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♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: it's 25 minutes after the hour here on the "full court

press." mitt romney's plans sort of changed. i think -- he ought to be grateful that isaac changed his plans to have donald trump to be the feature at the first day of the republican national convention. peter during the break, was trying to think, who -- if the democrats wanted though biggest clown that we have got? who would be the equivalent -- wrong we have a clown like herman cain michele bachmann or donald trump, but it would be like turning the convening over to, what michael moore. and i should apologize comparing michael moore to donald trump. >> yeah, we don't have anybody. they have tried to make bill maher the equivalent. but that is still a big stretch -- >> bill: yeah, he's not the self

promoter donald trump is. here is kimmers calling from the west coast boy, early from california. >> caller: yeah, but you are with it. it was not but for you we couldn't get any correct information. mitt romney wants to be the republican party. he eliminates michael field who is somebody the only one that really is pumping for him, and he saddles himself with shelley adelson, and donald trump? >> bill: it is going to the lowest common denominator.

>> caller: they don't want to bend. every single day i get madder and madder and madder because he is stands up there and declares to be mr. religious man. >> bill: right. he could help a guy like a scott brown or ron portman. but donald trump? >> caller: of all people. >> bill: yes thank you kimmers. quickly barbara in silver spring. >> caller: michael has served his purpose. they needed a black man to talk smack, and now don't need that now. that's why he has not been invited. >> bill: yeah, i think you are right. jeb bush said the republican

party is just getting older and whiter. and dumber i would add. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: on your radio, and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: you got it, 33 minutes after the hour on this morning, august 27th. good to see you today. thank you for joining us today on the "full court press." don't forget you can always amplify or viewing pleasure on

the radio and all three ours on current tv, and you can go to our chat room go to current.com, just click join the chat room, enter the chat room and join your fellow full court pressers here on the program. and you can follow me on twitter, and finally, if you don't already have one paperback out now less than a week "the obama hate machine" went out over the weekend. if you want a signed copy go to our website at billpress.com, and we'll get it out to you right away shipping the book, the whole deal for $16.99.

we're talking about mitt romney deciding that he wanted to feature, fortunately it's not going to happen -- but the idea that he wanted to feature donald trump as the far of the first day of the republican national convention. what does that tell you. our rovering ambassador down in jackson, tennessee. good morning, arnold. >> caller: these republicans are just crazy man. and i'm telling you what, man, watching sunday morning talk shows is just ridiculous. they might as well have a republican talkerfest. >> bill: that's why i stopped watching them. they have republicans on and they just let them talk and

they never challenge them. >> caller: they had a jan brewer on this weekend. [ laughter ] >> caller: donald trump he has [ inaudible ] any kind of republican chairman in 2010 and had a victory. >> bill: yeah, we know mike steele said a couple of dumb things, but he is a nice guy, he raised a lot of money, and you are right, he was the chairman when they took over the house of representatives. >> caller: yeah they are going to really lose the independent vote these days and they are going to drop the n-bomb you just watch them. >> bill: i heard mitt romney is

going to use this convention to reach out to african-americans, latinos, young people, to bring them into the republican party. what are they doing to expand the republican party? what are they doing to show their appeal to young people women, or people of color? donald trump? karen is in flint, michigan. hi, karen. >> caller: good morning. >> bill: what do you think? what is up. >> caller: i'm not shocked about them picking donald trump. the republican party has gone so far to the right, because they have just become a joke. >> bill: that's it. donald trump is the extreme conservative, but he is more -- so is ron paul but ron paul is a serious guy. donald trump is a joke as you say. >> caller: yeah, he is a bully,

so no one ever questions donald trump. but as far as michael steele goes, the republican has gone so far right -- i mean that's not michael steele. i'm not a fan of michael steele but he was way better than reince prebus. >> bill: right, he is at least a reasonable guy. if you watch him on morning blow, he is not as far right as people would like him to be. and he was chair of the party, and he did a good job as chair of the party. >> caller: i agree. i believe it's because he totally disagrees with how far right they have gone. bill maher and michael moore may have a lot to say, but they speak the truth.

>> bill: i agree. i was trying to think do we have anybody, anybody anybody who is as big of clown of michael temperature, and the answer is no. joey what is up? >> caller: all they need is a bearded lady to charge admission to that convention. [ laughter ] >> bill: that's what it is joey. >> caller: yeah good men, responsible men have nothing to hide from anybody, and if somebody does they have something to hide. >> bill: that's right, and mitt romney has a lot to hide. and by the way, his tax returns, which issue is never, never going to go away until he does

release his tax returns. president obama giving another interview over the weekend to the associated press where he said it is not below the belt or ugly to insist that mitt romney release his tax returns. what did he pay in taxes and how did -- what kind of exemptions and loop holes did he claim to get his tax rate down from 35%. and then brags about paying 13? forget about it. milton is in illinois. >> caller: yes, bill it just goes to the public that barack obama is not a it is citizen of the united states, and if we don't turn out like we did in 2010 maybe they can win this

election. >> bill: but don't you think they already got the birthers? >> caller: i don't know, but they are sure playing up to them. >> bill: yeah. >> caller: mitt romney was trying to play it off like it was just a joke. no, he is playing to them. that's why trump is coming to the convention. >> bill: i think seven different birthers have speaking spots at the republican convention? bill isn't that right? >> that sounds right, but that's like barack obama saying we're going to have a bunch of 9/11 conspiracy nuts speaking at the democratic convention. >> bill: yeah. seven different birthers speaking at the convention.

donald trump, jeanine turner sam olens, rick scott, kathy mccoreis rogers, and [ inaudible ]. i think this says something else about the romney campaign and the republican party is they have got nowhere to go right? they can't go after obama on national security. they can't go after him on foreign policy. they can't go after him on environment and education so i guess they just are going to -- even on the economy, right? with the economy as long as it continues to improve -- not as fast as we want -- they can't go after him on health care so i

guess they bring the birther thing back from five years ago, and think that's going to work. but it ain't going to work and donald trump is not going to work either. a joke. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio, and current tv. ♪

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your door so you will never forget to maintain your system. sign up at rid-x.com. ♪ >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show," live on your radio, and on current tv. >> bill: 14 minutes after the top of the hour here, it is a monday morning august 27th.

it was supposed to be the first day of the republican convention. hurricane isaac changed that plan. but life is not all about politics, there is all sports. and david is the sports editor for the nation magazine and we have adopted him here. good morning, dave. how are ya? >> it's great to be here, bill. >> bill: so thursday lance lance, he has been fighting claims that he had used steroids since 1999. last week he finally said enough is enough, i'm not going to fight this anymore. what is the name of the group that did this -- usada. turned around and said that must

mean you are guilty dude and stripped him of all seven of his tour de france titles? how can they do that? >> that's a very good question. they have the right to do that with the agreement that they signed with the international cycling federation. but there is no real way that you can say a drug-testing body has a moral or political right to say you didn't win these titles because you won't follow through on our process of arbitration. and it lends credence to this whole thing. >> bill: do they have the evidence that he was doping or not? >> well, we don't know that yet. they said they will release the evidence in the weeks and months ahead? >> bill: how long does it take? they have been at this for

years. >> and again, that's one of the things that rings very strange about this whole thing. i went to interview somebody who was connected with the justice department and he described barry bonds as -- he said that's our moby dick. and sometimes when you get these very famous celebrity athletes it becomes this logic all its own to say we need to bring this person down for the sanctity of the laugh and for the good of our own careers, because careers are made by the headlines, by the simulcast on espn and the able to say no special treatment for anybody. >> bill: what are we supposed to think now any don't follow sports that much, but lance armstrong i have admired him so

much. i read a profile and i said this guy is not even a human being. he was considered one of the greatest american athletes of all time and now we're supposed to think what that he is a total fraud? >> i don't know what lance armstrong, what he did is going to take away much of public opinion. cycling is a niche sport in the united states, yet what is not niche is cancer and how lance armstrong is so high profile when it comes to cancer. he came back from stage four cancer, which is incredible but

to won seven tour de france and it is go gruelling, they will tell you, look the doping that happens is about human survival and that's how gruelling the race is. it's not muscle-producing steroids that lance armstrong is accused of taking. it's epo, which adds to your blood's ability to take oxygen so you can go up the pyrenees and go up and down at incredible speeds. >> bill: we're speaking to dave

zirin at the nation. i just think all of these guys are taking something. they are all on drugs, how, aren't they? >> let me give you some stats. a lot of people have said, well lance armstrong deserves to be stripped of his titles because the people he really cheated came in second place. every single cyclists that came in second, have been implicated in blood doping. >> bill: no. >> every single one, and of the top ten finishers of his seven tour de france finishers, 41 of them have been found to be implicated in some sort of blood doping or performance-enhancing drug scandals. so this is a sport that is literally, literally awash in

this stuff, and yet and lance armstrong has been the focus. no one asked the question hey, lance armstrong is unarguably the most tested major athlete in the world probably. they test constantly. >> bill: uh-huh. >> if it is dirty what does it say about their tests and this organization, and our tax dollars that go to subside usada and their work? this is a public relations battle that they are not going to win, and one of the reasons is what we said before because so many people in this country have drawn a different kind of inspiration from lance armstrong

from this decade. >> bill: thanks so much for being with us today. and if you want to read more go to the nation and read his article. thank you my friend. >> my privilege. >> bill: all right. i'll be back and take a look at the mail bag with you. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." you want to save money on car insurance? no problem.

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♪ >> announcer: taking your emails on any topic at anytime. this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: what is the catholic archbishop of new york doing at

the republican national convention? we'll get into that. art says it is interesting to me that nobody cried foul about lance armstrong until after his sixth win. the french and a spaniard were tied, but an american with cancer dominating a french sport? oh law law. if isaac hits new orleans it will be the exact same day as katrina hit in 1999. and jamie is a floridian and says it's ironic republicans accuse obama of stealing money from medicare when rick scott

was the part of the largest medicaid scandal ever.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hello, everybody, good to see you today. welcome to the "full court press" on this monday august 27th. the "full court press" where we bring you the news of the day and take your calls at 866-55-press all from a liberal perspective. this is the first day of the republican national convening, supposedly but fortunately for mitt romney this first day's events have been canceled

because of hurricane isaac, because romney had planned to turn the entire day over to the birther in chief, donald trump. why does mitt romney keep promoting this clown? what does he get from hanging so close to donald trump? i don't get it. we have that to talk about and a whole lot more today. but first we start out as always getting the latest from lisa ferguson standing by in los angeles. hi lisa good morning. hi bill good morning, everyone. isaac is putting a stop to plenty of the scheduled represents today, but it is not stopping sheldon adelson. they are planning on listening to mitt and ann romney's speeches later in the week. and could stop by the mirian

pavilion which is aimed to stop women's health issues. we know healthcare has been one of mitt romney's feign flip flops and buzzfeed has just uncovered the latest. take a look at this video from new hampshire in 2008. of course now he says it's only designed to work at the state level, and if he is elected president, he plans on repealing the affordable care act. one endorsement and one lack thereof coming out of the weekend. ron paul is refusing to fully

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♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: this is supposed to be the first day of the republican national convention, but hurricane isaac had other plans. what do you say, hello everybody, good to see you today, it is monday august 27th and this is the "full court press." we're coming to you live coast-to-coast in our studio in washington tv. booming out to you live on your local progressive talk radio

station, and on current tv. and bringing you the news of the day from a liberal progressive, because i am a liberal and proud of it. what could have happened in tampa today, mitt romney may be the happiest man in the world that the first day of the convention was covered because he planned to turn it over to the birther in chief, donald trump, but there is more happening down there. we'll bring you up to date on tampa, on other news around the country and globe, and welcome your calls and comments at 866-55-press. one of the big issues of the day, of course continues to be the role of religion in politics, and that has been accented lately which the announce that cardinal timothy

dolen of new york will be giving the blessing of the republican convention in tampa. we'll discuss that and a whole lot more with john gerring. good to see you. welcome back. >> good to be back. >> bill: lots to talk about. and our team here. >> hey hey. >> bill good morning. >> bill: and our individualvideographer. and a big thanks to john fugelsang who filled in for me while i was gone. >> it's nice to have you back. >> bill: good to be back. and john again thank you so

much. the take on hurricane isaac took a big part of the story line. >> there is a hurricane bearing down on tampa, and they might have to cancel or postpone the republican national convention. a hurricane headed directly for the republicans, and more proof that -- [ laughter ]. >> -- god is a woman. [ laughter ] >> bill: hey peter remember in 2008, you and i were in st. paul and the first day of the republican convention was canceled because of -- >> hurricane. >> bill: hurricane. they didn't want the split screen and people talking about the hurricane instead of the convention. so maybe there is a message

here, right? two conventions in a row. [ laughter ] >> we'll have to ask pat robertson. >> bill: yeah, by the way he wasn't invited to speak either. >> that's weird. >> bill: that is weird. joe will be kicking off the next hour in studio talking about the continuing violence in syria, and we'll be checking in with a couple of reporters on the ground in tampa as well, but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> on this monday a big return to baseball for roger clemens on saturday night. he 50-year-old pitched for -- >> a big return? let's just say it was a return. when you are pitching for the sugarland skeeters? >> it was in front of a soldout

crowd of 7700 people. 36 pitches total against the bridgeport blue fish. [ laughter ] >> fans and clemens himself were very happy, he said he has a lot to do before returning to major league baseball. the white house will release it's highly coveted honey ail recipe if enough people ask for it. the required 25,000 people sign the petition they will release the recipe.

so far 9300 have signed it so 16,000 signers are still needed. >> bill: do it. >> i signed it. >> home brewers have a tradition of sharing recipes, and they say the white house should be no different. >> bill: how do people sign? >> white house.gov. >> bill: let's tweet this out. let's make this a cause. >> that's right. i may have been a half hearted thought, but tony danza is considering a run for mayor of new york city. he said he is of a -- >> they put him in movies still? >> bill: how old is he? >> 60.

>> bill: yeah, i bet he is 60. >> he says is he now of a certain age, and sees things, and thinks he can help but he's not sure he could withstand the scrutiny of being a mayor, and no one has asked him to run. >> bill: can i get to a quick funny story about tony danza, i was covering an event at the century plaza hotel, a big republican fund-raising dinner. tony danza was the emcee. and the main spoker was george hw bush. tony danza was the emcee, and forgot to announce the president.

he brought out everybody, and said okay. have a nice dinner, and then somebody whispered to him, and he said oops. he forgot the president of the united states. bush is peaking out behind the curtain. is it my turn yet? [ laughter ] >> bill: so i saw this announcement over the weekend. now what are we to think about the facts? timothy dolen, the archbishop cardinal of new york is invited to give the blessing of the republican national convention. is this an endorsement of mitt romney? >> for a long time people have warned that the catholic church is becoming a member of the republican party. i think context is important

here. over the last year cardinal dolen and the u.s. congress of catholic bishops have been really fighting with the obama administration in stark terms. you had a cardinal in illinois compared the obama administration in comparison to stalin and hitler. so i think this is a bit tone deaf regardless of his intentions. let's say his intentions were pure. he just wants to go pray i think the impression is disturbing for the long-term of the church's life. >> bill: i would imagine that at the democratic convention there will be every night -- i don't think they should do it, but they do it, there will be a pastor or a rabbi or a priest

give an invocation. so what is the big deal? >> i think this is not any bishop. he is the cardinal of the archdiocese of new york, and i think that comes with a certain level of [ inaudible ] and look the "new york times" reported on saturday that this -- that the romney campaign has been seeking this since april. romney met with cardinal dolen across the street from st. patrick's cathedral. this was cultivated for a long time. >> bill: and on top of that right, responding to my own question, you have got -- and you indicated this earlier, dolen who has for the last year been leading the charge against president obama, the obama administration, particularly in

the area of contraception leading to the charge that president obama is the leader of a war on religion. >> exactly. and mitt romney released an ad two weeks ago of waging a war on religion. so that context is so poised right now, for someone who should be thinking in a pastoral way to come out and do this. the cardinal has a radio show out of sirius, and he said some very nice things about paul ryan, he called him a public servant, he sort of waxed poetic about mitt romney's [ inaudible ]. and now he is heading to tampa, and it doesn't look right. >> bill: so the question is

should the archbishop of new york accept -- you know why romney wants him, should he accept that -- let me ask our viewers if you want to weigh in on that at 866-55-press should the cardinal have accepted this invitation. what message does it send? to me it says romney is my guy. >> uh-huh. >> bill: but i want to go back to what you just said so -- after the nuns lead the way, and the nuns on the bus had their tour -- >> right. >> bill: -- criticizing the romney budget because it would ruin decimate if not destroy any program that would help the poor, the catholic bishop did finally come out and condemn the

ryan budget. >> yes they sent a message that it failed the basic moral test. now we have seen several bishops come out, including paul ryan's bishop saying -- defending, paul ryan. >> bill: with can dollen say that ryan has sol us tuesday for the poor? >> it's a good question. paul ryan said no one is more pro life than i am. there is nothing pro life about a budget that would take food away from hungry kids that helps the elderly, by no means can you justify this budget in catholic or religious terms. >> bill: isn't it true then -- that the leadership -- i'm not talking about all catholics, the nuns or

priests -- but the catholic bishops the only thing they care about is abortion and same-sex marriage. >> i think that's certainly the impression they are giving. they speak for the big moral microphone when it comes to those two issues and they have great stuff. and i'll give them credit there's over 200 bishops, some are better than others but you are right, the image they convey is these are the issues that they care about, and i think that's a real betrayal of their own history. catholic bishops help lay the ground work for the real deal. >> bill: what is happening with the catholic church and politics today. you can follow john's work by going to faithinpubliclife.org.

866-55-press is the number. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

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♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show," live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 25 minutes now after the hour. john is in studio with us from faith and public life action fund. cardinal timothy bolen is

actually suing the obama administration, over their ruling providing contraception to all american women with no co-pay, and has accepted an invitation to give a blessing to the republican national convention. let's go to spokane, washington. good morning, phil. >> caller: good morning, bill. i was born and raised a cook county democrat. cardinal dolen doesn't pay for the streets, o anything else and if he wants to be elbow deep in the politics of my country, he needs to pony up. >> bill: yeah. >> my great, great grandma was

sold on the auction block. it took abe lyndon and my favorite president ldj to give me mine. >> bill: i hear ya phil. the point about the taxes is always the hammer that people like dolen have to think about. >> sure. it's a tricky situation here cause catholic bishops and religious leaders have every right to talk about politics -- >> bill: but should they get involved? >> no. >> bill: we talked about expressing their opinion of political issues, but when it comes to endorsing candidates or coming to a political convention or denying communion usually to some democrat. >> right. >> bill: mary is in chicago. hi mary what do you say?

>> caller: what is wrong with this dolen, now he is going to give creedance to mormonism? he is a catholic blah blah cardinal. he should absolutely not be doing this. >> bill: i got it mary. usually -- again, the parish priest or the bishop of the town, but for the leading bishop in this country to fly all the way to tampa to do this is unusual. he is the face of catholicism in the united states. and that makes this different. >> bill:. and it makes to me the lawsuit and everything against obama just look like they are shelling out to the republican party. and that's not the role of the catholic church. thank you for coming in john.

>> thank you. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: you got it 33 minutes after the hour now here on the "full court press" this monday august 27th. just out in bookstores the paperback edition of my latest book "the obama hate machine," perfect timing for the election season. because we continue to see the obama hate machine continuing to roll on. if you want a copy go to our

website, billpressshow.com. we'll get it out to you right away, postage, shipping all of that stuff for $16.99. and now down in tampa, it was supposed to be day one of the convention as we all know events have been postponed because of hurricane isaac. but what is going on? everybody else is in town. what if they gave a convention and nobody came. marty katie joins us live from tampa. hey, marty what is going on. how are ya? >> hey good morning. most of the interesting stuff happening outside of the convention hall. john boehner is doing a

breakfast with reporters. karl rove is talking to mike allen for the breakfast. they are still having events and rallies with big political names. for example, i think chris christie is supposed to speak to -- i think the missouri or ohio folks today -- >> caller: what is the weather like? are you able to get around? >> it has slowed down a bit. i haven't been out today. i came in late last night for some events and then i'm going to head into the convention hall pretty soon. it's not bad. i can't imagine the wind is more than 15 20 miles an hour and the rain is not that hard. but the whole damn town is shut down. it is kind of dead outside of the convention. >> bill: all right.

i remember st. paul particularly last year was -- four years ago was that way. so are they warning people like not to go outside or -- >> no. they have some school closings here, the local schools, and they are under -- i guess some various tropical storm warnings, but it is not that bad in tampa, and what is funny is because so much of the media and the political world is here in familiar, there has been a lot of focus on the effect of the hurricane, but the reality is it is bearing down for new orleans, and may hit on the anniversary of katrina as a huge storm. >> bill: yeah. >> it could be a bad day for mitt romney. if there is a hurricane barrelling down the day before he accepts the nomination on the anniversary of trina, they have

to figure out how to adjust their tone. >> bill: yeah if hurricane isaac -- i mean if tropical storm isaac becomes a hurricane like everyone is predicting it is taking the same path that katrina took. so you know television is going to have to cover that so at best the republican convention will be blacked out or it will be a split screen. >> yeah, can you imagine mitt romney giving his speak and having some sort of lower screen that shows flooding or damage or people having trouble in new orleans again, it would -- it's

really not great optics for him. you know, it -- most of the attention rightfully so will probably be focused on whether the people of new orleans is okay. >> bill: right. marty kady is our guest, he is on the ground in tampa and you can follow him at "politico".com. they can't control the hurricane, or -- i was amazed that romney invited donald trump to do kind of stunt on the first day of the convention. they didn't invite sarah palin, or michele bachmann --

>> or george bush. >> bill: right. what is the upside here? >> i don't know. he is not even part of the party per se. donald trump is really good at promoting donald trump. and that would be his purpose doing anything here. and the media love him. he is funny, kooky, he brings headlines. but mitt romney wants the republicans to be seen as the responsible party that will help save the economy bring the country back, and i don't know, it seems mitt romney is the last guy in the world who wants the side shows -- >> bill: what do you think mitt romney wants the nation to see about him? because those of us who do this

day in and day out and have been doing so for the last couple of years think that everybody knows everything there is to know about all of the candidates that is not really true of mitt romney is it? >> i think his style makes it hard to get to know him at least through the media. a great segment for us to promote our own story in political, we did have a sitdown with mitt romney. and it was probably published today. they did it in ohio but they publish it today in "politico" and in partnership with the "tampa bay times," but he said a lot of people don't like me i am what i am and people have to like what they see or not. but what he gets across when he

speaks on thursday he wants to have a more intimate setting. they set up the stage with a dark wood look. they want it to look like a living room -- >> bill: oh, god. >> so they are trying to make it more intimate the people is america's living room. so mitt romney does want to try to introduce himself to people who aren't junkyies like you and i. >> bill: is there any talk at all about whether these convention make sense anymore? because i have been to a lot of conventions. i was a little kid and first got involved in politics and thought some day maybe i can go to a political convention, and

now i hate going to them. and there are no surprises anymore. >> there are no surprises. we were talking about this at dinner with a couple of "politico" editors. and the reality is they will keep having conventions as long as they make people money. it's a great marketing event for the media. it's a lot of marketing for -- and corporate stuff happening, right? >> yeah, oh sure. >> promotions and parties. >> bill: the lobbiests are there, i have been invited to a lot of parties in charlotte. >> yeah. so it's a lot of business for the media et cetera, and the city itself. they are showing highlights of

the chicago rights. and things can go terribly wrong. tampa is an incredibly friendly place all of the people i have dealt with here, they seem to be glad to have us everything is running very smoothly, even for the rain. but do any real politics happen? >> bill: no. >> not necessarily. but think obama's 2004 speech. we all remember that. people kind of like this is the guy who is going to win the senate race in illinois. and you look up and go this guy is something different. the convention can be an opportunity for a lower-level politician to give such a stirring speech that it launches them to stardom.

>> bill: but the networks are not going to spend four nights in a row covering that. >> no. the networks are not going to interrupt the reality show or whatever their top prime time show is. they might be down to airing one or two speeches. >> bill: exactly. hey, marty thanks so much for joining us. stay safe. and have fun. >> bill: let's talk about that when we come back. i really question the wisdom of continuing to hold these political conventions. and if i had been at that dinner last night, i wouldn't have talked about 2020 or 2024 i think in 2016 -- my prediction in 2016 conventions will be down to at the most two days probably ought to be one day and one night, and that's it.

866-55-press. what do you say? >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

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♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 12 minutes before the top of the hour. joe from the [ inaudible ] share fund here talking syria, and other important foreign policy issues at the top of the next hour, and we're talking about conventions, whether they really mean anything anymore. but first here is an important

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and get that extra money flowing in. there was a time when political conventions were pretty exciting. just in the research that i have done, but they -- back in 1952 when republicans went to their convention, they didn't know who was going to be the nominee, and they decided the nominee at the convention. 1956 adley stevenson they weren't sure who the vice presidential nominee was going to be. and he threw it open and said let the convention decide. in 1960, people weren't here if i was going to be kennedy or stevenson. kennedy wins. 1968, yeah the police were out

of control but there was gene mccarthy was still very much in the picture. it was war versus peace. the vietnam war, and the peace platform. today we all know who the nominee is going to be and what the platform is going to be. there is not one thing decided at the convenings anymore. they are a waste of time and money. is this [ inaudible ] calling from chicago. >> caller: we need to get the money out of politics to ensure people like me [ inaudible ] i hope you realize how important it is the secretary general is going to iran and 20 other countries, because only israel wants to follow in the stonage. and most democrats too -- we

need to rain in israel and the war in the us. what do you think, bill? >> bill: i'm sorry because of your cell phone, i didn't understand your question at all. i'm sorry, try again. pam go ahead. >> caller: i am go glad not to be watching that shut up mia show. [ laughter ] >> caller: there needs to be a change so accomplish something. but there are a young people that are really excited about going to the conventions. >> bill: i wish that were true -- >> caller: that's what i'm saying there is a need to change it to do more.

i'm happy to see democrats finally fighting back, and speaking up for themselves but they need to do more of that. >> bill: you are absolutely right, pamela. i agree with you on that man. and that's one of the reasons why i think you hear mitt romney whining and screaming so much because democrat barack obama and others are standing up to him. they are fighting back and republicans aren't used to that and it's about time we did that. and we have got to continue to do that. for example, the tax return issue, i don't care how much mitt romney whines about this. do what your father has done what joe biden and barack obama have done, release your tax returns. and i think these conventions are on their way out, unless as

pamela says they are completely change them. i don't know how they would do that. we'll talk more about it. >> announcer: on your radio, on tv, the "bill press show," new on current tv. ♪ unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show," now on current tv. >> bill: hey, well, you want to know what the president of the united states is doing today, while the other party is down in tampa, trying to dethrone him, the answer is absolutely

nothing. he has got a schedule that is no schedule today at the white house. i got -- the official schedule right here. daily guides and press schedule for monday august 27th. the president will attend meetings at the white house and those are all closed. there is not even a press briefing scheduled today. was sure there would be a briefing today at the white house, but there is not. but tomorrow he is going off to colorado fort collins, colorado, and then off to aims, iowa, and he's coming back, and i believe going to virginia again. isn't it interesting how often he goes to iowa nevada, colorado virginia ohio. stays something about those states, doesn't it.

we'll be back and talk about syria.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: good morning, everybody. it is monday august 27th, good to see you today. and welcome to the "full court press," your morning progressive show where we bring you up on the news of the day, and take your calls at 866-55-press. hurricane isaac has put on everything on the first day of

the republican convention. we'll let you know what is happening around the globe and take your calls. events for the republican national convention have been canceled because of hurricane isaac. the real question is why do we still have these dumb political conventions? isn't it time to get rid of them? we'll get into that plus a whole lot more here on the "full court press." but first lisa ferguson joining us from los angeles. hi, lisa good morning. >> hi hill. good morning, everyone. newt university will go on as scheduled today. the first class is in just a couple of hours. it will focus on jobs growth and protecting medicare, and includes speeches from scott walker and aaron shock from illinois it is the four days of

classes where newt gets to teach. but the university has a couple of questionable speakers lined up like the exlieutenant governor of new york and known by many as a professional liar. as for john goodman, he is the president of the conservative think tank national policy or conservative analysis. he said there are no uninsured americans, and his answer just reinvent the answer to uninsured. and the state attorney general for south carolina is dismissing claims that it will strip votes

from 10s of thousands of people but washington needs to hear the debate before it takes place. and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. brought to you by spiriva handihaler. if you have copd like i do you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms.

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(vo) this is joy. >>who the heck does mitt romney think he is? (vo) this is joy on current tv. >>if mitt romney treats his magic underwear the same way as his tax returns, then he's been going commando for the past 10 years. >>since when do you get to say stuff like that on tv? >> listen, if you'd read your email once in a while, you'd know i have a new show. (vo) always outspoken. >> you think because this is an

election year you can just say anything? >> hello! say anything, that's the name of the show. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv, this is the "bill press show." >> bill: yep, michele bachmann takes the american flag down. >> bill: hey, we're ready for the republican national convention, but hurricane isaac had some other ideas. yeah, let's put it off at least a day, maybe two days. good morning, everybody, what do you say? this is the "full court press." your new morning show on current tv, and your continued morning show on all of your progressive radio stations. happy to tackle the stories of

the day on this monday august 27th, and a day where the republicans plan to launch their convention in tampa, florida, but things have been postponed until tomorrow. we'll take your calls at 866-55-press. and we couldn't do it all without our good friend joe, welcome back. >> good morning, bill. >> bill: we're going to get you a chair with your name on the back. >> i used to have my own theme song, but now that you are your own show we can't do that. >> bill: sorry about that. good to see you today. and your team, peter, dan.

good to see you guys. >> good morning. >> and thanks to john fugelsang for a great job filling in. reviews are all good and the show and studio is still here so it wouldn't have been that bad. >> there you go. >> bill: i'm excited to have john not only fill in but john starting his own show when like right after labor day. this fall. >> he and joy both will be joining the lineup. >> this lineup is just growing. >> bill: growing with great people. and we start the day. that's our slot. so joe is with us and we'll be checking in with our friends down in tampa a little bit later in the hour. joe lots to talk about, but first -- dan has the big stories. >> remember mark stanford the

former north carolina governor caught having an affair while in office in 2009. he lied to staff, saying he was hiking on the appalachian trail when he was actually with his mistress. the argentinian newspaper says he is now set to marry maria. he popped the question in a restaurant. >> is that a happy ending? >> bill: i can't tell. i'm surprised at the ending. >> the way he proposed is he hid out in the bathroom and he had given the ring to a waiter and the waiter gave the bag to his

fiance, and he popped out of the bathroom surprise! >> well if enough people the white house release the highly secretive honey ail beer recipe. >> bill: is our cause. sign the petition. >> jay carney confirming on twitter if the required 25,000 people signed the petition they will release the recipe. so far 9400 have signed it. home brewers have a tradition of sharing their recipe and they say the white house should as well. >> bill: i mean this is the serious issue of the day. >> beer. >> bill: yeah, we want the white house beer recipe.

>> and the latest announce from the porn company, it wants to see more of prince harry's crown jewels. paris hilton productions has made an offer of $10 million to star in a film. [ laughter ] >> that's a near parking fee. >> bill: the dumb ass after these photos in las vegas. please, what he was thinking? i don't know. joe it's good to have you in again. let's start on the front page of this mornings "new york times." crack downtoll with the burial

of sirrians. despite all of the attempts to say cool it, no more violence he is just on this rampage. >> yeah the slaughter continues in this civil war. this has now become a civil war, an uprising. this is a country torn apart. the rebels are increasingly well armed but not enough to defeat the forces. the un estimates on saturday alone about 350 people alone. 350 including 200 found in a mass gave. some perhaps from the shelling, but others apparently shot in the head so this is up close and personal killing going on on a daily basis in syria. >> bill: what the arab spring started, the world -- we were all involved in this and talking

about it and now -- what have we done -- now this in syria, have we just lost interest? is our attention span so short that nobody is raising hell about what is going on in syria? >> one issue is the war actually splits the region. so later on the "new york times" does a story calling it a proxy war. the sunni forces aiding the incur surgeonsy forces. and so the division -- the region is torn. second, there aren't very many good options. can you put in a no-fly zone or a no-fly light.

but that will involve american forces, aside has a very more mid-able missile system. and the election year, which is that the administration is very hesitant to take action here that might tip a very very close election. go in. do the american people want to see that? most don't. most of americans are sick of this region and this war, and they want us out of the middle east. >> bill: i'm not advocating a third war, but i am reminded of the comments we heard about saadam hussein back in the days. we could not stand by and let this guy kill his own citizens or oppress any decent -- for all of the reasons given why we had

to go to war against iraq. and i was one of the people that say we can't be the world's policeman. but now assad seems to be doing a lot of the same things and the united states is saying we're not going to get involved militarily. are we doing the right thing in >> the president just a couple of days ago that created a red line. and immediately people said, well, why is it chemical weapons? why is that the red line? how about slaughtering 200 people in a day? >> bill: yeah, right. >> is he doing the right thing? i think we could be doing more but i'm not an advocate of a full intervention in syria. it's not clear that that would end the violence. it might just escalate it.

we are sending aid to the rebels, and we should be doing that, and increasing that. and cut down on the hospitaler and air assaults that are killing so many. >> bill: are the american people ready for a third war? >> no, they are overwhelmingly clear. they don't want to talk about afghanistan. they don't even want to talk about iraq. they want out. and they want the troops back home. >> bill: 866-55-press is the number. so we have this situation there i don't even know what -- what is mitt romney's -- i know the president is clearly saying assad has got to go. the violence has to stop. we're on the side of the distance, even though we're not giving them direct military help. what is romney's position? >> very vague on syria. he con see traits on iran in this region iran is a major

threat to the united states to israel and criticizes the president, but hardly says a ward on syria. >> and on iran they are now continuing if not stepping up their building of centrifuges. so they are going full steam ahead, right? >> who things happened. the new york times saying they installed a couple hundred more centrifuges. that brings them a little closer to bomb capability but they are still two or three years out. so it's not like they are on the verge of the bomb -- >> bill: but they are still going in that direction. >> so if the sanctions helped?

they certainly have, but it hasn't stopped the program. on saturday the administration said look there's still time and space for diplomatic solutions to this. >> bill: your calls are welcome at 866-55-press on syria and what we ought to be doing and whether the united states should again maybe marshall in other countries, or have some kind of military presence for that. are we ready for that. speaking of romney an article in the "new york times" yesterday i believe. he says he is a budget hawk but when it comes to the pentagon he is not. the romney budget would increase pentagon spending which is now at $55 billion.

>> that's just the base budget. >> bill: that's up 34% from 2001. romney would include it to $986 billion. >> right. almost a trillion. >> bill: for the pentagon alone. >> yeah, this is a huge problem actually. so romney and ryan want to be tough on defense, and where they demonstrate their toughness is not doing anything about syria, but throwing money at the pentagon. what that would mean is in ten years you would have a trillion dollars revenue budget. where are you going to get that money? the only way to get it is to viciously cut domestic programs.

it is fiscal suicide to increase the military budget by that much. and there's no clear plan for why. he wants to buy more ships. obama wants to cut 100,000 troops. he says no keep them. he is designing a force that we can't possibly afford. >> bill: and you would have ever weapon system and plane or ship proposed ever. >> right. that's his plan. the worst part of this platform is this section on nuclear weapons. where they want to build more nuclear weapons. and we're about to spend $650 billion on nuclear weapons and nuclear programs. and he wants more. he wants to make these weapons

more usable. >> bill: oh, great. who says there is not a difference between the two parties. more nuclear weapons in the republican party. first time i have heard that. we learn a lot every time you come in here. >> you have to read the fine print. >> bill: all right. 866-55-press is your invitation to join the "bill press show." we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our

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press show." >> bill: hey, it's 25 minutes after the hour. there is so much important stuff going on on the world scene. we'll talking to joe this morning. we always encourage you to check their website and to support this important organization, the work that joe is doing particularly on the area of nuclear disarmament, it's plowshares.org. joe let's say hello to jim, if we can from sand mountain alabama. on syria, good morning, jim. >> caller: hey good morning, i'm enjoying your discussion about the sirrian people. i don't always agree with you politically, but you are making points with me today in the sirrian discussion. >> bill: glad to hear that.

>> caller: one thing i wanted to make up that i feel is just as important as the issue that you two have been discussing is russia and i have heard that that's a serious threat but in russia got involved look another the black fleet, their navy is tip around the beach. some navy, great britain or france to would have to block aid to that whole end of the mediterranean sea. >> bill: excellent point. >> yeah, you really put your finger on something here. and this is one of the recitations the u.s. or west has about getting too involved in syria, and you don't having a

agreement between the two pow wars. it is unlike libya. where you had the un thought of an ally. so what does russia do? that's a very tense area of the world. you don't want to see that. interestingly we're seeing regional players starting to act own this. the new president of egypt is trying to reach out to iran and russia and china to try to get an agreement to shut down the assad regime. >> bill: yeah, and just the location, we would be at an extreme disadvantage. i don't know it just keeps getting worse, and worse.

we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

♪ >> announcer: this is though "full court press." the "bill press show," live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: you got it. 33 minutes after the hour. here we are the "full court press" this monday august 27th. paperback addition on my latest book "the obama hate machine" is in bookstores as of just a few days ago. if you want one go to my website, and we'll get it out to

you right away signed shipping, whatever $16.99 what a deal. if you want to give the paperback to a friend of yours, now is the time to do it. republican convention not quite underway in tampa, they are all there, but proceedings have been delayed because of hurricane isaac, but it does raise the question about, really, four days for political conventions anymore? should we even be having these deals anymore when nothing happens? and i seriously think not. let's face it. we know who the nominee is going to be. we know what the platform is. there's no debate about that anymore. these conventions have become nothing but a four or in the case of the democrats now, three-day basically extended news conference.

there is no news. they go out of their way to make sure that nothing happens. it is all programmed like a super commercial for the republican party or for the democratic party. the only thing that happens is that big corporations are there spending a lot of money throwing parties. lobbyists are there throwing a lot of parties. the media is there promoting itself. in terms of news and political reality, nothing, nothing, nothing. not everybody agrees. would love your calls at 866-55-press. a lot of emailing this morning. brian says you are forgetting the drama in the 2008 democratic convention when it was uncertain if hilary clinton would step aside for president obama.

give me a break. there wasn't any drama. i was there. there was zero, zero zero chance and zero drama at that convention. right, peter. you were there with me? >> yes. >> bill: was there any question who was going to give the address at the stadium -- mile high stadium thursday night? >> no. no. >> bill: it was obama convention. william -- i won't even try to pronounce the last name -- also disagreed. he says every four years two or three nights with speeches is a small price to pay for democracy. this is like the olympics except you already know who the winners are going to be.

you don't really know who is going to win. you do know in tampa, and you will know in charlotte. william continues. the press may tire of the conventions, but you never know what could catch the eye or ear of every day folks. what about the folk by jesse jackson. i remember that speech. it was a powerful speech. the problem today is every one of those speeches is written ahead of time. and for mitt romney they won't let them say anything they don't want to hear. i think they have served their purpose, and maybe each party gets one day where they can put on their best show, get television coverage, but don't

pretend they are doing. bill is in chicago. there were real debates in chicago, big important debates about the vietnam war. say, bill what do you say? >> caller: i totally agree. let me tell you something, the conventions with from a bygone era. i think you said it so well it's just the show boat experience or the lobbyists and that sort of thing. >> bill: the argument is that those of us involved in politics know this, but most of the american people are looking forward to these conventions and want to watch all four night? >> caller: no, i don't think so. i think they have a lot better

things to do with the labor day weekend coming up. back at the turn of the 20th century that was the only way they could get together. but you said it it is all put together already. and the one last interesting point was the announcement of the vice president and they already announced it. >> bill: right. and the big floor demonstrations were interesting. that could not happen today, will not happen they are so controlled every single minute of that prime time is planned down to the second. there is -- it's impossible to have anything real happen at

these conventions. so for get them. patrick is out in san francisco. good morning, patrick. >> caller: good morning, i have to agree with pamela who talked about getting young people involved or interested in the conventions. i think to the democrats benefit and probably the republicans, exposing the party plank would be a way to make them a little more exciting. >> bill: well, patrick i'm -- i'm all for getting young people involved in these conventions, but you can't get them involved if you are just handing them a plank, and say spend all of your money and vote for what we're handing you. the only way to make them interesting would be to have some real fights on these

issues. >> caller:. >> bill: but they don't do that anymore because they don't want any surprises. let's say the democratic convention, they could have a real debate or ending the war in afghanistan, right? or starting a war in iran. right? the risk is the party might come out and say, we want a war in iran, but that's not what obama wants, but it would be fun to have that debate. young people might find that worthwhile, but they are not going to know when their vote -- they don't want to be a rubber stamp. here in washington, d.c. william join the conversation. >> caller: good morning. we never knew all of the details

of planks and platforms, so the next two or three days why don't the media take the time to explain these things that have been decided, and use that time to educate and hold both parties accountable for what they are planning for the feature. >> bill: well, i hope they would, by the way -- for example, from joe, i learned this morning for the first time that the republican party platform includes a call for building yet even more nuclear weapons. >> caller: that's correct. >> bill: they also have adopted an anti abortion no matter, no why, no exceptions and a plank that is anti-same-sex marriage. so i would hope the media would tell us -- but whatever is in

them has already been decided? >> caller: yes, but this is where the media needs to step up and explain to people, unlike c-span doesn't do but the bbc does very well during their conventions for prime minister when they happen. you know, give background. how all of these things have evolved. >> bill: i take your point there, but it begs the question if it has already been decided, why have an organization in the first place? >> caller: every organization comes together for raw raw. but three nights out of four years for a democracy to -- whether people watch or not. i think more people may watch than you realize. >> bill: all right. i'm still spectacle, william,

yet i don't think our democracy hinges on three days of a show time. it's the networks saying we'll abandon our program, and give you three hours of what you want and we'll put it on for free. 866-55-press. what do you think? >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: is this the "bill press show." >> bill: 13 minutes before the

top of the hour monday august 27th, the "full court press" here. good to have you with us. we'll get back to your calls about the convention in just a second. but first this story caught my eye out of orlando. a man in florida, orlando, accused of pocking $80,000, after posing as a professional athlete. he called the bank using the information he got, he asked to have a debet card sent to his new address in orlando. there you go one more story why you need to do about protecting yourself against identity theft. what i have chosen to do is get life lock ultimate. they will protect you and your

bank account. press call and press 60 for 60 free days. if you are not happy give them a call within 60 days and cancel. they will give you a full refund. 1-800-356-5967. by the way, isaac shows no signs of slowing down. just the opposite it is gaining in strength as rick nab from the hurricane service tells us. >> prepare for possibly category 2, and if we see any indications that it is getting stronger, we'll let the emergency management officials know. >> bill: so amounting into at

least a category 2 hurricane, projected to get even worse. and today we're told at this hour, it is headed straight for new orleans, the path of katrina and isaac are exactly the same. >> that's scary. >> bill: it is. the republican national convention starting tomorrow. and it raises the question do we really need these political conventions. i guess the best answer is well, we might discover somebody new. but is that still really worth it. hi pat in wisconsin.

>> caller: that's exactly my point. i didn't know that young man that spoke about red states and blue states. and there he was and he caught my eye. and when i was very young, there was a young man at a convention that i knew nothing about but he excited my desire to know more about politics, and he was nominated president in the middle of the night on a black and white tv in 1960 and we might motivate somebody who is just a young person and from that time on i know i personally was interested in knowing more about politics. so there is that aspect too. >> bill: but, you know pat, it is interesting, in talking about john f kennedy. he got the at attention at that time, because he through his name in for vice president,ed a

addly through it to the convention when they were all actually competing for something, and then kennedy realized he didn't have the votes and gave that great speech bowing out. but my point is the reason we heard about it is because there was a real challenge, a real decision being made by the delegates. there isn't today, right? >> caller: no, no, i agree. but i do think it gives exposure to a young face and i did not get involved in politics until 60, but i do believe that it does give exposure to some up and coming person whom we might become in love with as we democrats tend to be. >> bill: all right. i hear ya and that is an argument made about barack obama in 2004. but for that one possibility that we discover somebody new?

four nightsover prime time television? i don't think so. jane in chicago. hi, jane. >> caller: hi, bill i agree with you. i think we could discover somebody in one night. and use the time for more debates. >> bill: i done want as many debates as they have in the primary -- >> caller: no, not that many. but maybe a couple more presidential and at least one more vice president. >> bill: yeah, and have them real debates, right? and give them time to answer and not have to bounce around. i would go for that, jane. you know what here is what, i think the reality is going to catch up to these conventions, and the reality is television is not going to give the political parties so much time. because they have evolved political conventions are nothing but one long extended

glorified new conference and they are not worth all of that coverage and the time we give them. i'll be back with the parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ (vo) every news network will cover the convention. but only current coverage will put you at the collision of tv and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

♪ >> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: on monday august 27th my parting shot for today, somehow it is fitting that hurricane isaac ruined the first day of the republican convention after all isaac is

not the only character to whom mitt romney has had to play second fiddle. romney became the republican nominee eventually was he was the last man standing and the most boring and had the most money. he has zero foreign policy experience zero national security credentials. his business experiences consists of enriching himself while impoverishing others. mitt romney walks into tampa, a second-hand empty suit. no wonder isaac has become a bigger story. my parting shot for today. we'll terry o'neal tomorrow the in the of "now." come on back and see us again right here tomorrow morning.

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