♪ >> hey. hello, everybody. good morning. good to see you. welcome 209 full-court press this wednesday may 30th. can you believe it? >> a lot going on today. including this when syrian troops massacre 100 civilians, pressure grows for military intervention in syria. john mccain and lindsey graham are calling on america to bomb syria. is this the answer? do we really want a third war in

the middle east? hey, we will talk about that and a whole lot more here on this wednesday morning. and, of course we'll take your calls at 866-55-press. first, we get the latest. today's current news update. we go to los angeles and say good morning to jacki schechner. >> hello, bill. welcome back. good morning, everyone. by all accounts donald trump managed to hijack the news cycle with the birther claims and high-dollar type fundraiser but mitt romney is now your official nominee. he won 97 delegates in the texas primary. he will spend today fundraising. he has to convince voters he would be better to fix the economy and he has to convince conservatives he is conservative enough for them to back him. romney has 90 days until the republican national convention, and his latest attack on the

president is going to focus on solendra and the romney campaign may have to convince voters that they know how to spell. and america of all words. campaign launch add new iphone app. you can share this online. the only problem is someone forgot to spell chak and where reads a better amercia. it took little time for the online community to take notice and poke fun. if you check out the ash tag amercia. see all of the latest jokes this morning. pretty funny stuff. matchable on top of the story early last nature. the digital director said it was meant to be a light-hearted celebration of romney's clenching the nomination. now it's a little bit of a distraction. you can join us online to talk about this and anything else you

want. current current.com/billpress. we will be right back. on the next gavin newsom show: google's sergey brin and anne wojcicki give gavin a hands on look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating.

i have the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin, but my doctor put me on pradaxa instead to reduce my risk of stroke. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) reduced stroke risk 35% better than warfarin. and unlike warfarin, with pradaxa,

there's no need for regular blood tests. that's really important to me. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners, or if you have kidney problems especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take any planned medical or dental procedures and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk with pradaxa. kill as many as we can... >>the story of the american born jihadist on the run for his life. an exclusive new interview only on

"viewpoint with eliot spitzer." ♪ >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv. this is the bill press show. >> calls from republicans stepping up to start bombing syria. are you ready for world warr iii? hello, everybody. getting pretty bad out there. good morning. good to see you. >> welcome back. some of you were here yesterday. i wasn't. good to be back with you today. it is wednesday, may 30th. great to see you. hope you had a long, long and

relaxing and happy and joyful memorial day weekend. i certainly did out on the west coast with my family. and good to be back with you today. a great big thank you to peter okay burn for filling in yesterday yesterday. we still have the show. gbur for filling in yesterday. we still have the show. >> let me apologize for the smoking ruins that used to be your studio. i did what i could. >> >>. >> popcorn all over the floor. thanks to you and dan henning and cyprian holding and steve web. >> made it in. >> to carry on the show. we appreciate that very much. great to be back with you today. we have lots and lots to talk about. here, what's happening in our nation's capitol, big ceremony at the whitehouse yesterday which i was able to attend. i will tell you all about it. yes, around the globe just horrific accounts of this

massacre in syria and increasing calls on the president to do something with military intervention, increasing pressure on the president, and mitt romney finally, finally, finally, yesterday, after the texas primary has enough delegates to know that he will be the nominee in tampa at the republican national convention. and whatever happened to all of those reporters who said: >> without doubt that this was going to go all the way to the republican convention. it would not be decided before themt then. isn't is funny so many people look like they know what they are talking about and they don't know beans. >> hello team. >> nice to see you back in the big chair. >> thank you. good to be here. yesterday, while mitt romney was celebrating winning the primary,

michelle obama was celebrating publication of her first book. it's all about the garden and the importance of growing your own vegetables that is. >> right. right. >> some of us in california go our own, other substances, other crops. and her book is called "american grown." yesterday, she said, i just love this book. >> it turned out exactly as i envisioned. it's a the beautiful book wonderful pictures. it really tells the story of not just our garden but what folks are doing in communities all across this country. >> she has really started a movement here with the garden. and, you know, i was thinking this morning. alicewaters always was after the colintons to do a garden on the roof, you know. it does make much more sense to have a garden in the garden. they have 13 freaking acres, you know. they could plant the whole thing in soybeans or something if they wanted to. >> that being said roof gardens are efficient, especially in cities.

>> but the white house, there is security on top of the white house. i am there every day. there are troops marching up and down on top of the white house. it's not the place for a roof garden and people have roof gardens in cities because they don't have 13 freaking acres around the house. >> that's my point. they have this backyard. she has done a good thing. she said their garden is growing and growing and growing. >> we now have more than 1100 square feet of vegetables growing and we have had hundreds of kids coming to help us harvest and plant. it's just been more than i could have ever imagined. >> but i learned one thing from that book that, you know i love president obama. i am a big fan. but he and i we split on this issue. >> go ahead. >> you know what she does not have growing in the garden because obama hates them? >> beets. >> i love beets. yesterday, we had a luncheon here in washington for current tv. and i noticed there was beets on

one side and not on the other side. i went on the side of the table that had the beets. i love beets. >> i like them golden red. i just love them. obama not. it's just like george bush with the broccoli. >> that's right. >> come on obama, get some beets. man up. we have got a lot to cover today. major garrett from the national journal is going to be here as a friend of bill a little bit later. john nichols from the nation to tell us the latest with wisconsin, on wisconsin rather with a less than a week to go. chuck pena national security analyst is going to be here to talk to us about siryria but first: >> this is the full court press. >> well, san antonio spurs continue to impress in the playoffs. >> get it over with. >> they have won 20 consecutive games through last night when they beat at a time new nba

record. >> that's cool beat the oklahoma city thunder i 2 to nothing series lead. tony parker helped in that effort, posted 34 points. in the east, boston in game 2 tonight against miami, the heat won game one. >> spurs? >> i think it's heat versus spurs. i do. spurs haven't lost a play-off game . >> i am um. >> incredible. >> yeah. >> incredible. >> ten straight wins in the playoffs. if they sweep the thunder which i don't think they are going to do but they could make it to the finals without having lost a game. they could sweep the whole series the they could . >> all right. >> you can tell i am a little bit chittedk excited. >> rick santorum was going to win the primary. >> clint eastwood's daughter has a lot of money to burn fran francesca eastwood who stars in mrs. eastwood & company on e took a hermes hand bag, cut it

in half saying destruction is a beautiful version of freedom. it retails for over $100,000. >> destruction, you can destroy a hermes hand background if you are worth $5 million. >> if clint eastwood is your daddy. >> right. >> if you feel like you are getting spammed, more and more on face book a new book called permian says 40% of the accounts are now spam accounts. several lawsuits over the past year have been won over spammers but still users are warned to be very careful about what they like on facebook and what they follow on twitter because the consequences could be far worse than a couple of anoonings. >> that's a whole big ib. what does it mean for the social media? right? all of the numbers you hear about people involved in the social media. it's what? 40%. >> 40%. >> are phony accounts. >> crazy.

>> watch out. don't trust everything you read in the newspapers. don't trust everything you see online. exactly. we have got to talk about it. i have to tell you the latewest donald trump. this guy just won't shut up. you know, i want to put it in this context. okay? you hear all of this stuff like you are known by what you eat. you are known by what you drive. right? well, you are. i am not sure that's either of that is true but you are known by the company you keep. we are known by the people we hang out with. right? what do we teach our kids? you shouldn't play with that. you shouldn't be playing with those kids. they have problems. you shouldn't hang around with that gang. they are not good for you. we are known by the company we keep. and boy, given that what a contrast yesterday. let's start at the whitehouse. i was there yesterday afternoon when the president gave the medal of freedom to some -- an

incredible incredible group of americans. and i want to point out, there are nominations that come in for the medal of freedom every year from millions of americans. and they put together a list and then it goes to the president of the united states, and the president of the united states decides. this is the hiett civilian award given by the united states government. the president decides the people who get that award. these are the people obama picked as his personal role models and our personal role models. they included the first woman who has ever secretary of state, madeline albright, the first person to circle the earth in orbit, john glen. they included the founder of the girl scouts john paul stevens, the third longest serving supreme court justice ever in history. john dor the man who went to

the university of mississippi and stood in the doorway of the university of mississippi and accompanied the first black student to attend class's classes there. he went down from the justice department, a hero in the civil rights movement. president obama said yesterday he would not be where he is today without the efforts and the leadership and the courage of john door in those days. the people yesterday included pat summit who was the winningest, if i can coin that word, the winningest coach ever in basketball, men's basketball or women's basketball. and peter, do you have that photo up? i took, on our website, bill billpressshow.com or currenttv.com/bill currenttv.com/billpress. the president giving the medal of freedom to those individuals there. of course, the star of the show was bob dylan.

and president obama talking about how much bob dylan had influenced him when he was in college and listened to his lyrics. it was classic bob dylan. he looked like what he is, an aging rock star, sitting there with his sunglasses on all such an individual, classic individual. >> i wanted to ask you because the pictures you brought back bob dylan is wearing his sunglasses? >> walked in with them on, sat there with them. >> i love that. i so love that. >> great. and in the east room of the white house was packed jammed. they have never -- everybody said they have never seen so many people in there. everybody came to see bob dylan. contrast that. okay? so barack obama is hanging out with madeline albright bob

door. in las vegas mitt romney is hanging out with donald trump. what a disaster. has a fundraiser with donald trump. by the way, newt gingrich. in the news yesterday, it was not about mitt romney winning the nomination finally. not about mitt romney, whatever he might say on the economy. it was all about donald trump who continues, continues this non-sense that president obama was not born in the united states. so he is on cnn yesterday afternoon. wolfe blitzer before donald comes on, they have a reporter does a story about donald continuing to fan the birther issue. and that how this is just good for obama and not good for romney. and right away, donald trump talking to wolfe blitzer objects to that whole introduction. >> on the phone is the chairman and the president of the trump organization, donald trump. donald, thanks very much for joining us. >> i thought your reporter was very inaccurate in his description and i thought the

introduction was totally inappropriate and was actually very dishonest. >> all right. tell us why. >> they start there. now let's just jump. okay? he and wolfe blitzer get into it when trump will not back away from asserting that this whole thing is a fake the birth certain istive cat. >> i don't understand why you are doubling down on this brother in lawer issue after the state of hawaii formally says this is the legitmat birth certificate. he was born. >> a lot don't agree with the birth certificate. >> if the stay of hawaii says this is official, he was born in hawaii on this date. here it is. why do you den that? >> a lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate. >> how can you say that? >> ifyou won't report it, wolfe but many people do not think it was authentic. his mother was not in the hospital. there were many other things that came out. and frankly, if you would report it accurately, i think you would probably get better ratings than

you are getting, which are pretty small. >> donald, have you seen the actual newspaper announcements within days of his birth in honolulu? for example, the honolulu star bulletin -- we will put it up there. see the birth certificate. >> many people -- >> listen to me dolphined. honolulu. can you -- >> can i talk? >> can i ask a question? >> defending alabama. >> donald, you are beginning to sound a little ridiculous. >> yeah, and you are sounding ridiculous. what does this guy say? the mother wasn't in the hospital? he is out of his freaking mind. talk to the governor of hawaii neil abercrombie, a friend of barack obama's parents who visited her in the hospital. what what does trump know? here the real question is: what is mitt romney doing hang out with this guy? you are known by the company you keep. i repeat it. and you are. and of all of the people, he could have been with last night to celebrate his winning the republican nomination, he is with donald trump.

um, i agree with what george will said the other day. we will play the clip a little bit later. what george will said this week on sunday. does he really think, does romney really think he is going to get one vote, one freaking vote by hanging out with donald trump? yeah, he might get trump's vote. he would get that anyway. it's crazy. what does this say? what does this say about rom energy? >> my question to you. what does this say about romney? that he can't say no to donald trump, that he can't stand up to donald trump, that he can't say: you know what, trump? you are so crazy on this issue that i really don't want anything to do with you because you are not who i am. what's wrong with romney? 866-55-press. what does this tell you about him, 866-55 heaven 377. you are known by the company you

keep. this is the full court press. the bill press show. live on your radio and on current tv. 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.

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

if al gore's watching today... ♪ >> radio meets television, the bill press show. now on current tv. >> it's 26 minutes after the hour. we are talking about mit romney, part donald trump. can't seem to shake him. even though trump is nothing but, you know, just sucking any credibility that he's got left away from mitt romney.

here is the best that romney can say. okay? remember when rush limbaugh called sandra fluke a slut and a prostitute, all mitt romney could say was: those were not the words i would have used. about donald trump here is romney yesterday on the plane. >> i don't agree with all of the people who support me. i guess they don't agree with everything i believe in. i need to get 50.1% or more. i am appreciative to have the help. >> i need 5.1%. the head of the kkk. yeah, i will take your endorsement. how about the unibomber. he will be with the unibomber next. angel calling from chicago. >> hey, bill. i am wondering when is trump going to suffer some kind of financial consequence for taking the silly stanchion. not that i am at hotels and

restaurants but i would not set foot in the door. >> that's a good question, angel. i have been to new york. i think i told you once without going into the lobby of his building and people are buying his shirts and buying his ties and going in there. even stepping into the place, i don't know why people still go to his casinos. larry calling from new britain connecticut. >> good morning. >> what do you think? >> you know, you made a perfect point about the company you keep. obama holds a fundraiser with george clooney and here we have the contrast of mitt romney with donald trump, the slum lord of atlantic city. >> i hadn't thought about that but that's a perfect contrast. here is clooney in a sedan putting his life on a line putting his we think on the line to save lives and donald trump,

bloviating ignoramous. >> this is the bill press show. ♪

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. >> heard around country, seen on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> thirty-three minutes after the hour on this wednesday morning, may 30th. great to see you today. we are coming to you life coast to coast on current tv on your local progressive talk radio station and on sirius xm this hour, brought to you by the sheet metal workers international association, the good men and women of the sheet metal workers union under president joseph nygrow. their website smwia.org.

yesterday, the united states expelled the top syrian diplomat from this country. nine other allies did the same thing in response to word of the massacre at hula of 100 civilians by syrian government troops, which increases pressure on the obama administration to take tougher action than they have taken so far. what should we be doing there? we turn to a good friend of the program, senior fellow at the independent institute, the former director of defense studies, chuck pena. good morning. >> good morning, bill. >> john mccain and lindsey graham say we should be bombing syria. is that the answer? >> it's amazing how when you have reversals in administration, how people flip-flop on, you know, the policy position. >> isn't it, though. >> they would like to take. what's going on syria is a human

tragedy. okay? there is absolutely no doubt about that. the real issue for whether the u.s. military should intervene is whether u.s. national security is jeopardized. i would argue that in syria, and as was the case in libya for the obama administration, u.s. national security was not in jeopardy. so a military intervention would be unnecessary. and as we have seen, you know, happening with the recent interventions in afghanistan iraq, libya even when we don't put troops on the ground you can't control the outcome once you get rid of the person you want to get rid of. so, yes, we got rid of saddam hussein, got rid of thetabletam, muammar gadaffi. and then the country, lock stock and barrel, which we are not able or willing to do. the outcome is not going to be what everybody thought it would be fairy tale, happily ever

after the, democracy where human rights are recognized. >> is national security the only consideration? i mean what about the fact that civilians are just being massacred by their government and for everything we stand for the? can we just look the other way while that's happening? >> i know this administration believes in the doctorine of right to protect that, you know we should be -- or responsibility to protect, you know, when these sorts of strat employees and massacres happen around the world, the united states as the world's super power should, you know, go forth and remedy the situation. i take a different view. the u.s. military exists to protect the united states from foreign threats. if it's not a foreign threat that is not what the u.s. military is designed to do. with he can go in there, yes. we could probably get rid of assad. i don't want to say too easily but relatively easily.

but that would involve the use of military force which results in more death did more destruction, more carnage. okay? and then what happens? who takes over the country after that. how do we know that we don't have more chaos where yet mother ruler who will engage in the same policies. again, unless you are willing to own the country -- and what gives us the so far written right to own somebody else's country and tell them how to run their country? you can't actually -- you can get rid of one person who is causing damage inside that country. whether you can guarantee that the next regime is going to be better, you can't. >> that's the folly, if you will, of military intervention when national security isn't at stake. >> senior fellow at the independent institute t chuck pena our guest early in the morning on the full-court press this wednesday morning. chuck, what about something short of sending in american troops which again some people

have called for, which is arming the opposition arming the rebels because we know that russia is sending arms and selling arms to the syrian government. how about countering that by our selling arms or give arms to the opposition? >> sort of like getting a little bit pregnant. it's kind of hard to do. >> first of all, who are they? right? who are the opposition is one question? >> we sort of did that in libya. you could argue that the obama administration had some success there. we engaged in a bombing campaign with our nato allies although we actually took on the majority of responsibility for that. >> right. >> we tried to arm the rebels. we did get rid of gadaffi. but we don't really know now, you know who we were necessarily arming, whose going to actually, you know, come to power. so it's fraught with the same problems of military intervention.

you just have less exposure. but, you know, who are we going to arm? >> you also have a tougher opposition in syria. don't you? in terms of the government and army? >> a bigger and better organized military and much more in control of the regime. so, you know, it would sort of be like, you know, there are many u.s. citizens who, you know, believe their right to own guns is a way to protect them from, you know, the government, should the government ever really get terrible. but the truth is, a whole bunch of armed citizens going up against, you know, a fullly organized and equipped modern military are not much of an opposition if the military, you know, is willing to use crushing force. so that's why in these cases, libya, syria and others, you have to get the military involved. it's not enough to get hundreds of thousands small arms and light weapons. >> so our viewers and listeners understand, if we were talking

about military intervention in syria, we are not talking about 10,000 troops. right? we would be talking about a massive effort, a massive operation. >> you know, maybe not >> it would have to be. >> maybe not on the scale of iraq but certainly, you know, much more than what we did in libya. we probably couldn't get away with just a bombing campaign and giving the rebels. >> no. we would have the boots on the ground is what we are talking about. >> boots on the ground and that's the first step toward ownership of the country. look, we are still, you know, we claim we are out of iraq but we still kind of sort of own iraq. >> right. >> trying to get out of afghanistan. we still kind of sort of own afghanistan. i don't think we can own yet another country in the middle east. >> now, we haven't talked yet about there is another country that has an interest. russia, china. there is also iran. right? and what would any -- i just ask you these questions because i

hear the easy calls on the part of so many republicans, you know, it's john mccain now not saying bomb, bomb, bomb bomb iran, hum, but bomb, bomb, bomb syria. what might happen with iran if we were to take some military action? >> you don't know how the iranians are going to react isn't syria is, you know, a friend/ally of iran. and we are already, you know, in iran's neighborhood. we are making that country, you know, nervous and precipitating some of the actions that they are taking. to go into syria, you know, with boots on the ground and engage in regime change, i think would be extremely provocative to iran and if we are, you know, at the moment trying to do everything we can to avoid a direct confrontation and it may be try to convince the iranians to reverse what they are doing with their nukelar program although

i think that that's highly unlikely no matter what. >> uh-huh. >> the last thing you want to do is sort of poke somebody in the eye. >> yeah. >> and say but yeah, we would like to talk. >> yeah. right. >> so i don't think -- i don't think, you know, it results in some sort of, you know wider war in the middle east. >> uh-huh. >> if we go into syria but it certainly makes the situation there for not just us but for all of the countries in the middle east. >> you know, listeners, your comments this morning, i am reminded when we first met back in the days of buchanan and press on msnbc, you were voicing some of the same concerns about the military buildup in iraq and the arguments the bush administration at that time was making for why we had to move into iraq. it's good to hear you make the same arguments about syria this morning. chuck pena senior fellow at the independent institute. chuck, thanks for getting up early for us. >> you are welcome, bill. thank you. >> there are more and more

cries. romney is saying president obama has to be more aggressive in iran. john mccain, lindsey graham. in syria rather. john mccapable and lindsey graham saying we have to bomb syria. i sought ross lateman and some others saying we have to arm the rebels in syria. are you ready? getting out of iraq getting out of afghanistan. so are you ready to bogo into sir were? >> the question e this is an important one. a lot of criticism of president obama because he is not sending troops. he is not sending articles to syria. should he? what's in the best interest of the united states? 866-55-press. 866-5577377. >> this is the bill press show.

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."

>> we're not through just yet, mr. vice president. >> they're swimming against the ♪♪ ♪

>> 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. >> how about it? thirteen minutes before the top of the hour. increasing calls for president obama -- yesterday at the whitehouse briefing, probably 12 out of 15 or 16 questions that that -- to jay carney are: why aren't we bombing syria? why aren't we sending arms to the rebels in syria? should we be? 866-55-press. before we get to tour calls quill jumping into the spin room, heard this a little bit earlier. the best spin of the day still

mitt romney explaining why he is spending so much time with donald trump. >> you know, i don't agree with all of the people who support me. i guess they don't agree with everything i believe in. but i need to get 50.1% or more and i am appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people . >> i am um. even in politics, sometimes you have to stand up and say, you know what? thank you but no thank you. mitt romney has not been willing to do that yet. not even for that woman, remember, who stood up and said that president obama was a traitor and it was only like a half an hour later when reporters pressed him that mitt romney said, of course, i don't agree with that but he didn't say it at the time. he got no balls. he has no backbone, this guy. none at all. he showed it again last night in las vegas hanging out with donald trump, not to mention newt gingrich. back to syria. what should we be doing? bill in liverpool texas. >> good morning, bill. >> yes, sir. >> listen, if mitt romney and

his high-ranking republicans are so quick to want to go into syria, i saw that picture of his family. he has enough sons to do some battling over there. why don't he send some of them? >> he has five sons. maybe we should start off by saying let's send your five sons first. right. >> and how many grandsons does he have? they are candidates. >> probably not old enough. i don't know whether they are. you are right about his five sons. they. >> they always want to send everyone else's sons. >> you are absolutely right, bill. i mean i do give credit to john mccain. his son served in iraq. but, you know, most of the others haven't. brad's calling from -- i just think it's dangerous. i have to tell you. it's very easy to say, very very cheap shot. right? to say come on. let's send in the marines. yeah. think about what that takes in terms of money. another billion dollars in syria. think about that means in terms

of lives lost, another 5,000 american lives or more we want to put on the line. for what? brad call from san francisco. hi, brad. >> how are you doing? >> i am good. thank you. >> let me assure you, you were in good hands yesterday and the popcorn on the floor, that's the kind of problem you want to have. that young man does a great job. >> don't is a too many nice things about peter. it goes to his head. >> keep going, brad. keep going, brad. >> bill, i don't agree with you on this. >> okay. go ahead. >> the notion of the right and the responsibility to protect, the president said it. and i believe i am with the president, recently, a couple of months ago, not i believe. i am absolutely with the president. i am with chuck. you know, we can't run the whole world. that would be great if we could clean up the whole world and protect everyone and the whole thing. that would be great but the

president covered this a couple of months ago. and he stated that when it was possible and when we could and when it was in our interest, that we would, you know, would intervene. one other thing -- >> yeah. and let me just add to that brad: it's not that obama's doing nothing about syria. right? i mean we have put the toughest sanctions we have put against any country on syria and i think they are starting to have an impact. he has rallied the opposition even china and russia russia did not object to the latest security council condemning the latest massacre. things are moving in our direction. some people think he is not moving fast enough. romney keeps saying we have to do more in syria but he won't say what. right? go ahead. sorry. >> well, he won't say what. now, let's go back to dick nixon. what was it?

197 -- doesn't matter. nixon would not, you know, that's the republican playbook is: we are not going to tell our secrets. we can't tell our secrets. they won't put -- they won't. and we said something about romney, the notion of mitt romney standing up? we are going to have to disagree on this, too. that he is a spag etty-spine and how can i paraphrase? he is a spaghetti-spine turd and he has never stood up for anything in his life. >> he has shown that over and over again. hey, brad. thanks so much. i have enjoyed being in san francisco over the weekend. bill is up in pawtucket, rhode island. time to bomb syria? >> hell no, bill. how are you doing? >> good. good to thank you. >> assad is in bed with mahmoud ahmadinejad. they are trying to suck us into a wall with iran. once we start fighting with syria, iran will have their

back. >> you are correct. >> hanging out there? >> the idea that republican is going to stand aside. right? well, if we -- if we sinned troops into syria, you know what they are going to say, the crazy mahmoud ahmadinejad, he would love that. >> exactly. >> if the u.s. can do it, we can do it. boom. here we go. >> that's right. >> a major, a major war in the middle east, which is the last thing we need right now. i mean these people they don't think it true. they really don't think it true. thanks, bill. good to hear from you. more calls coming up. 866-55-press. ♪ >> on your room and on current tv, this is the bill press show. ♪ being hands on is key! i make sure every plate looks just right. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast, just $14.99. start with soup, salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits followed by your choice of one of 7 entrees.

like new coconut and pineapple shrimp or shrimp and scallops alfredo. then finish with something sweet. all four courses just $14.99. [ reza ] it's so much food for such a good value. i'm reza, culinary manager. and i sea food differently.

kill as many as we can... >>the story of the american born jihadist on the run for his life. an exclusive new interview only on "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." ♪

>> taking your e-mails on any topic at any time, this is the bill press show. live on your radio and current tv. >> hey we love hearing from you by twitter, on facebook and by e-mail to billpressshow.com on donald trump, kent walzon says, i think trump's mink that keeps his head warm has finally, started eating his brain. assuming he has one. again on the donald another don says, hey, bill, why doesn't the president sue donald "dumb-ass" trump for spreading these birther lies? what were what would you do if you were wearing the president's shoes?

why isn't obama fighting back against the lying sob who won't shut the hell up? >> i think the president is doing the right thing. just let trump keep talking, and let romney keep getting close to trump trump, and they are doing the president a big favor. on our beer-tasting last friday bob ogers in san jose says i was interested in the beer tasting. i went out saturday looking. >> the only one i found was quak. i like wine but i like beer on saturday, sunday watching the games. now my weekend beer will be costing me almost as much as my wine. keep up the great work. >> i must admit, i went looking also, at a store out in burness, california for the rodenbach. >> no luck? >> no. no. they didn't have any rodenbach. i had to sting with wine. >> this is the bill press show.

♪ >> hey, hello everybody. happy wednesday. it is wednesday, may 30th. good to see you today. welcome to the full-court press here on current tv, your new progressive morning show on current tv. great to have you with us this morning as we tackle the big stories of the day here in our nation's capitol, around the country and around the globe. lots to talk about and of course we will take your calls at 866-55-press. and what's going on? donald trump won't let go of the

birther issue. mitt romney won't let go of donald trump. i mean what is it with mitt? he refused to stand up to rush limbaugh a few weeks ago. now, he refuses to stand up to donald trump. does he have any backbone at all? apparently not. we will take he will that and a whole lot more but first, here with the latest, today's current news update out in los angeles, jacki schechner. good morning, jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning, everyone. just as mitt romney becomes the official g.o.p. nominee, planned parenthood action fund is launching an ad campaign calling mitt romney out of touch and wrong for women. >> when mitt romney says: >> planned parenthood, going to get rid of that. >> romney is saying he will deny birth control and screenings they depend upon. >> eg get rid of the funding but the planned parent said women get the context. >> that's the action fund spinning $1.4 million to run the ad in three battle grouted

states. the ad pulls romney's remarks. you might remember alec the american legislative exchange counsel. it was a group that made a big push for the stand your ground laws in florida and other states. now, the organization is getting its hands dirty with healthcare reform. alec says it has flewed 10 states to delay in graduating the health insurance exchanges and that's an essential part of reform. it's going to help people comparison shop for plans for the subsidized plans they will be afforded. states are required to have them in place by 2014. alec and other conservatives believe states don't set up the health insurance exchanges and government won't be able to in implement reform. the logic is flawed. the federal government gets to come in and do it themselves. it is in the states' best interest to set them up. 17 states have exchanges. three have plans to set them up.

15 are studying the options. sixteen haven't done anything yet. 2 have completely opted out. we will be right back after the break.

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. a >> bravpting across the nation on current tv. this is the bill press show. >> well, what a contrast. bomb president obama hanging out about bob dylan. mitt romney hanging out with donald trump. hello, everybody. happy wednesday. it is wednesday, may 30th. good to see you today. thank you so much for joining us and hopping on board the full court press as we head out from our radio studio here in -- and television studio, i might add. so important current tv.

here in washington, d.c., all across this great land of ours. good to have you with us whether you are listening on your local progressive talk radio station or watching on current tv with our among interesting money round-up from around the country and around the globe. lots to talk about. president obama grafsht interesting awarding the medal of freedom to an outstanding group of americans. donald trump out in los angeles hanging out -- well, mitt romney in vegas hanging out with donald trump and newt gingrich just horric interestingiffic disturn interesting turning news out of syria where the repress and violence of the syrian government gets worse and worse. a lot of pressure on the united states to intervene mil tail interestingtarily. we will take your calls at 866-55-press. we are happy to welcome back in studio for the first half hour of this time together this morning, felicia somez political

reporter for the washington post. she has been on the road but lately hanging out here in washington. >> yeah. >> lately. thank you for coming in and joining our team here, peter ogburn. >> hi. >> peter, thank you again for filling in ably yesterday. >> listen, it was nice of you to have the guards escort me out of the studio this morning and bok interesting back go interesting into here tests appreciated but not necessary. >> it was a spectacle. dan henning and cyprian boulding. i got lots of e-mails for people say it was okay to have peter fill in but only for one day. >> of course. >> ably done. >> you are kind. thank you. >> good reports, and we have seen them, sad passing of a lot of people yesterday. people interesting people recently, great americans yesterday another one, doc watson, dead at the age of 89, blind from birth, and amazing

that he really made the guitar a lead instrument. >> yeah. with hi great country, blue glass interesting grass. >> deep river blues. right? >> that was it. he won seven grahammies for thismmiis hes for this this. >> interesting you watch t.v. your interesting youtube videos and his fingers, it's quick. >> nobody had that ♪ let it rain. ♪ let itrana whole lot more. ♪ >> that's good stuff. >> that's great stuff. good. doc watson dead yesterday at the age of 89. okay. we will talk politics here with felicia and dennis van rochel. major garrett from national journal will be here next hour as a friend of bill.

but first: >> this is the bill press show. >> bill, joe biden is taking the week off from the vice president's office and campaign trail another important dutied, he will walk his daughter ashley down the aisle on saturday and he is hosting her wedding reception at his house according to white house spokesman jay carney. actually, biden is marrying howard krine, a doctor from philadelphia. >> good for her. everybody wanted to know yesterday, so who designed the dress. >> yeah. anthony bourdain is heading to cnn with a new show to air sunday night starting next year, the atlantic reporting the show will examine the world through dining and it sounds like his other programs "no resservations" and "the layover." >> i am a huge fan. he has been a guest on our show in studio. interesting a couple of times.

we like him a lot. i am not sure he is going to go stay at s interesting cnn. >> a stunning upset in the french tournament. sirina lost to rozanno. in the first time sirina has lost an opening round match. she has gone 46 fointeresting for 46 and opening round matches until yet interesting yesterday. >> i saw her storming off of the court. interesting yesterday. >> uh-huh. >> didn't look too happy. rough outing. she was in the point with the lead nine different times. >> a long match. >> yeah. >> dan, thank you. yes, indeed. felicia, the big news is -- which has been overshadowed by other things that happened last night, but mitt romney fooirnlth interesting finally, locked up the nomination. >> a littleinally, interesting finally, locked up the nomination. >> a little anti-climb attic. it happened.

how about all of those people who said this is going to go all the way to tampa? everybody was reporting this. santorum was never going to drop out. right. rick perry was going to take it all the way. >> newt gingrich more than anyone. >> didn't work out that way? did it? >> no. and you have got ron paul who stopped actively campaigning and still picking up delegates in a lot of these states sort of second round and third round parts of the nominating process so he is still technically in the game here it is a little bit surprising for all of the talk and all the interesting of the bluster that a lot of his competitors made about staying in the race until the very, very end, this has been wrapped up by him. relatively easily. stuart of ended with a whimper, not with a bank. didn't it. yet so last night, so he sinks the nomination. this is a time for huge celebration on mitt romney's

part, even though, as you say, sort of anti-climate interesting climb attic. what does he choose to do? he chooses to go to los angeles interesting interesting las vegas and hage out at a fundraiser with donald trump. newt gingrich but nobody knows gingrich was around. >> when i talked with him last week, when the news first broke this meeting was happy interesting happen can they seemed a little caught off gord interesting guard trump was a part of this. i asked if interesting is this going to be a 3-person event? he said we know i it interesting it will be us and governor romney. this was going to be a three-person thing. i think that's sort of an anecttotal evidence that is the latest that interesting point of showing rom interesting trump has a way of hijacking these events from mitt romney. >> donald trump is going to individuals his event. trump is going to step back and recognize that this is romney's

moment, not his moment. no. that's not going to happen. he is on cnn on the situation room. he gets into it with wolfe splits interesting blitzer, attacks cnn for daring to ask him again about the birther issue but yet he cannot stop talking about it. there are so many clips we could play of that interview. here is one where they are really into, again, trump refusing to let go of ms. cogtension that the birth certificate released. >> because of donald trump. >> because of donald trump was still not authentive interesting tick. >> did this conspiracy start in 1961 when the honolulu star bullet and the honolulu advertiser contemporaneously published announcements he was born in hawaii? >> that's right. many people but those announcements in because they wanted to get the benefits of being so-called born in this country. many people did it. it was something that was done

by many people even if they weren't born in the country. >> i mean how can he assert asthma this interesting interesting that this little baby born in kenya and the mother, who obviously one would guess, is in kenya at the time she gives birth to the baby she puts an announcement in a honolulu -- to honolulu -- two honolulu newspapers that this baby is born in hon louganis? why? because she thinks he will end up being president of the united states? this guy is insane. certain yu interestingously. >> you have to wonder if it's something that he himself believes or if it's sort of an issue that he has wielded as a way to keep himself in the conversation and spotlight. not quite clear on that where hepey -- how do you percentage feel about that. >> the term is nuts.

do you think it's good for mitt romney? does he. >> the interesting the point you mentioned is as interesting fascinating. a lot of times when you look at donald trump, yes, he is a birther and he is someone who is viewed as out there when it comes to this issue. but he is also dismissed a lot more redly than some of the other more common interesting prominent voices on the far right in the republican party. right? if you got someone like joe arpaio, the sheriff at the forefront investigating the birth certificate issue. if romney were to align himself with someone like joe arpaio, he would be ex coriated because arpaio is someone who i think is taken a little bit more serious will interestingly. on the one hand, yes, this. him sort being the frontrunner solidifying that. on the other hand, it is a way for him to sort of solidify

those bona fide he's interestings when it comes to the birthers and embracing a little more controversial fill. >> i come back to the question for romney. >> wouldn't he gain more votes by standing up to somebody like trump? we have seen the video the drama interesting democratic national committee put it out. is a good reminder of john mccain in 2008 where some woman said i don't trust this guy. he is an air interesting arab, you know, which there are great arab americans. being an arab doesn't mean you can't be an american. it's a racial slur. >> john machine interesting mccain said no. he is a good patriot. he and i disagree on the issues. that shows some character. doesn't it? mitt romney says, well i need 50.1%, you know, so i can't agree with everybody on

anything. >> this is another time romney failed to stand up. >> didn't stand up to rush limbaugh. >> now, he could say this is not the wording i would have chosen. i think on the other hand, the romney campaign, it is a smart move by them because they understand that these are things that explode on the campaign trail for a small amount of time and in the grand scheme of things, at least in what they would like for the election to be focused on is hinging mostly on the economy. i think they see it as a way for him to step back the if you aror of the blow-ups, the less he gets involved in, the better. it's a gamble but i think they are hoping it hopes to be on the side of the scamp. >> romney talked about the economy yesterday. >> you don't see any in the stories, in the headlines certainly the headline, trump

romney, romney, trump. that just -- that just blew away any point that he was trying to make yesterday about the economy. every time we turn around, you know, romney is talking about birth control or he is talking now about -- he is not talking about the birther issue but by associating with donald trump, that becomes the ir. we are here with fell he's interesting ish a son interesting some ness interesting interesting somnez. mitt romney will be the republican nominee. and when we come back, fell each interesting ish a, let's talk about, why is it that the candidates for vice president, at least the ones that are being talked about, each interesting actually seem to be more serious than most of the candidates if not all that we saw running for president?

866-55-press. again, mitt romney's hanging out with donald trump. guilt move? do you think he will get votes that way? 86655377. >> on your radio and on current tv. this is the bill press show. >> we're not through just yet, mr. vice president. >> they're swimming against the tides.

new 5 rpm gum. stimulate your senses.

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

they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... ♪ radio meets television. the bill press show on current tv. >> 24 minutes after the hour. good to have you with us this wednesday, may 30th. if you check out our website at bill press show.com, i was one of about 10,000 people it seemed who squeezed into the east room yesterday for the medal of 23r50e78d ceremony.

president -- awarding the metal interesting medal of freedom to an outstanding, absolutely incredibley ininteresting impressive group of americans, madeline albright and john paul stevens, john door patted summit and bob dylan. the photos taken by me yesterday at the ceremony up on the website at billpressshow.com. right now, we are talking with fell each a somnez about politics, 2012 and mitt romney wrapping up the nomination and deciding to mark that ashen interesting occasion by hanging out with donald trump in las vegas. your calls welcome. i wanted to ask you about the vice president. whether it's mitch daniel or chris christie or rob portman and others they are a lot more

serious, it seems to me than michelle bachmann than herman cain, some of the clowns we saw, even newt gingrich clowns we saw running for president. >> it's interesting. that under scores the problem the republican party faced this year, which was that a lot of the members that are a team, the republicans they would like to have seen, people like john thune, rubio probably would not have been in the running. >> thune seems to be on the list. >> sure. mitch daniels chris christie a lot of those rising stars in the party who energize the base and have pretty good chops when it comes to fiscal issues, mitch daniels on the debt for sure is one of the trop interesting top interesting interesting top picks. this is sort of the way of them keeping in the spotlight.

>> saying you should take a senator as your vice presidential running mate. they listed a few john thune mark rubio kelly ayett from new hampshire. the reason they are saying that is, they are saying let's show the public that we have -- there are some serious republicans. right? not just that bunch of clowns. >> right. >> which is sort of a little slam at mitt romney i think, at the same time. fell each a, let's say hello to richard calling from chicago on wcpt. hello, richard. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i am a conservative evangelical. i think we are overlooking this. i am also -- when i vote, i vit interesting vote my conscience i have no problem voting for clinton over bush, for obama over, you know, any other

candidate. and for them to be ultra christian, for them to move on, it's a good sign. >> moved on? you mean moved on from the primary and from the fact that the evangelicals might not support romney to where they are today? is that what you are meaning? >> think of how many evangelicals went to president obama. think how many had to cast a vote for romney. you are thinking about secular politics instead of trying to elect the next pope you know. >> good pony interesting interesting point. >> that highlights this day for mitt romney making history as the first mormon presidential candidate was overshadowed by the donald trump issue. for all of the missteps, the fact romney has been a northeastern candidate. >> that's it. that will be it. >> the bill press show.

>> thanks for coming in. ♪ current tv presents: the campaign ads that changed history. brought to you by pradaxa. the george bush promise. >>read my lips. no new taxes. >>this bill clinton commercial marked a new milestone in the "flip-flop" tv ads. now a days with video tapes, you can go and find a piece of footage of them saying one thing and then find another piece of footage of them contradicting themselves. >>we're never ever going to be able to totally control immigration. i promise you we can end illegal immigration. >>and, sometimes the candidate does the work for the commercial producers. >>i actually did vote for the $87 billion before i voted >>he bragged about voting for the $87 billion to support our troops before he voted against it. >>in this new media age a

flip-flop ad is just a verbal gaff away. >>current tv's look at campaign ads that changed history is brought to you by pradaxa.

now >> this is the full court press, the bill press show, live on your radio and on current tv. >> now it's a beautiful wednesday morning, here in our nation's capitol. good to have you with us for the full-court press 33 minutes after the hour now. a lot to cover today including this disturbing news from what's happening in syria and increase pressure on the obama administration to take military action there. horrible what's going on but i am not sure that we want to start. i am positive we don't want to start another war in the middle

east. we have been talking about that, talking about mitt romney hanging out last night with donald trump in las vegas, and mitt romney also talking a little bit about education, which we wanted to get into in this half hour. joined by somebody who knows more about it than anybody else i know, dennis van rocky he will is the president of thehel is the president of the. good to have you back. >> >>. it seems to be multi-dimensional at our website, bill press.com. check it out this morning, bill billpressshow.com. i check it out for some photos i took yesterday at the awards ceremony, the medal of freedom sar ceremon', increddib, moving event with the president giving the highest civilian honor to an outstanding group of americans including madeline albright bob

dylan, pat summit, john glen. it was an incredible group of people, founder of the girl scouts. john door. guy from the justice department under president kennedy who went down to mississippi and stood in the doorway and escorted the first black students into the university. it was a great ceremony. photos of all of them up on the website taken by me yesterday. let me start out. mitt romney talking about education, he doesn't really -- he says we have to do better on education. what is he talking about? i mean he is not very specific. have you taken a look at his proposals? and what do you think? >> it took a long thing before he got education on the agenda. >> it did. >> all through this primary. it just hasn't been on the agenda. when he did, he didn't really give much content. you are absolutely right. it's more rhetoric and i think the first thing he notices, if you look at the failed education

policies of george w. bush. >> no child left behind? >> right. you will see more of the same. he pretty much mim mixes that. his advisor rod page called the 3 million men and women who work in public education, called them a terrorist organization. >> that's one of his advisors. i don't have hope for what his vision of what makes a good public education system. >> they don't have much respect for teachers who have decided to fight for their rights by forming a union. but terrorist? really? >> he was with the governor's association. he called us a terrorist organization. >> rod page? >> rod page. yeah. let's not pen that on someone else. >> not yet. >> i think the point that's important is true of romney they try to separate the union from the people as if we are two different things. here, the 3 million people who spend their lives working with students from pre-k to graduate and then they have this thing

called the union and they think we will attack the union but not the people who spend their lives there. you can't do that. it's all one. >> the "new york times" this morning -- an op-ed piece by james ryan, you may have had a chance to see it but he messes one thing that got lost in mitt romney's remarks in philadelphia was that he is calling for four students, for those who with disabilities have to attend -- would have the right to attend any public school. not just in their school district. that may not be a good idea. i want to ask you about that, number 1, whether it's practical. that means any kid in any school in washington, d.c., for example, they might consider their parents a failed school or failing school that they could go to school in arlington, virginia, or alex andrea, virginia, or bethesda or silver spring any school. andria,

virginia, or bethesda or silver spring, any school. they could go out to the suburbs. students. is this a good idea? is it going to work? >> he loves to talk about vouchers, which to mean is a way of taking from the 90% who go into public schools to help the ten percent who go somewhere else. it's the policy and a position of his that you help a few not all. it's excellence for a few but not for all. part is if you follow that to its logical conclusion if you live in virginia, you are free to go and take the money and go to any school in village. just how do you get there? if your family doesn't have the resources, how would you get there? >> yeah. >> so it's almost a solution that is no -- is not workable but it sounds good. i think there is just way too much empa ses placed on helping a fewhasys placed on helping a few. in finland they say they never tried tore excellence. their goal is equity.

every single student has an opportunity. so every school has to have all of the same opportunities, well-trained people, teachers and other education employees. >> isn't that what public schools are all about? >> that's what they should be about. but right now, it's too much of a focus on a few. and we don't -- what we have in this country is we have great public schools. they are just not all that way and they ought to be. the kids who are short-changed time after time, are those kids who come from families who happen to be poor. and we need to figure out a solution to level that playing field. >> now, the other story in this morning's "new york times," which caught my attention knowing you were coming in, it's a good thing that guy gets his paper on my door bright and early. really, really early before the sun comes up. way before the sun comes up. headline, front section of "the new york times", "waivers for eight more states from no child left behind." thebam administration yesterday

knowing you were coming in perhaps, freed another eight states from the core provisions of the no child left behind law. that's now 19 states that they have said, you are out from under the burdens or the demands of the no child left behind. is this a good move? and what does it mean? >> it is a good move. under no child left behind, not only are there provisions in the law but regulations of the department of education. i believe it's a good move that the department of education try to provide these waivers an opportunity. states have to apply. here is what we are going to do. and it's a with a to get out from under some of the most onerous things. you can't get out from all of them. for example, the requirement of testing. >> that's in the law. you cannot waiver that the department of ed. but we know, after all of these years, 11 years of no child left behind, we know some of the problems. we know what worked well the disaggregation of the data.

we know the over emphasis on high-stakes standardized testing is bad. we know that it narrowed the curriculum and brought in educational practices that just aren't sound for children and students. so with the waivers, they are hoping states can take actions to take some of those onerous things because right now, we have the new common core standards. 46 states, i believe, agreed to those. we are developing the new set of assessments, the second generation. and so we have got to figure out a way to transition from the old to the new. and hopefully, one of these days, we are going to do a reauthorization of the secondary education act and get rid of the provisions in the no child left behind we don't need. >> one requirement of the no child left behind is that students, every student, must be proficient in math and english by 2014.

isn't that a good goal? >> every state chooses their own test. every state chooses their own prove fishproficiency sea level. what we ought to be identifying is what does every student need to know and be able to do? and measure that. this high-stakes standardized testing and only in math and reading, you know, every family of means when the kids are from pre--school on give them opportunity for soccer and gymnastics and dance and baseball and all of these things so that kids develop their interests and have exposure to all of these ideas. the same way in school. not every kid wants to major in math like i did. not everyone wants to major in reading. it narrows the curriculum. the whole focus of the education is on only those two things, art disappears.

civics education not enough on history and social studies. >> dennis van roekel president of the national education association. you can follow their good work at nea.org and, of course, your questions. teachers, public schools, lots of questions give us a call at 866-55-press. i have to ask you this before we take a break. the one thing, i am a former teacher, and i think teachers do the most important jobs in this country. what what does an average teacher make? what's an average teacher's salary? and why don't they make more. >> average is approaching $50,000. the reason they don't make more is we don't value that profession enough. what we need to do more is to honor the profession and the professional skill that it takes to do it. it's hard work. it's difficult, and it's complex and we ought to honor and recognize that work. >> every teacher has a tremendous amount of responsibility, and, you know, we count on them. we trust them, and we don't --

we don't respect their work. i couldn't agree more. 866-55-press. dennis van roekel from the nea. we will take your calls when we come back. >> this is the bill press show. ♪ >>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.

on the next gavin newsom show: google's sergey brin and anne wojcicki give gavin a hands on

look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating. ♪ >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the bill press show. >> thirteen minutes before the top of the hour, dennis van roekel, president of the national education association, our guest in studio. major garrett from the national journal will be here as a friend of bill in the next hour.

major and i will be talking to john nichols from the nation magazine out in madison, wisconsin, the recall less than a week away now. dennis, the other issue, in addition to salary the issue i hear most about, of course, the issue that the republicans particularly but not just complained most about is tenure that the problem is teachers get in, they get tenure, they are not good teachers and you can't fire them. what's the truth? >> let's define what it is. in most states, it's either three to five years that any teacher may be dismissed at the end of the year with no reason. so you start and so any employer that three to five years to determine: is this somebody i want to keep as a full-time employee? once you pass that point, what tenure really means by definition in k-12 education is that you have a right to a hearing. after that first three-to

five-year period, if they say we no longer want to employee you we have to justify why. all it means is a hearing. >> they can fire the temporary? >> absolutely. absolutely -- fire the teacher? >> absolutely. but you have due process which means you are notified of your deficiencies. you have an opportunities to improve. if you can't or don't improve, then you are dismissed. it should be that way. we do not want incompetent teachers in the classroom. kids deserve bed earn that. >> joe calling from chicago. hey, joe, what do you say? good morning. >> hello. >> hello, joe. yeah. >> hi, how are you bill? >> good. thank you. thanks for the call. what's up? >> quick question i have for you you. >> uh-huh. >> in illinois, the teachers here have excellent package, benefit package. i think they are important, but at our school, we have a gym teacher that makes $100,000 a year, teaches kindergarten through 5th great and his retirement package is 75 percent of his pay and a 3% raise when

he turns 61. >> that's problem we have in illinois, it's a state run basically by democrats because they support the unions and pay these people pretty well. i have a job in the private sector, and i am not guaranteed a job for life after three to five years with tenure. i have to weigh the numbers in the private sector. we have to make a profit. it's frustrating that these people that are important get these awesome packages but no one is paying for my retirement. >> joe, got your question. >> two things in there. yeah, number 1, there is no guarantee of a job in education. absolutely not. as i said before, after three to five years in that period, they can be just dismissed at any -- at the end of the year. and after that, they have a right to a hearing. notification of did he have firstency, no guarantee of a job. you mentioned about the benefit package and the pensions. most -- i know illinois has a very large under funding of that

system, has a very large thing, each week you have an actuary study and they will say each year based on your plan, here is what you have to put into the plan each year in order to have it well-funded. i am one of the plan sponsors of our own, within our own organization. and i know that. every year, i know exactly how much i have to put in. and when you do that, it works beautifully. but if you fail to put in the amount of money that's required by the actuarial stud, 10 years later, you are in big trouble. we have some states that way. but many states, in fact most states, are well-managed and well-funded and they will sustain themselves. what they do is most systems give you so much, for example, in my state, it was 2% of your salary for every year of service. so if you taught 10 years, you were entitled to 20% of your salary. if you taught 30 years you would get 60%. so there is a number of years of

experience times a multiplier of what percent of your salary for each year of service. but the most important thing in any pension system is that you put in what's necessary every single year to maintain the system. >> out in cincinnatinatty, good morning, mary. >> hi, bill. >> hi. >> i am so glad you are on t.v. i miss -- i miss the liberal viewpoint. >> we are here for you every morning, mary. thank you. >> thank you. >> what's your question? >> well, i will tell you i am a retired teacher, 12 years. >> uh-huh? >> i taught 30 years. >> good for you? >> in ohio. and i have a real concern about these state tests. all of the sudden teachers do is they keep changing the tests because the kids get better. and then they rank them, you know excellent or superior. each district. and most of the districts that are ranked really high are those

who have all of the money. >> yeah. >> then, they go and now they are going to change it to an abc ranking to make it easier. >> mary, just because we are up against the clock here dennis, quick 30 seconds? >> mary is absolutely right. this over emphasis on tests creates untenable situations. we value and valuate based upon one test on one day of the year and it's just wrong. the most obscene example, some states now require that, for example, 40% of your evaluation as a teacher be test scores but not all teachers teach math and reading. i was talking to a teacher the other day. they said, so since 40% of your evaluation is based on the math or reading score, you get to choose which teacher students scores will be used in your evaluation as a history teacher. now that's absurd. >> yeah. >> it shows the system is designed wrong.

>> yeah. yeah. it shows what the obama administration, i guess, is doing in releasing people from some of these. >> absolutely. >> some of these requirements as the right way to go. dennis, we never have enough time but appreciate you so much. the great work you are doing. thanks for coming in this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> nea.org. i will be back to tell you what the president is up to today. >> on your radio, on t.v. the bill press show. now, to current tv.

kill as many as we can... >>the story of the american born jihadist on the run for his life. an exclusive new interview only on "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." >> this is the bill press show. >> it was anounced yesterday president obama will be going up to minneapolis on friday.

today's a did aay at the whitehouse a busy day 10:30 this morning, he will be attending annual hurricane preparedness briefing. hurricane season starting early. global warming. he will be in the situation room for that. about 10:40, he goes across the street to the old executive office building to sign the rye authorization of the export/import legislation. fred hockeyburg head of the export/import bank was our guest in studio. >> that's a big deal for the president. at 5:00 o'clock, the president will be hosting a jewish american heritage month reception in the east room of the white house where i was yesterday there for the medal of freedom ceremony. jay carney will be holding his daily press briefing today at 2:00 o'clock. and i'll be there representing all of you. how about it? >> this is the bill press show.

♪ ♪ >> what do you say? hello, everybody, it is wednesday, may 30th. welcome to the full-court press here on current tv, your new progressive morning show. coming to you live, coast to coast, and bringing you the big stories of the day here from our nation's capitol, around the country and around the globe. good to have you with us today. lots and lots to talk about. of course we will take your calls also at 866-55-press. and horrific news out of syria about the slaughter of 100 civilians. just the latest get of violence

flu on the part of the syrian government. that means increasing calls to the united states to take some military lindsey graham said we should be bombing syria. do we want a third wart war in the -- war in the middle east? i don't think so. a whole lot more. we get all of the latest news out in los angeles from our good friend, jacki schechner. good morning, jacki. >> good morning, bill. good morning, everyone. fair question to ask this time around: is just how influential the tea party is going to be. we have seen a few small victories so far. one now in the race to replace senator kay bailey hutchinson in texas. tea party favorite ted cruz run enough votes to force a run o'fallon with david dewhurst, cruz, a tea party favorite. cruz and seven other republicans competed holding dewhurst to 47%. he needed 50% to avoid a run-off

on july 31st. cruz had the backing of tea party express, freedom works, jim demint, sarah palin ron paul and he is a cuban american lawyer who served as state solicitor general. we have seen similar tea party successes so far in states like utah, indiana and nebraska. talking points memo reporting this morning that six members of florida's congressional delegation are reaching out to governor rick scott, telling him to stop purging eligible voters from the state voting roles. under scott, officials have been using an outdated driver's license database to try and find non-citizens and make them prove their citizenship within 30 days. hundreds of actual citizens are getting caught up in the flawed process. and now the six members of congress have sentence a letter to rick scott telling him to stop. they say florida has never had a problem with mass voter fraud, it has had a problem with wrongly purging he will eligible voters from the role. hispanic, democratic and

independent voters are getting dispropportionatley caught up in this scott-sponsored project. shocker. we will be back with more after the break. wojcicki give gavin a hands on look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating. as a culinary manager i make sure our guests have an over the top experience. being hands on is key! i make sure every plate looks just right. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast, just $14.99. start with soup, salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits followed by your choice of one of 7 entrees. like new coconut and pineapple shrimp or shrimp and scallops alfredo. then finish with something sweet. all four courses just $14.99. [ reza ] it's so much food for such a good value. i'm reza, culinary manager. and i sea food differently.

>> we're not through just yet, mr. vice president.

>> they're swimming against the tides. ♪ ♪ >> broadcasting across the nation, on your radio and on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> more bad news out of syria. john mccain and lindsey graham say we ought to be bombing syria: really? we want a third war in the middle east? hello, everybody. welcome welcome to the full-court press. so good to have you with us wednesday morning, wednesday, may 30th we are coming to you live, coast to coast from our combined radio, t.v., book factory here on capitol hill bringing you the news of the day

whether it's happening in our nation's nation's capitol, around the country or around the globe. we have got it covered. good to have you with us today. remember, we always save a seat for you at the table. you are welcome to join us are conversation any time giving us a call at 866-55-press welcome to the show. good friend, congressional correspondent for the national, major garrett. >> white house correspondent. >> that's a transition i made. a little more time at the whitehouse. >> not as much time as you used to. >> not as much as i used to. in the print world, the briefing is, let us say limited utility. >> tell me about it. i am there every day. oh, my god. we notice once again you do not have your padres cap on. >> i do not. >> how is that going. >> waiting to keep hope alive? >> i think i made the prediction around opening day the padres

would win 82 games. that might be the combined in this season and next season. >> look. you should play the role of the optimist. thank god for the cubs. we are worse than the cubs. we lost two straight to the cu about s. we are the two worst teams. chicago is one of the two games in the early part of the series. >> absolutely the worst team. >> keep hope alive. >> peter ogburn. >> al young club you know. lots of young raw talent. wait until 2019. >> our regular team here, we have a young team, too. >> very young. >> dan henning and cyprian bolded bolding. and i tell you, major, you missed this yesterday. but i have never seen, have i ever seen more people crammed into the east room of the white house than were there for the medal of freedom ceremony.

i couldn't be sure if they came to see justice john paul stevens or madeline albright or juerta? or was it bob dylan? president obama praising him an aging rocker. >> i remember in college listening to bob dylan and my world opening up. because he captured something that is about this country that was so vital. >> is he still performing? >> i saw him not that long ago. he is not as good as he probably used to be but he is still out there. >> after all, who is. >> barack obama is decades older than me. i listened to bob dylan in college. i am sure kids today are listening to dylan in college.

it's required material for college. >> totally? >> lyrical poetry is not only everlasting but every one of a certain age, coming of age finds enormous wisdom, guidance and a little bit of rage there. i needed all of those things when i was young. sometimes i tap into them even now. he specially the rage part. >> this was the second time i had seen bob dylan. i saw him first performing at the university of california berkeley in the hayday. the crowd unbelievable. >> that's as best as he can remember it. >> like the teachers' lounge. >> it was full on berkeley after all. >> a moving ceremony yesterday. it really was. major garrett is here as a friend of bill this whole hour. we will be joined by john nichols nichols, washington correspondent for the nation

magazine in madison wisconsin, with the recall there. >> interested to hear what he has to say. i wrote about it. i think june is going to be a very important month for both parties and for the trajectory of the national campaign. two enormous events in june, one at the beginning, usually a sleepy month in politics. the wisconsin recall and a decision by the supreme court on the constitutionalty of the healthcare law. if it goes both ways it will be a jolt of energy for replubicans or democrats. if it goes against one party i think a huge dem moralizing crater they will have to crawl out, both organizationally and psychologically psychologically. >> your calls welcome. we will get to the issues with major garrett. first this is important. >> full-court press. >> former major league baseball player is considering a run for. former 6-time all star hose a

canseco who admitted to using performance enhancing drugs and plays for an independents baseball club took to twitter and said he wants to run for a mayor's. of what town yet is not quite clear. >> what state? >> massachusetts. >> all right. sure. >> on the baseball spectrum, he was talented ego always had a dig-me attitude about himself. >> that's not inconsistent with a future life in politics. >> using drugs. >> what's mark mcguire usedoing these days? >> st. louis cardinals. >> michelle obama book about the white house garden witness on sale. she authored "american grown" the story of the white house kitchen gardens, recipes guardnen advice and photos of the garden according to

politico. she is not accept an advance and all proceeds are going to the national parks foundation. >> sort of a tradition. i remember barbara bush, her book, laura bush i am pretty sure did and, you know, now michelle obama. >> one of the things that's in the book is her explanation for health year eating and focus on ebesity and trying to convey, government through me is not trying to tell you what to do. we are actually trying to address what is becoming a low level if not higher than low level health crisis in this country with obesity starting at a very early age. >> she also informs us that they do not grow any beets because the president hates beets. >>beets are an acquired taste. no question about it. >> no, they are not. beets are good. i love beets. >> a good beet salad once every four years is fantastic. >> can we say good goodbye to the grammy winning doc watson

passed away at the age of 89, known for speedy flat picking style on acoustic guitar. he was blinded shortly after birth. that didn't slow him down. he won many awards including the national medal of the arts in 1997, lifetime achievement grammy along with seven other grammys for his recordings over the years. >> this is deep river blues. >> let it breathe gentlemen. >> yeah ♪ let it rain. ♪ let it flow ♪ let it rain a whole lot more. ♪ >> the thing about that is he is playing so many notes but it sounds to fluid. you know, it just sounds like one or two notes when he is really playing eight or nine, he is picking so fast. >> he made the guitar right up front. no longer just kind of back there strumming. >> absolutely. thank you, dan. major, i want to pick up on what you were just saying, i read a

comment somewhere this morning doing prep for the show. so mitt romney winds up -- by the way, hello mitt romney is the nominee. >> officially. >> which is a momentous note. >> sure. >> he is the first mormon candidate: whatever happened to all of the reports from so many political reporters that this was going to go all the way to the convention? everybody was certain this was going to go all the way to tampa? right? >> well, that was a certainty born of desire i think. that was reporters hoping that they might have an actual fight on the convention floor. something approximating, at least a second bout or some whiff of excitement that would peel back some of the stultifying pageantry of the

convention. >> one of them would really, really pick up a lot of support around the country and keep it going. >> what i think a lot of reporters missed in the republican no, ma'amminating process was that it turns out and newt gingrich said this, rick santorum said it. mitt romney turned on the to be a formidable candidate, a tremendous amount of money and more than willing to use every tool in the negative campaigning toolbox to either define or mildly demonize his republican opponents. he got better in the process. i think many people look at his debate performance, overall approach to campaigning, more disciplined, more precise, and he -- >> rick perry said he is a better candidate than he was a month ago. >> bob perry said that who will probably write checks to support mitt romney. a being real estate developer in texas texas pouring money in the scott walker race. the other point we missed was that this reluctance to embrace

romney was genuine, but i think a lot of reporters assumed that that would persist after all of the others dropped out. >> right. >> it didn't. >> romney has con sol dated. if you look at the numbers, he has connell solid dated the republican base faster than any nominee in modern american history. according to gap-up he has a 91% of republican vote. >> that's amazing. to pull that together. >> yeah. >> even among evangelicals, he is at about where george w. bush was in 2004, as far as evangelical support at this stage. far ahead of where john mccain was. >> he sifrningdz the nomination in texas, one of the most evangelical states. you are absolutely right. the point i read this morning which i hadn't thought about is this 90 days now between memorial day and labor day and this goes back to your point about starting with june. >> yeah.

>> are perhaps the most important days of the election. both will be defined by themselves or opposition. >> i am a little bit ahead -- not ahead of the curve in "the new york times". the "new york times" for the next 90 days. i think we are in the 90-day phase. i wrote last week at national journal i think the october surprise is that october is in may. i think in the latter part of may, this campaign was broadly defined. the frame of this campaign was established. the president and his campaign have made clear that for a good long while and possibly all the way through november, bain capital tal and mitt romney's printation to himself as the country as a turnaround specialist frpts, as an economic fix-it man is going to be under assault and the prism which the white house wants americans, swing voters to evaluate mitt romney's is his experience at

bain, not massachusetts governor, not saving the olympics in utah. i think that framing will continue. mitt romney's response is, i am talking about now. the president has disqualified himself because the economic performance under his watch, under his stewardship, has been insufficient for this country, it's expectations and the future. i think we got at that in mid may. there are lots of other issues debated within that continuum. i believe we have seen the broad, large structural framing of this issue. so i think evened of may is going to feel very much like october, and that seems to me to be kind of a surprise kind of unexpected. >> if that is the case -- and i am not disagreeing with you although i do want to make a point about massachusetts. >> sure. >> first, if that is the case, why was mitt romney hanging out with donald trump last night on las vegas on the night he sinks the nomination? why give trump that much focus and attention and opportunity?

>> i must confess, i am confused. i have not talked to the romney campaign about this particular event yesterday. i spent more time talking to the white house campaign about where they are going and what they are trying to achieve. but it seemed if you are on the -- on the day that you are cinching the nomination, this is an unforced effort. the birther cover tro versy continuing to percolate. you say you are not interested in it, you are certain the president is an american citizen and yet you are standing next to someone who continuously fuels this fire. >> all day yesterday. cnn, cnbc. >> it invites, i think, an uncomfortable question for the romney campaign. when the "new york times" put

the plan green lighted to bring up the controversial pastor. the romney cal pain repudiated it distancing it from every way, shape, form. >> they killed it. it looks like it's gone. >> yeah, and yet donald trump does not get that kind of brush-off, doesn't get anything like that brush-off. all you here is i need 51%. i encourage all supporters to come around the campfire. all right. i think that's for voters who are trying to ask themselves, well, where is mitt romney standing on some of these issues that feel to me extraneous. one he wants to push away and the other he doesn't. why? >> yeah. >> i don't have an answer for you on that. i am not sure it's a net plus for the romney campaign. and the other thing about -- i was on talking to some people about this yesterday. just sort of reporters in the news room like maybe he doesn't want to anger donald trump. what venue in america has

angering donald trump actually hurt anyone? >> right. >> specifically politically. others if you are a contestant on apprentice, so what? donald trump is angry at you. donald trump seems to me to be a singularly ego driven business take yoon who has a t.v. show. everything is within his world. he lashes as he wants but he is an individual entity. why would you be afraid or that en carped to hang around donald trump. >> or how many votes? >> i think none. major garrett in the studio with us. we are just getting started here on the political news of the day. 866-55-press is your ticket to join the conversation on today, wednesday, may 30th, if you will court press. ♪ >> on your radio on t.v. the bill press show. , new on current tv. audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low

they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today...

on the next gavin newsom show: google's sergey brin and anne wojcicki give gavin a hands on look at google's glasses. >>that's facinating.

a ♪ ♪♪ >>. >> we have 27 minutes after the hour. we will jump out to madison wisconsin with john nichols in the next segment with major garrett, a friend of bill this hour. major, just my one point, you mentioned clearly when mitt romney says i am mr. fix it thebam campaign is let's look at what you fixed. you mentioned massachusetts. i have the feeling they are holding massachusetts back. at some point, they are going to say, okay. let's look at your record as governor of massachusetts the healthcare program which rom

energy doesn't want to talk and your job as governor of massachusetts wasn't necessarily the best. don't you think. >> if we were talking about this as a musical number, i think the front instruments and the front lyrics are about bain. massachusetts governor is kind of a back beat and i think after the many refrains on bane, then you are going to have a long riv about the ryan budgetin, then you are going to have a long riv about the ryan budget. i think they will be front and center of the aspect of the obama campaign. they pourrtray the romney campaign as someone who had a tough approach. it's consistent. he is bringing bain ethics to government policy. i think those are -- that's going to be and in between that, kind of a back beat will be the massachusetts governor. >> i think major and i agree next to november 8th or whatever the date is, the most important date is next tuesday in wisconsin. how is that going? we will ask john nichols next on the full-court press. >> this is the bill press show.

we are the idea no one wants to hear until it grabs you and won't let go. we push, we prod until the truth reveals itself. we are fearless, independent trendsetters, problem solvers, and above all, we are politically direct. the young turks with cenk uygur at 7, viewpoint with eliot spitzer at 8, the war room with jennifer granholm at 9, the gavin newsom show fridays at 11. and there's only one place you'll find us: weeknights on current tv.

i have the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem.

i was taking warfarin, but my doctor put me on pradaxa instead to reduce my risk of stroke. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) reduced stroke risk 35% better than warfarin. and unlike warfarin, with pradaxa, there's no need for regular blood tests. that's really important to me. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners, or if you have kidney problems especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take any planned medical or dental procedures and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce

your risk with pradaxa. her unique mix of comedy and politics to current tv. >> it's like a reality show, they're just turning cameras on and we just do our thing. >>politically direct to me means no b.s., the real thing, cutting through the clutter. i'm energized to start my show everyday because it's fun, because i care about what's going on in this country, rather than some sort of tired banter it is actual water cooler talk it's the way people really talk about these issues. we've always considered ourselves a comedy show. let me just say i am not ready for my close up. i think it's important to laugh. i think it will be exciting, because you can't script three hours of radio. what is going on? i can't tell you how many times right wingers call the show and say, "i don't agree with anything you say, but your show is funny as hell." the only thing that can save america now, current tv.

can i say that? ♪ ♪ >> this is the bill press show, live on your radio and current tv. >> it's 33 minutes after the hour. this wednesday morning, may 30th. we are coming to you live from our nation's capitol. in studio with us white house correspondent and concongressional correspondent for the narm journal major garrett. good to have you here. >> always great to be with you. >> a week from yesterday, less than a week away finally we come to a head in wisconsin with the raul election for governor scott walker. tom barrett trying to take over, knock scott walker out and we

are joined on the ground in madison, wisconsin by the washington correspondent for the nation magazine, our good friend, john nichols. hey, john, good morning. >> hey bill. what's a political reporter as smart as major garrett doing sitting in washington when you got the political fight of the sent re playing out in madison, wisconsin? >> watch out. he may be heading your way. john, i just want you to know. you have a double-duty today. a real challenge because, look you've got me, and you know where i stand on this recall. i am a go tom barrett we have major garrett who wants to know what the hell? a good reporter. % >> what's happening on the ground? >> what's happening on the ground? >> first of all, what's happening as you see it out there? >> well, we are lucky because we have a confluence of events that ought to make you feel good and ought to inform major . >> all right.

>> first off, the race has been a total rollercoaster. the best way to understand it is -- and both you and major being so engaged in politics for so long will get this one. the wisconsin fight had the nomination of scott walker's challenger on may 8th. the election is on june 5th. that means a one-month period passes. >> right. >> by comparison in presidential politics, you usually know who the nominees of the major parties will be in march or april. >> true. >> so you have a seven-month period there. so imagine collapsing a presidential race down so that every day is the equivalent of a week. and every week is the equivalent of a month and a half. >> that's sort of like we are seeing in wisconsin, where you have got, you know, in such a fast pace, people live and die based upon a poll number they

rise and fall. the money being spent on a daily base is so astronomical, i think it's hard for people to imagine. scott walker calculated this last night cot walker has raised money at the rate of $7,000 an hour. he just turned in a $5 million fundraising report for the last month and then he updated it with an additional 800,000 just from the last couple of days. >> it's totalled more than $30 million. >> could you being to the milwaukee -- according to the milwaukee sentinel, maybe not evidence of the most recent allocations. >> the most recent over 70% from out of state. >> that's not even the beginning of it. it looks to be in the range of another 12 to 15 million just on

air and in direct mail coming from allied groups. so scott walker is at about $45 million worth of advertising in his favor or against his opponent. now, as comparison, tom barrett in the current cycle, he has raised about 3 million bucks. and that mines that for comparison sake, for what it's worth, walker is at roughly 12 to 1 ratio one group, the republican governor's association, has spent more money from the last month than tom barrett has raised and spent in the whole campaign. >> doesn't that make those supporters of tom barrett and rightfully sew pretty nervous? i mean -- >> sure. >> that's a huge spending advantage on the part of scott walker. and you know as well as i do, the republican party has decided

that this is where they want to take a stand. this is where they want to make a statement right now in june in wisconsin because they know that will have a huge impact on what happens nationwide in november. makes me kind of nervous, john. should it? >> it should make you nervous. absolutely, because that's -- you have to put that money scenario on the line. you have got to see that in order to understand what is playing out here. so far, not a single poll has shown scott walker over 50% there have been polls that show him ahead. there is a pattern of polling about a week and a half ago, which, of course national political, people in the middle of the country are like africa. they have to learn the names of the capitols, you know. but they are like, oh it's over. there was a poll a week and a half ago that shows walker

ahead: now we could turn back to what mit rockneck said because it's easier to cover out of washington. the reality on the ground is the pattern polling in the last few days seems to have been favorable toward barrett, and there is a reason for that, because as we said with all of that money stuff money does matter only in the last week by this whole campaign, only in the last week has tom barrett had something akin to competitiveness on t.v. not merely by his own money but frankly by money coming in from national unions. and so as barrett has in the last week delivered a very strong message on scott walker's ethics issues, particularly a john doe criminal probe into the governor's former office as well as his 2010 campaign, which has already yielded 14 felony

indictments, lots of scandal there, although important to point out that the governor himself has not yet been implicated. as this scandal has played out you have seen movements. now, whether or not the whole scenario here, the question of: can tom barrett's efforts and the efforts of his supporters to open up a real dialogue about governor walker's ethics move enough folks basically, frankly, get enough republicans scratching their head energize enough democrats that barrett pulls this thing off. i think that we are in that. >> that's the place where the questions are. there is a big poll coming out today, the marquette personoll it has skewed conservative. there is a huge but throughout the last debate between the two. so i think the next like 36 hours, maybe 40 hours, are going to tell us a lot about whether barrett can close this gap.

>> two questions, john. one, when you talk to either barrett supporters union supporters, or just rank and file democrats do they feel this if surge is too strong a word, correct me or this sense that maybe there is some momentum developing for barrett and do you detect any over confidence? in conversations here in washington, republicans believe this race is already won. they have baked into the cake of their own expectations a walker victory. narrow perhaps but a victory nonetheless. >> absolutely. >> i wonder if in the psychology there, if you could have any sort of assumption on rank and file republicans, well, he's probably got it. i don't need to show up. whereas you could have democrats saying to themselves, this might be breaking our way and we need to redouble, maybe triple our ground game efforts. >> terrific question. the only -- the proof eyes 0 i would give you is wisconsin is like nothing you've ever seen. the energy level on both sides

is through the roof. people are wildley engaged. when you go you can literally go to towns of like 2000 people and the yard signs are in every yard. i did an event in the springfield, wisconsin, there was 250 people came. the level of engagement is so high, i don't think either side is going to stand down. >> no sleeping at the switch? >> no. but your question toes to the heart of the matter. i think the republicans are highly engaged. they see this as, you know, a triumphfal march. this governor has not been able to do public appearances with much intensity because he has been perceived to be so incredibly unpopular. if he wins this race, for the republicans, it is an incredibly redemptive moment.

they are pushing for that with everything they have got. they have got strong conservative talk radio in madison, to some extent, milwaukee, to a large extent. so they are clearly, they have people talking him up on a daily basis. the big deal is this sense of some progress, some significant process, presence on television as well as some polls that have shown tom barrett closing the gap, that has gotten democrats who are on kind of an emotional rollercoaster to sort of buck up and, you know, go for it so to speak. you know what i mean? >> yeah. >> not to be whining about, oh, man, walker spent all of this money. we have created a nation of pundits. everybody is a pundit now. diefl-year-old kids are like, i don't know if, you know barrett can overcome the independent expenditure advantage walker has

comeing in. they are like why ant you listening to gomez? >> i wanted to jump in because before we let you go i have go got to ask you that the chair of the democratic national committee, debbie wasserman-schultz said friday as you know on c-span she doesn't see any national impact if walker were to win and tom barrett, i would say, god forbid, were to lose she sees no national impact if democrats lose. how was that received among democrats in wisconsin? >> debbie wasserman-schultz i understand came to wisconsin yesterday but i heard no mention of it: the simple reality is she has been seen as someone who is kind of not up not a particularly useful player he is not desire to particularly bang

on her one way or the other. i think she is totally en engaged with the obama reelection campaign and can't sort of be bothered with some of these other races but it is very fares to say that the democratic national committee's role in wisconsin has been a dysfunctional one. not because they haven't been supportive. they actually initially and at some tajz brought money in but their verbiage has been ridiculously off message whereas the republican national committee constantly uses terms like all in biggest of the year. >> all right. >> it is a challenge there on language. >> i think they have missed the boat, the dnc has missed the boat. so does president obama, frankly, in wisconsin. i think it's of huge huge importance. john, you have five more days. so we are counting on you. i am counting on you to pull this off. >> we are all counting on you

john. >> don't put any pressure on. pay attention to it. >> absolutely. >> this has huge national repercussions. >> absolutely. couldn't agree more. hey, john. great to have you with us as always, john nichols washington correspondent for "the nation magazine." major and i will clean up whatever other issues remain when we come right back. >> this is the bill press show. ♪

♪ ♪ >> heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the bill press show. >> it's 11 minutes before the top of the hour, wednesday,

may 30th. major garrett, national journal congressional corerespondent and white house correspondent, wearing both hats? >> or just a corerespondantcorrespondant, i suppose. >> a good friend of bill this hour. for all of you out in chicago land, very, very excited, coming out to chicago for a book signing, the obama hate machine. donald trump brought to you by donald trump. anyhow, i will be at the frugal muse in darion illinois, june 9th, from 2 to 4:00 p.m. looking forward to getting to the chicago area. every time i have been out to join good friends at wcpt, we have a good crowd and a good time. make your way to the frugal muse in darian illinois. >> one of my absolutely places. great, great american city.

>> saw a disturbing story on the news last night about warm weather, hot weather and i think 10 people murdered over the weekend in chicago. >> horrible. >> ranging gauge, persistent crime problem in chibinobi. the one thing that chicago has yet to graham with in the late '90s '90s, main of the great urban cities went through a reformation of the policing practices and their methodologies and that sort of memo reached a lot of american cities starting in new york city philadelphia, cleveland boston. >> even here. >> los angeles, washington, d.c., absolutely. when i came to washington in 1990, the murder rate the year before there were 585 homicides in washington d.c. in 1989. >> really? >> yeah. there are fewer, about 150. >> that's with a too many. a dramatic decrease. chicago uniquely among major urban cities in this country sterile has yet to grapple with

its gangland problem and its murder rate. >> what was it? >> peter what was it that marion berry said if you don't count the murders, washington is a pretty safe city. >> yeah. >> a few minutes to go. this is unfair. with this mass car of 100 civilians, more and more calls on president obama to either send in the marines or arm the opposition. >> is which may happen. or no-fly zone which also won't happen. >> or perhaps no-fly zone. >> the president is not eager at this stage. >> i don't think the country is ready for military action on any level. the president is not eager to build an international political coalition to carry out military operations and the world is looking at this trying to figure out how to enhance pressure on syria, there are two client

states, iran, big supporter of syria and the russians who are very serious supporters of syria, not only diplomatically but economically. until you move those two ches pieces, it will be difficult to knock the syrian regime out of power and if they were knocked out of power we have no clue none whatsoever what would replace it. >> that's of concern to us. it is of concern to the budding democratic government troubled as it is, there are a tremendous number of ches pieces. major, great to see you. thank you. we cover the waterfront and anything we didn't cover wasn't worth covering. how is that? i will be back with a quick part of ing shot here >> heard around the country and seen on current tv, this is the bill press show.

>>we have such a big show today it may, uh, actually explode. >>(narrator) tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>we're hogging all the sexy on our side. hello! ♪

>> the parting shot with bill press, this is the bill press show. >> on this wednesday, may 30th, my parting shot for today, well you know, in politics, like every other area of life, we are known by the company we keep. >> that's certainly doesn't speak well for mitt romney. at the whitehouse yesterday, i was there. president obama was hanging out with toni morrison madeline albright, pat summit bop dylan and other american heroes. in las vegas mitt romney was hanging out with donald trump. you have got to ask yourself. why? i mean romney says it's because he needs every vote he can get. what a lame excuse. does anybody really think that he picks up even one more vote

by hanging out with donald trump? look. trump is not an evil person. he is just a colossal jerk or as george lap sounding so pseudo intellectual as always put it, he is a bloviating ignoramous. there was a donald again yesterday insisting a lot of people don't believe president obama was born in the united states. and, of course, guess what. we all heard a lot more about what donald trump had to say about the birther issue yesterday than anything mitt romney had to say about the economy. at some point, romney has to figure out who his friends are. one thing for sure, donald trump is not one of them. >> that's my parting shot for today, folks. congressman keith ellison from minnesota will be joining the team right here tomorrow. so go out, have a good one, and hurry on back. we will see you right here on t.v. and the radio. >> this is the bill press show.