? >> i'm happy. i had a little breakfast a little coffee. i feel pretty good. i'm not -- i don't want to say i'm entirely displeased but it is not my fault that they're twisting themselves in pretzels over this. the problem is it seems disingenuous. no one really believes that he -- that he doesn't support same-sex marriage. now i don't know if he does or he doesn't but look, the problem is that 1996 he filled -- as a state senator filled out this questionnaire that said i support same-sex marriage and i would work against any attempts to block it. and he used the words same-sex marriage. just think about this. this is 1996. he used the words same-sex marriage. in other words, it is very progressive wording at the time. >> bill: right. >> then the white house comes out and their line on this,

their standard line now is he meant civil unions, not marriage. like he didn't know what he was saying when he put same-sex marriage. he meant -- >> bill: all right. all right. so the second argument we hear -- >> can i just say one more thing. >> bill: go ahead. >> one more thing is sure, he's done more -- it is true. he's done more than any other president so far. but who are we comparing him to? are we comparing him to bush? that's a low bar. then you're comparing him to before that, president clinton. >> bill: who put in don't ask don't tell and doma. it is a very, very, very low bar. >> bill: the other argument which picks up on something you just made is look, wink, wink, you know he's evolving. but you know he's made up his mind. you know he's going to support it but he has to get re-elected. he could lose color maybe -- lose colorado, maybe lose pennsylvania, lose north carolina. if he came out fully in support of same-sex marriage. so hold your horses!

get him re-elected then you'll get what you want. >> let me ask you this. >> bill: you think he want to lose? >> it is definitely the gays. it is the gay gender, we're going to ruin it for everybody. first of all the idea that one issue is going to be you know is going to do someone in i think is absolutely just insane. but if you want to pick that apart, okay, just -- i'll ask you this. which voters do you think would vote for him that won't vote for him if he supports same-sex marriage? >> bill: good question. i would ask that same question. i think those people are not going to vote for him anyway. >> right. >> bill: but they must have some polling that shows that in those states it is an issue that a majority of voters even democrats oppose. >> okay. >> bill: no? >> now you're talking as if -- as if washington is a rational beast.

it is not. you and i were both in the briefing room at the beginning of 2009. how anxious were they to jump right on repealing don't ask don't tell. how anxious? >> bill: not at all. >> they didn't want to touch with that a 10-foot pole. he had run he had campaigned on the issue because it polled so well. once they got into office, they didn't want to do it. they didn't want to do it in the first year. they didn't want the vote before the 2010 midterms because it might hurt them. it ended up being their biggest progressive win. health reform, their signature item ended up killing them at the polls in the midterms but what i'm saying is washington is not rational on many issues and it is certainly not rational on lgbt. >> bill: we're going to take a break. a lot of people want to join the conversation. kerry eleveld is off writing a book. she won't tell us anything about it. >> very secret. top secret. >> bill: in studio with us. this is the burning issue of the

day here in our nation's capital. give us a call at 1-866-55-press. if you want to join the conversation. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today...

>>the dominoes are starting to fall. (vo) former two term governor, jennifer granholm, is politically direct on current tv >> what should women be doing? >> electing women to office.

>> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 13 minutes before the hour. kerry eleveld in studio with us. taking your calls on same-sex marriage. and first, a little word of advice if you're one of those americans who is looking for some -- earning some extra money each month and who is not. i encourage you to check out our good friends at income at

home.com. they are americas leading work from home business. doing business in over 80 countries so you can trust them and you can do this. no matter your age education or experience. you can literally earn money on your own computer. 24/7 from your kitchen table with just a little bit of coaching from the folks at income at home.com and a little bit of extra time on your part. if you're sick of living paycheck to paycheck, worried about job security or retirement and you want to make some extra money from home, part-time or full time, income at home.com waiting for you and adding my listeners in record numbers. they're even giving away $1,000 to somebody for checking them out today. that could be you. check them out at income at home.com. that's incomeathome.com. kerry, lots of people want to weigh in here with questions or comments. >> be nice to me. >> bill:. [ laughter ] she can take it. kathy is calling from chicago. what do you say kathy?

hi. >> caller: i would like to know -- a question and a comment. if president obama doesn't come out and just say i accept gay marriage, would that stop you all from going and tying the knot? why is his word divine? nobody listens to him on anything else. why do you have to have his blessing? the comment is are you willing to lose ground with this president who's trying and go to mitt romney who couldn't even keep one cabinet member in there. he's going to repeal everything the president did. i would like for you to answer that question. >> bill: all right kathy. thank you. >> kathy, i mean i think that's a very fair point. personally, i'm going to go to the polls. i mean i don't think there's any question who i'm going to pull the lever for. it is going to be president obama. but i don't think this is so much just an issue of gays and lesbians. the question for me, the greater progressive base right.

and just voters in general. for me, it is more like a question of do voters want to vote for a politician or do they want to vote for a leader. i still think people want to vote for a leader. when they voted for president obama in 2008 and there was so much enthusiasm, that's the word we're talking about here is "enthusiasm" it was because people thought this guy is going to stand for something. when he seems to be sort of you know running away from this issue again and again and again and changing his -- they're always trying to sort of wordsmith how he feels about it and whatever. and it sort of has this -- you know, this disingenuousness about it. >> bill: how's this? how about the first term, you get the repeal of don't ask don't tell and the second term, you get same-sex marriage. that's a pretty good deal, isn't it? >> if in the second term he comes out for same-sex marriage, i think that would be fantastic. i just don't think it helps him -- i don't see how it is helping him to do what they're doing now. >> bill: wendy calling from

atlanta, georgia. >> caller: good morning. congressman said that gay marriage doesn't concern him. i disagree because the state just passed a law doesn't let him off the hook. >> bill: he did say that personally, he supports same-sex marriage. i hope you heard that. >> caller: actually, i didn't. thank you for pointing that out. >> bill: i said how about personally, do you support it? >> caller: i did not hear that. thank you. second, president obama of all people should know about waiting for rights because like dr. king said, the time is always right to do what's right. >> well, can i just jump in -- >> bill: excellent point. okay wendy. >> everybody thinks this is just an issue for the coast and maybe just a washington issue. the people who really, really need this are the people in the middle of the country. the people who are trying to raise kids and/or they're in relationships and they don't have laws that protect them in their states. and you know, they risk having a

same-sex partner die that they've been with for years and years and they can't get the social security survivor benefits then they're kicked out of their house or apartment or whatever. and then you know, there's people raising kids and suddenly the mom or the dad dies and the person that has been raising that child is legally in the eyes of the law a stranger to that child. so these laws impact people right now. right now they do. >> bill: by the way, i just want to point out that joe biden's support for gay marriage, this article from cnn.com religion editor is echoed by catholics around the country. catholics supporting same-sex marriage, 46% of them. no. 46% of -- >> main line protestants and catholics. >> bill: 52% of catholics support gay marriage. konda is in mobile, alabama.

>> caller: i'm getting over a very bad cold. however, what i wanted to say to the lady there is that when she talked about healthcare taking president down in 2010, actually, i saw an interview with dan savage on another network a month ago who proudly stated that lbgt community did not come out and support president obama -- excuse me. and they were not -- he would not be pushing for president obama in 2010 so i just want to say you got what you got. not only that. not only that. so much negativity, constantly bashing him and banging him and pressing him and in regard to civil rights, we didn't get everything we wanted in one whop. we had to work for it, too. >> bill: you know what, konda we've got your point. kerry, we'll take a quick break and get the response on the other side so we can keep up

with the clock here on the "full court press." konda, thank you for the call. stay tuned. kerry is back at you when we come right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." unwrap your paradise. soft, sweet coconut covered in rich, creamy chocolate. almond joy and mounds. unwrap paradise.

you'd spot movement, gather intelligence with minimal collateral damage. but rather than neutralizing enemies in their sleep you'd be targeting stocks to trade. well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account. (vo) every week night, cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >> are they worried about the politics of it before the election?

of course! >> bill: mitt romney says he deserves the credit for saving the auto industry. go figure that. we'll talk about that and a lot more with chat democratic strategist. right now we're wrapping up with kerry eleveld about the white house sort of caught in the middle on the same-sex marriage thing. you heard what konda said.

you ought to be happy with what you've got. get off his back. >> i got the sense that what she was saying in actuality that in 2010 because we didn't turn out to vote, you know, republicans ended up taking the house and now we are where we are. we can't get any legislation through and whatever. i take konda's point. the one thing i would say is gays and lesbians, bisexual, transgender people we account for consistently about 4% to 6% of the electorate. it is a very small amount of the electorate. i think the bigger problem in 2010 was a depression of the progressive base overall. we're talking about reproductive rights advocates labor environmentalists, immigration activists. and none of them had really gotten what they were looking for. so it is a depression of enthusiasm overall. >> bill: that, thank you for coming in. keep up the good fight. come back soon. >> thanks for having me.

while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate.

>> bill: hello, hello and welcome to the "full court press." this tuesday morning, may 8th. good to see you today. thank you so much for joining us here on current tv. i'm bill press, liberal and proud of it bringing you the big stories of the day. and giving. >> chance to talk about them. taking your calls of course at 1-866-55-press. and here's the latest. the obama white house seems split on the issue of same-sex marriage we've been talking about with kerry eleveld. housing secretary sean donovan says i fully support same-sex

marriage. then sunday on "meet the press," joe biden said the same thing then yesterday education secretary arne duncan says he supports same-sex marriage but president obama insists that his position is still evolving on the issue. you know what? he better evolve soon or he's going to miss the bus. we'll get into that and a whole lot more in our last hour together here this morning but first, let's go out to los angeles with us this current tv news update here's jacki schechner. hi jacki. >> hi, bill. good morning, everyone. the president is going to be in albany today where he's going to talk about a five-point plan for congress. it is primarily aimed at g.o.p. lawmakers in the house. amongst the things on that list are creation of a veteran job corps to help returning troops find work. he wants a 20% tax credit for companies that bring their overseas operations back to the u.s. and he wants homeowners who are current on their mortgages to be able to refinance at lower interest rates. abc news is drawing our

attention to a little-known entitlement bill this morning that picks up the tab for former presidents. bet you didn't know in 2010, we paid $15,000 for jimmy carter's postage. we paid $579,000 for bill clinton's rent and we paid $830,000 for george w. bush's phone bill. he needs a better cell plan. the rule emerged in 1958 back when harry truman couldn't pay his bills. the measure is obviously outdated now with former presidents raking in lots of money for speaking fees and other things. representative jason chav its of utah has supported a bipartisan bill that would get rid of reimbursement for any ex-president who makes over $400,000. monique white, a minneapolis woman fighting to stay in her home may be able to celebrate a big win. she was foreclosed on by u.s. bank in january of 2011. she reached out to the occupy movement, in particular occupy our homes and after speaking at a shareholder's meeting and

having support of the movement she has now finally gotten the opportunity to refinance. so that's how we make change, folks. we'll be right back.

we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low

they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. rick santorum has finally endorsed mitt romney. what do you know. what do you know? will somebody call ron paul? he's the only one left. good morning everybody. it is tuesday may 8th. good to see you today. and welcome to the "full court press." the "bill press show." your new morning show on current tv and continuing morning show on all of your great progressive talk stations around the country. good to be with you today. so glad that you joined us to talk about the issues of the day

at 1-866-55-press. we'll take your calls. on all that we've got to talk about. we're going to have a rock n' roll hour this hour again. in studio with us, democratic strategist, world traveler, chad is with us. >> good to see you. congrats on the television show here. looking good. >> bill: current tv. everything is good. >> your book is even in paperback now. >> bill: toxic talk is in paper book. "the obama hate machine" will soon be in paperback i gather. it's gotta be. it is the "full court press." >> i like it. >> radio. tv. books. web sites. >> translated into korean. hey, you're international yourself, bill. >> bill: would you rather have the korean version? >> i would understand it better. [ laughter ] >> bill: chad, nice see you. our team here. you know all of the team members. peter ogborn. >> yes sir. >> dan henning.

>> hi, there. >> our videographer cyprian bolling. >> congrats to all of you on the show. i hear good things about it. >> bill: it is indeed. chad, i didn't know. peter told me this morning. today is the 10th anniversary of one of the great moments in sports. of when allen iverson who played for the 76ers -- >> great basketball player. >> bill: great basketball player. right. he was a little -- he slacked off a little bit when it came to showing up for practice. he got a little grief over it. he was asked about it and ten years ago -- >> today. >> bill: today. ten years ago today, this is how allen iverson handled that criticism. >> we talking about practice. not a game. not a game. not a game. we talkin' about practice. not a game.

not the game that i go out there and die for and play every game like it is my last. not the game. we're talking about practice, man. i know it's important. i do. i honestly do but we're talking about practice man. what are we talking about? practice? we're talking about practice man. [ laughter ] we talkin' about practice. we talkin' about practice. we ain't talkin' about the game. we talkin' about practice. >> this is a man with a message. he knows how to repeat a message. stick to it. i love it! [ laughter ] >> is that what you teach in your media class? >> that's what we teach our candidates. repeat the message until the cows come home. >> bill: if only more politicians talked that way. >> nothing was going to pull him off that message. >> bill: no way. we're talkin' about practice. >> let's see obama do that when he comes out and he should just say, you know, we're talkin' about student loans.

we're not talking about the game. we're talking about student loans. just over and over and over again. >> bill, the sports moment i'm thinking about is my texas rangers beating the baltimore orioles 14-3. it was a laser show, man. it was something. i'm still enjoying the warm afterglow. >> bill: orioles still have the best record, don't they? >> actually, the texas rangers do. >> bill: now? >> in the a.l. east. >> maybe peter ought to punch that up on the computer and check. >> i'm not going to do that. [ laughter ] >> bill: i don't know, man. >> give me a moment. >> bill: you're in washington, d.c., man and you're a rangers fan you're in danger, man. >> for the first time in a long time i can remember, the nationals don't completely suck

and the orioles don't completely suck. that's never happened. >> it is fun to watch the nationals. >> bill: how did we get this rangers fan here? [ laughter ] chad, we're going to be join by john nichols from the nation magazine to bring us up to date on what's happening with the call of scott walker which will happen in wisconsin. first, dan's got the big stories of the day. >> we start the big stories with another sports story. on the nationals. philadelphia phillies pitcher cole hamels was hit with a five-game suspension yesterday after admitting he intentionally hit washington national player bryce harper with a pitch as a way to welcome the 19-year-old hitting phenomenon to the big league. following the game sunday night hammel said i was trying to hit him. i'm not going to deny it. nationals manager was not amused. i told "the washington post" that hamels hitting him with a pitch was classless and gutless.

>> bill: then to admit it. i just want to welcome home to the -- him to the game. >> if you saw the videotape on that, it was awful. he really beamed him bad. >> that will leave a mark. >> two fox news employees responded to tom brokaw's criticism. he blasted it for being more about celebrities and less about journalism. white house reporter ed henry took to twitter to remind mr. brokaw that the event is all for charity and helps a lot of young journalists and greta van susteren is happy to see changes but wonders how will attention be brought to genocide and sudan without the help? >> bill: it could be improved if greta van susteren would not invite lindsay lohan. >> you made the point yesterday that like george clooney brings a lot of attention to genocide in sudan. >> bill: lindsay lohan did not. greta van susteren. >> i kind of like her just for the record. lindsay lohan, i'm a fan. >> bill: you can have dinner with her. >> that's two strikes, chad.

>> she reminds me of the bee gees song "more than a woman." >> the nba playoffs continue. san antonio spurs beating the utah jazz 87-81 last night. spurs now have won 14 games in a row. they'll face the winners of the clippers/grizzlies series. l.a. beating memphis in overtime. even after blake griffin fouled out and now they lead that series three games to one. >> bill: what sport is this? >> that was basketball. i'm telling you, the spurs are the only team left that will be able to stop the heat. it is going to happen. >> bill: all right. take your word for it. thank you, dan. oh man. where do we start? chad, i want to start with something that really burns me. saturday, i go out with the white house press corps go to columbus then down to richmond and columbus is -- we're in this basketball arena on the campus of the ohio state. it holds 18,000 people.

there were 14,000 people there. another 1,000 people on the floor. yeah, there are some nosebleed seats up in the back that were empty. and they estimated -- i don't know who did. 4,000 empty seats. you've got 18,000. capacity of 18,000. at least 14,000 in there. fox news yesterday has a headline, obama speaks to half empty stadium. how do they get away with this? >> look, i thought the president had a really good kickoff. obviously you were there. you saw how strong it was. i thought it was a good message. good energy from what i could see and the coverage and i think this is a sign that the romney campaign and fox news doesn't have that much to talk about first of all and second of all strategically, it shows what romney has to do and what fox news, which is an arm of the romney campaign. what they have to do is make it about these petty personal distractions because the minute it becomes about romney who they know is a colossal phony of a

candidate, is unlikable unsellable, they'll be in real trouble. so i think we're going see a lot of this sort of divide and distract as a strategy by the romney campaign. it is super pacs. it is allies like fox news. and rush limbaugh. that's really their only chance. i think it is going to be a very dirty, divisive campaign because of that. i think the superpacs will be like armageddon for dirty ads. >> bill: i thought axelrod had a great response when he said hey, okay, let's say it was just -- only 14,000 which is a hell of a big crowd. that's 11,000 more than mitt romney got for his the biggest crowd of the whole primary so if they want to make this election about crowd size -- >> golly! >> bill: you know who wins that hands down! >> right. >> bill: while we're on romney, yesterday, he's working the rope line -- he's at a town hall up in -- i don't know where he was.

and he gets asked -- a woman gets up to ask a question and makes a statement that anybody would think would immediately comment on. >> we have a president right now that is operating outside the structure of our constitution. [ applause ] i want to know -- i do agree he should be tried for treason. i want to know -- >> bill: so romney gives some mealy-mouth answer saying oh i think the constitution was inspired. doesn't address the treason thing at all. it is only later when he's working the rope line that some reporter says hey, wait, what's going on here? do you have anything to say about that? at first romney pretends he doesn't hear then he finally answers sort of. >> is there a reason he didn't say anything. governor? >> is it a corrector to say you

wouldn't? >> i answered the question. >> you don't agree? >> i don't correct all of the questions that get asked to me. i obviously don't agree. >> bill: i don't answer all of the questions but i obviously disagree with her. >> i actually think that this exchange is a great illustration of the larger, strategic problem for romney which is number one romney's core problem is he has no core. okay. he just doesn't have any backbone. any core principles or decency to knock down something like that. >> bill: remember when john mccain, some woman said about obama being a muslim and john mccain said no stop. he's a patriotic american. i disagree with him but -- >> right. mainstream voters like that. republicans and democrats. i think a lot of independents. the second larger problem, i think that this exchange illustrates is this is why mitt romney is going to lose. the republican party is just

disintegrated and these extremist people like that, he's going to have to try to pander to and when you lean toward these people or you try to placate them or dance around it like he did yesterday he lose the center and that's what's going to happen. they lack any cohesion as a party and this is why they're going to lose. >> bill: it reminds me and i think a lot of people of rish limbaugh. of rush limbaugh. he calls him a slut and a prostitute. his response is those aren't the words i would have used. he's afraid to take on rush limbaugh. in this case, he's afraid to challenge this one woman. >> what would be fascinating about this as a political exercise is to watch this campaign for how many more moments romney will have where he looks completely -- you know, weak and classless but refusing to knock something down so

extreme, so ridiculous. all in an effort to placate that extreme tea party right wing party. i do not think that's going to wear well over time and i don't think that yesterday is the only time we're going see it. >> bill: chad clanton is in studio with us. you're welcome to join the conversation. we save that seat right there for you at the table. it is yours and you take it by giving us a call at 1-866-55-press. now, chad, i don't want to spend all of our time on this but i do have to ask you about maybe the issue de jure which is same-sex marriage at the briefing yesterday. obviously it was dominated by questions about okay, now vice president joe biden on sunday came out and said he's very comfortable with same-sex marriage. where's the president on this issue and jay carney kept saying the president is still evolving on this issue. so is the white house playing it right or do you think obama ought to just come out right now and take a stand? >> i think the white house is doing the right thing right now.

but you know -- >> bill: why? because you think it would be a problem for re-election? >> look. i think there's two options here. option one is you could seize it as a bold leadership moment and you could do it and i would expect that. it is a 50/50 issue. it is not a secret. everybody knows that this is -- you get a certain amount of blowback with it. you could get some more credit by being strong and taking a firm leadership. this is where the country is moving as you pointed out. earlier today. i don't think that people can fight these winds of change. they're coming. no group in our country has gotten more rights and more expansion of liberties in a shorter period of time than the gay community. on the other hand, i could see it like look, a lot of these polls have the election tied 50/50. or 45/45.

46/47. and you don't want to do things that rock the boat. you want to keep it on the economy and issues that are front and center on the vast majority of americans' mind. this is not a top three issue you know, with all due respect in voter's minds right now. we know it is economy. we know it is healthcare. we know it is education. and so this is outside of that wheel house. so it is a little tricky. i feel like i'm pulling a romney on you. i'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. >> bill: if you're a strategist and the president sat around the table, do i go, go or hold and he's taken a poll around the table, you would say hold. >> i would say something different. i would say mr. president, i believe that you can win this election either way. and mr. president far be it for me who has not sat in the chair of the oval office to tell you what to do. i think this is one of those moments where you ought to

follow your heart and mr. president, we got a good team around you. we've got david axelrod and any number of great people around you. we will find a way to defend you. what i believe mr. president is most important is this is such an important moral issue you've got a chance to get a little ahead of the curve. this is going to happen. you and i both know that. but mr. president, you have a chance to get ahead of the curve. if you really believe this now we'll make sure it doesn't cost you the election. >> bill: you are a little too comfortable referring to bill as mr. president. >> i was pretending i was in a strat eveningry meeting. >> bill: this is as close as i'll ever get. join the conversation with chad clanton here on the "full court press." >> announcer: on your radio, on tv the "bill press show," new on current tv. what's wrong. i want this show to move past that. i love creative people, and with all the vexing problems we have we

need creative thinking. >>(narrator) with interviews with notables from silicon valley, hollywood, and beyond. >>at the end of the day this show's simple. it's about ideas. ideas are the best politics. ideas can bring us together. >>(narrator) the gavin newsom show. coming to current tv.

weeknights on current tv.

>> bill: 27 minutes after the hour. chad clanton in studio with us. here from los angeles, chad is aaron. what do you say? good morning. hello. hello, hello? let's go up to ontario california. hi gene. >> hi, hello. i think the most important thing that the president can do is whatever is necessary to win 270 electoral votes because the most thing to people who claim to be democrats of the supreme court and i don't know why people don't get that. >> bill: that's a pretty correct statement. >> can't argue with that. >> that's a winning strategy.

>> bill: that's the focus. you know what? it is interesting to people don't talk enough i find in any election. any presidential election. to me, the number one issue is the supreme court. >> huge. look at the citizens united thing. look at how they knock down obama care. hey, man these guys matter. once they're there you can't pull them off. >> bill: people don't talk about it enough. >> it is a good point. it should be like a top three or top five issue at least. it should. it's not. >> bill: it is a clear choice. do you want another elite another sonia sotomayor. do you want another scalia or another stephen breyer. >> the majority of the public sees the supreme court is too partisan. when they were doing the healthcare fight. the public thinks they're too partisan. why don't we do something about it? >> bill: john nichols joins the conversation with all of you and chad clanton next.

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." it's go time. >>every weeknight cenk uygur calls out the mainstream media. >>the guys in the middle class the guys in the lower end got screwed again. >>i think you know which one we're talking about. the overwhelming majority of the country says"tax the rich, don't go to war." >>just wanted to clarify that. planned parenthood. anna talked to a conservative and it got a little contentious. drama, when we return.

with jennifer granholm. >>i am jenniffer granholm and it's a beautiful thing. >>jennifer granholm on current tv. >>i'm a political junkie. this show is my fix. >>in politics, she was a gutsy leader. in cable news, she's a game changer. >>be afraid, be very afraid. now, the two term governor from michigan is reshaping the debate with a unique perspective and a forward-thinking approach. >>our goal is to bring you behind the scenes with access to stories that you've never seen before. >>she's a trailblazer determined to find solutions. >>one of the key components of a war room is doing a bit of opposition research. >>driven to find the thruth. >>i'm obsessed with the role of govenment. >>fearless, idependent and above all, politically direct. >>part of the mission here in our own war room is to help these candidates stay on track.

make your voice heard. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: hey, it is 33 minutes after the hour here. the "full court press" on this tuesday, may 8th. coming to you live coast-to-coast. brought to you today by ulico proudly serving the workplace for more than 80 years providing specialty insurance, investment products and services. under president ed smith to find out more about their good work. visit www.ullico.com. it is a big day. chad clanton is in the studio

with us. democratic strategist. big day, chad out in wisconsin. democratic primary today. the pick -- they'll pick the democrat who will be up against scott walker in the recall election which we must win. which is -- that date is june 5. we've got our own man on the ground in madison wisconsin. he is the washington correspondent, also for the nation magazine, our good friend john nichols. what do you say john? good morning. >> people got their american flags out in front of their houses. there's folks walking to the polling places. looks like things are kicking up all over. >> bill: polling places are already open. >> this is a farm state man. >> bill: what's it look like? primary day. we've been through this before with you. the two leading candidates are tom barrett and kathleen faulk. how does it look? >> i think there's very little

doubt that tom barrett is the front-runner. every poll that we've had -- you know, really since this process began puts him ahead in some of the polls put him as much as 18, 20 points ahead. >> bill: whoa. >> that also fits with a lot of the anecdotal evidence i see when i'm out traveling around the state. barrett -- he shouldn't be surprised by that. he was the democratic nominee in 2010. he's the mayor of the state's largest city and frankly he has run pretty close to a pitch-perfect campaign. now, that does not mean for sure he will win though because we have one of the most anomalous situations you can imagine in politics. we've got a recall primary happening in the start of may. we've never had an election in the start of may in wisconsin before. it is a beautiful sunny day

throughout the state which is very encouraging to people to walk to the polls or to get there. but the final thing is that the way this primary works, you can vote in the republican primary for governor the democratic primary for lieutenant-governor and republican primary for state senate. as one person. you can cross back and forth. there's no straight ballot that you would do in a traditional primary. and so there could be republicans coming over in mass numbers to vote for somebody they think of as a weaker democratic candidate. there could be -- i think there will be -- a number of progressives who cross over to vote for scott walker's kind of renegade challenger. so it is going to be -- to make predictions is a little bit -- one ought to be a little cautious. if i was going to bet my -- i would probably tell you it looks like he has the advantage. >> bill: barrett ran against scott walker before. how did he do against scott

walker before and if he is the nominee, what do the polls show now? barrett versus walker? >> well in 2010 when barrett ran against walker, he did absolutely as well as russ feingold against his opponent. they both lost in a republican wave. there is very little evidence that barrett was particularly a terrible candidate or anything. many people thought he ran a softer campaign than was necessary. in part, i think that's hindsight because things have gotten so ugly in wisconsin that now people say well why didn't you run like your life depended on it. people didn't anticipate scott walker would go the way he did. now you look at where the polling is today and what i can tell you is pretty remarkable. when this process started out all of the democratic contenders were well behind scott walker in the polls. as it has gone along the democratic contenders have all

gotten closer to scott walker. the fascinating thing is that scott walker has declined. he spent $21 million since january and yet his approval ratings have gone from 51% in january to 47% today. and so there's a lot of evidence to suggest that the nominee is really in a position to potentially beat walker and the last poll actually for the first time showed one of the democrats, tom barrett who we've been speaking about up by one point over walker. >> john, i had a question for you here. i was just curious what is barrett's closing arguments been? what's his kind of core message and case he's making here at the end? >> there's no variation in his message from the start to the finish. this has been a lightning-fast political process. it began for barrett in the start of april and now we're at the start of may and we're at the primary. so from the start, he has said that scott walker created a

civil war in wisconsin. that he ripped our state apart created divisions that in some cases will take generations to heal. attacked our public services education and obviously our unions. and that as governor, he will seek to undo the damage that scott walker did but also seek to heal this civil war. now, that is a soft message and it is different than his main opponent kathleen faulk who has said clearly she wants to come in and you know really fight much harder, take on what walker has done. take it all apart. in almost every sense barrett says he will do the same things but he says it with sort of a gentler hand. and i think he's speaking to kind of a unique characteristic of the upper midwest. and that is states like wisconsin, minnesota

north dakota are nice places. people actually are very very polite. and i think barrett has done well because he's tapped into a concern that wisconsin has become so on edge, so kind of organized against itself that it is a bit dysfunctional. so barrett i think is speaking a lot to a lot of others, not just democrats but -- >> bill: i would think that notion of healing after what wisconsin has been through would be attractive. here's what gets me. and chad, i would like your comment on this, too. john, we're looking today may 8, the primary is june 5. >> no, may 8th is the primary. >> bill: the election is june 5. so we're looking at less than a month to run this entire campaign, this entire -- is that enough time, you know, to take on scott walker and dump him?

>> i love this process. i think it is exactly right. i wish we could take it national even though i love covering politics and do it for a living, the simple fact of the matter is everything about this process has energized and excited voters. >> bill: it is like the blitzkrieg. >> of course, when you win it, you go into the general with a lot of momentum. >> that's right. you don't have three months or four months to dissipate your momentum. >> right right. >> here's the other thing. i think this is perhaps the most important subtlety to bring into the mix. i was at the rock county democratic party's annual dinner sunday night at the walter reuther uaw hall in janesville. usually have 60 or 70 people. sunday night, they had 260 people out. >> wow. >> and i talked to all of them. who are you going to vote for? many were backing different candidates, not just barrett or

kathleen but secretary of state douglas, kathleen barnhart. they were divided on who they were for. when i said what happens on the night of may 8th, what happens when the voting is done? two to one, they said i'm 100% passionately for the nominee. >> wow. >> you just don't have the divisions that you would imagine, not because people are all on the same page but because they are looking at having spent 16 months battling scott walker in the streets in recall elections, at the doors through summer and winter and there is a genuine passion to sort of close the deal. to complete the process. and so i don't think that this fast calendar is a problem. i actually think that it's highly beneficial. >> i gotta tell you -- >> i love it. i think our national elections drag on too damn long. look at this presidential primary. this 2012 election started in

2009. >> it is not good for our country. it is really not. any number of countries europe, has a shorter. >> bill: european model. >> absolutely. >> you know what else might be the european model? france, greece italy germany and england have all in the last four or five days cast very, very strong votes against an austerity agenda that's built on cutting unions, cutting public services, cutting public education. well, we're about to have a referendum here in america on that agenda. >> i saw your piece. >> bill: on the same agenda. >> right right. >> bill: john, listen, i know you have to vote often today in several different counties out there. >> no, no. just one. >> bill: we'll let you go. nobody's kept us better up to date on that than you have. have a great great day today. we'll be looking for the outcome

and we, like the people you talk to the other night we're behind whoever wins this democratic primary! >> very good report, john. >> thank you. you've been a wonderful ally in covering this throughout and i gotta tell you i hope we talk a lot between now and june 5th because i think we're going to have a lot to talk about. >> bill: you know we will, john. john nichol, follow him at thenation.com. chad clanton and i barely got started. we've got time for your calls too, at 1-866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today...

an energizing fruit or relaxing mint flavor. new 5 rpm gum. stimulate your senses.

>>the dominoes are starting to fall. (vo) former two term governor, jennifer granholm, is politically direct on current tv >> what should women be doing? >> electing women to office.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show" now on current tv. >> bill: chad clanton democratic strategist in the studio with us. we're ready to get back to your calls and politics. but first on an important note, time to face the facts you know. you look around the house, this is spring-cleaning time but some of the blinds, shades, shutters or drapes in your home may not survive spring cleaning because they've been up so long. if you're thinking about making a big change, i encourage you to do what peter ogborn and i have done. peter and his wife, carol and i have. we went to blinds.com. got some new -- first of all they have an incredible selection. and great service and phenomenal prices. they can even help a klutz like me who can't pound a nail. they teach you how to measure for the drapes, now to install them. and then the selection they offer is incredible. you can believe us or believe holly who wrote in dealing with blinds.com was a pleasure.

as opposed to two weeks of hell spent tries to order blinds at a furniture store. so if you're looking for blinds or shades or shutters or drapes, go to blinds.com. you'll get free color samples free shipping and no sales tax in most states plus an expert installer if you need one! go to blinds.com also for prices that absolutely crush home improvement store prices. again that's blinds.com. blinds.com for new blinds, shades, shutters or drapes for your home. blinds.com. so, chad, i want to ask you before we get back to our calls here, the word that you hear today is -- i heard this over the weekend about the columbus deal. enthusiasm gap. the challenge for obama, he got so much of an outpouring of support but you and i have never seen it in politics in 2008. it would be hard, hard to duplicate that in 2012. can he even come close? >> i think down the stretch we're going to be reminded of

what a great campaigner obama is. >> bill: you saw it saturday. >> you saw it saturday. that will come out down the stretch, i think it will really benefit him when people start comparing him with romney. i think also that you know, he -- at the end of the day, he's going to win this election because people think he's an earnest, decent guy who is doing the very best he can and trying to mop up a disastrous situation that was left for him to clean up. and i really think that that's the larger narrative going on here. and i think that him being a good campaigner and being out there, staying humble, staying humble and remembering that even though obama, the obama administration has so many accomplishments, many people don't feel them yet. so because of that, i think you know we need to keep projecting humility, a sense of dissatisfaction that this isn't

enough. that we've got a lot more to do. and i think to the extent that he does those things and that campaigner in chief comes out in him, it is going to serve him very well down the stretch. >> bill: they've been saying in the white house from the beginning that once this gets down to a choice and you get through this, through this crazy republican primary and people say okay and the way that -- the obama campaign has crystallized the choice is i saw it on the signs saturday forward. forward. >> it is forward. >> bill: not backward. forward with obama or backward with romney. that's a pretty clear choice. mary has a question or comment from west virginia. hi mary. >> caller: good morning. >> bill: good morning. what's your point? >> caller: well, bill, thank god for current tv. >> bill: yes! >> caller: there are so many things we wouldn't know or hear about. >> bill: thank you. >> caller: chad, i was listening to the point made about president obama speaks to half-packed house. i'm just a regular citizen and i'm concerned about issues

because i'm on disability but what can regular citizens do besides giving $3 to the campaign to get the word out that so much of this stuff is distorted? it is really discouraging. if you guys weren't there i wouldn't have known that. >> i think a good place to start is to go to the obama campaign web site and sign up. they have any number of local activities that you can plug into. and so i would really get local and find maybe you can knock on doors. maybe you can make calls. maybe they can have you write letters to the editor. but in general i think that here and around the world the side that makes the most noise the side that makes their voice heard the most is the one that usually wins. i think that's encouraging. we should be optimistic that we have a system like that. i think we saw that in france. we saw that in spain. we saw it in germany. this week with the elections in europe. that's exactly what happened.

the side that got expressed their outrage and frustration enough and got their people out won. >> bill: right. you make an excellent point. the obama campaign -- online -- incredible. >> honestly, it is like the most sophisticated online campaign in the history of the world. >> bill: so if you go to that site or i forget now exactly what the site is. google obama campaign and they'll take you there. and they will first of all send you every day all of the latest information that you need to understand the lies that are coming from the other side and to refute them and know what the facts are. then they will find a way no matter your situation, no matter your age, no matter your income or whatever, how much time -- they'll find a way for you to plug in and get involved. >> absolutely. just as a side comment as a professional here, they've hired the very best and brightest like google and all of these people they've got, the best and brightest of the online stuff. they've got a very sophisticated

operation and i think everybody who wants to ought to plug in and i think it will be a very dynamic thing to be a part of. >> bill: fun to watch it with you, chad. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. >> bill: i'll be back with a quick parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. >>tv and radio talk show host

stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: on this tuesday may 8, a quick parting shot for today. you may have noticed there is a little split inside the obama white house over the issue of same-sex marriage. with housing secretary sean donovan, vice president joe

biden and arne duncan, education secretary all coming out in support of same-sex marriage while the white house insists that president obama's position on this issue is still evolving. you know, which i find both disappointing and understandable. disappointing because the president who has done more than any other president to help the lgbt community is still holding back on this important issue. but understandable because he is running for re-election and he can't afford to lose even one state. here's my bet. my bet is that president obama has already made up his mind. and he will come out in support of same-sex marriage but not until after the november election. which, when you think of it, is one more reason why we've got to do everything we can to get him re-elected. that's my parting shot for today. have a good one. see you back here tomorrow! >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."