confrontation, yes the ending is not a good one. i want to thank roland for bringing this amazing story. have a great weekend and come back on m [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer and this is "viewpoint." violence and chaos continue to spread across the middle east. reaction to a low budget ain't anti-muslim film released in america. nationally the president leads romney by three points within the margin of error. romney seemed pleased with the numbers when he spoke with "abc news" george stephanopoulos this morning. >> romney: i'm doing well. i'm tied in the poll, some days up, some days low we're doing

well in swing states. >> eliot: notobama has a seven point edge over romney and the president led by five points in florida and enjoyed that same five-point lead in virginia. also in new hampshire according to an in-state poll. romney's ability to connect with middle income voters is one big reason why he trails the president. that inability was on display today. >> romney: no one can say my plan is going to raise taxes on middle income people. principle number one is keep the burden down. >> you under $100,000 middle income. >> no, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000. >> really? >> eliot: according to a study from 2009, households earning $180,000 are the top 5%. right now median household income around $50,000.

meanwhile anti-american riots spread, and in tunis three protesters died, and in libya where ambassador chris stevens sean smith and tyrone woods and glen doherty were killed tuesday night. after coffins carrying their bodies touched down at airs force base, the president said we'll continue to lead. >> obama: we'll never retreat from the world. we'll never stop working for the dignity and freedom whatever their creed, whatever their faith. that is the essence of american leadership. >> eliot: the romney campaign has been working to capitalize on the riots to attack the president's leadership.

telling the "washington post," if you had a president romney you would be in a different situation. respect for america has gone down. romney's running pate, congressman paul ryan piled on in a speech in washington. >> we know who america is dealing with in these attacks. they're extremists who operate by violence and intimidation and the at least equivocation or mixed signal makes them boulder. >> eliot: a bit of equivocation from george w. bush might not have been so bad. the policies coming from swing state voters seems unequivocal when asked who would do a better job, voters liked like preferred obama over romney. and in florida and in virginia the president favored over his republican rifle. i'm joined by markos moulitsas. thank you for joining us.

one week after the convention, the sugar high as it's been referred to has perhaps disappeared. is the race now essentially going to be static? will the president use his three-point over all lead and coast to victory? >> yes you played a clip of romney saying that the race was tied. the race is not tied. it's not even close to being tied. the president has a significant lead and in the swing state polls it's not even close. when you drill down to the swing state numbers romney has an incredibly difficult time getting out of the mid 40s. obama at 48, 49, 50, and romney at 35. what we're seeing in the previous years, it's the smallest it's before been at this stage of the race. in 1980, 35% of the voters were undecided. now, 5%. that's it.

they told pollsters they're sold on their decision. there >> eliot: that absence of undecided voters, and this is a race is about passion not persuasion. it's not enter wading undecide. it's having those with who are already with you to have the passion to turn out on election day. that seems to be the variable that pollsters have a hard time measuring. and i hope it's not the case but it still could be that the passion on the romney side turns deeper and turnout could be higher in that universe. is that something that the obama campaign has to worry about? >> of course they have to worry did. i'm looking at the data. i'm not worried about it. there is a way that pollsters can measure voter intensity. in 2008 we had the higher intenseity. and it showed in the polls.

this year it slips in the convention, public intensity went down after the republican convention amazely. democratic convention went through the roof. i think there were a lot of liberals who are not enamored with obama and wish he would do this or that differently, but now after the convention actuallily in the aggregate i can get behind this guy. i'm not worried about the intensity, because the data does not show one. >> eliot: that's a fair assessment. there are those in the democratic party on the left part of the spectrum there is has been despair that the president has not been aggressive on main issues. but with mitt romney having gone so far right i don't think there is a rational progressive voice who is saying we got to elect we got to elect president. mitt romney has never had an opportunity to hit his stride. >> not even the last couple of

days--his entire campaign. this is a campaign that has run on social issues when they don't claim they don't want to run on social issues. paul ryan with medicare and medicaid and entitlement programs, and they didn't want to talk about it, and they shouldn't want to talk about that because in the polling democrats had big leads. i think it's one nor in a long list of mistakes that the romney campaign has done this cycle. >> eliot: further that gaffe where he fashion about middle income folks of $200,000 incomes. once again the notion that mitt romney just is out of touch. bad enough he has income of $200,000 or net worth of $200 million. but then a gaffe plays and you can be guaranteed that clip will be played over and over again just as we did. how can he continue not to do something that shows empathy that he understand what middle class life is all about. >> he has no empathy. he made fun of little 'ol ladies

who got him cookies at 7-eleven. he has no ability to show empathy. i always believed the best way for him to gain in the polls is to just disappear and hope that people forget what he's actually like. >> eliot: the best moment for him was when the focus was everyone where else. this past week with chaos and turmoil, he has had his lehman brothers moment referring back to john mccain's complete failure to react in showing leadership. mitt romney's statement as the middle east events from unfolding, many interpret as showing he's incapable of leading a foreign policy. is that how this plays out. >> romney is falling further and further behind. none of them were taken after this moment after 9/11. i'm a person who will put words in the american people, i'll

wait for the data to come out. but the worst part about that, it was bad enough what he said in the statement misstating the facts, but that smirk on his face coming out of the podium. he thought he had scored politically. he thought he won. he thought he nailed it. for me to take a disaster of that sort and walk out so self-satisfied that you're laughing about it internally is the height of loathsomeness. i never liked romney, but i never detested him like i did after i saw the look on his face an that press conference. >> eliot: we're both keeping our emotions buried inside on this interview. the debate is the last moment that romney has to reformulate this campaign. what can he do? the line used to be that you would need three podium, one for barack obama and two for romney given his disparate views. >> he has to attack. he has to change the terms of

the debate. but he can't change the terms without looking like a jerk. early ballots will have been cast by the last debate. he doesn't even have time without having a big chunk of the american electorate having voteed already. >> eliot: markos moulitsas great to have you on the program as always. >> have a great weekend. >> eliot: thank you. more now on why the president continues to lead his republican rival, i'm joined by flowers' ninth district and alan grayson. welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> eliot: there was a moment when senior voices in the democratic party had difficulty answering a very simple question. the question is are you better off now than you were four years ago? you have answered that unequivocally. explain how, and what your logic is. >> my logic is this, what the president has given us, president obama has given us

three plus years of peace and quiet. when bush was president it was one crisis after another after another, everything from a housing crisis to the war in iraq to the collapse of the financial markets to anthrax in the mail, to the soars epidemic. one crisis you can say that has come up under his watch was the bp oil spill and everyone agrees that he did an excellent job with that. america he needs to get going on its own. >> eliot: there are two ways to interpret. i think your logic is impeccable and it's an important point to make. sometimes you just regroup and wait for things to calm down. if you had to pick a word to characterize the bush administration era was chaos. it was a pin ball bouncing from one crisis to another. some of those things were not

his doing. you have to acknowledge sometimes external events can frame a presidential era beyond the president himself. and jimmy carter would be one that you would make that argument. do you agree with that at all? >> i think you many of the crisis were created by the white house. we had $4 a gallon because the president was an oil man. many of these crises were man- man-made crises but white house-made crises. it's wonderful and delightful we have a president who does not foment crises like the previous president did. >> eliot: i thought you were going to go in a different direction saying that crises are because of bad policies, the collapse because of the deregulation policies and the all those arguments. having answered the question are

you better off now than you were four years ago there is another question that must be asked and answered. will you be better four years from now under romney? >> the democrats are trying to some of people's problems. they're trying to increase employment. they're trying to make sure that people who are sick can see a doctor, they're trying to improve the schools. the republicans have an answer to everything. let us pray. they've adopted utter fatalism. let's do nothing and hope things get better. democrats don't always have exactly the right answers but at least we know what the questions are. the republicans have no idea what the right questions are. >> eliot: well, i think there is anilism that pervades republican approach to government, do nothing, believe in nothing and that's ayn rand pseudolibertarian approach. we would agree, they want active

activism with respect to their favorite sectors, but with respect to the poor, and regulation, they're against it, against it against it. that's when they do nothing and pray. we'rewewhy is this answer not so easy? why is this race not as close as it should be? >> it's a race of the millionaires. when i won in 2008 and then i lost in 2010 when it was me against the koch brothers. the same kind of power is being brought to bear against the president. the same lies, money and propaganda all wrapped in one. we'll see if people wake up and understand the truth and see it for themselves or not. sometimes the power of lies is stronger than the power of truth. that's what is at stake this year in this election. >> eliot: i think that's well stated. fortunately, the sort of lack of logic and fact that it is

enveloping the mitt romney campaign, which is why he has found himself unable to persuade people. i want to go back to your race. you're running and how does your race look. >> my race looks good. the redistricting helped us tremendously. it comes down to this. they are spending $5.5 million to manufacture lies against. 70 negative ads against me, all lies. i was a victim of that. i was their early test tube attack to see what they can get away with under citizens united. they spent more money against me than answer any house member in the history of the country. the president is facing the same rough treatment but people are waking up. we won't see the same attacks this year as last time. people are focused on other races. it's an i.q. test for america.

can you see past the vicious lying propaganda that they throw out there. the fact that three and a half years of peace and quiet they're beleaguering the president about his birth certificate or religion or some other nonsense. people are going to have to wake up and see what's right for them. >> eliot: alan, thank thank you for your time and good luck in your race. democratic congressional candidate congressman alan grayson. many thanks. >> thank you. >> eliot: a new approach for the federal reserve. massive buying without end. that's coming up. welcome to the possibilities of membership. welcome in. american express. we've all had those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card.

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>> eliot: the new cycle of this campaign seems to be jobs, deficit taxes repeat over again. what is missing from this endless loop? any conversation about poverty which brings us to our number of the day. 0.2%. the media watchdog from january

to june, only 17 campaign stories out of more than 10,000 talked about poverty in a really substantive way one-fifth of 1% of election coverage. why does the issue get so little coverage? mainly because the candidates barely talk about it. the only time the topic has come up is when mitt romney said he wasn't concerned about the very poor. in most stories about that just focused on mitt, not on poverty it itself. but the media does not have to let candidates set the agenda. if candidates won't talk about poverty at press conference, what stops reporters from bringing it up themselves. >> republicans. government so small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. >> fox news is like a mecca for people who hate mecca.

(vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels. >> eliot: after another disappointing jobs report which featured a further drop in the workforce participation rate now a 30-year low the economy appears to be reaching a stalled speed. ben bernanke announcing an easing to qe 3. this time it will remain open until they believe the crisis has been addressed. in the next few months they'll buy $40 million in mortgage-backed securities and maintaining the current low interest rates through 2015.

the feds action gave mitt romney an easy chance to shift the answers back to the economy. >> what bernanke is saying is what the president is saying is wrong. the president is saying progress is coming and the economy is coming back. bernanke is saying no it's not. we have to print more money. i don't think they'll get the economy going. >> eliot: let's bring in ben white, author of money morning column and deputy editor joe wiesenthal. thank you for coming in. let me begin how bad is it? for the fed to react this way one almost gets a sense of panic. they say they're opening the floodgates to the maximum point. >> i don't think it's quite like that. in the middle of the crisis, absolutely. in qe 2 almost as bad. this is different in its tenor.

the economy is not quite as horrible. but what the fed is say even this slow growth is not fast enough to get unemployment to a level that we're happy with at the pace we're going. in the past where the qe programs came when the markets were down. now the markets are highs. >> eliot: you're right there is a schizophrenia in the economy. the stock market profit, those who are doing well are doing spectacularly well. and the rest, not so well. this is the slow boil the corrosive affect of high employment, wage growth that is stagnant or negative, and the fed saying no one is doing anything we'll do something. >> they said we'll continue to act and stimulate the economy until we see the unemployment rate come down significantly. i think that's what is most interesting about what they've

done. not to put a specific target on it, we want 7% unemployment, but that's our goal, to get this down significantly. we'll pump money in the system until that happens. >> eliot: ben bernanke is saying we're not stopping until we decide we're stopping. let's quantify this since its call the qe 3. how much will rates come down. you buy all these bonds and interest rates come down. by how much? interest rates are almost close to zero. >> there are two ways to think about it. interest rates are very low. if you think about it in terms of lowering rates then it's not going to have that much of an impact. boffin you look at the future commitment to keep rates low when you are a bank and you feel confident that you can lend out at these rates then it becomes more attractive to lend out at this rate.

this is why the open-ended aspect is important. it's not about some day after we do this slug of qe and then we let rates rise. it's saying we're going to keep rates low so you can feel comfortable making decisions at this point without rates jumping up on you. >> and you're not that worried about inflation. if you're sitting on a whole lot of cash as an corporation or individual you're more inclined to use it when inflation is low than when it's higher and money is worth less. on a 30-year mortgage rate they're looking to knock it down to 3.2 3.2. you get a couple of extra bucks a month to spend in the economy. >> eliot: i don't want to sound like mitt romney and say what's a couple hundred bucks. that's real money but corporate is already sitting on millions of cash, and you're saying this is a psychological planning. in your long-term planning,

rates will be low and we don't care about inflation. there are inflation hawks out there who for years have been saying oh my goodness we're going to have double digit inflation if you do this and none of that has happened. >> the fed has expended the balance sheet massively and people predicted hyper inflation and so forth but nothing close. >> eliot: i saw one headline a couple of days ago producer headlines were going up at a rate that was measurable. >> yes, but by you historical standards, it's really nothing. food has gone up with factors going into that that is not regulatory policy. but the fed would like to see that. they would like people to spend now and beat the inflation. >> eliot: explain why inflation is a good thing in terms of getting an economy going. >> it can cut down on people's debt. if they have more money the debt they have now is easier to pay off.

>> eliot: one way to deleverage inflation. >> and forces people to use money now. if you have something and you think prices are going up you'll buy that tv set now. >> and you can instantly see why the inflation is so bad. if you're saying this is going to be cheaper a year from now, why would i spend anything. >> eliot: you sit on cash and its getting more valuable because commodities are going down. you want to get people spending. qe 3 we're all glad its happening. let me give a choice. which would you rather have in terms of impact in our economy here. would you like to have china's economy grow at 2% per year faster or qe 3? >> i'm going--that's a tough one. i'm going to say qe 3 because china growing its economy 2% faster would probably put pressure on commodity costs. >> i would probably want china growing faster because you need a growing middle class there to sell more things there. if our currency is going down,

and they have middle class growing, that's good for us. >> i change my mind. i like that. >> eliot: in a way, factors outside of our control, which is the rate of growth of china's economy, will do more to determine our own economic future than what we can do domesticcally. >> the real game changer is europe. >> eliot: that's my next question. >> you take the disaster scenario off the table so it seems. >> eliot: well, they still might not make it. >> you never know for sure. more than anything, more than the qe 3 anything happening in china, europe turning the corner and european central bank. what they've done is much more powerful than qe 3. europe has the biggest economy in the world and they're saying we're going to make a serious move so it doesn't collapse. >> a bigger thing than qe 3 is

taking the fiscal cliff off the table. >> eliot: let's talk politics. is ben bernanke doing this because of political pressure? >> no, it's the only thing he can do. he has to move. there is no political pressure. >> if you're making a political addition, he wouldn't have done anything. >> eliot: the three of us decided. it wasn't motivated by politics, but who does it help? >> it's not going to effect the economy. the stock market--that booms that helps obama. it's controversial, mitt romney uses it to talk about the economy. >> eliot: i think it helps obama a little bit more. it moves the stock market and people vote based on the stock market. it helps him in that regard. but mitt romney says everything he has done has not worked.

so maybe a slight help in obama. >> eliot: all right, ben white editor of politico, and wiesenthal. thank you for your time tonight. >> the president is getting support from snoop dogg. view finding coming up next. polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans?

>> eliot: coming up, congresswoman sheila jackson lee on the non-existent problem of voter fraud. but first obama gets a key endorsement, fox news anchors get in an argument, and when it doesn't fit anywhere else, we put it in the viewfinder. . >> an electrifying endorsement of obama. >> you need to give obama four more years. [ bleep ] bush got eight years. clintclinton.

[ bleep ] had eight years. you didn't give him a clean house. the tv didn't work. >> could that endorsement mean a win for president obama. >> i think it will be a world of good for barack obama with this endorsement. >> how about reacting that the memos that went forward from the embassy while riots were taking place. >> most of the news media out in washington and the campaign trail focused on mitt romney and his comments rather than the substance of the comments. >> why are we worrying about a memo that was sent out from the country. >> yeah, but they're asking the question, not mitt romney. >> he was holding it about the memo. >> but the reporters could have asked all those kinds of questions, but they didn't. >> look, it's on the candidate to hold--i don't know--i'm not getting in an argument about this. >> i'm debating the issue. >> well, i'm not debating. >> the campaign slogan is g.m. is alive and osama is dead.

they're ramming it down the throats all over the world. that's why, in fact, in fact. we might even conclude, ladies and gentlemen if we're going to accept this notion that hurt feelings inspire terrorism that maybe obama is responsible for this. >> you're absolutely crazy. >> this nickname that they called you stretch. >> they called me stretch which was remarkable in terms of how they came up with that. [ laughing ] >> you're a tall human being. >> i'm a tall man. >> they also called you dancing man. >> dancing man yes. [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> dancing man yes. >> eliot: all right, tv edits best. the attack of voter i.d. laws comes from sheila jackson lee's

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

>> david: the many voter i.d. laws passed are fraudulent answer to a none exist kent problem. while courts strike many down are uninstitutional we still way the outcome. earlier this week we had a chance to speak with sheila jackson lee of texas about the state of restricted voteer i.d. laws nationwide. >> eliot: i don't think woman, thank you for joining us. great to have you with us rather than over a tv screen. >> welcome to washington. >> eliot: thank you. one of the things that is troublesome about this election cycle is the voter suppression bill. it seems so anti-democratic. how do you push back. >> it's really an epidemic. just a few hours ago we held a hearing on the question of abuse of power by the president and this president in particular. one of the items raised was because of the activity of the department of justice going into

places and into states where there are clear actions of voter suppression. this came about through the 2010 election. i really think it's a throw-back to the massive turnout in 2008 when a number of tea party states turned the laws upside down and decided to alter the redistricting structure after the, of course, 2010 census. and then of course work on the antiquated voting bills that really in some instances equated to poll tax. i'll use texas as an example. how can you insist on a voter i.d. when you eliminate a student i.d. but you allow a gun permit? how can you allow or call for a massive voter i.d. for the state of texas when from 80-plus counties do not even have the dps, department of public safety office for rural citizens and others to access that particular process. >> eliot: the good news--it

turns if back. >> eliot: the good news in texas the federal court said the statute there is unconstitutional. so a little bit of glimmer. >> a little bit of glimmer but-- >> eliot: you're so right. the overall storyline is one of the statutes exploding and becoming the go-to strategy for a republican party that does not want people to vote. >> it is absolutely the case. and in particular our attorney general didn't just accept the decision of the federal court here in washington, which by the way was a bipartisan court. he then ultimately went to the fifth circuit court of appeals to stop voter registration in a certain form. what i'm saying, they're not giving up. the ultimate goal is to have voting rights declared unconstitutional. this is going across the country. the people of florida have reached out to attorney general holder. they're trying to purge 1 million voters. in my own state citizens have

been receiving all right, we are told you are dead. if you're not dead, let us know. these are senior citizens who are intimidated by these governmental letters. >> eliot: the entire notion is based on an outbreak of voter fraud. >> they only found 80 incidents across the--across the nation. most people do not impersonate another voter at the voting booth. this is a question of intimidation repression, suppression, and i'd like to think that we stand for voter protection for all voters. the voting rights act is about one person, one vote. not about african-americans or hispanics or angelos as defined in texas caucasians or any other group. this is one person, one vote. >> eliot: in pennsylvania, which passed a very bad bill.

the state acknowledged they had no evidence of any instance of voter impersonation and therefore a better judge would have thrown out the statute. we didn't get there unfortunately, ultimately we will. the thing that mystifies me, the republican party is so intent on chasing voter fraud that doesn't exist but has no intention of chasing fraud on wall street that does exist. >> you're right, wall street is one example. from your leadership experience, you know it. we all love the capitalistic system and we want people to thrive, but we want to protect consumers. foreclosure, when americans by the millions lost their homes. or for example if you will look at the way the criminal justice system in some instances may work, the whole issue of dna and determining whether people are innocent or guilty. we can't find collaborators in

this but we can certainly suggest that behind every american there is a fraudulent voter. that is not the case. >> eliot: it really is not american. i want to switch to another area of civil rights that you care deeply about that is bully. there are kids subjected to bullying, and you're trying to pass a bill to protect them. >> hr 6019 is a statement of humanity. it allows the juvenile block grant funding which would give $200 million over five years that is open to a myriad of activities that individuals and non-profits and others can apply for to help their communities. what we did is to reemphasize the idea that we want to prevent bullying and give communities teachers school districts the ability to promote programs to

reach out to the community in their particular area and make a national statement that we want to stop bullying now. >> eliot: are you getting bipartisan support? >> fortunately we had bipartisan support, but we have a bucket to overcome suggesting one agenda versus another agenda, one group of kids against another group and interfere with parents rights. that's not the case. it's a bill that we, once the bill is signed, care about this new phenomenon, how shall i call it, it's not just the recess bullying by its cyberbullying it shows intolerance. aren't we better americans. >> eliot: it speaks to tolerance and being decent to our kids. any parent who has had a child come home that has been the subject of bullying will embrace this bill. >> thank you.

>> what has congresswoman lynn woolcy seen in 20 years in congress. that's ahead. with twizzlers the twist you can't resist. um, miss ? you have hard water stains and that cleaner's not gonna cut it. you need lime-a-way. it's 4 times more effective at removing limescale than the leading bathroom cleaner. lime-a-way is specially formulated to conquer hard water stains. for lime, calcium and rust... lime-a-way is a must. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025, we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university

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>> eliot: in washington, d.c. you need to be wary of what hides behind borey language. that's head. but first a programming note. the program of jennifer granholm airs at 10:00 eastern. and governor granholm will examine why they're acting like children and why congress takes the ball and runs home every time they don't get their way. something tells me there will be some mention of a 1970s television game show, have you seen this hair folks? that's coming up on "the war room" at 10:00 p.m. eastern. but ahead my view of a conversation with retiring congresswoman lynn woolsey. small it can fit in your vagina. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in america. >> fox news is like a mecca for

people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels. >> eliot: beware neutral sounding phrases as it masks an agenda. one example, cost benefit analysis. why would anyone oppose assessing whether the benefits of an action outweigh the cost? of course we're in favor of that. but now comes along a bill sponsored by senators rob portman, susan collins and mark warner given the white house under the guise of cost-benefit analysis like the sec fdic and the fcc. this bill is being pushed by republicans who want to stop any regulations relate to go financial reform. they're trying to create another

hurdle an opportunity to intervene before the already delayed dodd frank regulations check in. these lawmakers are using the responsible-responding buzz-sounding buzzfeed. well, the cost of the economic cataclysm of 2008 has now been calculated to be about $12.8 trillion. see the careful and thought report by group better markets. the cost of regulations surely would have been less than the cost we incurred by not having them. and do we need to debate the benefit to society of the disaster. the independence of these agencies should not be

sacrifice. but my dear republicans be consistent. at the same time the republican party is pushing to stop any rules or regulations relating to the financial markets where we know fraud is still rampant they've passed all sorts of voter i.d. laws that pose enormous cost and burdens in our society yet they cannot shows any circumstantial evidence of voter impersonation fraud. they are hypocrisy is outrageous, and expecting logic and consistency from a party whore standard bears an image of an etch-a-sketch bears pause any way. that's my view. (vo) featuring stephanie miller and friends, in the funniest political comedy tour in >> fox news is like a mecca for

people who hate mecca. (vo) with exclusive, behind the scenes footage. >> it is a movement. (vo) don't miss stephanie miller"s sexy liberal comedy tour. >> i'm going to go cop some cheap feels.

>> eliot: since 1993 representative lynn woolsey of california has been a welcome voice in congress. from serving as cochairs of the progressive caucus to being one of the outspoken voices against the war in iraq we've been fortunate for her distinguished services. i had a chance to talk with congresswoman woolsey as she prepares stepping away from her seat. >> eliot: thank you for joining me rather than a tv screen. you've been here during a period

of tulmult, when you look back over the 0 years what have you seen and what do you expect to happen. >> i remember thinking how nice people were to one another senior members would help junior members make a stand and be heard. but the negative surprise was our schedule. under the democrats it was so terrible. we never knew if we were going to vote or not. okay now 20 years later, it's flipped. people just aren't able to negotiate or to compromise. we're not mean to each other. we still like each other and laugh in the elevators you know but it's false. >> eliot: at a substantive level there is no engagement. >> no engagement. >> eliot: there is no

intellectual engagement. parties are talking past each other. >> right. >> eliot: why is that? are there two different ideologies that people can't speak to one another? >> ideologies is part of it. but we're in a spot where if republicans do anything that makes a democrat look okay they're not going to be able to defeat obama. the whole everything about them is to defeat him. it's so shortsighted. but i have to tell you we always know when we're going to home and we have home long times because they don't expect to get government business-- >> eliot: the lack of depth in the way we analyze it. >> i have a perfect thing to honor the classified employees the non-teaching staff and it's very bipartisan, and i cannot get them to bring it forward. i said, butdown but john, we could

improve onproveto the country we can agree on something. >> eliot: not interested. >> not interested. >> eliot: this goes back a little farther, but if you look at richard nixon's agenda. he was viewed as a conservative, but today he would be viewed as a liberal. >> yes. >> eliot: how do you feel the political spectrum has moved so the core issues that you deal with have been left behind to a certain extent. >> i was chair of the progressive caucus for six years, so there is good solid progressives fewer and fewer than there were, and if we talked about everybody getting together, we would start in the middle and go to the right. there is very little room for left or center. that too is a mistake. the country is not that way. >> eliot: and it leaves many of us confused. we look at the actual economic and historical record, and we

see the data and what is happening towards society should support those who want a progressive agenda, yet they're not seeing it that way. >> the electives are not seeing it that way. we're way behind the general public in not wanting to go to iraq. we were way behind them now when they want us out of afghanistan. are we out? no. but you know, you said would make the great difference? it's money and politics. if we don't get money out of politics we're going to lose our democracy. >> eliot: all i can say is we've cherished your 20 years. we are solely miss you and the optimism i can still hear in your voice even though it's dark at levels, we will we appreciate you. >> thank you. >> eliot: representative woolsey's voice and service will