that's an amazing number. cucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucucu puffs. "viewpoint" with eliot spitzer next. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer and this is "viewpoint." the romney team muddles their medicare message, paul ryan flies to vegas to pitch himself to sheldon adelson and other republican donors. the g.o.p. standard fair in north carolina with another closed door fundraiser, but he was front and center with a withering attack aimed squarely at president obama and vice president joe biden. >> this is what an angry and desperate presidency looks like. mr. president, take your campaign the division, anger,

and hate back to chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting american. >> eliot: those remarks triggered by vice president biden's claim that romney would undo wall street regulations if reelected. >> he would let them write their own rules. unchain wall street. they're going to put y'all back in chains. >> eliot: an obama campaign called romney's comments, unhinged, but it did not stop romney from broadening his attack. when asked how his campaign was about hatred, he found it part of a political sin. >> divisive based on income, age, ethnicity and so forth. >> eliot: it's the so forth that really does it. needless to say president obama disagrees. on biden mr. obama said when put in context the vice president said you consumers the american people, will be a

lot worse off if we repeal these laws as the other side is suggesting. while it may not have been di divisive ryan claimed that the president cut $700 billion from the medicine said to pay for the healthcare act. >> we do not cut to add to the budget. >> eliot: fact, it claims the same $700 billion in cuts that the president does leaving romney to try to cut himself out of one thing ryan i don't ryan's and mr. obama's cuts include the same plan. >> those cuts will be restored if i become president and paul ryan becomes vice president. does romney protest too much? >> the affordable care act does

not cut benefits. it strengths the program. >> protesters outside of the las vegas hotel that ryan was inside a he made a pitch to sheldon adelson and other deep-pocketed donors. >> that is something that we think we should do in the light of day. >> eliot: in other words, no way i'm going to answer that question, and please stop asking for more than two years of romney tax returns. that's from ann romney who echoed her husband when asked if more years would be forth coming. >> we have done what is legally required and there will be no more tax releases given. it will just give them more ammunition. >> eliot: more ammunition. when the romneys put it that way, it sure sound like there might be something there that we would be interested in.

for more on paul ryan and the parallel university of wealthy conservatives and far-right think tanks, i'm joined by the political reporter for "the new york times" who detailed those items in this week. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> eliot: we have this midwestern who stumbled on the national change. in fact, he has a long and deep relationship with the koch brothers and the right-wing think tanks. explain it to us. it's an interesting story. >> it's important to remember that back in the bush years in the second term there were a subset of donors and activist who is had become exasperated with what they viewed as the bush's administration departure whether it's deficit spending or medicare part-d. around this time, 2005, 2006,

you saw these seminars that cook brothers were convening. these are not the same donors who were contributing to the republican national committee. these were different donors. at the same time paul ryan was participating in some of the grassroots events organized by some of the off shoots like americans for prosperity which has a lot of grassroots now. it had it's fourth chapter in wisconsin. over time as he became the house budget chair in 2010 after being the ranker for a couple of years, all of a sudden he was in this position of great influence. quite surprisingly too people who might have watched miss voting record for the bush years, he southedvoted for all those things that conservatives did not like, he started advocateing to sharp cuts to government spending. >> there was almost as if there was an epiphany on his part or

he was persuaded by the fact of his relationship with the koch brothers, i won't suggest that he was being bought, but there was the transition there because his voting record is very traditional big spending conservative republican helping out the major corporate interests in every way. he's not the libertarian that those groups pretended to be. why did they latch on to him so aggressively? >> i think he's what some people call policy entrepreneur on the hill. he passed only two bills in congress the whole time he has been there. he has been there since '98. his real job was to create inside on paper and then from the outside-in build support for them in the republican caucus, think tanks, leaders on the right, editorialists. then in 2010 that's the real pivot. all of a sudden as it was put in

a new york article, there were tea party freshmen who wanted to cut government and had no idea ho to do it. they began to turn to paul ryan. >> eliot: and paul ryan began to embrace their ideology and then embraced it. it's not as though he had been propagateing this ideology for many years. and the two bills. one rename the post office and the other is the excise tax on bows in archery. and then there is the sheldon adelson relationship. meeting with him in vegas. where does this come from, and why does adelson now embrace ryan and vice versa. >> i think the point of the event last night the finance event that is in the found razor fundraiser ryan does not have a vip with

adelson. his issues are israel, iran, that's where he has focused his dollars. he has a tangential connection to ryan through the young gun movement that eric canter calls the current generation of youngish house members who are on the right. he and paul ryan are friends and colleagues and partners in that effort. so sheldon adelson had been very involved with the young guns. he has given money to eric canter's pac. but paul ryan is a budget guy. that's not sheldon adelson's things over the years. the point of that meeting putting it bluntly kissing the ring. they understand how important sheldon adelson's spending to those on the right is going to be in this election. they wanted to make sure that he had a chance to hear from the pick for vice president.

>> eliot: in a way it's more likely that the right wing groups the koch brothers and sheldon adelson their universe will be happier. mitt romney was not their first choice. in a way i have a sense that they will look to ryan to be their voice in the white house should the romney-ryan ticket win, of course, because he'll be carrying their loyalty and would have worked with them over many mother years than mitt romney. >> that's true. it's policy and personality. paul ryan everybody ised in the choice with chris chikolo head of the club for growth. he was on the staff committee for the freedom works the tea party organization that is active around the country. he received an award for those brands of americans for prosperity. he has a connection with those guys. romney was more of a traditional

republican businessman and so i think for these groups having ryan on the ticket is a fresh reason to vote or advocate for and give money for mitt romney as opposed to really against barack obama. >> eliot: the way i see t that's exactly right. the koch brothers showed adilson that universe is for the president as opposed to barack obama, which is something that we already knew they were. spectacular articles that you wrote this week about the emergence of paul ryan. thank you. >> of course. >> eliot: for more, i'm joined by a great congressman friend, barney frank, from the state of massachusetts, ranking member on the house financial service committee. sir, thank you for joining us. >> good to be here. >> so everybody says paul ryan is wonderfully nice, decent guy but i read his budget, and it seems like a fraudulent document. smoking mirrors. >> absolutely.

by pleasant, look, he's an amble guy. you can have a pleasant conversation with him as long as you don't talk about anything substantive. essex treatmentist. he brags in this budget at a time when we've got these terrible deficit problems, etc. that he proposes that we increase real spending on the military. that's his phrase. we increase real spending. that is increase military spending at a time we're withdrawing from iraq, and we're going to get out of afghanistan if we have any brains, and we're going to cut back on nuclear weapons. he's boasting how he's going to give the pentagon even more. you hold the taxes at best, maybe a drop and you allow the military increases and you're going to cut the deficit. there is nothing left to promote the quality of life here. but even on his own terms if you increase military spending above

inflation--you should be reducing it--and you give the wealthy people taxes that's why he cannot come close to closing the deficit. >> he does not close the deficit until after 2030, and the magic number is 3.5% which is what he's willing to spend on defense and everything else. and mitt romney says he needs 4%. that leaves zero to improve the quality of our lives. >> we're talking here, by the way, we're talking about policemen on the streets of our cities. we're talking about highways. we're not talking about execs exotica. this would give us the federal government of coolidge and

hoover. >> eliot: if people bother to read the history books which the other side of the aisle clearly-- >> i'm glad you made the point on the economics. when you cut back substantially you're not doing just social harm but economic harm because you do not have the spending power. it's now clear we would have unemployment below 8% if it weren't for the fact that republican policies have forced cities and states to layoff 700,000 people. firefighters, police officers, teachers public works employees, people who collect the garbage. people who shovel the snow. because they've been hit by the property tax collapse. they've been losing. we tried to help them out and the republicans said no, we got to preserve tax cuts for the wealthy and send money overseas to the military in unuseful ways, and the result has been 700,000 jobs lost from state and local governments over these past couple of years. >> and in a different domain, one that is near and dear to your heart certainly he said he wants to repeal dodd frank.

he wants to go back to the self regulatory era that worked out so well leading up to the crash of '08. i don't even understand his framework for financial services. >> there was this great comment about the french kings who were restoreed after napoleon. someone said, oh, they seem to have forgotten everything about what caused the evolution when they came back. they said, no, no, they have forgotten nothing because they have learned nothing. that's the republicans. they haven't forgotten they haven't learned it. they did not understand the cause of this terrible crash. by the way they talk about partisanship. every responsible and thoughtful republican appointee of george bush to deal with financial matters agrees with us. ben bernanke was a bush appointing. sheila bear, head of fdic, hank

poulson. the republicans who are have hands-on experience are supportive of what we're doing legislatively. it's only the abstract iran theorists who are just beyond--we'll take another historical phrase. they're invincebly ignorant. they have a theology that so encrusts them that no facts break there. >> eliot: and most of them have been in the private sector. the ones who are smart enough to learn from the record, including sandy wyle who was willing to acknowledge that his brainchild was fundamentally flawed. >> i annoyed jamie dimon when i said that his salary shut be on the chopping block, he said that he agrees. lloyd--these are people who yeah, left to their own they're going to be under the competitive pace. yes, it was the success

certificate of wyle when i asked him why you remember the sibs that were debts kept off the books. i said why don't you put them on your books? they are debt of the bank. he said, well, if i put them on my books i'll be at a competitive disadvantage to beat goldman. the intelligent ones >> eliot: they also had one of the best lines a number of years ago when they ask about issuing the debt. they said as long as the music is playing we'll continue to dance. >> you got to dance. >> eliot: which is my response was, who is supposed to turn off the music if you won't. clearly ghost had to. >> that's us. we have to say okay, you're going to take a break. you know, the republicans in the congress were trying to go back to that. but reality hit them in the face. they had a bill that they were going to bring to the floor of the house that would have said

american regulators cannot regulate derivative transactions from the overseas branches of american banks. and then jpmorgan chase considered a very well run one by comparative standards loses more billions than they know that they lost in england. reality has not been kind to them. i'm glad, by the way that as people understand that we're making gains. there was a very good article in "the new york times," we're well on the way of getting control of the irresponsibility in commodities. a, we had a good law. b, we had a good regulator. >> eliot: he was met with skepticism but he has done a great job and he deserves to be paid for it. >> well, sometimes it takes someone on the fringe. the head of the fcc joe

kennedy. he said it takes someone who knows this to stop it. >> eliot: time runs short. the one and only congress man barney frank. we'll miss him deeply after he retires. thank you for joining us. >> thank you eliot. >> eliot: you want to vote in

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get irresistibly clean and fresh carpets in your home with resolve deep clean powder. the moist powder removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. >> eliot: republicans keep condemning president obama no matter what the issue. so it's no surprise they're blaming him for the weather. which brings us to the number of the day. 64%. that's how much of the continuous united states has been hit by drought. and according to a statement from john boehner's office monday, that's obama's fault. after the president said paul ryan helped block a farm bill in congress, the house speaker released a statement saying, quote, obama continues to blame everyone and anyone for the

drought but himself. why stop there? the speaker also could have said the sun is going to collapse in 5 billion years, and obama refuses to accept responsibility. okay boehner misspoke. he later issued a clarification saying that the president is blaming others for failing to respond to the drought. but republicans have a developed mindless habit of blaming obama first and then sometetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetetet

>> eliot: tackling the non-existent problem of voter fraud, republicans insist is necessary to protect electorate integrity. now those efforts have brought them one step closer to rigging the vote in the keystone state. where the more than 9% of the electorate lacks a ticket to the ballot box. while expressing sympathy for

the arguments of the plaintiffs, the judge agreed with the state's argument that the law should not be struck down because it simply inconveniences some voters. he said, i'm not convinced any qualified elector need to be disenfranchised by act 18. based on the availability of key balance boughts, i'm not convinced any of the individual petitioners or other witnesses will not have bare votes counted in the general election. ry mark thely there was investigation of fraughter fraud. none, not one. this was a statute in desperate search of a problem. joining me now is christopher broach in pennsylvania who vows to fight voter i.d. law by not enforcing it, and with me is michael papantonio president of

the national trial lawyers association. thank you for joining me tonight. i'm mystified by this. not one piece of evidence of voter fraud problem but yet the judge up holds it constitutionally. does this surprise you. >> i hate to see it, but this is what happens when political hacks dress up in black robes and call themselves judges. this judge had everything he needed in the way of evidence in the way of testimony to grant a restraining order enjoining the enforcement of this voter scam. that's all this is. first of all, he had part of the pennsylvania constitution that is even more deliberate. it's more explicit than the 14th amendment. he had the pennsylvania constitution language that made it clear that every election should be conducted in a way that is both free and--free of restrictions and equal to all voters. he had everything he needed, and he chose not to do it.

i suppose rely on the supreme court's decision from indiana which had no baring on the evidence. >> eliot: mike, i want to keep this short because i want to get to christopher real soon, but the judge is supposed to weigh and balance the equities. here you have the prospect that up to 9% of the voters in the state will be forbidden from voting and you have no evidence that the state admitted, not one piece of evidence of fraud. and then on the other side, our most vital constitutional right. it seems like an insane decision to make. >> it was very poor decision. if. he had not had so much testimony, governor, if he had not had so much evidence in front of him that made it clear there was no problem. this was an all-out effort of the republicans to get in the way of people's rights to vote. >> eliot: christopher, you're going to do something about this. you as an election judge you're not going to enforce it.

you're saying this is not constitutional, not proper. are you not going to enforce the statute. >> good evening, governor, i intend to not enforce this outrageous law. >> eliot: are there others who will likewise permit people to show up and vote as they have in the past. >> i have not spoken to other election judges specifically who have given me their own opinions even though i have red there is a republican in pennsylvania who is not far from me who pretty much has the same opinion as i have with respect to the laws. she has not said she's going to enforce it, but these are the same people who are going to be working in the precincts with myself. i'll let them do what they think is necessary, but as judge of elections i'm going to pass judgment on this ruling. i'm going to enforce what i believe is fair and impartial to

make sure that i'm not going to do time the governor's dirty work. >> eliot: look, as the record has made clear there is not a single instance of in-person voting fraud that anybody can point to. there is not an issue to be addressed. has anybody called you and said, hey, we heard you're planning not to enforce the law. there will be consequences of sort out for you? >> i've had a few radio show hosts who say they hope i go it jail. they suggested that they thought that martin luther king and rosa parks wanted to go to jail. that made my resolve stronger. i don't think anybody wants to go to jail. we want our rights protected. these rights like the voter rights act that has been around since the same year that that i was born absolutely have been ignored by this judge and these lawmakers.

>> eliot: mike, let me come back to you for a second. had a do you make of the judge's assertion that no one will lose the right to vote. he's saying, if you show up without the requisite i.d. there will be some other way for you to get your vote counted. dubai that? or will this keep people from showing up. >> the only evidence here is sub scams. the sub scam is to make it more difficult for a vote for get a birth certificate reissue: to put the place where they register 10 15 miles away where it makes it difficult for people to even register. the part of the scam that the republicans are pulling off up there is to make the registration effort even more difficult by closing the office so it's only open certain days and certain times reducing the number of staff and the reducing the number of off where a person can register. this judge had more information than he needed.

he's simply an ideologue. he might have said you did a good job, you but you know what, i interviewed people early on and they said this is going to be a fair judge. all i had to do was look at the background. he was going to be a predictable ideologyideologue and that's all he is here. >> eliot: chris, is there an effort to reach out to voters who might be fearful or hesitant to show up because they don't have the right i.d. is there a way to get the right i.d. >> i haven't seen any outreach from anybody from the state level. i'm kind of surprised that even the governor suggested that they have enough money to be able to do these things when in fact, they've taken tha money from the schools. at the same time, i've not seen any ads on television. i haven't heard answer ads on the radio. we're going to start our own process where we're going to

actually not register people to vote because i do that every summer. but we're going to pick people up and drive them to the dmv to get their photo i.d. just to make sure that they're not breaking the law. now, i'm not going to enforce making people that i know personally have i.d. if somebody comes to me, and i know who these people are, and that's the reason why the precincts are set up the way they're set up, i can't imagine someone that i actually know for identification. >> eliot: yep, we're going to keep following the story. if they passed this law an said, 15 years from years from now you have to have this i.d. that would be one thing. to do it this approximate to the election with the clear intent to keep voters from showing up that's anti-democratic. that's not what this nation is about. christopher broac this, and mike

papantonio, thank you. >> thank you governor. >> eliot: what does paul ryan and mitt romney the chill of peppermint. the rich dark chocolate. york peppermint pattie get the sensation. it's like chicken and crunchy stuff got married! i only use french's french fried onions on my crunchy onion chicken because it's america's number one brand. just minutes to make, then bake!

>> eliot: which of yesterday's primaries turned into a tea party. these coming up. but first, mitt romney's foreign experience and congressman elect paul ryan's freudian slip. and a visit from the good humor man. when it doesn't fit anywhere else we put it in the view finder. >> do you see these guys, mitt romney and paul ryan they look like father and son dentists. >> are these men ready for the international stage? do they have what it takes to pretend other countries don't exist? >> let's assume that governor romney does have foreign experience. he gets these issues very well,

and probably better than the president. >> when iran destabilizes the middle east, mitt will step in and demand to speak to the concierge. >> 40% of americans do not approve of mitt romney's running mate. and 40% do not approve of paul ryan's running mate. >> what do you have in common with politics. >> we've been telling jokes. we've been on the bus together, and we both enjoy good humor. ♪ good humor man ♪ good humor man ♪ >> good humor ♪ >> we're going to start running surpluses in the non-security part of our budget. >> let's look how we went from a 1990 surplus to this debt. >> we have to look at what we're doing here in washington with our tax and with our spending

with the rating on the social security trust finished and the debt we're piling on to future generations. >> what kind of irresponsible lunatic would vote for every one of these misguided fiscal time bombs. i'll give you a hint. his name begins with paul ryan and ends with silence! [applause] >> that's very important. these are the philosophies that are going to be debated as we go to the next century. >> eliot: why does he remind me of ferris buhler. so, you guys grew up together. yes, since third grade... what are you lookin' at? not looking at i anything... we're not good enough for you. must be supermodels? what do you model gloves? brad, eat a snickers. why? 'cause you get a little angry when you're hungry. better? [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry™. better. [ male announcer ] snickers satisfies.

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uphill battle in november as he goes against two-term democratic senator bill nelson. and linda mcmahon crushed sha sending close to $20 million. still that's small potatoes compared to $50 million that mcmahon spent in the 2010 senate bid. and a 70-year-old four-term governor tommy thompson held off challengers to eke out a victory. he moves on to battle tammy baldwin to see who will be elected for the retiring senator herb cole's seat. here with us, david catnee. thanks for joining us tonight. >> good evening eliot. >> eliot: let's set the stage. how many seats do the republicans need to pick up to regain or gain control of the senate, and obviously that would be the fulcrum around an awful lot would pivot.

>> you're looking at four seats if president obama is re-elected. that's the baseline that we're going off of. that's how republicans are planning. and in two of these races that were last night to determine the primary, they are battlegrounds seeds that the republicans are targeting, wisconsin herb cole's democratic seat that republicans feel very good about because of the environment in wisconsin, because of the success that governor scott walker had. they nominated tommy thompson as a throw. back to the past. you have connie mack, the fourth the son of the former senator down there who has uniform name i.d. because of his father going up against bill nelson. now, connie mack has not run the best campaign, but because of the national environment bill nelson's numbers aren't very good, and the polls have shown him in a statistical dead heat. these are two of the three that

are very key for the republicans. >> eliot: as you pointed out herb cole is retiring. he would have held that seat with some ease. he's very popular. when he announced his retirement, it set off a flurry, and at that point it looked like a democratic stronghold, but then scott walker pushed back successfully, and then the republican party is energized there. tommy thompson somewhat of a moderate could pull in voters. tommy touch son thompson in this was the winner. >> yes, it looks like what was happening in other states could happen in wisconsin the most conservative win. but the anti-thompson vote splintered allowing him to come through. republicans in washington had a sigh of relief in that outcome because he does have cross-over appeal. a four-term governor, former hhs

secretary under the bush administration. this guy is tied in. everybody knows him. they call him tommy on the streets. i spent time there on the ground he did lurch in the primary. and at one point he said he would go farther than the paul ryan plan. that quote will end up in an ad. but republicans liked the match up that they had against tammy baldwin. congresswoman from madison, she would be the first openly gay senator if elected. but they're more focused on her record, which is one of the most liberal in congress. they like that thompson-baldwin match up. >> eliot: tommy thompson did 50 push ups to prove that at the stage of 70 he was young enough to serve in the senate. and mcmahon crushed in the prime minister, but can she win? she strikes me as being wwe. i don't know if she has the

image to be in the senate. >> i don't know if she can pull off a makeover, that's what she's trying to do in this round. but there is polling out there that says she would have an outside shot because mainly the democrat here is a congressman largely undefined state white even though connecticut is not a huge state to get defined in. look, republicans know this is a long shot, but that if she's going to pend her own money to do it, by all means. you know, there is a very wide map. a lot of competitive senate races this year. they look at this one that could get close if she runs a smart disciplined campaign. look, there is a lot of ammunition litigated in 2010 against linda mcmahon. her wwf and wwe days, and that will all come back. >> eliot: it will come back, but the public likes it when the someone comes back and gives it a second shot. i never would in a million years

vote for her but they say she made her money in the wrestling arena. she's the outsider against the insider congressman and even in connecticut this could be an important one to watch. unfortunately time runs short. we're going to ask you to come back over the course of the weeks leading up to november control of the senate is hugely important to everything issue we'll be talking about. david, thank you for joining us. >> sure, happy to be here. >> eliot: who better than the voice of mr. burns from joining us. >> my pleasure. thanks for having me, man.

>> eliot: receipts check in with jennifer granholm in "the war room." good evening governor, what have you got for us tonight? >> eliot, we're going to pick up where you are leaving off. we're going to focus on the american voter because obviously from all indications voters are depressed, suppressed and illusioned. it's a big problem. we're going to talk about how money is effectively

disenfranchising voters. we have a well important story at the top of the of the hour. >> eliot: depressed, suppressed our conversation is with you the viewer because we're independent. >>here's how you can connect with "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." >>questions, of course, need to be answered. >>we will not settle for the easy answers. >> eliot: we've been waiting for this day for some time. just ask louis gutierrez as we did back in july. >> wait until the 15th of august when thousands and i can tell you thousands of upon thousands upon thousands in cityies across this country sign up in auditoriums, gyms, schoolhouses, . >> eliot: that will be the day

that crystallizes the support that makes it real who he has done. >> eliot: here we are. the first day under president obama's deferred action initiative that 2 million undocumented immigrants can apply for temporary work permits and safety from the threat of depourtation. and across the country just as congressman gutierrez said, from the nation's capitol washington, d.c. to the coasts of california, now while the executive order responsible for all of this includes much of the language of the dream act, it is not the dream act. but the huge step in the right direction to be sure, but as it stands this order needs to be renewed every two years. that is why a newly elected president obama will need to refocus on the dream act and make it the law of the land. however, should mitt romney and paul ryan ascend to the white house, they could swiftly overturn this presidential order. and according to the articulateed

positions they would. romney and ryan vigorously oppose the dream act, which is a shame. here is another point. with the paul ryan pick what the republican party solidify himself as the angry party. romney and ryan due to ignorance or apathy, have missed an enormous chance to realize the importance of sensible moral, and truly american immigration policy. at a time when the g.o.p. needs to be courting the latino vote more than ever the romney-ryan ticket doubled down on the g.o.p.'s desire to be foolishly rigid on immigration policy and radically reformulate and limit programs immensely popular monday latino voters such as medicare and medicaid. the bottom line is to celebrate. president obama is doing the

right thing by offering young immigrants more often in this country through no action of their own, a chance to live and work openly, free from the fear of depourtation. the republican party could not be more wrong in its approach. it's short-sightedness on immigration policy won't just hurt it in november. it could have a long-lasting impact on generations to come. let's hope that the republican party evolves on this issue. >>it's the place where democracy is supposed to be the great equalizer, where your vote is worth just as much as donald trump's. we must save the country. it starts with you.

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[ ♪ music ♪ ] ♪ if you need to know how much ♪ tax you pay ♪ go ask ♪ joe the plumber ♪ >> eliot: it's easy to get bogged town in the day-to-day machinations of a campaign. we're fortunate enough to be joined but one of our nation's great humorists harry shearer. can't take a hint on august 27th. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure, eliot, good evening. >> eliot: i gather you could not be more thrilled with the state of american politics. >> i was just in london at the olympics and was amazed for two weeks to that the brits act like

nothing else is going on in the world. the united states may not be number one in a lot of things, but we are number one in the length of presidential elections. now is the exciting point where we get to the point of two guys who looked in the mirror quite a while ago and said, you're special enough to be running for president and prove who is the more average guy. >> eliot: are you talking about mitt romney because he has two faces on every issue or barack obama. >> i think if you're in politics you've had many positions on many issues. no matter where you constant at the moment. i'm just saying the multimillionaire versus the gazillionaire. and people have a reason to feel as governor granholm said, suppressed and depressed. >> eliot: having said that look, i'm not going to defend the state of american politics

in anyway, shape or form there is an ideological device between mitt romney and barack obama. they're the real chasm between them. >> you mean the barack obama whose largeest contributor in the 2008 campaign was goldman sachs. the barack obama who basically took a pass on the opportunity to really reform the financial industry when it tanked and drove our country into a ditch? you know, i'd like to live in that world eliot. >> eliot: harry if you know where i've been on all those issues then you know i could not agree with you more how weak the white house was on those issues. your critique is exactly right. >> we're still living in a time when this year they set up another housing mortgage problem task force, which is feckless, staffless and fundless. it's the grand kabuki. >> eliot: you're right. i think they scheduled a meeting

for next january. do not lose faith. here is the question i have got for you. throughout your career you've had your finger on the pulse of the american psyche, and our culture as it moves reflects the american public psyche. why, as you understand it, has the american public moved so far to the right the tea party world, the party devoid of fact and ideology when we give them the facts to reject. >> i don't know where the american public is. if you read the polls the tea party sympathy level is down 20%, which seems right about where the right wing has been in this country all along. but they make a lot of noise and they have loved money behind them. there are animals in the wild that puff them up to look bigger than they actuallier for defensive purposes. >> cenk: you're talking about politicians. >> and among others, and

blowfish. >> eliot: they're cousins. >> blowfish speak better gentleman now you're hitting close to home. i used to be in the political arena. >> i'm sorry. >> eliot: your album, is it comedy? satire or music? >> it's songs are about such characters like rupert murdoch and sarah palin. joe the plumber. you heard some pop culture figures like madonna and just some germ trends like the refusal to finger people at the top for problems and always going for the few bad apples. but it's all great music great people on it, dr. john, as you mentioned, nicholas great trumpeter. >> eliot: harry shearer's new