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rmer mayor of san francisco is coming to current tv. >>every night on cable news networks everyone's focusing on 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. premiers friday may 18th. only on current tv.

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: it's 25 minutes after the hour. we are coming to you live coast-to-coast from our little studio here on capitol hill in washington, d.c. talking about the latest and the first really campaign ad of the season. it is a six-minute online video. you can watch at barack obama.com. they put a two-minute version out and played it on some cable stations around the country. not a great big buy but enough to get a lot of attention. yesterday it was on all of the news shows last night and on cable all day yesterday. this new obama ad. against mitt romney. it is just called steel. and it shows exactly what bain

capital was up to. undercuts, i believe, the whole message of the romney campaign. which is built on a lie. built on a lie that as head of bain capital he created all of these jobs. no, he didn't. he shut down these jobs and by the way when he was governor of massachusetts, it's worth repeating, massachusetts was 47 out of 50 states in job creation. some record! sean is calling from right here in our nation's capital washington, d.c. sean, good morning. >> caller: good morning. how you doing? >> bill: good, what's up? >> caller: when you brought up steve ratner, i saw a morning show yesterday, he was saying that comment. and it got me thinking, it really upset me. because i'm originally from north carolina. i know some of the best tricks that republicans use and stuff like that to demagogue or to brainwash their voters. i was just like when you look at

msnbc and i see djokhar borough. i don't want to talk ill about anybody but i'm getting upset that you know, this is how politics is. republicans just bully bully bully. democrats, back up, back up, back up. >> bill: not all of us back up, sean right? more of us have to fight back. that's the point, i think. >> caller: true, true. that's why i started noticing your show a few weeks ago. i really like it. i really enjoy it and i like that you have passion and you have truth behind you and you really fight for it. but we're losing. because republicans they'll get out here and lie and lie and lie. >> bill: sean, i really appreciate. now you have an alternative morning bill, if i may and tell your friends keep watching and we'll not back down. we'll keep telling the truth and i think with the truth and exposing the lies of the other

side, we're going to win so don't give up, sean. thank you for your call. brett calling from chicago. what do you say, brett? >> caller: how you doing bill? >> bill: good. good to hear from you. >> caller: i was just -- i think that the -- i think the commercial should be effective but i would like to see something more along the lines of the democrats actually showing the whole picture with all of the governors and everything in there their whole agenda on what's going on, you know? >> bill: like the scott walkers and the rick scotts and the john kasichs of this world try, right? >> caller: right. >> bill: that's the whole part of it. we've got that campaign going on. and what's most important in wisconsin right now is a recall of scott walker which we've gotta do. we've gotta do to keep that movement going and to complete that whole picture there. but at the same time then you got this presidential campaign. that's where you have to focus on mitt romney. i think it just pulled the legs out from under his argument that he knows anything about jobs.

he doesn't. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." we're the idea nobody wants to hear. until the truth reveals itself. and there's only one place you'll find us.

>> bill: you bet it is! it is 33 minutes after the hour on tuesday may 15. the "full court press" coming to you live coast-to-coast. and brought to you today by ullico, incorporated proudly serving the union workplace for more than 80 years. good men and women of ullico providing specialty insurance risk solutions investment products and services under

president ed smith. to find out more about their offerings, you can visit www.ullico ullico.com. we're taking your calls on this first big ad released by the obama campaign which takes direct aim at mitt romney's claim to have created jobs when he was head of bain capital. this ad says just the opposite. is it effective? is it fair? 1-866-55-press. first we take just a little time-out here because we've also been continuing to cover the fallout from the announcement, the admission by j.p. morgan chase last thursday or friday that they had lost $2 billion in some speculative trading. and we'll -- will this have any impact on dodd frank and on what's happening in the congress. for answers, we turn to jim tankersley, economic correspondent. you've heard jim before on the

program. economic correspondent for "national journal." jim, good morning. thank you. >> good morning, bill. >> bill: good to have you with us. first, i have a challenge for you, okay? >> okay. >> bill: i want you to tell me and all of our listeners and viewers exactly as simply as you can and as succinctly as you can what is hedging? what did they do? >> okay. the idea behind hedging is that you -- if you have a whole bunch of money built up around what's called a position or an idea that the market is going to do one thing, then you put some amount of money against the idea that it will do the other thing. and that way if the other thing happens, you don't lose all your money. >> bill: so you invest money in one thing and then you hedge your bet right, by betting money against yourself, correct? >> right. it would be like if you picked

the redskins to win and put a million dollars on it and then decided that you needed -- you didn't want to be out all your money so you were going to put you know, $10,000 on the giants. >> bill: all right. now i get that. so it's sort of -- isn't it like a bank turning into a casino in a sense? what's the difference between the bank and the casino then? >> well, let's take a couple of things here. first off banks have to manage risk. so i don't think anybody in the wake of what's happened with j.p. morgan has said that banks should never be allowed to hedge. the question here though is there was $2 billion on this trade. is that a hedge or is that the bet? that's the problem. they keep calling it a hedge the folks in the banking world

call it a hedge, for a very specific reason. if it is a hedge, it is allowed under the local rule. if it is not a hedge then it is strictly not allowed and it was illegal. >> bill: i was going to ask you that question because some people say if it broke a rule -- i guess the rules and regulations to carry out the vocal rule as part of dodd frank have not been promulgated yet or adopted yet at any rate. >> correct. there is a draft out of the vocal rule. it is supposed to be finalized by july. it probably won't be fully implemented for a couple more years. >> bill: if it were in place right now, would it have prevented this trade or this action? >> we don't know. that's the problem. [ laughter ] >> bill: right. >> and jamie doesn't know. he said that on sunday. that he didn't know if what they

did was the law -- against the law. they're scrutinizing that right now. part of this is that regulations have to get some -- we're still in draft form. the part of it also is that the vocal rule was envisioned as this big loophole. and it's probably necessary at some level but if everything starts being called a hedge then that's a loophole -- that's not a loophole. that's just a gaping hole. and i think the movement now will be toward putting enough teeth into the vocal rule that that is not a big full-blown hole. that it is something that trades like this get more scrutinized. >> bill: yeah. what's interesting to me, looking here in front of me, the business page of "the new york times" this morning on the first page, the headline is in washington, mixed messages over tighter rules for wall street. so republicans led by bob corker

of tennessee are quoted here as saying oh, no, no, no, this doesn't mean we need any regulation on wall street. this is just sort of like an aberration. isn't the message pretty clear here? as to the fact that these financial firms do need some kind of rules and regulations? >> i think it's extraordinarily clear that financial firms need to be regulated in some way. here's what i think is tricky about what happened with jpmorgan then i'll get to the politics. what's tricky about it is what happened wasn't "the stephanie miller systemic. this wasn't a big wave of failures. this is a big loss for jpmorgan and its shareholders. the problem is it just showed us how it can get really bad. if this was allowed under the vocal rule there's nothing that

could stop something else that could be bigger, broader more "the stephanie miller "the stephanie miller systemic and involve more banks. that's the worry reflectively, of course in washington, as you know, industries don't like to be regulated and their champions in congress never see a reason why there should be more regulation. i believe you'll recall during the gulf oil spill everyone -- there was a quick end and decisive movement by gulf state representatives for both sides to say this -- gee just because -- the gulf of mexico is flooded with oil right now doesn't mean we need new regulations. sure enough, we don't have new regulations. i think this is part of the same. we've got some new regulations after the financial crisis. and nobody, particularly on the republican side of the senate seems to be in any mood right now to change or add to those

regulations. >> bill: not only that, i mean mitt romney says he would like to repeal it or republicans in congress want to repeal it and jamie diamond and others have been lobbying like hell to prevent it from being implemented, right? >> right. jamie diamond said on "meet the press" this weekend he likes 30% of the law. the 30% he doesn't like includes the part that would have scrutinized what happened. >> bill: right. so what's interesting to me is -- again, we're talking to jim tankersley, economic correspondent for the "national journal," nationaljournal.com. president obama was asked about this yesterday on the view and i thought his comments were surprisingly kind of mild. here's at least one of his comments. >> still lost $2 billion and counting. precisely because they were making bets in these derivative markets. we don't know all of the details

yet. it will be investigated. but this is why we passed wall street reform. >> bill: and the president did say at the same time that jpmorgan was a big company. it was a good company and jamie diamond was a smart guy. do you think he'll survive is my question? >> jamie diamond or president obama? [ laughter ] >> bill: jamie diamond. i'm pretty sure obama will survive. >> i think -- look, i think if i were betting, i would bet on jamie diamond and i would also probably hedge it a little bit. but i think, you know, he's a smart guy. he's wiley intel. j.p.'s performance has been good until now. they did very well in the crisis. so i has a lot of fans. he has friends in the administration. the question is will his own shareholders feel this is too much of a problem for them and i

don't see the evidence yet that it is. >> bill: he pushed a couple of people overboard yesterday right. and maybe people will be satisfied with their heads rolling and not his head rolling. hey, jim, did you a great job helping us understand this morning. and where it all might lead. appreciate your time. jim tankersley, economic correspondent for the "national journal." thanks jim. >> my pleasure. >> bill: talk to you again soon. we have a lot more calls and want to talk about this jpmorgan chase or the obama campaign going right head-on against mitt romney and bain capital. he was no job creator! not at all. 1-866-55-press. "full court press." happy tuesday. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and 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. that's the only way we're going to solve the world's great vexing problems.

>> announcer: listen and watch the "bill press show" on your favorite radio station and now on current tv. this is the "bill press show." welcome to the spin room. >> bill: tommy christopher with media in studio with us at the top of the next hour to talk among other things, romney's prankster days in high school. he is here for the white house briefing today. so he'll be joining us. right now, still talking about mitt romney and bain capital. his record at bain capital. where he was out to make money for his investors.

not, not, not to help workers or the companies stay alive. bob is calling from sand down, new hampshire. hey, bob, good morning. >> caller: i want to make a couple of quick points. >> bill: okay. thank you for holding too. >> caller: the president of the united states, no matter who he may be cannot create jobs unless congress gives him the authority and the financing to do it. period. they can't create jobs. a governor is in a better position to create jobs within their own state because they can deal directly with the business community and change tax structures and lending, so forth and so on. but that aside -- >> bill: yeah, i don't totally disagree. there are things that the president and the federal government can do by executive order or just by -- >> caller: the money has to be spent. >> bill: you're right. >> caller: run for senate up here, can they please tell me what the federal government can

do to create jobs. >> bill: it can create the kind of environment that makes it possible for companies to or encourages companies to invest and to hire. i mean they're not totally out of the picture. but you're right, congress has to appropriate the money. what's your second point? >> caller: my second point was i'm trying to explain to people that work for me, i have a small business, how this $2 billion loss affects them and they don't get it. most people don't get it. but when i said look at your paycheck. and you see the federal taxes i had to hold back for you this week? $31 of that money for the next ten years is coming out to pay for iraq. 150 million taxpayer are going to pay $31 a week for the next ten years to pay for iraq. that, they understand. one worker said to me that's more than you're taking out for my social security. they don't know about $2 billion bank losses. i don't even know how the $2

billion loss hurts me personally but i do know that when i have to pay for iraq and afghanistan every week and i see it in front of me in my paycheck, that makes sense. >> bill: i appreciate that bob but you know, the jpmorgan chase may not impact you directly. the president made this point yesterday. but for a smaller bank to be doing this kind of hedging or a run of banks to be doing this kind of hedging then to lose money, we would be right where they were back in september of 2008. that's why this is dangerous. maybe jpmorgan chase can survive because it is that big but there are a lot of banks that cannot survive. it affects us directly because these banks remember are insured. we insure them. we guarantee people who put money in these banks. we taxpayers do. that if something goes wrong up to $100,000 or whatever the limit is right now there is a federal deposit insurance corporation, the fdic.

so we prop up these banks and for them then to be doing the vegas casino with that money that's a problem. don is calling from up in new jersey. hey, don. >> caller: hi, how you doing? >> bill: i'm good. what's your point? >> caller: i just want to say that i think that mitt romney has shown his -- the kind of person he is since he was in high school. when he started bullying on people and cutting that kid's hair. and the incident with the dog. and you know, this thing with bain capital causing mass suffering of americans across the country. you know, companies closing. i mean our economy went down because of people like him. and you know, i just feel that having him in the oval office would be a grave mistake.

>> bill: well i don't think that's going to happen, don. you're right, when you add it all together we're getting a good picture of exactly who mitt romney is. you know, one other thing i just gotta mention, i don't know if you've heard this story yet but eduardo salve rin you know mark zuckerberg but eduardo was one of the cofounders of facebook. and so when they go public right now, he is going to make a huge, luge profit, right? it is estimated that his 5%, he owns 5% of facebook -- boy wish i owned 1%. >> yeah, i would take that. >> bill: 5%, a value somewhere between $77b, billion and $96b, billion. >> 5% of facebook is $77 billion. >> bill: so this kid he's from brazil.

his parents came here, you know the story better than i. >> quick story, right. he grew up in brazil. his father was very wealth withy. there was a list of people who -- gangs in brazil were targeting to kidnap and his father was on that list. so when he was a young boy his family up and moved from brazil to the safety of america where we don't have roaming gangs who kidnap millionaires for ransom money. >> bill: they have done very well. zuckerberg is one -- he's one of the cofounders of facebook walking away $96 billion pending this ipo which is why zuckerberg has been on wall street. what does eduardo do? how does he show his gratitude for the united states of america? he renounces his citizenship and he's becoming a citizen of singapore so he doesn't have to pay any taxes. what an a-hole! if i must say so. >> that's a jerk.

>> bill: to let him get away with that is just outrageous. yeah, thank you very much, right, for all of the opportunities you've given me. now that i've made all of this money, i'm going overseas so i don't have to pay taxes. man! it pisses me off. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

-dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪ ♪ in 2012 alone. go to our website, current.com. up next it's out to the campaign trail. a surprising new poll, and that's next right here inside "the war room."

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 26 minutes after the hour. tommy christopher from mediaite.com here in studio with us. on this tuesday may 15. so tommy, mitt romney scored big yesterday. scored big time. had a big endorsement yesterday. well, kind of an endorsement from pat robertson. can we listen to it first and get your comments. >> looks like the people who were worried about his mormonism, that crowd is diminishing somewhat. the question is if you have two candidates, you don't have jesus running against somebody else. you have obama running against romney. >> bill: is that an endorsement? >> i don't know. i was listening to that on the way in actually on 1480 a.m. >> bill: right here in washington, d.c. proud to be part of the line-up there. >> what's up with robertson's

voice? didn't he sound like brando in the godfather? it was a lousy endorsement. the thing that made me laugh like jesus could make it through the republican primary. i could see the ads. jesus turned water into wine devastating the liquor industry. [ laughter ] he broke the leaves into fishes killing hundreds of baking and fishing jobs. jesus would get crucified in the republican primary. >> bill: what i love is just the idea of okay, romney may not be jesus but at least he's not obama. right? >> that's one of the nicest things that will ever be said about romney. he's no jesus. he's up there but he's no jesus. >> bill: we know that jesus weren't no mormon. hey, tommy, always good to see you. thank you for coming in. any time you're in town, stop by. i'll see you later at the briefing. we'll give jay carney hell.

>> we will. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." lieutenant governor of california, and former mayor of san francisco is coming to current tv. >>every night on cable news networks everyone's focusing on 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. premiers friday may 18th. only on current tv.

>> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. the "full court press" on this tuesday, may 15th. coming to you all across this great land of ours and brought to you today by the international association of ironworkers. the great men and women of the ironworkers. the sky is the limit for them. visit their web site at www.ironworkers.org. under president walter weiss and find out more about the good

work that they're doing including the great new tower at the world trade center. and the ironworkers are the ones who put up that top girder or antenna on top of the building. making it the second tallest -- we thought at first it was the tallest but the second tallest building in new york city. back again on tuesdays, tuesdays with faiz. we call it. faiz shakir who is the editor in chief of think progress. thinkprogress.org. faiz, good to see you. >> thank you bill. >> bill: thanks for coming in on a rainy morning here in washington, d.c. >> nevertheless, it is sunny here in the bill press studio. >> bill: always. >> an optimist. >> bill: we talked a little bit in the last hour, i just mention it but i found out on think progress the story about one of the cofounders of facebook eduardo saverin. he's going to make out pretty well, huh? >> this ipo they're about to

release, underwritten by morgan stanley. it will go live friday. it will make everyone who has been an original investor, billions. billions. >> bill: somewhere between $77 billion and $96 billion. his take. this is a kid who came here with his parents from brazil. his father was targeted by gangs in brazil because he was a wealthy guy. let's go somewhere where we can be safe. he got his education here. meets mark zuckerberg, they start this company. he won the lottery. and how does he repay the united states? >> by renouncing his u.s. citizenship, of course. >> bill: unbelievable. >> it was a rags to riches story. coming from brazil, as you suggested then going to harvard and being an entrepreneur on an

idea, allowing the idea to become huge. making money off it. right at the moment where he would cash in at his max, he decides i don't want to be a u.s. citizen. had he remained, he would pay capital gains taxes on some of the earnings. he would only have a few billion rather than all of the billions. >> bill: he might only end up with $50 billion. >> indeed. that's just too much of a cost for him to be a u.s. citizen. >> bill: unbelievable. >> i think the real sad of this, bill, is that there are people who are lauting his behavior and there are people -- right wing pundits who are saying this guy is an american hero because he's telling us there is a serious problem with america. that we are trying to tax these people who make billions and billions too much and so this is really a warning lesson to all

of us who have called for increasing sacrifice from the wealthy. >> bill: unbelievable. this is a guy who is a tax cheat as far as i'm concerned. tax dodger certainly. he's renouncing his american citizenship. he's becoming a citizen of singapore so he doesn't pay taxes on the money he made in this country. thanks to the opportunities he was given in this country and you're right. the "wall street journal" and some of the right wing bloggers hailing him as a hero saying this shows that if you tax the rich, this is what's going to happen. they're all going to go to singapore. >> it shows the morals and the ethics of conservatives and it undergirds all of the values in the context of how we're talking about deficit reduction. i mean they're happy to slash medicaid, slash food stamps, slash any program that might benefit people who aren't billionaires and then when eduardo saverin is going to make

$70 billion, $80 billion $90 billion and we're asking him just to pay a little bit on the capital gains he's going to make, that we cannot do. if you were going to suggest it, then are you not american! that's amazing that they think like that. >> bill: it is unbelievable. i don't know what we can do about it. but it is unbelievable. the other thing is related i guess, we've been talking a lot -- probably the biggest story these days is this $2 billion loss because they were hedging their bets. >> jpmorgan chase. >> bill: and yet the headline on the business page of "the new york times" this morning is in washington, mixed messages over tighter rules for wall street. i mean it just seems to be so clear. this is like aesop's fable there's no doubt right? when you see a bank playing the funny money games and losing all

of this money that shows that we need some regulations and tighter regulations. yet the republicans in congress are saying oh no, no, we can't do that. the head of the republican party, first of all, what does he know about anything? he says this proves we need less regulation. not more. >> should be clear that mixed messages about regulations that "the new york times" was talking about is actually democrats believing in more regulations and republicans believing in less. >> bill: democrats at least believing in some. >> some regulations. i think that what this story has showed is that jpmorgan is continuing to engage in the kinds of behavior, not just jpmorgan, it is a lot of banks. they happen to be the ones who engage in the worst $2 billion in a single trade. that was the same kind of behavior that led us into the great depression. betting on the housing market. credit default swaps selling that, making money off paper off nothing.

and so you know, the fact that banks are still engaging in it, even after we pass frank suggests there is still a problem. the vocal role which may have prevented is still an implementation. >> bill: two years later by the way. >> yes. >> bill: one of the reasons it is not in place is because of jamie diamond and all of the lobbyists that they sent down here to get these -- buy these republicans in congress and say you may have passed the law. it is now the law of the land dodd frank but don't let it kick in. delay, delay delay. >> just to unravel the process a little bit. even after a law is passed, the federal agencies are then charted with writing how you would implement that law as the executive branch. they're in the process of writing it. as they write how they would implement this law you have these banks waging a war against them. trying to weaken it at every turn and then on the flip side, going to the house of representatives and congress and

saying well don't fund those agencies that might be in charge of implementing and overseeing. >> bill: like the consumer finance protection agency. also while you're at it, why not repeal the whole damn thing when it hasn't taken place yet. >> then you have jamie diamond go on "meet the press" this last sunday and say no, i don't think there's a problem. banks aren't too big. you can trust us because we've got this under control. really? i mean how many more $2 billion losses are we going to have in people's pensions and the stock market and people's livelihoods? risked on your own behavior. >> bill: some people are going to say faiz, some people are going to say so jpmorgan lost $2 billion. so what. so what, right? >> well, yeah, i think that that's partly right. i mean obviously as they engage in risky behavior, it has catastrophic impacts across our

entire -- which we saw in the housing market, how they played that game. they're too invested, they're too big. they control too much of our financial properties. when one of them suffers a loss, it is felt throughout and that means as i was suggesting 401(k)s and the way people's livelihoods are built and structured and their savings are also impacted and we saw that, of course, with a lot of retirees. the problem is that they control all of this and so i think the challenges to try to minimize how much they control. and that's what part of the vocal role is doing and what dodd frank is doing is having a system built in that if they fail, we don't suffer the costs that taxpayers aren't left on the hook. that if they get too big, we can split them up and separate their various trading practices from one another. these are fair and responsible approaches. these aren't asking them to do too much. they're ensuring the safety of them and us and you know, they're still fighting us. >> bill: while jpmorgan

might have been able to suffer the loss and survive although their shareholders pay the price, right, the rest of the economy, they may survive and the rest of us may survive but this had been a smaller bank or a series of banks engaged in this practice, we could be back where we were in 2008. >> easily. easily. this hasn't left us. it could be the next bubble, the next swap, the next thing that they're trying to make a quick buck on that they don't care too deeply about. they're in for the short-term gain. they don't worry about the long-term ram physicians. >> think progress.org. faiz shakir runs it. he's in studio with us for his tuesday visit. we're always glad to take your calls and get you involved in the conversation with a question or a comment. 1-866-55-press. happy tuesday. we'll be right back. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show."

>>the dominoes are starting to fall. (vo) granholm is live in the war room. >> what should women be doing? >> electing women to office. (vo) she's a political trailblazer. >>republicans of course didn't let facts get in the way of spin. >>do it, for america.

>>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. that's 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: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. margaret talev from bloomberg news in studio with us as a friend of bill in the next hour. think progress thinkprogress.org, check it out for the latest good information on all of the big issues of the day including what's happening with jpmorgan chase and bain capital, faiz shakir runs think progress. he's in the studio with us. faiz, welcome back. we've got tim who wants to talk about jpmorgan chase.

tim from rockville indiana. hi tim. >> caller: how you doing bill. good to talk to you. my question is maybe a topic for you, at what point does wealth become greed? you understand where i'm coming from? >> bill: i do. >> like the camel passing through the eye of the needle. i just -- i'm just curious to what people might know about what point wealth becomes greed. >> bill: that's such a wide-open question. i don't know that there's any specific point but it is certainly -- listen, i want to make as much money as i can. i want to leave as much as i can for my kids and my grandkids. there's nothing wrong with making money but at some point you pass from wanting to accumulate to not wanting to give anything back at all. that's certainly when it becomes greed.

>> i think it is all about your personal ethic. you can control this. if you're wealthy and you have lots of money but still recognize you are willing to make a sacrifice on behalf of others, then you pay your fair share. but if you're one of those who says i don't actually believe i should pay anything, my ethic is hoard it all and keep it to myself then you've turned into a greedy sob. >> bill: i do think, i would not want to to put a number on it, some point where you've made enough money to live comfortably. you already have two houses. you don't need five, right? you already have three cadillacs. you don't need -- >> with a car elevator? >> bill: right. i mean -- we see some people today and this guy that we talked about earlier right eduardo saverin certainly -- i think -- >> will be living comfortably for generations. >> bill: yeah. lynette is calling from los angeles. hi lynette.

>> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: how you doing? >> caller: i keep hearing all of this stuff about the jpmorgan thing being a mistake but you know, we all know that the hedge funds and the vulture funds those are not really good investments. i mean come on. i think if you keep doing something over and over again they call insanity. even unrepentant, you know, i would call it that. but i wouldn't call it a mistake he's on the federal reserve. >> bill: yes. elizabeth warren says -- i think she's right. he resigned from the federal reserve. look at the example he's setting >> caller: we all know the love of money is the root of all evil to the previous caller. let me leave this web site, alecexpose.org. and as we know, the tea party which are controlled by the koch

brothers which also have this alec organization, these aggressive anti-voter laws, anti-regulation, anti-environment. they've got 800 more laws they're working on. we compound that with what's going on with wall street right now. it is just not going to be anything left, not even a triple -- >> bill: alecexpose.org. let me interrupt for a second. faiz at think progress has reported a lot on alec. >> we had a big piece of news yesterday. the 16th entity has now dropped alec which corporations are -- various other financial entities. it is the 16th. it was a charter school association. so we're -- we're happy that the momentum is continuing. it wouldn't happen without of some our friends who are running the site. alecexpose.org. >> bill: the point is these are corporations who might have

given the money thinking this is a worthwhile endeavor. >> they're reducing my taxes. >> bill: we're helping state legislators. we're helping state legislators around the country. some of the states, small states so this is a nice, public service we're providing. we're finding out what alec is really doing is writing like the stand your ground law in florida and like the voter suppression laws in so many other states, right? >> they're a right wing organization operating as a purported business front. they have a severe right wing agenda on a variety of issues. now that that's being exposed they're now facing the heat from their sponsorship. >> bill: i might add one of the 57 i think this is organizations sponsored by the koch brothers that i identify in my latest book of the "the obama hate machine." i do want to ask you, we don't have a bunch of time left. president obama, the obama campaign out yesterday with its first ad hard-hitting ad about

romney's record at bain capital. this worked for teddy kennedy in '94. do you think it will work this year? >> yes. because it is real. it is not fake. this is something that his record is hinged upon. there's no doubt about the impact. i would just note that i appreciate the obama campaign running an aggressive campaign. these are -- sometimes the kinds of issues that you hear that people aren't supposed to engage in politically whether it is the bin laden killing or romney's bain record. obama campaign has rightfully said we're going to aggressively make the case based on facts that we are better and he is worse and this is certainly one of those examples and i applaud them for raising this issue it certainly worked in the primaries when rick perry and newt gingrich raised the concept of vulture capitalism and it hurt him going into places like south carolina and others. this is a serious problem. >> bill: i mentioned it worked for teddy kennedy in '94. it worked for newt gingrich in

south carolina. and i'm sure that whatever obama says about romney, it will not be as nasty as what newt gingrich -- vulture capitalism. that's what he called it. faiz shakir, great to have you with us. always enjoy our visits on tuesday. come back again soon. >> okay. appreciate it. >> bill: check it out at thinkprogress.org. i'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." tequila lime tacos. [ man ] delicious! [ male announcer ] it's festival of shrimp! for $12.99 try any two shrimp creations like new barbeque glazed shrimp. offer ends soon. we're servers at red lobster. and we sea food differently.

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ask your doctor if spiriva can help. overwhelming majority of the country says tax the rich, don't go to war. >> announcer: on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey well i don't know what you've got on your plans today but the president's got a busy day starting off with 9:30 this morning, getting the

daily briefing with the vice president and then he will be delivering remarks about 10:30 at the national peace officer's memorial service at the united states -- up here at the united states capitol building down the street from our studio. then back to the white house and the president will be welcoming the major league soccer champions, the l.a. galaxy to the white house in the east room of the white house this afternoon. can't do it in the rose garden because it is raining. the president and vice president meet with tim geithner, treasury secretary at 3:30 followed by a meeting at 4:30 with secretary of defense leon panetta. he will be meeting with the combatant commanders at 5:30 in the oval office. and then -- actually in the cabinet room and then tonight he's hosting a dinner for the combatant commanders and their spouses in the blue room of the white house. busy day for the president. probably for you, too.

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>> bill: hey, hello, everybody. and welcome to the "full court press" this tuesday morning may 15th. so good to see you today. thank you so much for joining us here as we tackle the big stories of the day. in this last hour together this morning, we'll take a look at what's happening here in our nation's capital, at the white house, at the capitol building, also the stories around the country and around the world. add it all up and take your calls, too at 1-866-55-press. thanks for being with us this morning. sad day in politics yesterday.

now ron paul has officially dropped out of the republican primary which is really too bad because of all of the gang of them, the only one that made any sense when it comes to iraq and afghanistan certainly was ron paul and he was not afraid to say that these wars were a colossal mistake. we're going to miss ron paul and now republicans are really stuck with mitt romney. that's sad too. we'll talk about politics a whole lot more here in our last hour together on the "full court press." first with today's current tv news update, out in los angeles here's jacki schechner. good morning jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning everyone. you may not be all that familiar with it but there was a concerted effort underway to get an independent third party candidate on the ballot come november. the group behind the push is called americanss elect and it planned to pick a nominee through online voting but now due to an on-going lack of participation, americans elect has had to shut down its primary process without having an

official nominee. they spent $35 million but now the group is reevaluating how it will move forward. it failed to meet its own threshold. though it did manage to collect 2.5 million signatures to get on the ballot in 26 states. the ceo says they'll have a decision as to their future by thursday. cnn is reporting this morning that the obama campaign has hired a new religious outreach director who will join the campaign in chicago. michael weir currently works as an assistant in the white house office of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships. and while there has been a concern that president obama may lose some support of religious groups after coming out in support of same-sex marriage, cnn reports a source says that this timing is purely coincidental. president obama had a religious outreach director back during the campaign in 2008. before that, it was unusual for democratic presidential campaigns to hire faith outreach staff. i have no good segues for this but the john edwards trial

continues today and his oldest daughter, kate edwards will take the stand. it is unclear what she knows that may help her father's defense. we're online in chat current.com/billpress. join us.

>>(narrator) gavin newsom, lieutenant governor of california, and former mayor of san francisco is coming to current tv. >>every night on cable news networks everyone's focusing on 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. premiers friday may 18th. only on current tv. >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: pat robertson says mitt romney is no jesus but at least he's not barack obama either. now, there's an endorsement for you! what do you say? hello, everybody. great to see you today. great to be with you today. it is the "full court press" on tuesday, may 15. coming to you live from our nation's capital, the most powerful city on the planet. where you find us on capitol hill. just down the street.

six blocks from the united states capitol and six metro stops away from the white house. so we've got it covered. and anything we don't have covered, margaret talev has covered. she covers the white house for bloomberg news here in studio with us for this last hour together this morning as a friend of bill. hey, margaret. good to see you. >> great to see you also. >> let's move that microphone a little closer. >> it is great to see you also. good to hear you. >> bill: just not loud enough. big day at the white house today. president obama back in town. he's got a lot going on including welcoming the l.a. galaxy to the white house. >> beckham. mls soccer champions. >> bill: i know. and then meeting with geithner, meeting with panetta this afternoon. hosting a dinner this evening at the white house. and we have a briefing at the white house for the first time in a whole week. >> you gotta take those when you can get them these days now that

the campaign is officially happening. >> bill: he will be more and more on the road. when he's on the road, we don't get a briefing. anyhow, good to have you here today and to welcome our entire team press. peter ogborn and dan henning and cyprian bowlding. >> hey, there. >> good morning. >> bill: do you ever shop at walmart? >> target is closer to my house. >> bill: target is a better store. >> i didn't say that. >> bill: costco is a better store. there are lots of reasons for not shopping at walmart. here's another one. one more. okay? this happened out in idaho at a walmart in idaho. a man went -- he was getting some mulch for his garden. they have the great big bags, right? and there was a stick on top of one of the bags so he wanted the bag of mulch and he picked up the stick to move the stick. the stick was a rattlesnake. he's been in the hospital for several days. here's his comment yesterday. >> to move it out of the way.

when i pick it up, it turned around and it was a rattlesnake. and it latched on to me. i shook my hand twice before it let go. >> bill: can you believe it? >> that's so scary. i guess it could happen anywhere right? >> would never happen at target. would never happen at costco. they check their bags for rattlesnakes. >> i wouldn't be so sure. >> bill: ahead of time. >> surprise! >> bill: can anybody say lawsuit? >> that's freakish, man. >> bill: it could have crawled in idaho. >> who knows. >> bill: anyhow, pretty scary. margaret, good to have you in studio. we'll be joined by dylan biers from political. lots of media stories. >> lots of media magazine stories to talk about these days, too, right? >> bill: indeed. interesting covers. we'll get into the politics of the day and some of the issues of the day but first -- dan has

the headlines. >> other headlines making news on this tuesday michelle obama has her ipod all ready to go when it is time to hit the gym. the first lady sharing her workout play list in the latest issue of women's health magazine. while exercising she's listen doing stevie wonder signed, sealed delivered. beyonce's move your body. sara about a rails, love song. willow smith's whip my hair and j. lo's get right among others. i know those are all on your ipod. >> bill: i'm impressed. i wonder if you could download her selection? >> well now you know. it is posted. >> you can download all of those songs from itunes. >> bill: i know. okay. michelle you come out with a -- with a play list and then we'll just take it all down at once, no? >> that's what they did. >> that's what they're going for. >> take a pill while drinking alcohol and you will not get

drunk. >> bill: we'll ask margaret what's on her play list. >> i thought you were going to ask me about this. >> bill: maybe this. >> people put a lot of thought and evident into their play list. seriously. >> take a pill while drinking alcohol and you will not get drunk is the hope of a new drug that is at yale university. >> why? >> reporting that researchers have introduced an experimental drug that is supposed to weaken some of the effects of alcohol on the brain. they hope this can help combat alcohol abuse. it is being dubbed as the stay sober pill. >> what's the point? just don't drink. this is science doing the could have versus should have. why make a pill? you don't have to. you can but should you? >> bill: i'll have a bombay sapphire martini straight up with a -- >> the pill so i can't feel what i just did. >> how about this.

i can't decide if i want a martini or a glass of water? >> i'll have a diet coke. thanks. >> in sports the oklahoma city thunder demolishing the l.a. lakers in game one of the western conference semifinals in nba action last night. >> bill: the lakers were close. come on. >> they lost by 29 points. score was 119-90. russell westbrook put up 27 points. kevin durant added 25. here in the east, the philadelphia 76ers much closer game. they inched out a victory over the celtics 82-81. that series is even at one game apiece. >> i hope the lakers get swept. >> bill: looks like they just did. that's pretty embarrassing. >> in the playoffs, 29 points? >> bad! >> bill: wonder how they got there. aren't they the defending champs? >> um no, they are not. >> lakers? >> dallas won last year. thank you, cyprian. the mavericks won last year.

they won a couple of years ago. the lakers used to be a very, very good team and they're not as good this year. >> bill: we've got it. thanks dan. margaret talev you represent bloomberg at the white house now. so bloomberg is the business channel, right? >> we are absolutely the source for business. >> bill: all right. you tell us what's going to happen after the news of the jpmorgan chase blowing $2 billion on a casino bet. >> what's going to happen where? you don't mean legislatively, do you? >> bill: i do. >> oh, come on. >> bill: president obama was asked on "the view "with "and he said this proves why we pass reform which of course hasn't kicked in yet because congress has been dragging its heels on any regulations to implement the vocal rule. is this going to change anything? >> at this point, this is poised to be one of a series of feeders

into a campaign theme about private equity, personal responsibility, regulation versus free market and what the role of government is. >> bill: didn't we learn that lesson in 2008? if we didn't learn it then, isn't this further proof why you need some regulation of wall street? >> you know everything is going to turn into a pumpkin at the end of the year and nobody's done anything about it and there is a lame duck session and everything will get stacked up until then and then kicked into next year and that congress is poised to do nothing between now and the end of the year. every time congress talks about doing something something happens to dial it back to close to nothing or nothing. so i'm not placing bets. i don't want to prognosticate but i think at this point, this is fodder for a lot of talk. and some hand wringing and campaigning. >> bill: that's it. yeah. you don't want to place bets. unfortunately jpmorgan didn't. >> that's what they're in the

business of doing. >> bill: they placed a bet. that's the problem where the bank starts operating like a casino and at present they seem to be able to get away with it. meaning they didn't do anything illegal. >> it is a more complex business than it used to be as you know. >> bill: yeah, more complex and also maybe less careful right? or -- >> if it is -- we wouldn't be having the conversation. yes. that's the whole risk reward thing, right? there's a lot of discussion about this. but what it is going to translate to concretely in a season where not a whole lot of concrete is happening anywhere, i'm not clear on. >> bill: here's where i think it might play a role in that -- this is one more case where there is a clear difference between president obama and mitt romney. president obama signed dodd frank. mitt romney wants to repeal it right? and mitt romney will be -- who's

getting a lot of money from bull street by the way, at the same time, will be out there defending the wall street banks and the financial institution. president obama not attacking them but saying we need some responsible regulation. >> and raising money from private equity. >> of course. yes, it is going to be part of the campaign narrative absolutely. >> you don't think it will be a key issue? >> i think the economy is the key issue. and this will be part of that narrative on both sides. >> bill: will same-sex marriage be a big issue? >> sure in certain states. but how big an issue at the very end, how many votes it will peel off for president obama not entirely clear yet. the polling that we're starting to see is interesting. the polling from the last year, state by state is interesting. but it is so hard to poll these questions because ultimately, there is a question of how do you feel about this? do you fave it, do you think it is the right thing. there are questions of how much priority is it to you? does it make you more likely or less likely to vote for the

president. and then there's what you tell a polester versus what you really do. and i think nobody is really sure yet. but certainly, it has the potential to remain a risk for him in ohio. to the extent of the carolinas will be competitive in carolina. >> bill: one of the most meaningless polls i've seen is front page of the new york times this morning. the headline is poll finds doubt of obama's step on gay marriage 67% of those surveyed by "the new york times" says they think president obama made the decision mostly for political reasons. which to me is like saying look, like duh. right? i mean -- >> this is "the new york times" poll, the same poll that found romney up over obama by 3 points. >> bill: that hasn't been reported here actually. at least that's -- i didn't get that far in the article.

i'm surprised if that's the case. >> it is a different poll. >> bill: 24% said he did it mostly because he thinks it is right. i mean so you get the idea -- so they're not saying we agree or disagree with it. we just think he made the reason for political reasons. politician for president does something you know for political reasons. >> this is a soft question right which is do you -- do you feel that president obama's motivations are -- you know, cynical or less dreamy than they were in 2008. these are really soft questions that go more to turnout than anything else. are you motivated by him and if you like him or are you on the fence, are you dedicated to him or loyal or willing to go out and do anything for him versus sort of apathetic because you figure it was calculated. again how do you measure it? it is hard to measure. >> bill: my own take is i think he absolutely did the right thing whether he intended to do it this soon or not. he did the right thing i

believe. but also i think -- my own belief is that this is not going to make any difference politically in -- >> in any state. >> bill: right, that the people who are against it were never going to vote for obama anyhow and that the economy will be the driving issue. >> for those swing voters, the wobbly voters, this won't be the they decide on. >> bill: he's not saying he wants a constitutional amendment to force this on every state. he's not out there saying i want a bill in congress. he's saying personally, i've evolved to where people should have the right to get married. >> he's the way he's used the language to say this is my personal view. i'm not going to do anything about it other than speak about it and raise money on it. >> bill: it is not threatening. if there is a political side to it, i think it will be an advantage to him in terms of raising money from the gay community and pairing up the base. there is certainly one element statement of the democratic party -- not just gays and lesbians but those who support

gay rights who think at last, we have a president. obama took this stand. >> the clooney swing last week. that was true in that room in that crowd. and then, of course, yesterday at the ricky martin -- >> bill: whoa, whoa, slow down. you were on that trip to the west coast? >> i thought that's the only reason you had me on the show today. because i've been in george clooney's garage. >> bill: you were in clooney's home? no? >> i was, for a brief fleeting moment in clooney's poshly decorated outdoor basketball court and then in the pool hold for three hours. >> bill: was the basketball court tinted? >> it was like draped in -- you couldn't really tell that it was a basketball court except that they said it was. so it was kind of draped in like plastic, a lot of clear plastic and some cloth-like tenting and draping. partly, i guess to dress it up but also partly to obscure the

view of the property so we wouldn't be gazing at every element of his house. it was like carpeted. there was chartreuse upholstery and it looked like an outdoor room. it kind of looked like a conservatory, like a botanical like ann arbor eat um type of -- like an arboretum type of room. >> bill: where did you hang out during the dinner? >> in the garage. >> bill: did they have a car elevator? >> i don't think so. it was nice and modest as garages go. [ laughter ] >> wow. >> bill: this is fascinating. and george didn't give you a tour of the house? >> no, i didn't actually interact with him in any way. >> bill: didn't give a tour. were you allowed into the dinner itself? >> briefly for the portion of the remarks that the president wanted to be publicized. you know how it works. they save all of the good stuff presumably for afterwards.

as we were holding in kind of brick pathway that led to the outdoor court we could hear some of jeffrey katzenberg's comments at the top. there was kind of a dream -- the dreamworks ceo who was introducing president obama. >> bill: george didn't introduce president obama. >> they both spoke. clooney spoke first and then could sort of barely hear the lower tones of his voice as they were walking us up. we couldn't really hear what he was saying then katzenberg spoke. you could hear a nod to the gay marriage thing there which got the crowd excited. president obama did a little bit on it. they whisked us away. we went to the garage to work and then it went on for like hours. we thought we would be there like two hours, two and a half hours. we were there for four hours. >> bill: all right. margaret talev here in the studio today. fresh from george clooney's garage. >> i still have that glow. >> bill: what a star! we'll take your calls and we'll continue our conversation when we come back here on this "full

court press" on tuesday may 15. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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

>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: it is 27 minutes after the hour. dylan byers covers media for politico. he will join us. us being me and margaret talev from bloomberg. margaret, the president's campaign yesterday out. they're not wasting any time with a very six-minute ad about mitt romney and bain capital. i know you've seen it.

you've heard it. what do you think? >> wow. i mean sympathetic characters. >> bill: workers who lost their jobs standing in front of the shutdown factory and the locked gates. >> the scene is no surprise. it is precisely what you would expect them to be running on. precisely the theme and exact way we knew the campaign would go after mitt romney and yet what a splash it's made and it has people talking. >> bill: the thing is i think it undercuts romney's central message, right, which is i know jobs. i know how to create jobs. i've created jobs. and they're pointing out bain capital, what he did was destroy jobs. >> the romney campaign is hitting back and they'll hit back by highlighting cases in which they did create jobs but nonetheless, that's what you expect companies to do and this is potentially a more potent or damaging political message and it is the shot across the back. >> bill: it is the one that teddy kennedy used.

>> in the senate run. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." jennifer granholm is politically direct on current tv. >>the dominoes are starting to fall. (vo) granholm is live in the war room. >> what should women be doing? >> electing women to office. (vo) she's a political trailblazer. >>republicans of course didn't let facts get in the way of spin. >>do it, for america.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: and on radio and tv coming to you live across this great land of ours from our little radio factory and tv factory here on capitol hill. brought to you today by the international brotherhood of teamsters, good men and women of the teamsters union under president jim hoffa. we all live better thanks to their good work. you can check out their work at teamster.org. it is 33 minutes after the hour. margaret talev in studio as a

friend of bill this hour from bloomberg news covering the white house for bloomberg and look who's here. joining us back again media chief from politico, dylan byers. hey, dylan. good to see you. >> bill: nice to see both of you on a rainy day in washington, d.c. >> no better place to be. >> bill: to brave the traffic and the rain. >> it was very hard for me. >> bill: you don't have far to go. >> two blocks away. >> a bit of a marathon this morning but blame it on metro. it is all fine. we got here. >> bill: let's talk about -- newsmagazines are pass say. we talked about that before. nobody buys them anymore or reads them but both time and "newsweek" have made news with their covers. >> they have made news. >> bill: this is the new way of being relevant if you put out a controversial cover people will notice you. >> it is something that tina brown has been doing since she got to "newsweek" as the editor

of "newsweek." >> bill: even at new yorker. >> yeah. the new yorker we can agree has had slightly more tasteful covers. and now "time" is getting in the game with this breast-feeding cover which is by far the more controversial of the two. >> i agree. the "newsweek" cover is a little more -- >> bill: why don't you bring up the "newsweek" cover. we'll talk about that second. if you have it up on your computer. we talked about this yesterday on the show. the time cover with this woman breast-feeding her 3-year-old son -- >> almost 4 years old. >> almost 4. >> he's standing on a footstool right? she's not holding the baby in her arms. >> doesn't he look like he should be carrying a briefcase? hop off the stool and head to the office. he's like -- very sophisticated look on his face.

both both are looking at the camera. to me it looks like did you just get your driver's license? >> somebody clever added the caption "nothing to see here" and i don't think we can call that child a baby. move along please. >> he's thinking i got most of the ingredients for a white russian here. somebody can bring me something else to take the edge off. >> it got people talking. that was the point of it. >> bill: but it offended a lot of people i've heard from is that the headline, are you mom enough. meaning if you're not breast-feeding when your kids are 5 or 6 what's wrong with you. >> i haven't actually talked to anybody who's expressed the idea they were offended by the headline. most of the conversations that i've been part of have involved people speculating on that child and in an era of bullying that when the cover comes out the same week as a lot of bullying stories, the first day of

kindergarten. that cover is going to follow you everywhere. it is certainly provocative and certainly raised important issues about parenting styles and all sorts of stuff. i'm not passing judgment on anything. but that kid is going to own that cover for the rest of his life. >> i think you're right to bring up the headline. we'll get to this with the "newsweek" headline as well. these headlines almost don't really represent what's going on in the actual pieces. what they are is they're the editor's decision on a friday night to sell magazines on monday. it works, for instance "newsweek's" newsstand sales are up 30%. >> bill: is that right? >> but how do people feel about the "newsweek" brand. when i was growing up, the "newsweek" brand meant something. it wasn't the best magazine but it meant something. you had to get it every week. i don't really think it has anything cache anymore.

he didn't know -- jay carney didn't know whether president obama had seen that cover of "newsweek." >> bill: there was a time not that long ago when i in my job in my business, radio tv, political commentator would never dream of missing time or "newsweek." i would read them religiously. both of them cover to cover every week. i don't even pick them up anymore because i read them online. i read everybody else online. by the time that magazine comes out, like who needs it. let's go to "newsweek." peter, if you've got that up on your computer. >> i do indeed. >> bill: those of you on current tv can see it here on the screen. "newsweek" with president obama following up on the same-sex marriage announcement looking very saintly with a halo, rainbow halo -- ow or as tina calls it, a galo over his head. >> this being the first gay president building on the fact that president clinton was called the first black

president. fair? >> it almost doesn't matter because again, it is just to sell issues. i don't think that there's anybody out there who -- i think there are a lot of people throughout who believe that obama is a muslim or is a socialist. there's -- does it help him or hurt him. i think it energizes the base, the progressive base a little bit. who's in support of same-sex marriage and i think does it hurt him on the right? i don't know. i don't know if that matters. >> bill: margaret? >> i think ten years ago even if you made a humorous reference to american president being gay that it would have been scandalous sort of thing. now it is iowaen into the pop culture so much. we have men kissing on network series. nobody's going to look at the cover and think oh, my goodness, obama is gay? that's not what it means. there is no -- the shock value

doesn't go to that. i think that, if anything, you could make the days that that "newsweek" cover shows really how much times have changed that you could do it without setting off a firestorm. it is provocative. it is clever. it is a rainbow halo. ha, ha ha. but it's not shocking. >> bill: right. we have heard particularly, i remember a week ago today was the day after joe biden had said i'm comfortable with same-sex marriage. how fast things move here. right? and that last monday was the day that jay carney got the hell beat out of him. we were there. it was a half an hour. he was just getting pummeled over why is obama still evolving when the vice president has already evolved. carney kept saying look, we have done more than any other president to advance gay rights which, by the way is true. so what, so what, answer the question. but he kept saying that.

so if you add that now plus same-sex marriage, he deserves that cover. in a sense. if you interpret it as the most gay friendly president ever, it certainly wasn't bill clinton. >> right. >> bill: who gave us don't ask, don't tell and the defensive marriage act. -- the defense of marriage act. >> of course, bill clinton wasn't actually black. i was shocked to learn. [ laughter ] yeah, no, i think it works. i think it is fine. i don't think it is going to ruffle too many feathers. >> bill: it just proves that today almost -- you can do or say -- >> you can make a joke about it. whatever. >> bill: you can do or say anything. we all know what it is there for. to sell magazines. >> do you have to be impressed with carney about taking the 50 some questions about the gay marriage issue. that's a lot of stamina. >> bill: i was more impressed with the press corps not letting him squirm. not letting him off the hook.

>> it does seem that was part of the pivot point in their decision about how quickly to roll things out. you know, yes. do they see the biden transcript on friday before it aired on sunday? did they have a sense they might have to jump? sure but when the entire front row and every network anchor says -- nobody believes it. i mean that was -- and it was broadly the sentiment of everyone in the pressroom for the past year and a half, evolution apparently was noted in december 2010. but nothing like that had ever happened. >> bill: there are times when jay carney's getting beat up over something where i think i feel sorry for him and say come on, this is bull -- i'm sorry. i almost -- >> what are you doing? >> bill: i didn't say it. >> what are you doing? are you insane? >> bill: i was close. and move on, right? but not last monday. last monday, i thought you deserve it, dude.

you deserve it. make us believe that there's no distance, no air between the vice president and the president. >> all that is -- all decisions are made. >> bill: okay. margaret talev of bloomberg. dylan byers politico and you at 1-866-55-press. the tape was crowded but -- the table is crowded but there's room for you here at the end. give us a call at 1-866-55-press. when we come back, is jay tapper leaving abc? we'll talk about it when we come back. tuesday, may 15th. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. 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."

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>> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show" live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. we'll continue our conversation with margaret talev and dylan byers and you here. first, a second, just a second to remind you of something you ought to be thinking about and margaret and dylan maybe you ought to be thinking about too finding that you're short at the end of the month in terms of paying all of the bills want to earn a little extra money from home. let me tell you about incomeathome.com. they are america's leading work from home business. doing business in over 80 countries today so these are people you can trust. they know what they're doing and this is something you can do. no matter your age education or experience. you can literally be earning money from your own kitchen table with your own laptop 24/7.

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fox. >> let me say when i say there's not anything to it, i think that jake tapper is probably getting offers all the time. i think he has former abc colleagues at cnn who would love to have him come over to the network. i'm sure -- i wouldn't be surprised if they were willing to make him a generous offer. i think that tapper is sincere when he says that he is extremely happy at abc news. i also think there's some conversation about him being in the line-up to host abc sunday program this week. moving over to cnn right now which is a network that is certainly struggling doesn't seem to me to be the wise move for his career but are they talking? maybe. >> bill: even print people sometimes change jobs like i know somebody who went from mcclatchy to bloomberg not too long ago. >> it has been almost a year. >> bill: how about it. on the "newsweek" cover barbara

is calling from madison wisconsin. barbara, good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. >> bill: yes. we're going to win that recall, right? >> absolutely. the energy is still out there! it is really high. >> bill: all right. counting on you. >> caller: especially with all of the news coming from what's up with walker and the investigation. >> bill: criminal investigation just what he needs about this time. but you called about the "newsweek" cover right? >> caller: the time cover. the one that shows a woman nursing the baby. when i saw that, the first thing that occurred to me is that the right wing keeps trying to make the case that the problem that most men have are caused by women. now more women are in college women are asking to be paid the same amount that men are being paid. >> bill: how dare they. >> caller: why they chose to have a sexy mother nursing a giant child to me speaks to what they're trying to say is women

are ruining the family and that was just another -- another case that they were making. >> bill: i don't know, barbara. i think you may be reading too much into that. maybe. >> obviously they couldn't have a man -- i think her point is that part of your point which i think is interesting is the idea that the mother was very athletic-looking and edgy looking and eye-catching and you know, for better or for worse whatever it says about society was again probably also part of making an attractive magazine package so people would want to buy it. >> right. i think sex sells. i think that maxim doesn't go away. now you know incest doesn't sell. but there's something highly sexualized about that cover. i know it is a mother and a son but in terms of getting the magazine to fly off the rack, they knew what they were doing when they chose an attractive, young woman. >> bill: thanks, barbara. thanks so much for the call. not a lot of time left but "the washington post" last week --

dylan and margaret, did a major investigation on pranks that mitt romney played when he was in high school. was this worth the print? is this something that we really should be -- is this a new watergate? for "the washington post"? margaret? >> whenever someone's running you know as a presumptive nominee of their party their biography is going to be written in many extensive profiles. that was the case of president obama during his campaign and it will be the case between now and through the convention season at least for mitt romney. what lasting effect is it going to have? how much do people judge about an adult's character based on behavior from during the teen years. i think it is a really different question. is it fair game and would it happen to any candidate from either party? sure. absolutely. >> bill: front page, big

photos. >> very big. >> i think it was absolutely worth the print. right now, what you have is you have so much news and so many stories flying around. any time anyone can get a picture or and an he can dote about a presidential candidate it will be put up there. a lot of people would like to debate why did it come out when it came out. is it partisan? is it research? i think the one thing in the 24-hour news cycle when so many people are doing work, i think the only thing that can guide you is the belief that everything deserves to be out there and the more that you can put out there on the public record, the better. this is a very well-reported piece and i think it is an important one. >> bill: i do not want to be judged by what i did in high school. >> i know. but you're not running for president. >> neither do i. [ laughter ] >> bill: we'll tell those stories later. hey, guys. thank you so much. dylan, good to see you again. >> nice to see you.

neighbor. margaret, thank you so much for being here. i will see you a little bit later at the white house briefing. we'll gang up on jay carney again today. i'll be back with today's parting shot. and there's lots of cool stuff happening with progressive mobile. great!

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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 15, my parting shot for today so now even ron paul, the last of the mohicans is gone out of the republican primary. i didn't shed a tear when rick santorum and newt gingrich and

michele bachmann, all the rest of those left the race but i think it is sad to see ron paul go for a couple of reasons. first because he's so colorful and so independent. i mean unlike all of the rest, ron paul says what he thinks. he's a straight shooter in a crowd of double talkers. but also secondly, i'm sorry to see him go because ron paul makes sense on a lot of issues. yeah, he's kooky when it comes to the gold standard but the war in iraq and the war in afghanistan, for example, for criticizing republicans for complaining about the budget and refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy, ron paul is absolutely spite on. some day, mark my words the republican party will regret that they didn't take ron paul more seriously. that's my parting shot for today. what a line-up we've got for you tomorrow. senator tom harken great liberal from iowa. congressman john sarbanes from maryland both in studio with us tomorrow. lynn sweet from the "chicago sun-times" will be here as a friend of bill. so come on back! see us again right here

tomorrow. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."