>> bill: hello, everybody and welcome to the "full court press" this thursday, may 10. great to see you today! the "full court press," your new morning show on current tv and the only progressive morning show anywhere on cable television in this country! good to have you with us this morning. we've got lots and lots to talk about of course. the one big story of the day that following joe biden's lead, president obama has spoken out and taken a strong stand in support of same-sex marriage and, of course, mitt romney immediately came out against it.

so the big question is did president obama do the right thing and will this help him or hurt him politically? we'll cover that from every angle today and take your calls. but first, with all of the latest news here with today's current tv news update in los angeles, jacki schechner. good morning jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning everyone. mixed reaction this morning to president obama's big announcement as bill mentioned did he come out in favor of same-sex marriage in an interview with abc good morning america's robin roberts. >> there have been times where michelle and i have been signature around the dinner table and we've been talking about their friends and their parents and malia and sasha it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friend's parents would be treated differently. it doesn't make sense to them. >> while president obama mentioned that his family helped him make his decision, senior administration officials admit

that vice president joe biden inadvertently dictated timing. his statement on "meet the press" saying he's absolutely comfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage pushed president obama to make his big announcement weeks earlier than he had originally planned. while the policy is excellent news for supporters, some do worry about the politics and the timing of the president's announcement. will there be negative ramifications for him come november. if it is a problem for some obama supporters and they vote for mitt romney instead that would be worse for same-sex couples. so far gay marriage is only legal in six states and washington, d.c. and nine states recognize civil unions and unconventional domestic partnerships. however, north carolina did just pass amendment one which bans all same-sex marriages and any other domestic partnership that doesn't fit the narrow definition of marriage between one man and one woman. we'll have more poll results conservative reaction and all of that coming up in the next hour. join us to talk about it online.

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simplistic answers. >>we're here because we're independent. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: president obama said i'm done evolving on same-sex marriage. i'll all for it. big, big blockbuster news this thursday. hello, everybody. and welcome to the "full court press." the "bill press show." coming to you live, booming out here across the country from our studio on capitol hill in washington, d.c. booming out on satellite and radio on your local progressive talk radio station and on

current tv. no way you can miss us. we're there for you in any forum whatsoever. good to see you today. we've got lots and lots to talk about. big news story with this major announcement by president obama following vice president biden's lead on same-sex marriage, of course last sunday. we'll talk about it. we've got lots of guests to talk about it. of course, you will want to talk about it and the way you do so is give us a call at 1-866-55-press. "new york times" headline this morning, obama endorses same-sex marriage taking stand on charge to social issue and the hill headline, obama shifts, backs same-sex marriage. how about it? we start off by, of course saying hello not only to all of you but to our team players here. peter ogborn and dan henning.

>> we're on the team. i wouldn't say we're team players. but we're on the team. hi. >> bill: thanks for showing up. >> here we are. >> good morning. >> bill: videographer cyprian bolding. good to have the whole team here this morning. it was a big, big -- i got the word for this first yesterday. we were down -- i was down at george washington university with my -- some of my colleagues from the white house correspondents association giving a panel talk there for students. we were all speculating about why jay carney had not scheduled a briefing yesterday usually we know the night before what time the briefing is going to be the next day. remember the last -- the last time there was sort of a question about why the briefing was so late is when the president went to afghanistan. so we were wondering what was going on then word came down that the president was giving an interview to robin roberts of abc news and so it became pretty

clear the reason they didn't have a press briefing was jay carney, first of all he didn't want to be grilled about this issue again the way he was monday. and secondly -- >> and tuesday. >> bill: and secondly, he didn't want to get out ahead of this story or jump on the story. and they wanted this to be the one story of the day. and they orchestrated it on very short notice. it is reported this morning that they -- the way it came down is tuesday before the president went up to albany, new york, little did we know that he was about to leave and a couple of aides came into the oval office and said look, you're going to do this anyway. we've gotta do it now. how about if we schedule -- get somebody in here tomorrow to do a one-on-one interview. he had just given an interview to brian williams so i guess by the roll of the dial, it was abc's turn. they called abc. they said robin roberts will be

there tomorrow morning. amazing how they put that together. >> i was reading the piece by our friend dylan biers. he was saying robin roberts was previously scheduled to interview hope solo, the soccer star. i think that got put on the back burner. >> bill: she made time on her schedule. this is something all of you are going to want to get into. we'll tell you more about it and play you some clips from that interview yesterday. will durst premier political satirist will be in studio us with a little bit later as well as fahz due to his schedule. we'll have one of the leading reporters for the advocate in studio with us to talk about the president's decision yesterday. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> other headlines making news on this thursday, music at the white house last night. president obama honoring birth bacca rack and david with a

gershwin cries for popular song. their lifetime of song writing excellence, bacca rack and david are the first song writing team to win the prize. previous teams were paul mccartney and stevie wonder. he is 90 years old and had a stroke but his wife was there on his behalf. >> bill: stevie wonder performed last night again. ♪ >> put his own spin on the song. >> bill: as only he can do. amazing how many people perform at the white house. >> sort of an in-house guy now. he's made more appearances at the white house than barack obama. >> bill: i think he has a room there. >> he should. >> the daytime emmy nominations were announced yesterday and "general hospital" which surprised many it is still on the air but it is, it led the nominations with 26 nods total. sesame street picked up 16

nominations, part of 51 total for pbs. best talk show ellen the view, regis and kelly and the talk and also anderson cooper getting a nomination. rachael ray and dr. oz. in the morning news race, today "good morning america." game show nominees went to wheel of fortune jeopardy, cash cab and let's make a deal. the daytime emmys being handed out june 23rd. >> that's like a time capsule of tv. all of those shows, i recognize all of them from when i was a kid. >> been around. >> bill: general hospital, when i was a kid. >> wheel of fortune is still up for awards? what century are we in? >> are you ready for mother's day? it is this weekend. you should be prepared to pay up. according to the national retail federation with the improving economy, spending on mother's day will be up. average consumer will drop over $150 on mom. the majority will be buying flowers ahead of clothing or electronics and more than half of us will take mom out to

dinner or brunch. >> that special lady in your life, get her a nice box of cigars. she'll love it. >> bill: i recommend sherry's berries. the strawberries are incredible or pro flowers. but they're both excellent ways to go. and i have. 13 minutes -- yes, indeed, after the hour. thank you, dan. it was a history -- history made yesterday. the history books. we'll talk about barack obama as the first american president to come out in support of same-sex marriage. his presidency, any account of his presidency will include this as one of the major decisions he's made and one of the gutsiest decisions i believe made by any president any time. as we said, it was -- it came out in an interview yesterday with abc's robin roberts. the whole thing will be played this morning on gma but it was

released yesterday, of course. that snippet from the white house. and the president says yes with my faith, with my pastor, with spiritual advisors and political advisors and family, i've been thinking about this for a long time and i have evolved into full support. here's how he put it. >> i have to tell you that over the course of several years as i talk to friends and family and neighbors, when i think about members of my own staff who are incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. when i think about those soldiers or airmen or marines sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that don't ask don't tell is gone

because they're not able to commit themselves in a marriage. at a certain point i've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> bill: the president pointed out that this is something that he has discussed many times with first lady michelle obama and she also is fully supportive. >> this is something that we've talked about over the years. and you know she feels the same way that i do. >> bill: not only michelle obama. so do sasha and malia. >> malia and sasha it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. it doesn't make sense to them. and frankly that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in

perspective. >> bill: the reaction, of course, is immediate. we want to get your reaction at 1-866-55-press. the many, many democrats of course came out -- right out and said mr. president, bold thing to do. the right thing to do. the leaders of the lbgt community around the nation were just stunned. they really thought that president obama would wait until the second term as we've been discussing the last couple of days here. before he would do this. they knew he would do the right thing eventually but thought he would take more time. maybe before the convention but most likely not before the election. most likely after the election. in a second term. they were stunned and thrilled. and mitt romney, of course, came out immediately against it. and republicans attacked the president, particularly on the ultra conservative, the religious right politicians and conservatives attacking the president for going against the bible, against god against

nature and particularly against their bigotry. all summed up, i guess by, wouldn't you know it, i mean who represents that point of view better than rush limbaugh. >> wasn't very long ago that marriage meant a man and a woman. fine and dandy. it was just what it was. two plus two equals four. some people came along and said we're not happy with that. the definition of that word doesn't allow us to be married. we don't like that. that's unfair. so people -- what the hell, we have to start defending this? so where are we now jer? we've arrived at a point where the president of the united states is going to lead a war on traditional marriage. >> bill: don't you love it? leading a war on marriage. fist of all rush limbaugh ought to know about traditional marriage because he's had four

of them. he makes a mockery of traditional marriage. this guy right? what cheekiness for him to present himself as a pay patrid of traditional marriage. president obama is not leading a war on marriage. what he's saying is anybody -- two people should be able to get married. he himself came out and said i believe that same-sex couples should have this right. so the big question is was it the right thing to do? and politically how do you think it will impact the president and his re-election. 1-866-55-press. do you support what the president said and even if you're a supporter of gay marriage, do you think it was good for him to come out in support of it at this time? my take on it. i think it was one of the

gutsiest, one of the ballsiest decisions made by any president of the united states. it took a lot of guts to send the navy seals in to go get osama bin laden. i think it took more guts to make this decision yesterday. because of the political peril involved in this decision. we know it is risky. we know it's risky. look, 30 states have constitutional amendments, maybe 31 now with north carolina, 30 31 constitutional amendments passed by the people saying that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. so the president siding with the minority here and look what happened tuesday in north carolina. as recently as that. mitt romney immediately came out against it. you know the republicans are going to attack him on this. there are a lot of swing voters who are -- maybe another way to

support what barack obama is doing but have a problem with this issue. politically, very, very risky for him. at the same time, you know what? politically, i think he also picks up a lot of people by this because he shows leadership. and he shows backbone. and he's willing to take a strong stand. young people for sure are overwhelmingly in support of same-sex marriage. so i think the president took a great political risk. i still think politically he's going to be okay but most importantly, most importantly let's not forget this. he did the right thing. there is no way to defend discrimination in this country and this is just one of the latest forms of discrimination. and as opposed to most presidents who follow public opinion, president obama is out leading public opinion on this issue. which i think is dynamite. 1-866-55-press. we can be proud of him today.

you tell me what you think. >> announcer: this is the "bill press 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. ah, claim trouble. [ dennis ] you should just switch to allstate, and get their new claim satisfaction guarantee. hey, he's right man. [ dennis ] only allstate puts their money where their mouth is. yup. [ dennis ] claim service so good, it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can always count on them.

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you've heard bill's views, now let's hear yours. politically direct means no b.s. just telling you what's going on in politics today. >>at the only on-line forum with a direct line to bill press. >>it's something i've been waiting for a long time. >>join the debate now.

>> caller: i think it was inevitable. i think one of the things people aren't talking about yet we're waiting for the statistics to come in for states who have approved it, the number of relationships and the length of the relationships for the gay population i think is going to grow. so will monogamy as a result of being able to be married. >> bill: i haven't seen any numbers on that either but certainly, patrick, by the way as a fellow californian, let's hope that our state joins the 21st century right? >> let's hope. the numbers on the prop 8, if prop 8 were to be put on the ballot today, it would not pass. >> bill: it is just a disgrace, what happened with prop 8. and i know it is up to the courts right now. and i know the overwhelming majority of people of californians would like to get on board soon and hope that

happens. but patrick makes a good point. it is healthy for people who love each other to have a chance to get married. don is out in coos bay oregon. >> caller: i think obama is furious with joe biden that he had to come out and reveal his position on same-sex marriage. obama knows that the country leans conservative on a lot of social issues and the last thing obama wanted to do before the election was to say that he supports same-sex marriage. >> bill: i disagree with you. i disagree with you entirely. first of all, i don't think they're angry at joe biden. look, sean donovan his housing secretary was the first one to come out for it. arne duncan, his education secretary he plays basketball with. came out for same-sex marriage and then so did joe biden. i think you got it wrong. obama was going to do it before the election. maybe he wasn't going to do it yesterday but he was going to do it. he decided why wait. good for him. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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that inspire them to develop these important skills. how can my car go faster? maybe your child will figure it out. find out more at connectamillionminds.com >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." welcome to the spin room. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. here we go on this thursday, may 10. the "full court press" taking your calls on president obama's historic announcement in support of same-sex marriage. good to have you with us today. also remember to check out our web site at billpressshow.com. sign up for our podcast if you haven't already done so that way you don't miss any part of the show. all three hours. download it automatically every

day. commercial-free to your iphone, your computer, your laptop or ipad or whatever. while you're on the web site, if you don't have a copy of my latest book, the "the obama hate machine." you want to get a signed copy inscribed to you or someone in your life, friend or foe check it out follow the links. let us know how you want it sign and we'll get it out to you right away. it is all about the koch brothers and their hateful campaign against president obama. president obama again making that big decision yesterday. we will be talking to isaac from politico about how that decision came about and what it means. but first into the spin room as we said, the reaction was immediate. mitt romney came out and said i'm not only against same-sex marriage, i'm against civil unions. and religious conservatives like randy thomason said barack

obama's on the wrong side of religion on this issue. >> god, nature and whatever's in the best interest of children disagree with barack obama. >> bill: oh, yes. you know what gets me is if you really -- these evangelicals don't even know their bible. and i say that, again, you know my background. i say that as one with a degree in theology and spent a lot of time studying scripture. if you really go to scripture and look for the predominant form of scripture -- of marriage in both the old and the new testament, it was not one man one woman. it was polygamy. you know that, peter, don't you? i mean solomon. we consider the wisest man ever lived. >> yeah. >> bill: 700 wives. >> anybody that has 700 wives cannot be considered the wisest man alive. >> bill: i'm just saying. king david.

at least there are seven of his wives are named in the bible. so don't give me this bible crap about in the bible about monogamy. it doesn't work. but politically, it was a blockbuster decision yesterday. isaac is the deputy white house editor for politico joining us our news line this morning. isaac, good to have you with us. >> bill: did the president intend to make this announcement as early as he did? >> the story that the white house is telling is that the president had planned to make an announcement but probably the timing would have been closer to the run up to the convention and the end of the summer. this was a time line accelerated by the vice president on sunday speaking -- it seems like somewhat out of school in a way that he may not have been anticipating certainly that the president's staff wasn't

anticipating. >> bill: but before that, you had one cabinet secretary, shaun donovan come out and right after the day after joe biden you had arne duncan who is very close to the president come out as well. so it wasn't just biden right? i guess i'm saying. and the tide was really turning. maybe the white house -- did the white house fear looking like, you know, they were following rather than leading on this issue? >> well, they didn't want to be in a position where the vice president was so much further out and closer to the base than what the base wanted than the president was. so yes, shaun donovan has been openly in support of gay marriage for months now but it is a different thing when the hud secretary or even when the education secretary who happens to be a close friend of the president is in favor of gay marriage when the vice president is. there is a lot of attention that came after joe biden said that

he was absolutely comfortable with g action y marriage. and you could see it even in the way that the briefing went down with jay carney. the day after. when he was just being barraged completely with questions about what the president was thinking about gay marriage, when he might say something different. all of those sorts of things. >> bill: i was there. it was brutal. pardon. as i said on the show, sometimes i feel sorry for carney when he's getting pummeled unfairly. but i thought he deserved it monday because they were really trying to say oh, no, there's no difference between where the president and the vice president is and poor jay it just didn't work. nobody was buying it. but now how does this feed, isaac, into -- i've heard david and dan and with a group of us

supporters that mitt romney has no core convictions, right. so i guess this plays into that argument against -- that they can use against romney, right? >> well that is one of the things they're hoping for here to use this as a -- essentially as a mark of bold leadership. and taking a strong position that may not be politically popular at least automatically politically popular and to contrast that to mitt romney. gay marriage remains a very divisive issue in this country. you saw that just on tuesday when the amendment passed by a really large margin in north carolina. banning gay marriage. so this is not a political touchdown necessarily and it may end up causing a lot of problems for the president. a lot of people think it takes certain states out of the reach of obama but it does give him yet another talking point to go

after mitt romney both on the kind of flip-flopper idea and on the actual issue here which president obama thinks will excite his base in a way that's important. >> bill: here's the question right, i think which they had to weigh at the white house -- and we're talking the politics of it. then there's also the issue of what's the right thing to do. i would assert the right thing to do is what the president did. we're focusing on the politics here rightfully so because the president is running for re-election. my question to you is do you think that any of those people for whom this is their single issue, right, would ever vote for obama anyway? >> if this is their single issue, then they're probably not prime obama voters. but if we're talking about people who may be on the fence about the president then this may be the issue that in fact breaks the camel's back. >> bill: the follow-up

question is even with this decision, isn't it likely that the economy jobs, will be still the number one issue? >> it will be the number one issue for sure according to the polls. but this is -- people who are -- this is a strange catalyst where people are voting on all sorts of things and do they decide to just go with obama? do they decide it is too much with obama and they go to mitt romney. do they decide to stay home? all of those sorts of things are in play here and the president's got a tough road ahead of him to make this issue not a political problem with a large number of voters who may be a little bit uncomfortable with gay marriage. it is -- the position of the president had, until yesterday that he was against discrimination, against the ban on gay marriage but not

necessarily for gay marriage is a position that it seems is closer to where most voters are. but he'll have to be counting on the fact that they'll respect the leadership that he has tried to show here and see if that carries him in november. >> bill: you got it. isaac, thanks so much for joining us. thanks for getting up early isaac dovere is deputy white house editor for politico at politico.com. president did the right thing. showed some bold leadership. i don't think a politician ever loses by showing bold leadership, even if you disagree with him. bobby is calling from georgia. >> caller: it is aribe. >> bill: good morning. what do you think of this? >> caller: well, when it comes -- first off, i am proud of president obama for standing up for it. but i don't think civil rights issues should be issues at all.

it should be common sense that everybody deserves to be treated equally. >> bill: you know, bobby i couldn't agree more but the fact is it's not. some people don't see this as a civil rights issue. they see it as a religious issue. they're not -- i don't think they're right but a lot of americans do. obviously it has taken us a long time to get this far. >> caller: painfully long, actually. >> bill: but again, i think that's why it is important and admirable for a president to show some leadership on this issue. ghandi once said, mocking most politicians, there go the people. i must follow them because i'm their leader right? president obama says i'm the leader. i'm going in this direction and i'm going to bring the people with me. more calls coming up at 1-866-55-press. historic moment at the white house yesterday. again, this is one that will go

down in the history books. it will mark the obama administration as one of the boldest things any president has ever done. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." and there's only one place you'll find us.

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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 "bill press show." >> bill: hey, there's also some big news on the gas prices front. gas prices keep dropping down and down and down. we're going to talk about that as well as continuing our conversation about same-sex marriage in the next hour of the

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income at home.com is the web site that again incomeathome.com. as we pointed out yesterday mitt romney immediately came out to clarify and reinforce if you will his position on this issue which is 100%, 180 degrees opposed to president obama. >> states are able to make decisions with regards to domestic partnership benefits such as hospital visitation rights, benefits and so forth various kinds could be determined state by state. my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman. >> bill: and of course that's the view of the mormon church other than those who practice polygamy. the mormon church putting a lot of money tons of money into california into support of proposition 8 which overturned california's move to recognize same-sex marriage.

so whether romney is doing this because of his faith or because of his politics, you've got a clear, clear difference between barack obama and mitt romney on this issue like a lot of other issues. george is calling from castle off, alaska. >> caller: good morning, bill. that's very close. it is ca see love. -- kasiloff. i like your views. i watch your show all the time. i think obama has done the right thing there. he's pretty courageous. stepped up there and did what was right, i believe. i mean i'm happily married man to a woman. i've been married to the same woman for over 30 years and i believe, in my opinion that works for me. it is not my right or anybody else's right to deny if men want

to marry men and women want to marry women, that's their right. it is not my say so. >> bill: good for you, george. you were talking about the political courage. in most cases right advisors would tell a politician oh, my god, don't make waves! don't get out on this issue because it's too risky. not everybody agrees, right. you could lose voters. and you know there were people around obama telling him that. so i think it is remarkable that he just said no, this is the right thing to do. i'm going to do it. >> well, if you look at bin laden, it looks like he's made another mistake he did but the president stepped up and he made a courageous decision there. just like he did here. i think it is going to help him out in the long run. i've already heard where gay money has overtaken wall street money. we'll see. >> bill: that would be -- he's

certainly not getting much money from wall street so i'm sure that the lgbt community will get behind him even more enthusiastically on this issue now. chance is down in -- somewhere in the state of georgia. hello, chance, good morning. >> caller: good morning. >> bill: yes, sir, how do you see that in the deep south? >> caller: what was that? >> bill: i say how do you see this in the deep south? >> caller: what i believe is obama is doing what's right. i'm a real religious person. >> bill: uh-huh. and? >> caller: and i believe if they want to get married, i believe they should get married because what do we have the right to deny them happiness. >> bill: what do you say chance, all of the religious conservatives who say no no, no. the bible says a man leaves his parents, one man, one woman, new testament and this is against

god and against faith and morality and all of that stuff. >> caller: well i don't believe in that because i think god put us on this earth for many a reason. if god didn't want that to happen, it wouldn't happen. i believe that everybody should have their own chance of happiness. >> bill: chance says everybody should have their own chance. i couldn't agree more. it is, as others have pointed out, there is nowhere in the bible that god or jesus condemn homosexuality. i might also point out there is nowhere in the bible that god or jesus condemn polygamy. so those who read the bible that only saying one way it's gotta be man and a woman they're just using the bible to prop up their own bigotry.

here we are on the "full court press." >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv. this is the "bill press show." look, i don't play 'bout my facial hair. but if i grow this out a little bit i look too much like an english country gent... naaah. a little this way and i feel like i'm from outer space.

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until we get answers that are truthful, serious and not based on simplistic answers.

>> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show" now on current tv. >> bill: it is a beautiful thursday morning. may 10. here on the "full court press." we're talking with andrew harmon from the advocate about president obama's big announcement yesterday in his interview with robin roberts from abc. peter, let's hear that once again for those who just joining us, president obama telling robin roberts how he came to this decision. >> at a certain point i've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for

me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> bill: this is amazing andrew. after all this time and all of this debate and all of this back and forth very simple statement, ten words. just lays it out there. >> that's all it needed to be. two things that i found interesting about this interview is first of all his reference to the golden rule which i think anyone -- no matter your faith you can -- that resonates. >> bill: that's what it is all about. >> the other is he talked about gay service members. this is something i think is really important. it is a powerful statement that he made that if in the era after don't ask don't tell, gay service members can serve openly and put their lives at risk and at the very least we owe it to these people to give their families the same benefits whether that's medical care, whether it is housing he --

this is something that's still on-going. i don't think a lot of people realize what the partners and the families of gay service members still have to put up. it is a little outrageous. >> bill: very powerful part of his statement. bill is joining us from baton rouge, louisiana. hey, bill, good morning. >> caller: good morning, mr. press. >> bill: bill, thank you. >> caller: i just wanted to say thank god for our president. you know, i have a doctor's degree in publiccal studies i used to be a pastor. i've suffered like you know -- because i just thought that most people hated me. i hurt myself and you know, i just don't want gay children to grow up in a world that is cruel

and just hate them for being who god made them, you know. >> bill: bill, i appreciate that statement. andrew, that's an important part of this. it sends a signal out across the country to young gay boys and girls. >> it absolutely matters this is coming from the white house. they've certainly been very progressive in taking on issues such as bullying in schools. i think there's something different and something so profound about this statement. it does matter to the young people, the young lbgt people in this country who still face extremely difficult positions and bullying in schools. i think that's such a great point. >> bill: you know what's so refreshing is to see a politician and a president lead rather than follow on an important issue like this. andrew harmon, we're out of time. i appreciate your coming in. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. >> bill: thanks for all you do. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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with jennifer granholm. >>i am jenniffer granholm and you are in the war room. 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 "full court press." the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: the beat goes on. 33 minutes after the hour. now the "full court press" this thursday may 10, check out our web site at billpressshow.com. if you don't have a copy yet, a signed copy of my new book, here is your chance to get one. "the obama hate machine" keeps going on and on by the way, of course. i sum up all of the lies, distortions and personal attacks on the president and who is

behind them. mainly about the koch brothers. and you can get it at amazon or your local bookstore but if you want a signed copy inscribed to yourself or someone you care about or someone maybe whose political views you want to try to correct, this is a way to get it. go to the web site at billpressshow.com. so i was driving back last night from hearing robert kyro talk about his new book on lyndon johnson. i passed right near the kennedy center, we call it the watergate exxon or the exxon watergate in washington, d.c. a gas station known for having the highest gas prices anywhere and the price of a gallon of regular was $5.49. what's going on with gas prices? coral davenport joins us in studio to talk about it. she's an energy and environmental correspondent for the "national journal."

coral, nice to have you back in the studio. >> good to be here bill. >> bill: let's forget about the watergate exxon. i don't believe anybody pays those prices anymore. but the price of gas a month or six weeks ago, we talked about it. it was going up and up and up and now it's going down and down and down. what's happening? why? >> well, i have to say this is also what analysts had projected from the beginning of the year. politicians had not paid attention to that. the data showed from the beginning of the year the gas price were probably going to go down. >> bill: this soon? >> starting in may yes they were projected to peak in may and go down which they've been doing. >> bill: so they started to go up earlier than they normally do. >> they started to go up in january and they reached record highs for that time of year. usually gas prices are low in january and february. they shot up really high. and now they've started to go down. the reasons are -- there are a couple of reasons. one is we had these escalating tensions with iran over their nuclear weapons program and there was a lot of rattling

about iran cutting off supply points and it looks like that was exactly that. saber rattling. a lot of the tensions have eased. so that's helped you know, bring down the price of oil. another reason is the rotten economy in europe. demand in europe is very low and demand in the united states isn't as high as it usually would be because our economy although improving is still not that great. it is slow. and then there were a couple of oil refineries that had been projected to go off-line. they haven't gone off-line. they're back online. so these factors altogether have combined to ease the price of gasoline and it looks -- the price of oil and the price of gasoline. it looks like they'll be flat lining in a slow decline for several months. >> bill: now, of course, at that time newt gingrich said all of this gigantic increase came from his -- meaning president obama's policies. john barosso republican from

wyoming said at the time president obama should be held fully responsible for what the american public is paying for gasoline. so the last numbers i saw price of gas is 20 cents average. 20 cents lower today than it was one year ago. have we heard any republicans giving president obama credit now that -- >> we haven't. i should say president obama should not -- doesn't deserve blame for the high -- for the gas prices going up nor does he deserve any credit for prices going down. >> bill: who gets the credit? >> you can't really pin -- there is a whole point about the oil and gas is that no one entity the president, no one country can really have an impact. it is a global market. it is a global market beyond any one control. that's one of the troublesome things about it. there are so many factors outside the president's control congress control that we're sort

of subject to. but there's no levers that we can really pull to make the prices go up or down. >> bill: it is funny politically how they're quick to blame. >> sure, absolutely. even though the president has tried again and again and again to make clear you know, he can't affect the price of gas nonetheless, he knows very well that it affects his approval ratings. as the price of gas went up, his approval ratings went down. the price of gas is going down, his approval ratings are going up. he's not taking credit for it but politically he's definitely benefitting. >> bill: are we ever going to get off fossil fuels? >> that's the question. i mean you talk to -- >> bill: are we making any progress in getting off fossil fuels? >> well the biggest step, the biggest policy change that we've seen in recent years to be less dependent on fossil fuels was the huge increase in vehicle fuel economy standards.

last year the president struck a deal with the auto companies requiring them to raise vehicle fuel economy standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2025 which is huge. it is huge. right now, you know, average standards are about 32 miles per gallon. that's a huge increase. but the way to not be so -- you can't change the price of gas but you can make yourself less dependent or less hurt by the price of gas. the way to do that is to need less gasoline. so big way to do that is to build cars that go further on less gasoline. so even when the price goes up and down it doesn't take as big of a bite out of your pocketbook. so that's really the biggest step that we've seen. we're not going to see that, you know, that's -- we're not going to see all of the cars on the road for another 10, 15 or 20 years. it is a slow easing off. that's the biggest step we've taken. >> bill: are we importing as much foreign oil? >> no.

we're also now importing less than half of. >>-- half of our oil that we consume is less than half is imported fossil fuels. that's partly because we've had an increase in domestic production. >> bill: back to the cars. so we're building more fuel efficient cars. are americans buying them? i mean we have an electric car too. i don't see a lot of them on the road. i think i've seen -- i'm not sure i would recognize one to be honest. to my knowledge, i haven't seen any on the roads. >> no, the electric and the hybrid vehicles still make up less than 5% of the consumer market. you know it is really just a very small percentage of consumers who can afford them. who are comfortable with them. but what we are going to see more is kind of regular cars. your honda -- not a prius but you know your regular toyota corolla getting higher and

higher or let's say your chevy or g.m., the regular cars getting higher and higher mileage. that's really more the change that we're going to see you know in the cars on the lot. >> bill: coral davenport is our guest. the energy and environmental correspondent for "national journal." 1-866-55-press is our toll free number. because as we always tell you you've got a seat at the table. it is so funny that so many of you had comments about gas prices a couple of months ago. how much it was impacting your monthly budget. i would be interested in knowing what you did about it and your reaction to now the fact that gas prices are coming down. in case you didn't notice, i noticed last time i filled up. 1-866-55-press is the toll free number. isn't the -- you know, the president has this energy strategy, right, which is all of the above.

but his -- two questions. one, is that the right strategy. his emphasis, however is we're doing a -- we're talking a lot about drilling and fossil fuels but moving into a non-renewable -- or renewable energy source and taking some of the money from maybe the subsidies we've been giving to oil companies and putting them in that new area. is that the right policy? and is it working? >> well, it is hard to say if it's working because the biggest piece of the policy the % president just hasn't been able to get through congress. you know, the cap and trade failed. efforts to take away tax base from oil companies has failed in congress. his effort to put national renewable electricity mandate failed. so, you know, the policies would have to be enacted before we could tell whether or not they're really working. the few pieces that he has been able to push through the higher

fuel efficiency standards so far look like they're working but it is early days. >> bill: but all of the above to me -- that means everything, right? that means nuclear power. it means more drilling, domestic drilling. it means more fossil fuels. it means keystone pipeline. it means solar and it means wind and it means energy. at some point, don't you have to say no? we're not going in that direction anymore. we're going in this direction? >> there is one fuel that if you look carefully at president obama's energy plan, doesn't really get mentioned and that's coal. coal is the most polluting fossil fuel. we get electricity. right now, it is the biggest source, the biggest generator for electricity, the biggest contributor to global warming gases. it produces a lot of other pollutants as well. they're bad for human health. mercury and sulfur that kind of thing.

that is -- you know, when the president says all of the above it really looks like coal is not included in that picture. and the white house is putting forth a lot of new clean air protections that are going to cause coal plants to shut down and go off-line in the next decade or so. next 10 or 20 years. and that will see a shift to -- that will really force a shift to renewables, to nuclear to fuels like natural gas. fuel fossil fuel but it is much cleaner than coal. >> bill: i have to say a couple of weeks ago i spoke to a labor conference here in washington, d.c. the boilermakers union. and there was -- ahead of me, there was a representative from the obama administration who was taking -- had just spoke and was taking questions. he and all of these boilermakers, they work in these coal plants, he was blistered. they were all getting up and saying you meaning obama

administration, you are killing our jobs, you're killing our plants, we're losing our jobs. people are getting fired. and you're destroying our -- they just roasted him alive on this issue of coal. so that is -- you're right. that's a sticky wicket. we're talking energy and gas prices. we're talking fossil fuels and coal and whatever, energy and environmental-related. 1-866-55-press. coral davenport from the "national journal" in studio with us. we'll take your calls next. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. 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. >>only on current tv.

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: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: at 12 minutes now before the hour, will durst political satirist in the next hour as well as fahz shakir from think progress. we're talking energy, gas prices. coral davenport from the national journal. want to go to our calls here. first, i have to ask you about this other big energy flap on the hill is over light bulbs. there are still republicans who insist that it is a federal conspiracy, right to force people to give up their the incandescent light bulb and have a more energy efficient light bulb. really? >> this is -- this is just warmed over political talking points from last year. this goes back to a law that was passed in 2007 under the bush administration. a law that was cowritten by the republican who's now the

chairman of the house energy committee. congressman fred upton. >> bill: people are putting in these bulbs and manufacturers are making them. >> manufacturers are making the bulbs and selling the bulbs the other thing is the law doesn't say -- doesn't require you know to phase out incandescent bulbens, it just says they have to work more efficiently. they have to get more bang for the buck. so a lot -- the new light bulbs you know, people talk about the curly q light bulbs a lot of the the newer light bulbs because they know what consumers want look exactly the same as the old incandescent bulbs they use less electricity. that's what the point is. >> bill: are these people okay with flush toilets? >> it is a great political talking point. it is something that -- >> bill: silly. >> you know, republicans tea party republicans rush limbaugh

and michele bachmann jumped on this. they said this is a great symbol of government reaching in to your daily life, into your light bulbs. >> bill: i think it is a great symbol of how stupid and petty they are. let's say hello to dale calling from the great state of california. hi dale. >> hi. i'm so glad you have a show! >> bill: so am i! >> caller: anyway, we're talking about our gluttony on petroleum and petroleum products. the plastic. i'm and an eset thissist. the plastic in my industry is amazing. it is everywhere. it is now in our food chain. and we literally have crowds coming out of the gulf that have plastic a part of their shell. there was a baby albatross that had a plastic bottle growing out of its body. >> bill: hmm. >> caller: right. we dump it.

and we produce it and we shove it down people's throat. when you go to europe, you don't find a lot of plastic on the shelves. you find collapsible containers for things. less cans. >> bill: aren't we -- coral i want to ask you, too aren't we making progress on this in terms of like bags at supermarkets and stuff? >> you know what? what's interesting is -- >> bill: people are becoming aware a little bit. >> here in washington, d.c., we had that 5 current plastic bag tax. it was modeled after what they've done in europe. and washington, d.c. is the only place in the country that's been successful -- it was a huge success. the plastic bag use dropped down. other places in the country have tried to do that and it has failed. people can't stand it. plastic use is definitely a big environmental problem. >> bill: i appreciate you pointing that out. back on this -- it is really true. i mean i have to tell you when

i'll go shopping, right and they'll say now they don't just automatically give you a plastic bag. they say do you need a bag? and i always -- even though it is only a nickel, i always say no. >> it is so effective. >> bill: maybe just because i'm cheap but i'm not going to spend the nickel. i can just carry it and put it in my briefcase or whatever. >> it has been tremendously effective. it has been absolutely shouted down in you know, states -- in every other state that's tried to do it. >> bill: we have a half a dozen canvas bags we take to the store with us. we just started solving the world's problems here, coral davenport. thank you so much for coming in. good to see you. come back again soon. >> sure. >> bill: we'll be back. we'll tell you what the president is up to today. can anybody say george clooney? >> 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: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: hey you're used to tuesdays with faiz. well today is thursday. i know. but faiz shakir from think progress is in studio with us in the next hour. as well as will durst political satirist from san francisco. he's appearing here in washington, d.c. and he's going to come by the studio as well. always lots of laughs with will durst. the president last saturday was his first official campaign day. remember i was with him in columbus, ohio and richmond,

virginia. today is another campaign day. he's going out leaving the white house at 9:30 this morning and heading out to andrews air force base and then on to seattle where he will have two campaign events, one at a private residence and the second at the paramount theatre. then he flies down to los angeles and tonight is the big dinner at george clooney's house in los angeles where the president's expected to raise $12 million. >> are you going? >> bill: i was invited but no. >> you've got plans, huh? >> bill: i didn't have the $34,000. that's going to be a big big event. president spends the night in los angeles. and tomorrow he goes out to reno. reno nevada. i'm not sure whether he's campaigning or talking jobs in reno. anyhow, the president is on the road. we'll be right here with will durst and faiz shakir when we come back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

>> bill: hey, hello, everybody. good morning and welcome. welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. the only progressive morning show anywhere on cable television in the entire country. good to you have with us this morning. i'm bill press, liberal and proud of it. we'll tackle the big stories of the day and of course take your calls at 1-866-55-press. today there's really only one big story dominating everything else. following the lead of vice president joe biden president obama yesterday coming out in strong support of same-sex marriage. and mitt romney, of course rushed out to say he is against

it. against same-sex marriage and against civil unions. but the big question is did president obama do the right thing? and will this help him or hurt him politically? we'll get into that and a whole lot more in this the last hour together this morning. but first, let's go out to los angeles and get this latest current tv news update from jacki schechner. hi, jacki. >> hi, bill. good morning everyone. $12 million would with have made tonight's dinner at george clooney's house the largest fund-raiser in presidential history. but now a source is telling cnn the hall will be closer to $15 million. that means that raffling off two seats at the head table to sit next to george clooney has brought in about $9 million online. we'll find out later today who the lucky winner is. up until today many in hollywood have been frustrated with president obama and what appears to be a willingness to compromise on key liberal issues but yesterday's big announcement of his support of same-sex marriage may be turning the tide

and opening up some wallets. "the new york times" norman lear and his wife have given money to the president in the last 12 hours. the president apparently got a donation of $80,000 from the lears which maxes out their individual donation limit. you remember the federal inmate who got more than 40% of the vote in the west virginia democratic primary on tuesday? well, the "wall street journal" asked around and out that west virginia democrats voted that way for one reason and one reason only. coal. west virginia voters are frustrated with president obama's policies on coal and energy and wanted to send a message. one expert in west virginia politics says that most voters probably had no idea who keith judd was, he was a convict. anyone running against the president would have gotten the same number of votes. federal authorities say they have made a decision to sue the arizona sheriff joe arpaio. they wanted to settle without having to do so. he's been defiant so the u.s.

justice department is going to do just that. we'll be right back. polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans?

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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. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: president obama says enough with evolving. i'm done evolving. i'm for it. same-sex marriage. what an historic announcement yesterday. good morning, everybody. and welcome to the "full court press." your new morning show on current tv. and coming to you live also on your favorite progressive radio talk stations around the country. it is thursday, may 10th. good to see you today. thank you for being part of the program and we look forward to taking your calls here on the big issues of the day and really

one issue dominating today the president's historic announcement yesterday. one of the boldest moves i think made by any american president getting out in front of the public on a very important issue and one on which most people didn't expect the president to do anything about until maybe before the convention, more likely after his re-election. he came out in front yesterday. that's what's been dominating our conversation this morning on the "full court press." welcome, welcome. and of course, we invite your calls at 1-866-55-press. and you know, here on the "full court press," we celebrate tuesdays with faiz. well sometimes his schedule doesn't permit it. today, this week it is thursdays with faiz. in studio with us, faiz shakir from think progress. senior editor at think progress. >> i'm excited to be here on a thursday because it comes the day after president obama's huge announcement so i get to talk about that. i wouldn't have had the opportunity on tuesday.

>> bill: if you would have been here tuesday -- come on. why doesn't he do the right thing. now you can congratulate him. >> we're all excited. >> bill: thanks, faiz. our team, peter ogborn and dan henning and cyprian bowlding, our videographer. >> good morning. >> bill: faiz, we learned yesterday when you interview -- i'll have to remember this because when i do my big interview with mitt romney, you can't ask him questions that he doesn't want asked right? so this is -- yesterday in colorado, a local tv station and they knew they were going to do this interview. they asked their listeners viewers to send in questions for mitt romney and they were giving him these questions. this is what the viewers of this tv station cared about. obviously mitt romney doesn't. >> should children brought here illegally receive in-state college tuition? >> no. my view is that to receive in-state college tuition a person should be a legal

resident of the united states. >> should marijuana be legalized for medical use? >> aren't there issues of significance you would like to talk about? >> this is a significant issue in colorado. >> the economy. the growth of jobs? the need to put people back to work. the challenges of iran? we've got enormous issues. >> bill: ask me something i want to talk about. you know what? pot is on the ballot. in colorado. he probably doesn't know that. >> they feel very strongly about that there. why not be asked about something of local significance, right? >> bill: he's in colorado. he's supposed to be appealing to the people of colorado. >> he also has a very interesting way of dealing with questions he doesn't like. and just interrupting. the economy, the economy the economy? >> bill: as if! he also had something to say yesterday though he was quick to rush out and say on same-sex marriage. >> he actually was very timid and weak in his response. i thought he would actually be more critical of obama.

the line from fox news has been that obama's flip-flopping on this but for mitt romney, we heard people have different views and i think it suggested to me that he doesn't actually see this as a political winner for him. if he did, he would be out there more aggressively hitting obama. i think it shows the attitudes in this country have changed so dramatically that he doesn't think he's going to be able to win over independents in a state like colorado or any other state by being a chief critic of obama. >> bill: i was surprised he didn't say what's wrong with polygamy? bad joke. faiz shakir is here. will durst is coming up later. dan henning. but first. >> announcer: this is the "full court press". >> quick check of the headlines on this thursday morning. white house press secretary jay carney will not be changing his glasses any time soon. an update on what was once a hot topic in the briefing room at the white house, his eyewear because it hasn't changed in awhile.

he says he will not switch to contacts. he has an eye condition that prevents that but also his wife, abc reporter clair shipman is a big fan of his glasses. >> bill: he got new glasses then he went back to his old ones because nobody liked his new ones. >> his views are no longer evolving on glasses. they haven't evolved. >> sports released a cover for the next edition of the john madden football video game yesterday. the cover that carries that madden curse with it, whoever is on the cover tends to have a bad season or even gets injured. detroit lions wide receiver calvin johnson graces this year's cover and last year's cover player was runningback for the kansas city chiefs peyton hillis. he ended up having a horrible season, played only nine games and injured his hamstring. >> bill: people beg not to be -- >> detroit is probably very angry right now. >> he begged not to be on the cover even though it is a big deal. it is the madden curse. happens every year. >> across the pond, pippa middleton is looking for a lifestyle change. the sister to royal duchess kate

middleton is said to be in the final planning stages for a move to new york city according to the daily beat. she reportedly wants to rebuild her reputation and put her partying lifestyle behind her. >> bill: this is one of those people famous for being famous. welcome to the ranks of kim kardashian. >> she'll fit in very nicely here in america. >> bill: surprised she's not going to l.a. so faiz, this announcement by the president yesterday i mean i didn't think you could stress too much how historic an announcement was. because nobody expected him to move -- well most people few people expected him to move before the election. >> this is one of those moments where it has real tangible impact in people's lives. there are young children growing up gay who feel like they might be ostracized, obviously couples who have lived in the shadows and not been comfortable talking about their sexuality or the way they raise their kids.

and here's the president giving them total full support finally. making them feel like they're full members of the human race as they should feel. i think there's no other person i think who can convey that level of support and empathy as the president for him to do it was tremendous. it is one of the things that has % a tangible impact. there are a lot of things that go on at a campaign. this is something that means something to people's lives. >> bill: do you think that this will hurt him politically? >> no. i don't think so at all. i think it was a frustration on my part that they had waited for awhile. that they had vetted this forever. i think they hadn't wanted to come out until biden kind of forced their hand. it suggested to me they were thinking -- they were overthinking the political dimension of this. that oh, this might not play well in virginia or north carolina or some key battleground states. i think that -- you know, i remember back before president obama ran, one of the things we all loved him for was his iraq

war view when he came out so passionately in 2002 speaking speaking with moral clarity about this is a dumb war and we shouldn't be in it and people loved that. and at the time he said that, he wasn't worried about political realities of battleground states. he said what was in his mind and in his heart. i thought this was an opportunity to do the same. you lead. people will follow. and i think i'm happy that they did the right thing. >> bill: refreshing for a politician to lead. i thought a very courageous thing to do. i wanted to share -- this morning -- what happened to it here? i thought i had it up. in the daily caller, i read it. the daily caller this morning says that this was not an act of -- it was not an act of courage. it was cowardice. it would have been courageous for obama to do this when he announced for president in 2007 in springfield illinois. this would have been courageous for him to do when he gave the

speech at the democratic convention up in boston. but to do it now was an act of cowardice. >> there is opposition to obama as we've learned. whatever he does, they're going to find a way to attack him for as you saw with the log cabin republicans yesterday. they said that this was callus and offensive of obama to come out the day after amendment one had been passed in north carolina, really offensive >> bill: au^contraire. >> he's seizing political opportunism and running it in the face. i'm like are you kidding me? this is a moment that makes people, if they were dejected and down trodden in north carolina to hear the president speak on their behalf and speak for them is a great uplifting and not something that's offensive to them. >> bill: any other politician seeing what happened in north carolina running for re-election wanting to carry north carolina would say hey man, i'm not touching that thing with a 10-foot pole.

>> absolutely right. it was a great act of courage to say right after the day and the key state that he only won by a few votes in 2008. i mean for him to take a stand right at that moment suggested it wasn't political. >> bill: karl frisch our mutual good friend tweeted out i happened to see it after what president did, if the log cabin republicans did not support obama, then they had no right to exist. on this issue, for them to say that mitt romney is better on issues for the lgbt community based on what? >> that's absolutely right. mitt romney was out in colorado. you aired a bit of the clip and during that interview, he was asked about civil union measures in colorado. he said he's against those. he's against civil union measures that would convey everything that suggests that it is just like marriage. so he's against even the benefits and the rights that almost -- the vast majority of americans are for. so to suggest that he's as good

as obama. >> bill: let's hear the clip of -- this is romney yesterday. maybe it was that same interview becoming public yesterday. >> states are able to make decisions with regards to domestic partnership benefits such as hospital visitation rights, benefits and so forth various kinds could be determined state by state. but my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman. >> bill: there he is. as you point out he came out not only against same-sex marriage but civil unions as well. but in the end, mitt romney -- this will be an issue in the campaign. this is not going to be the dominant issue in this election. >> no but i think it gives obama the chance to fire up his base once again. i'm generally a believer that you fire up your base first. start with the people that are supposed to be on your side. speak to them. let them know that you're going to be their champion in office. this tells them once again they didn't already know the don't ask, don't tell repeal and other

measures he's there, he's in their corner. he will be fighting for them. now we work on trying to get other people talking about the economy and jobs plan, reducing the deficit, all kinds of important issues but this -- i don't want this to be suggested as a second tier, third tier issue. this is a first tier one for many, many people and it has tangible impact in their lives. >> bill: faiz shakir of think progress. 1-866-55-press. faiz, let's look back. there are several things the president has done. bailing out the auto industry when that was hugely unpopular. sending the navy seals to go in after osama bin laden when the military could only say you know, we're only 60% sure he's even there. coming out for same-sex marriage when 30 states have a constitutional amendment against it. right. so what happened to this image

of barack obama as this timid president who's afraid to leave? >> we all love joe biden right now. particularly now more than ever. i was recalling that great line he said a couple of weeks ago that bin laden is dead and g.m. is alive. and perhaps if romney were president, the opposite would be true. you know, it is a good reminder of the fact that there's been important progress and now the president will fortunately have the opportunity to campaign boldly on them. yes, i think that for all of the mythology of obama cautious politician which i think there's some degree of truth to. >> bill: at least he thinks through the issues. >> he moves cautiously because he's thinking about them. but when he puts his cards down, he plays them with aggressiveness. i'm glad to hear he's campaigning on bin laden. we talked about this last week. he's campaigning on bin laden killing as he rightly should because this was an area the

democrats should probably own. >> bill: before we take a break, i want to ask you about one other big political event this weekend in indiana, richard lugar, six terms in the senate. no more. he is the latest moderate -- or reasonable republican to be ousted by the tea party. richard murdoch who is now the republican candidate who beat him by handily in the primary gave his -- you sent this out yesterday. gave his definition of bipartisanship. he said "i certainly think bipartisanship ought to consist of democrats coming to the republican point of view." >> thank you for your honesty mr. murdoch. that's exactly the view of the republican establishment for the past two years certainly under obama. it has been that either it is my way or the highway. if you don't agree with what i'm doing, then i'm going to oppose you reflexively on everything you suggest. here's murdoch telling you as he's coming into office that the

agenda -- >> bill: not yet. >> all right. he's gotta run in the general election. hopefully he doesn't win. he's already in polling suggests he's doing very well in indiana. so i think that you know, his quote about the fact that bipartisanship equals g.o.p. rule suggests that this is not a party that wants to work to get things accomplished at all. if there's a situation in which you've got a split house or a split presidency party, they're not willing to get anything done. >> bill: if you like what the tea party has done to the house of representatives, you live in indiana, you vote for murdoch. if you want something to get done, you vote for joe donnelly. it is as easy as that. faiz shakir in studio with us. your calls at 1-866-55-press. happy thursday. the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv.

network. >>we will drill down on the day's top stories in search of facts that inform.

>>now let's get some real news. (vo) first, news and analysis with a washington perspective from an emmy winning insider. >>you couldn't say it any more powerfully than that. >> current tv, on the roll. (vo)followed by humor and politics with a west coast edge. >>ah, thank you. >>it really is incredible.

♪ >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: how about it. 26 minutes after the hour now. you know, the republicans have -- i don't know 12 or 15 big think tanks here in washington, d.c. churning out propaganda on their behalf. we've got the center for american progress and we can keep up with all of them because the center does great work, particularly think progress, the research communications arm of think progress under the leadership of faiz shakir who is

in studio with us. and it is think progress.org. check it out. we do. how do you think we know what we're going to talk about every day? think progress. you do all of the work for us, faiz. >> think. it is important to have people who have amplifying it and letting others know about our work. >> bill: we need grist for the mill. tom is calling from chicago. good morning. >> caller: good morning, guys. i'll make this quick. i'm a christian, i voted for barack. i was an executive pastor at a megachurch for years. i understand the baby. i'm telling you that yes yesterday was the day barack had lost the election. the decision to do what he did there was an arrogance about it because you cannot overpower something that already is. what we had going was that romney, as was mccain by the way was disconnected from the evangelical, from the christian

community at a core level. barack won that election by a sliver and so when you look at this issue -- >> bill: wait, wait, wait! okay. tom just in the interest of time. so he's asserting faiz that evangelicals are ever going to vote for barack obama. >> i would like to believe that's true but i don't have any reason to believe that and certainly there's no record to indicate such. if this was the core issue upon which you were going to base your vote and you really hate obama then you know, then you have to make that decision but i think the vast majority of americans appreciate principle courageous leadership even when they disagree with it. >> bill: i have to believe if you believe in the bible and the constitution, you have to support same-sex marriage. you cannot discriminate. or practice discrimination. great to you have here, faiz. thanks so much for coming in. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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with jennifer granholm. >>i am jenniffer granholm and you are in the war room. 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 "full court press" live on your radio and live on tv. >> bill: it is 33 minutes after the hour. politics is fun but never so much fun as when you get to talk politics with will durst, the nation's premier political satirist. good friend of the program. never comes to washington without coming by to say hello. hello, will. good to see you. >> how you doing bill? good to see you. congratulations on the current tv thing. >> bill: how about that. >> somebody has to keep those people awake. at 3:00 to 6:00 in the morning on the west coast. >> bill: that's the west coast. 6:00 to 9:00 on the east coast.

>> that's the only part that counts. i forgot. >> you would be surprised to hear from them on the west coast. what's the time difference to alaska? >> another hour. >> bill: not just three but four hours. >> hawaii is another. but they don't do daylight savings. >> we don't get many calls from hawaii. we haven't heard from alaska. >> it makes more sense because it would be 1:00 to 4:00 in the morning people would still be up after the bars. >> thinkers and drinkers. >> bill: right. it is the "full court press" brought to you today by the utility workers union of america. the good men and women of the utility workers union under president michael langford delivering vital services and a brighter future. you bet. now will, i've got a bone to pick with you right away. i'm a little upset about this. i wanted you to know i picked up yesterday a copy a print copy of politico, okay.

you're in town because you're appearing at the comedy theatre correct? riot act. >> bill: okay. tonight, tomorrow night and saturday for those -- anybody in the washington, d.c. metropolitan area. so this says -- this ad for will durst, the country's premier political satirist and it says here he has appeared on late night with dade letterman comedy central, hbo and show time. what are we? >> you were a radio show. people don't listen to the radio anymore. >> get out! thanks for being here. [ laughter ] >> bill: next time are you telling us, it will say current tv. >> "full court press." >> definitely. >> bill: i just want to be sure of that. okay. the other thing i want you to know is you have your fan club,

okay. we already have -- i have this e-mail this morning from melanie miller in weaverville california. >> she is so excited you're on the air this morning. says say hi from the deli llama in weaverville. you're going to be up there in june apparently. >> i'm appearing there june 30th. >> bill: for a little mountain show. it says i'm supposed to let you know that helicopter pilot will be in town that day and wants to bring you to stage on his helicopter. >> i'm in. >> bill: all right. >> the gig is at a golf course. and it is like a natural amphitheatre. so you probably could land a helicopter there. >> bill lives two blocks away and he arrives by helicopter. laugh. >> bill: i was going to say obama comes into the south lawn on the helicopter. so yeah, this is good. i like this. too bad you're in town this

weekend because there's nothing going on in the news. >> i know. it is almost like august. >> bill: were they dancing in the streets in san francisco yesterday when president obama endorsed same-sex marriage? >> i do a commentary every week. i wrote my commentary on the plane flying out here and i'm in the cab on the way to the hotel from dulles and i hear and president -- barack obama dropped a bomb -- i realized, rats, i gotta change everything! yeah. everything is different. it sucked all of the oxygen out of -- i love the fact that everybody is so predictable! so predictable that karl rove and the republicans oh he flip-flopped. this is not a waffle. this is moving to a position that is less popular with swing states. this is the opposite of a waffle. this is an efflaw, whatever

waffle backwards. >> bill: i was talking to faiz shakir about this. the daily caller, the new conservative blog, they're calling it today an act of cowardice. yeah. hello! careful. >> not while i'm drinking. don't bring up tucker carlson while i'm drinking. not fair. i just had breakfast. well, it was a brave thing. he evolved to the point where he grew some flippers and walked on land and he might have grown a couple of other things but it is very proud, very brave very courageous. >> bill: of course. i do think it is one of the most courageous things we've ever seen out of any president. take an issue like this where the public has not yet evolved if you will, right? and any other politician would say oh man particularly the day after north carolina votes.

60-40. to ban it. put it in their constitution. >> it was already -- it was already a law. it was already a law in north carolina! and so they had to put it in the constitution. just nail it down. >> bill: so the thinking of the daily caller, it would have been an act of courage for him to do this when he spoke to the democratic convention in boston way back with john kerry in 2004 or it would have been an act of courage if he had done this in springfield, illinois when he announced for president in 2007. but it's not an act of courage today. it is like saying it would have been an act of courage when he was a 6-year-old in indonesia. if he had said i'm going to be president some day and i'm going to support same-sex marriage. but to do it now when he's almost 50. very proud of him. >> these guys, they can't give him credit for anything. >> bill: not for anything. >> that's the new paradigm. you can't be gracious.

otherwise you go the way of richard lugar. >> bill: so you must be in mourning that you have mitt romney as a candidate and not newt gingrich? >> newt gingrich. or michele bachmann or herman cain or rick santorum who looks like mr. -- mister rogers with rabies. >> bill: it was a great primary, wasn't it? >> everybody had a shot. michele bachmann led the polls for two weeks. >> bill: michele bachmann. >> after she won the iowa straw poll last august. i don't know if you remember -- >> bill: don't forget donald trump. >> donald trump led the polls. >> bill: a year ago, it was donald trump. >> rick perry led the polls before he got into the race which is what seduced him to get in. he led for three weeks. did he the two debates where he

stumbled then the third debate. the 53-second meltdown. >> bill: and then -- did you hear the latest, peter we have her new theme song. the latest -- this is serious. i'm giving you material. [ laughter ] >> bill: michele bachmann, the latest is she has become a swiss citizen. i kid you not. marcus bachmann is her husband her gay husband who -- >> which is why she's opposed to gay marriage. >> bill: who is a swiss ancestor, therefore, he has dual citizenship and because she's married to him she has a right to dual citizenship. so she just became -- [yodeling music] >> in celebration of her swiss citizenship. >> there's nothing wrong with being swiss. >> bill: this is marcus bachmann yesterday yodeling.

so happy. >> bill: at the swearing in ceremony for michelle. newt gingrich, his last official act as candidate was to go to a zoo and get bitten by a penguin. >> my favorite was santorum when santorum endorsed romney. and it was like paragraph 13 of a midnight e-mail. he didn't even know -- called a press conference. talk about a tepid endorsement. >> bill: he didn't stand alongside of romney. he didn't have a news conference at all. i sends out an e-mail -- a lengthy e-mail and midnight monday night i think it was. monday or sunday night. at midnight to his supporters. >> talk about tepid endorsements. mitt romney. he's got the money. he's got the staff. he's got the cheekbones, the teeth, the money the super pacs and the enthusiasm of hogties

flavored ice cream. he can't get over the hump. >> bill: and he has a car elevator. >> a car elevator. well, he doesn't have it yet. he's building it. and his 57-room mansion. >> bill: he and his wife have all of these fancy horses. >> you know who he is? he's thurston p. howell before the island. that's who he is. he is! and his lovey. lovey. [ laughter ] >> bill: will durst is appearing at the riot act tonight. he's here with us though and we'll continue our conversation and -- i don't know whether you can call this a conversation or a laugh fest and take your calls at 1-866-55-press. i know my telephone number. >> 55-press, very nice. >> i hope you know the number. it is your name! [ laughter ] >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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>> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. will durst is in studio with us. your calls welcome at 1-866-55-press. back to will in just a second. time to face facts. you know those worn out out-of-date window coverings may not survive another spring cleaning. time to consider new blinds, new drapes shutters or shades for your home. that's one place to go blinds.com. peter ogborn and his wife needed new blinds for their home.

they went to blinds.com. carol and i new drapes for our home. we went to blinds.com. great selection. just go online. show you all kinds of different colors. even show you how to measure the window and exact -- so they fit exactly. if you're a klutz like me, they can help you through it. and it is just great service and the prices -- prices -- beat any prices you can get even at the big home improvement stores. can't encourage you too much to go to blinds.com where you'll get free color samples again free shipping, no sales tax in most states plus expert installers if you really need one. go to blinds.com also for prices that absolutely crush home improvement prices. that's blinds.com. blinds.com for new window treatments for your home. isaac is up in philadelphia. how about welcoming isaac. >> welcome to "full court

press." >> caller: yes, i'm calling because i think it is wonderful what the president did yesterday. i'm not gay but i feel as though people have the right to marry to love and to marry whoever they want to. and i think it is wonderful that we've come to this place in our -- >> bill: good for you, isaac. >> it is great we were able to -- >> bill: don't you think this is where the country is going, isn't it? >> well, yeah, he said it. barack said it. president obama said it yesterday. part of it -- part of it is generational. >> bill: i'm part of the white house press corps. i see him almost every day. >> hey barry. >> barry. >> barry hussein said yesterday that part of this is generational. my generation and my parent's generation, they don't understand it. they never interacted especially in the midwest you never interacted with an openly gay

person. the kids don't care! the kids don't care about black or white or gay or straight. all they're interested in is who's going to pop for the $400 bottle of grey goose in the v.i.p. section of the club. it is great to see the priorities straight. >> bill: you know, you mentioned, too, what i find is a lot of conservative friends of mine on this issue they are really tolerant and open because they have a gay sister. or an uncle right. they figure that uncle that never got married hello! >> he's a confirmed bachelor. >> bill: or a son or a daughter. suddenly they realize hey you know -- >> president obama moved to the dick cheney position. think about that. >> bill: exactly. that's why when some people said what's joe biden doing getting out ahead of president obama. i said hey, wait a minute. dick cheney was always -- not always --

>> he waited until he got out of office. but what's interesting is the laying of the base. i mean first you had joe biden come out so to speak on sunday. on the sunday morning show on "meet the press" then you had arne duncan come out and then -- so this seems rather than reactionary, it seems premeditated to me. joe biden talks out of turn on the schoolyard but the way he said that on sunday, if you watch it, he was direct -- it wasn't an off-the-cuff thing. he was directed. so i would be curious to see whether or not -- >> bill: you think it was all planned to come out that way. >> yes. >> bill: caroline is down in salsbury north carolina. oh. i'm sorry. >> she hung up. she heard will talking about obama moving to the dick cheney position -- [ laughter ] >> worst move ever described and hung up. >> bill: that was a little

scary. >> dick cheney position in the kama sutra. >> no, that's mitt romney who needs extra pages in his kama sutra to keep track of all of his pages. >> bill: did you like ann romney's t-shirt? >> i missed that. >> bill: $990? >> what was it? ed hardy? >> bill: i forget the name of the designer. but she was on "the today show" i guess. >> she was on cbs this morning. the cbs show. >> the serious one. >> reed krakoff was the name of the designer. >> $990. >> bill: she wore a silk t-shirt and some enterprising reporter said hmm, went in and priced it out. >> the fact that we're finding this stuff out. we never used to find this stuff out. they have to be so careful.

he has to be so careful because you know they keep saying that oh, you know the long campaign made him a better candidate. i don't think so. the only thing he's done for five years has been run for president. i don't think his learning curve has anymore bendy parts in it. i think he's just electile dysfunctional. >> bill: politics, there's nothing like it. seriously, putting -- funny comedy show together right. you've got so much material. >> it was a soap opera this year. it really was with michelle and herman and herman was so much fun because he never expected that he would be in the lead then for awhile, he was in the lead. really confused him. >> bill: so people want to join us. will durst.com. year in, year out. here in washington d.c. the riot act comedy theatre tonight, saturday and friday. >> friday and saturday. >> thank you, will. >> we'll see you around the pool. thanks for having me, man.

>> bill: i'll be back with a quick parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." [ group ] everything! [ laughter ] we're servers at red lobster. and we sea food differently.

current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it.

>> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: on this thursday, may 10, my parting shot for today it took a lot of guts for president obama to send the navy seals in to get osama bin laden. i think it even took more guts for president obama yesterday to come out in support of same-sex marriage because there's no way that the first one could have hurt him politically certainly there is a lot of political risk with the statement that he made yesterday. same-sex marriage is still not popular in a lot of states as we

saw tuesday in north carolina. but president obama decided to defy the odds, defy the political odds and take a stand in one of the boldest displays of presidential leadership i think we've ever seen in our lifetime. and how refreshing. usually presidents follow public opinion. in this case, president obama is leading public opinion. and it is especially refreshing because it is just the right thing to do. opposition to same-sex marriage is out and out discrimination. there's simply no way you can support it. the president was helped by the fact that vice president joe biden came out for the support of same-sex marriage a couple of days earlier. now if joe biden would only come out for the legalization of marijuana, maybe president obama would follow that, too. congresswoman donna edwards with us and all of you tomorrow here on the "full court press."