from washington, the mclaughlin group. the american original. for over two decades, the sharpest metlife. guarantees for the if in life. issue onyes, corrupt no. >> there has to be a penalty for grabbing the wrong stationary and not it may be stupid, it may be negligent, but it's not corrupt. >> legendary congressman stands accused of 13 ethics violations. these include a failure to

report income in the dominican republic. failure to report taxable gains. nonconforming to postage privileges and misusing congressional letterhead for fund raising for a civil center. >> don't leave me swinging in the wind until november. i don't want anyone to feel embarrassed. if i was you, i may want me to go away, too. i am not going away. i am here. >> as he spoke on the house floor, members of florida revered the congressman from harlem. now in his 40th year of service. congressman rangel says that he wants the due process of the ethics committee, a formal hearing to which he is entitled no matter where it leads. >> just don't believe that i don't have feelings, that i don't have pride. that i do want to do what the president had said and the

dignity is that even if you se fit to cause me not to be able to come back because you're not going to do it in my district. if there's some recommendation that i be - for me that would be dignity. >> question, is congressman rangel entitled to a trial before election day? james. >> justice delayed, justice denied. i think maybe the ideal time would be october, maybe right around same time as those bush book excerpts come out. maybe the same week. i think republicans would like that. this is another -- this is like repeat of the gulf oil spill. another huge distraction for the democrats. >> eleanor. >> the key line there was if i were you, i'd want me to go away, too. t i'm not going. and this is a proud man and yes he is entitled to a trial. he thinks he can clear his name. but i must say the facts here are not in dispute.

he is willing to plead guilty to sort of sloppy bookkeeping, but he doesn't want to plead guilty to corruption. that's where he draws the line and the question now is whether the republicans on the ethics committee are going to be willing to accept that deal. otherwise i think it goes to trial, he loses 8-0 because democrats are not in the position to cut him any slack. >> is the president going to cut him off at the legs? >> he said he's had a distinguished career, but it may be -- >> he has been indicted in the public opinion? >> the party that happens to be the president of the united states is not willing to say fight on, charlie, you know you're in deep trouble. he took to the floor this week as a point of personal privilege to give this 35 minute speech. i expected him to burst into that song from dream girls and i'm telling you, i'not going. but charlie rangel does deserve his day in court.

the congressional court, the ethics trial. the word is that he will probably do this in september. they will get this trial going. they want it done as fast as possible. but charlie rangel came to the congress 40 years ago as this hard charging corrupt guy, adam clayton powell and now one of adam clayton powell, his defendant there is running against charlie rangel in the democrat party. there's irony there. >> head of the democratic party, to put it off or to have it now? >> first of all, i got to say. my take on this, this whole thing in excess of ethical zeal. i think it's nuts. i think there was carelessness, i think it was sloppy. i don't think there should be a trial and they should both just say, you know look, we used poor judgment, slap on the wrist and then move on. to respond to your question, nancy pelosi's interest is no trial for either one, charlie rangel or maxine waters before

november and she's in charge. to allow this ethics committee to keep this thing going all the way to a trial is insane. >> but she set up an independent office of ethical compliance, which is headed by a prosecutor. it is not politically staffed and they've got something like 25 democrats and seven republicans that they are looking at and they are the ones that advanced these cases. and i think rangel and to some extent, maxine waters as well feel singled out because every member in the congress has done some of -- >> what a powerful taste. >> please let me finish. everyone up there has done some of what these members have done, but they have compiled too many tricky deals. when i read about rangel, one of the things he did was sign a contract for a rent controlled apartment in new york that he said would be used for his

office. no he said his son would be living there. instead he used it for his office. his son never lived there. is this sloppy? it's an abundance of a sense of entitlement. went to jail for in part trading in congressional issued stamps for cash and putting ghost employees on his staff. so you know, this is in excess -- yeah, it's bad and pelosi is cracking down and it's coming back to bite her. she's doing the right thing. > charlie rangel has been pulling these for a long time. it reached critical mass for a long time. why? because we are in a unique political moment where the defense is like well everybody does it on capitol hill. these are venal sins and not marital sins. the american people are so done with that. we are experiencing a very volatile moment. >> hold on. i'm going to let you in after this. there was a celebration at the

plaza hotel in new york this week saluting rangel's 80th birthday. ♪ [ music ] ♪ s because it really works. thank you, god bless you. >> is there any proof of prayer? >> we'll find out. we have been up and down on that one, john, you and i have. but you know, i just want to say to me i do think it's zealous. it's also selective. why should charlie rangel have a hearing and there's a senator -- i won't name his name. arranging lobbying deals for the husband his mistress. he is still on the floor of the senate. no investigation, no hearing. let's get real here. i think free charlie. >> that's public knowledge. >> of course it's knowledge.

>> everybody knows it. >> i think rangel does feel singled out, but you know i think it's also at this stage very difficult to give him a pass on these things and if they can work out a deal where he pleads guilty to some of the charges, but not the ones that -- excuse me please. but not the ones that would get referred to the justice department. the general prosecution. that's the problem. >> all right. pelosi holds on until january, the republicans take over theoretically, okay, then it's the republican's problem, is that it? >> i think i would rather face what i would face in october or september. do what you are going to get in january or february. >> okay, let's talk a little bit about maxine waters. >> right. >> and her problems. you know the situation? >> in my judgment, less of a case against maxine waters. all the money was going to the big banks on wall street. i've known her a long time.

>> what bank are you talking about? >> the united bank. one united. >> what's the story on that? >> okay, the story is her husband was once an officer of the bank and he also owns a lot of stock in the bank. >> $250,000. >> and it was one of the banks that she called hank paulson about and said hey, this money should not go to cit ibank. some should go to community minority bank. and she didn't name a number, but she was asking for a meeting with representatives of the banks. she then told henry waxman, you know i have a problem here because my husband is involved with this bank. and maybe i shouldn't be doing this. well she's right, she should have had someone else set up the meeting. >> look, this one united bank in question was the weakest bank to get tarp funds. maxine waters did this intervention. the question is whether or not she used her office as leverage

for personal gain and that is a very serious charge. actually i think that charge is more serious than what rangel is facing. >> she wanted federal bailout money in the force of $12 million to go to that bank. >> the question is, whether or not she used her office for leverage for personal gain. >> that was concern. some sort of capitalism deal. between this $700 billion there and the stimulous. $1.5trillion flowing out of washington. no one paying close attention to where it's going and see a lot more of these deals. >> exit question. whose transgressions are more serious? the alleged transgressions of maxine waters or charlie rangel? >> maxine waters. >> rangel has 13 counts against him, maxine waters has three and i suspect the bank that her husband had an interest in would have gotten that money without her interference. >> total alleged tax dodging

amounts of $500,000. >> more. >> rangel. >> i haven't tallied it up, but he paid -- excuse me, he has paid all the back taxes and the penalties. so maybe the government made a little on him. >> she has three charges, but those three charges are a lot serious than the 13 charges against charlie rangel. the difficulty for the democrats s you will have the black representative harlem and the black representative from watts standing trial on ethics violations. there's no win situation for the democrats. >> are the transgressions for maxine greater than the transgressions for charlie? >> yes. >> i disagree. i think those against charlie are more serious. i n't thk either one should be put on trial in the house and nancy pelosi should not allow it to charm and issue two, lord harry the unbent reid. >> and remember, anything that's good for the rest of the

country and saving, creating jobs is good for nevada. >> senate majority leader, harry reid, has had a busy summer corralling votes for big money outlays including $26 billion for education, medicaid funding, small business hiring, and unemployment benefits for americans without jobs. the prescribed procedure of the senate is to move bills through the senate at the committee level first and then bring them to the floor for a full vote. republicans are saying that the senate this year is being manipulated by an abusive leader, senator harry reid. reid is running the legislative process as a one man show, funneling legislation away from necessary procedure. that is the committee system. senate democrats counter, saying that reid's procural maneuvering is a response to the senate today. mainly a institution rivetted by a partnership in a way that observers declare they have not

any senate committee. this many republicans and even the secrec reid's office, unquote. in the words of and ranking finance committee member, chuck grassley of iowa. reid's actions are creating a lack of trust between the senate republicans and democrats. the senate has become quote, more partisan, unquote. many believe. that's the reid wrap. >> queseson, the environment of congress today -- is the senate majority leader, harry reid causing this or coping with it? monica? >> i don't think the partisanship is anything new. it's not breaking news. >> to this degree.

>> harry reid is a, locked in a very, very tight reelection battle against sharon ankle in the state of nevada and two, he was used to having a 60 vote filibuster majority in the senate. that went away in january with the election of scott brown. so now reid is being forced to pull all these kinds of legislative things. he went through the reconciliation process. 61 votes rather than 60. >> let me cue this up. a week from this wednesday, we are going to salute the anniversary of a sad occasion and that was the death of teddy kennedy. teddy kennedy got along with the other side. he cut deals. he was one of the ones that did it. and bana had the greatest things to say about teddy kennedy. do you think teddy kennedy's absence from the senate with

his charm and his ability to work inside and not create the kind of thing we see today. do you think that is causing this and who do you think is going to replace ted kennedy? >> ted did reach across the aisle. even teddy kennedy in my judgment could not melt the iceburg that is mitch mcconnell that caused this ranker in the senate today. you've got -- i think the senate today is less effective, less productive than ever in our lifetime. ever. >> are you talking about the filibuster vote? are you talking about the rank in file, everybody voting against? >> i am talking about -- >> the party of no? >> yes, every rule. every filibuster, every possible means of obstruction holding up every appointment. the secret holes are being used like never before. deliberately to stop anything the democrats want to do. >> don't you see that reid is shutting them out? no committee action will handle

this in my office, so to speak. he does not let the committees do their work on isolating difficult parts of a bill. >> here's the problem. you're listening to congress daily. the senate is getting nothing done. the house passed 345 bills that are sitting in the senate with no action. there are 76 judge judicial appointments. >> if they are cutting off -- if they are cutting off -- [ inaudibl ] >> has there been anything that passes? i want to know if it is quality over quantity. >> the committee action s been cut out by reason of reid. >> it has been cut out by use of a rule. they are absolutely desperate. they've had 18 months to focus on jobs in the economy. they are trying to scramble at the end because this has been a horrific summer. the economy is tanking. >> the demands of schedule.

is it more that he wants the vote to go h h way? >> of course he does. > don't you understand? >> he is trying to get something done. >> two of the big ticket items, healthcare reform, i remember a gang of 8 or6 negotiating for months and ended up republicans were just stalling that. then financial services reform, chairman dodd worked very closely with the republicans and that worked out. they haven't been cut out. the republicans have made a decision that nothing will get through, that they can help. >> the last poll -- >> because they want to run against the democrats for their failure to govern. >> they represent constituencies, 18% of the people think that the healthcare program of barack obama is going to do them some good. 18%. >> right. >> the republican senators who blocked the extension of the unemployment benefits come from the states where there's the largest unemployment rate. they are about representing their constituents at all.

>> do you have something to say? >> people understand spending is out of control. they are more willing to accept these spending cuts. >> very effective at being the party of no. no more big government. no more big spending. putting the brakes on obama care. >> these are good things. >> okay. hold on, eleanor. issue three, first lady of spain. ♪ [ music ] >> she's a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip and i think i'll leave it at that. >> first lady, michelle obama's vacation has drawn waves of criticism. the first lady's traveling party includes her youngest daughter, sasha. two close friends of michelle's, and the two friends daughters. they vacation together in the

spanish resort town of estapon a. the area is a famous destination. the trip is the first of three scheduled beach vacations for the first lady this summer. michelle and her interage stayed in a hotel, where the average room price is $660 a night and the most lavish suite runs for $6,600 daily. mrs. obama is paying for her trip out of private funds. she has ignited controversy over whether it is appropriate to take what some see as a lavish european vacation at a time of prolonged and painful high unemployment. not all of course are reimbursed by the first lady. the christian science monitor report that 60 hotel rooms were required for her support team. the "new york times" says, dozens of secret service agents were part of the support team. travel on an air force jet for mrs. obama and her official interage is reported to have

cost $160,000. on the trip the first lady did perform one official function. a courtesy call on the king and queen of spain who are vacationing on the balaric island. >> question, why didn't the white house foresee the criticism that the first lady's trip would have? i ask you james. >> they spent the last two years bashing the rich. bashing the elite and banks. what kind of karma is this now that they are going to get hit? she goes on this eat pray love tour of spain. >> you think it's a bad idea? do you? >> this is mostly the right wing noise machine. michelle has a 66% popularity. most americans think she is entitled to take a vacation and she's going to the gulf coast this weekend. >> the wall street journal nbc poll that was just released show that michelle obama is

down to 50%. a 16% drop. it is a question of hypocrisy, bashing the rich and going on a rich trip. >> what is the real reason that she went? >> she wanted to spend time with her daughter. she wanted to have a good time. listen, i have no problem with it. since all the republicans have, it's pathetic. she's a classy first lady. >> you know why she went. the latino vote and the upcoming election, yes or no? >> i don't think she went for political reasons, but if it steve slater shoves it. ♪ [ music ] >> on an airline flight from pittsburgh to new york's jfk airport, slater decided he wasn't going to take it anymore. as a flight attendant, slater had immediate access to an overhead intercom and speakers throughout the plane. after an altercation with a passenger on board, the jetblue

flight, slater decided to pick up the intercom, curse out the passenger and thank jetblue for quote, 28 great years, unquote. he deployed the aircraft emergency slide and exited the plane on the slide, but not before grabbing two beers for the road. >> amazing. everything that has been brought to me and given the com and the industry. >> question, why is steven slater this past week emerged as america's latest folk hero? james. >> i hate the draw and his sweeping conclusion. i hate to do it, but maybe america is looking for a little passion. maybe they are tired of the cool attitude they have seen from some of their leaders over the past year. they are looking for a little fire. maybe that's it. >> i think it has to do with air rage, which is the equivalent of road rage and anybody who flies today feels it and we are all keeping ourselves under wrap.

i flew southwest this last week to california and back and i think the flight attendants were great. every seat was packed. not a lot of room, but there was a sense of humor. i have great sympathy for both the flight attendant and the flying public and slater, some of the passengers on that jet are recalling a different scenario. and so i think there are more layers to this story. >> they are investigating because the stories aren't matching up. but what a glorious way to check out. here's what i think people are responding to here. the unemployment rate is about 10%. for anybody to voluntarily check out of a steady job, and he's been with jetblue 15, 20 years something like that. to voluntarily say shove this job, i just can't take it anymore. i hate all of you on this plane. grab two beers and go, i think a lot of people are kind of craving the economy where more people could do that. >> you know what i think? >> i think that people are

identifying with him because he did what all of us would have liked to have done. we all fly a lot and a lot of jerks on the planes and flight attendants have to put up with the rude behavior and demands and he did certainly with a little pizazz, you know. grabbed a couple beers, opened the emergency chute. but here's what i would hope. so he probably aught to be disciplined, maybe fired, but the idea that he would spend some time in jail is ridiculous. >> yothink there's a larger lesson to be drawn here? the larger lesson is this country has frustration and anger? it's a pressure cooker? don't you get that feeling in the air? >> i don't want to draw too large of a conclusion, but i think we all have our howard beale moments and most of us suppress it and he didn't and we applause him. i'm mad and i'm not going to take it anymore. >> there's a larger causality here. this is a function of a kind of country we have right now. you look at the people driving on the street and the way they

drive. you look at the jaywalking. it's a disregard of anything that is conforming. he again stands for what we would all like to do, but we don't dare do. >> he also wants his and jetblue handled it classy. they are giving everyone on the flight a $100 coupon. >> i mean there is another issue here with this. look, it's a federal crime to screw around on an airplane. you can't do it and especially after 9/11. you can't be pulling this kind of stuff. but the situation we are all cheering him on here, but i do think jetblue is doing their investigation, law enforcement. >> he could end up in gitmo? that could take a terrible turn for the worst. > are we all cheering him on? >> i'm not completely cheering him on. >> he is being charged with wreckless endangerment.

and worse. >> nobody is sully did. another airplane example. handled the pressure, don't blow up. >> i was going to say -- [ inaudible ] >> he is saluting sully. >> i want to know what's happening to this woman who stood up on behalf of the group, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who died in the alaska plane crash this week. many of us knew the alaskan senator, ted stevens and worked with if. for such a small word it packs a wallop. if i live to a hundred. if social security isn't enough.

if my heart gets broken. if she says yes. we believe if should never hold you back. if should be managed with a plan that builds on what you already have. together we can create a personal safety net, a launching pad, for all those brilliant ifs in the middle of life. you can call on our expertise and get guarantees for the if in life. after all, we're metlife.