knife through soft butter. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. politics nation starig a promise made, a mission accomplished. >> as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. >> after eight years of war in iraq, president obama says all troops are coming home. but republicans still criticize this commander in chief. mccain says it's harmful and sad. romney calls it an astonishing failure. no confidence in our commander in chief? why don't you can this guy what he thinks. tonight an exclusive interview with howard dean on rark airaq l that it cost this nation. republicans blocked jobs for

america again. >> rome is burning. p. >> you're right, so why not put out the fire. republicans against the middle class and willard's newest flip-flop. >> as governor, i worked closely with the nra. i don't see eye to eye with the nra. >> with acrobat it ticks like these, he should be in the olympics. poll tick nation starts right now. tonight's lead. the war in iraq will soon be over. president obama said today american troopses will complete a total withdrawal by the end of the year. it's a war that has taken a terrible toll on this country. there are still 39,000 u.s. troops serving in iraq to date. over 4400 have lost their lives

and over 32,000 have been wounded. all at a cost of more than $712 billion to american taxpayers. it's a war that many of us warned would be a horrible tragic mistake. a war that was packaged and sold to the american people with lies and fear. >> we don't want the smoking gun to an mushroom cloud. >> the czechs alleged that the lead attacker met in producing with a senior iraqi official five months before the attack. >> saddam hussein recently sought significant quantities satisfy cap about. >> we will be greeted as will be rate tors. >> we're dealing with a country that can finance its own reconstruction. which in the battle of iraq, the

united states and our allies have prevailed. >> we as americans got used to hearing a lot about the iraq war that just didn't add up. but four years ago, we saw a leader stand up and promise to right this wrong. and he's kept that promise. >> as president, i want us to fight on the right battlefield and what that means is getting out of iraq. >> the long war in iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. across america, our service men and women will be reunited with their families. today i can say that our troops in iraq will definitely be home for the holidays. >> i remember in the wake of 9/11, i lived in new york, i was here the day it happened. and i remember when i began hearing after that then president bush start talking about going into iraq. weapons of mass destruction. and how i and others said isn't

this misguided. i remember starting early with other activists in an anti-war movement. and when they gathered, we were called unpay tree on theic. we ended up being right, there were no weapons of mass destruction. we were right that american lives were lot in vein. though we loved the troops enough not to see them misguided today is not a victory for those that stood up. it's a tragedy to those that were lost, their families. and it should be a day that those that were responsible for this should reflect and not try to justify what is unjustifiable. but joining me now is a man who had the courage to speak out against the war when many areas were silent. howard dean, former governor of vermont and former chairman of

the democratic national committee. thank you for coming on tonight, governor. >> thanks if having me on, al. >> i remember in 2004 both of us were in the presidential democratic primaries. >> we were. >> and we were in the minority of those even in the primary on the democratic side that were against the war. and you championed that all over the country. how did you feel today when you saw and heard the president announce the troops would come home at the end of this year? >> well, the president made that promise when he ran and he kept the promise. look, i didn't oppose the car because i'm against wars. i'm fairly hawkish. but we were not told the truth. we were simply lied to by high officials and i don't think you send people to war and ask families to make sacrifices without telling them the truth. and unfortunately, while we got saddam hussein which is just great, we also have left the middle east a worse place than we found it because iran is now

the leading power. maliki is the puppet of iranians. he's caused mass murder. so this is a real tragedy. i do want to say, however that i'm proud of our troops for doing what her asked to do. they didn't make the decision to go and they did their duty when they went. but this is an enormous geopolitical blunder. i think the republicans have no idea what they're talking about. the irony is that you'our troope coming home at the end of the year because grnlg bush negotiated that agreement before he left and president obama is carrying it out. >> absolutely right. we're anti-war, not anti-troops. troops did what they were ordered to do and they did a great job. we're anti-this particular war. but let me show this graph to you, governor. look at what it cost the

american people. troops deployed, 39,000. total casualties, we lost 4469 lives. total troops wounded, 32,213. and it cost the taxpayers $712.2 billion in this misjudgment. after all of this, john mccain had this to say before the announcement today. you would think that they would be gracious. listen to john mccain. >> we're leaving iraq in iran's number one priority is all u.s. troops out of iraq and afghanistan, every military leader has said the president's plan for withdrawal is greater risk. >> now,s as you just stated, gormg bush had promised this time table. president obama made the

commitment he's keeping the commitment. if bush was still there and had done this, if a republican was there and fulfilled bush's comments, we wouldn't be hearing this. i mean, is there anything these people are not partisan? >> i'm always disappointed when i see politicians of either party making partisan remarks at the expense of our troops. and i think that's what senator mccain did and that's what governor romney did. our troops did what they were asked to do. gormg bu george bush negotiated our way out of iraq just as he got fuss to iraq and the fact is president obama is right to do what he did.fuss to iraq and the fact is president obama is right to do what he did. the iraqis would not guarantee them immunity from prosecution. maliki is a war criminal. he will eventually end up in the hague. this is not a place we ought to be. this is not a place who deserves american troops to keep order over there and it certainly isn't a place that deserves more american dollars when we need

those here at home so we can have jobs. so i'm deeply disappointed in the republicans. would i have thought at least for one day that we would have been gracious enough to be respectful that the sacrifices our troops have made and leave politics out of this. >> let me show you what willard mitt romney says. he says president obama's astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of the thousands of american men and women. what is he talking about, governor? >> well, you know, i don't think he knows what he's talking about. the truth is mitt romney unlike senator mccain, mitt rm any never served in the armed forces. the fact is this is not over. you mentioned there were 32,000 people wounded. those people some of them are

very badly wounded. and $700 billion is not what the bill is going to be. we owe to those 32,000 people who came home badly wounded to make sure that they can use as useful lives as they possibly can. so this will be a much more expensive war both for those families and for the united states government than the $700 billion. and let's not forget those 32,000 people. it happened in vietnam in my generation, all those folks came home and many of them were a forg forgotten. agent orange, pretended it really didn't cause any trouble. let's not make that mistake again for the troopses that are wounded and that are home. >> and not to mention, and we'll be talking about this later in the program, they're going to need jobs and housing and these same people that love them at war seem to when they get home and need a job seem to vote differently. it's kind of a different kind of love. let me ask you a question -- >> we'll see what those republicans who killed the president's jobs bill want to do for jobs for veterans.

>> that's exactly my point. and exactly what we'll be watching. let me ask you another question. president obama came after president bush. president bush was the one who was president when 9/11 happened. chased bin laden. president obama got bin laden. president obama takes the troops out of iraq. it seems that in foreign affairs, he's been able to deliver whether we agree or not agree on all the foreign affairs positions he's taken, he's certainly kept his word in what he has said. doesn't he deserve marks for that? >> one thing the republicans are not going to be able do is attack the president on his status as commander in chief. gadhafi is dead. osama bin laden dead. several over other high ranking terrorists in the al qaeda organization are dead. we're out of iraq. this president has had a

terrific year in foreign policy. he has really done what commanders in chief are supposed to do. and i think we really are safer now than we were. and we're also about to get out of iraq which is something that i think is on the agenda of most people. the other thing interesting politically speaking, my guess is that governor romney and senator mccain are in a very small minority of americans. most people believe we have no business in iraq or afghanistan because we got our problems here at home that we have to fix first. how about the republicans stop declaring war on the democrats and on president obama and congress so we can get some jobs bills passed. and then we'll get out of the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> i have a lot of faith. i don't know if they'll stop the war with democrats. i'd stop for them stop declaring war on the working and middle class. but you always were more hopeful of them than i was. good to see you. thank you. have a great weekend.

ahead, republicans just voted against 400,000 jobs for working class americans. folks, the real class warfare in this country, that's next. plus herman cain officially competing with willard romney. and perry. for the flip-flop vote. they just can't keep their stories straight. and how we can win the fight against voter suppression. one state at a time p. you're watching politics nation. [ man ] i got this citi thank you card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes, i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take this bridge over here. there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] write your story with the citi thankyou premier card, with no point caps, and points that don't expire. get started at thankyoucard.citi.com.

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i'm very happy to see the troops come home. i wish it had happened a long time ago. in fact rkt, i wish they had ne gone. i'm also happy to see the president keep his word. it's an adjust toned amen adjus president actually keep his

word. but they need job, they need houses. let's not just celebrate the war is over and forget the warriors need to come home to a life that shows we really love the troops in this country.

welcome back. let's take a ride in the republican time machine. here's senator olympia snowe three days ago. >> rome is burning. and we're facing a december city nation of our communities and they want help and they feel that they're not getting any difference. >> yes, they want help, senator.

you're right. rome is burning. but just 48 hours later, she lit another match. joining every senate republican in blocking a bill that would have kept thousands of teachers and first responders on the job. their problem? a 0.5% tax on millionaires. folks, this is the real class warfare. with 14 million unemployed, senator snow oig would rather risk teaching jobs. but you have a party fighting for the rich while blasting food stamps. >> no program in our government has surged out of control more dramatically than food stamps. we cannot do this. we don't have the money. >> we don't have the money. they have money for

millionaires, but not for low and middle income students. folks, this is real class warfare and we can't let them get away with it. joining me now, ed rendell, former pennsylvania governor and nbc news political analyst and alex wagner, msnbc analyst. congratulations by the way, ms. wagner, on your being assigned as new host at 12 news show right here at msnbc. >> thank you. >> it's going to brighten up our noon. a lot of people will lose weight because they'll watch you instead of going to lunch. >> the thinning of america. >> ed, are republican s tanking this economy on purpose?

there's no logic to this. >> well, you know, sometimes the facts add up and you almost think they are. but i'd like to think it's because they're tone deaf. they don't understand the suffering that's going on in america. senator sessions says, look, since 2001, food stamps dollars have increased four fold and that's proof that there's fraud in the program. bologna. senator, look around. they 00 a recession. there are tens of millions of americans out of work looking for jobs and some have given up. that's the reason the food stamps program has gone up. governor romney said that we should let houses be foreclosed and not do anything to try to keep the people who are in danger of losing their houses, just let them be foreclosed, let investors rehabilitate them and represent them. he doesn't understand that a house sometimes is all people have, that's their quhol life

wrapped up in that house. they're tone deaf. paul ryan said you should get three jobs instead of a student loan to help you pay your college tuition. has he realized how hard it is to get one job in this economy? they're tone deaf. you wonder when they live in some sort of bubble. >> if they're trying to burst the american economic bubble. alex, i waited today with bated breath because eric cantor was going to tell us about economic inequality. now, he chose to speak to those that were neat. he chose to going to wharton school. and then he canceled because the school had the audacity to invite real people. he said he would only go if only the students at wharton could go. and let me just show you a statement a spokes person says the university of pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously

agreed to could be met. the majority leader appreciated the invitation to speak with the students, faculty, alumni and other members of the community. now, you're going to talk about economic inequality but you don't want to talk to the citizens that will have to live with this p. >> or the pitch fork wielding mob that is furious with the fiscal policy that you're trying to propose for the u.s. i mean, you have that coming on the heels of the social security administration is releasing the payroll tax info. and we're finding out that 50% of this country makes less than $26,000 a year. >> 50%. p. >> 50%. and that in 2010, over 10 million americans could not find one hour of work. there is a crisis happening in america. and the notion that eric cantor is going to the wharton school of business to talk about economic equality is not just

tone deaf. you have to think it's calculated. the idea of a great society that providing, you know, that providing for the poor and the sick and the disadvantaged is not something the government should do any longer. >> maybe he understood this, 72% say the gop isn't doing enough to cooperate with president obama. 72% say they should be working more. so maybe he understands that a lot of americans are not on their side in this whole part -- >> undoubtedly, which is why he's not speaking in a public forum. throughout the summer we've seen protests when paul ryan was having dawn halls. there have been considerable blow back from the people. >> but governor rendell, are the people in pennsylvania watching this? could this help president obama? >> sure. i mean, anybody who looks at this has to question why a republican leader doesn't want to talk to the public. i mean, isn't that our job, isn't that what we were elected

to do? we weren't elected to talk to selective groups. the wharton school certainly is a fine place to talk about the economy. it's the best business school in america. but if they want to invite the public, what's wrong with that some if you believe what you're doing is right, how can you be afraid of the public? >> now, let me she you something. you know, congressman joe wilson screamed you lie to the president. let me show you, a rev, you you lie, that the republicans have been saying. a lot of the right wingers said that most americans don't pay taxes. so i went into the politics nation kitchen and we made a little pie and we want to show you the pie and divide up and show you where the government gets its money. individual income tax, 45%. payroll taxes, 36%. corporate income tax, 12%.

so plain explain to me, governo it 45% of the money comes from income tax and 36% comes from pay rox tax which are american citizens, how do half of americans not pay any taxes? >> it makes no accepts at asep . they're saying 50% doesn't pay any federal income tax, but all those people who work pay payroll taxes and excise taxes and state sales taxes and state income tax. they pay a whole boat load of taxes. they pay property taxes if it they own property or if they rent an apartment that goes in to their rent. so they're just not telling the truth. americans pay taxes from the poorest to the richest, they pay taxes. but it's totally out of whack. one thing i hope your listeners understand, in the proposed millionaires tax, that's on everything that a millionaire makes over the first million. the rate would stay the same on

the first million dollars. so it's unbelievable that people don't want to support that as a way to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country. it's absolutely unbelievable to me. >> and the fact that payroll taxes versus corporate taxes , look at that chart, the amount has gone up 25%. the amount of corporate income tax that they contribute to the corporate has gone down 15%. >> and even people that aren't paying federal income tax aren't paying it because they're living at subsistence levels or they're retirees. they're living hand to mouth. the idea that they don't have enough skin in the game i think is a wild half truth if not complete outright lie. >> don't even say it's a half truth. it's an outright lie. they're saying they don't pay taxes to the united states of america. they pay plenty of taxes. >> you lie. governor rendell, in a few days

when your watch goes beep, don't worry. that's me putting my alex alarm on. it means it's 12 noon, turn on msnbc. >> good luck to you, alex. >> ed rendell, alex wagner, thank you for you your time and alex, congratulations again. still ahead, a 96-year-old woman owon her fight against injustice. now it's time to help over 5 million americans who could lose their right to vote. ♪

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the gop race is moving straight ahead, but the candidates, all over the place. flip-flopping on issues and leaving tea party voters still looking for mr. right. the latest reversal comes from herman cain. he says he's against abortion. but recently sounded almost pro-choice. >> it's not the government's role or anybody else's role to make that decision. it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make, not me as president, not some politician. not a bureaucrat.

>> conservatives were furious about that and today cain went into damage control mode. >> i was misinterpreted when i was talking about the whole abortion thing. i am pro-life on conception. no exceptions. i will sign anything to defund planned parenthood. i would rather correct something that i said than to try to leave it out there when it's such that it could be misinterpreted. >> we're so glad you clarified that. meanwhile, the gop's king flip-flopper, willard mitt romney, was out today telling voters about his stance on gun control. or should i say his latest stance on gun control. >> i believe in the second amendment and i don't believe there are any new lieus that we need to put this place that relate to guns at this stage. we have all the laws that are necessary. we just need to enforce them.

i worked closely with the nr after the. i don't line up 100% with the nra. i don't see eye to eye on every issue. i assumi supported the assault n ban. >> can any keep their stories straight 124 nope. >> i've always not that hpv was an issue of -- i looked at it as an issue of saving lives. i still look at that time it as that. the issue was one of cancer. i made a mistake. >> republican voters might start flip-flopping on which one of you they'll support. joining me now is the one and only bob strum, democratic strategist and new york university professor and former adviser to the kerry and gore campaigns, erin mcpike, reporter for real clear politics. thank you both for joining me

tonight. bob, how much do these reversals hurt the candidates in their base? >> they hurt and this whole sense of romney as a guy who has flip-flopped on everything. actually it's an unfair word. he's a shape shifter. he hasn't just move order gun control. look, he shifted on an dorgs rights. he shift order gn gay rights. he shift order t.a.r.p. he's had five different positions on libya. he's like the politicians that have you discovered he had cannibals, he promised the missionarieses for sunday supper. >> erin, let me show you this poll here it that republican voters said their priorities in select heing a nominee, 67% said that they want the one closest to it their views.

only 31% said she want tthey wa that can beat president obama. now, if this is true, doesn't that mean that if you are a flip-flopper and over two-thirds of your party want someone that they feel really believes what they believe, this would certainly weak p you in states like iowa and other states that are true believers when they have to question whether you really believe what you're saying. >> it does. that tracks closely with the number that the you're seeing in support of mitt romney right now. he's got this floor or ceiling, we're not sure, of about 25%. so, yes, he's having some trouble convincing conservative voters that he's one of them. but as for the flip-flopping, republican sources in some early states like iowa and south carolina are telling me that's a bigger problem for cain because flip-flopping from one decade to the next kind of goes away and people have accepted that with

mitt romney, that's part of his identity, but it's been vetted and dealt with. with cain, this flip-flopping day to day and hour to hour they say is more damaging for a frontrunner. >> now, let me ask you something, bob, since she brought up cain. i hate to shock and amaze you, but he changed 9-9-9 today to 9-0-9 talking about flip-flopping. let me show you mr. cain just changed his theme. >> if you are at or below the poverty level, your plan isn't 9-9-9, it's 9-0-9. say amen, y'all. 9-0-9. in other words, if you are at or below the poverty level based upon family size because there's a different number for each one, then you don't pay that middle nine tax on your income. this is how we help the poor.

>> 9-9-9, but if you live below poverty, 9-0-9. say amen, bob. >> well, listen p. the guy got in trouble on this. his plan got torn apart not just would by liberals, but by conservatives and the "wall street journal." herman cain is engaging at some level, interesting to some people. he reflects the resistance to romney that erin was talking about a minute ago that he's about 25%. they've been shopping for somebody else. but the party isn't going to nominate him unless it completely loses its head. president obama would ramp to victory over herman cain. rick perry is a real conservative. i think he's kind of slow, he's inarticula inarticulate, but he deviates on a couple of issues, at least he has in the past, and this republican party this year is the modern equivalent of the medieval inquisition.

you're not allowed to deviate at all or you get burned at the stake. >> doesn't have a good choice of welcoming matches either. but let me ask you this, air rip, when you look at the fact that we're in the middle of some serious foreign affairs with this country, the war in iraq winding down now, the president announcing today withdrawal of the troops, the libya situation, how do you think american voters including republicans in the primaries are going to look when you have a man like mr. mccain that takes lightly whether or not he would even know the president of a foreign country's maim? i mean, let me show what you he says. i don't know if this is cute given the climate that's gone on all over the world. >> i'm ready for the gotcha questions and they're already starting to come. when they ask me who is the president of ubecki-stand o-sta

you know, i don't know. i don't think that's critical to folks on national security and getting this economy going. >> even where we are in terms of the global crisis, isn't that too flip even for right wing voters? >> he's not ready for the gotcha questions, but you bring up an interesting hunt jon huntsman is the only one who has that experience. he can did run the olympicses in 2002. but rick perry had some experience having been a pilot in the air force. so he can claim he's the only candidate with some military service, but you these candidates don't have much to go

on when it comes to foreign affairs. so yes, the republican party has a deficiency in that area right now. >> bob, you ran national campaigns. now, i want to ask you quickly a two part question. rick santorum seems to have everything they want in terms of the tea party. he's a real conservative, today even dealing with contraception is é a dangerous -- just all kis of stuff. why isn't he taking on? 2% in the polls. and where do you see the race at this point? is this still romney's race in terms of the republican nomination? >> on is an santorum, i think h apin-plausible president. i think people think he can't beat obama and they may want someone close to their views more than they can beat someone who can beat obama, but they don't want someone who they know

can't beat obama. he has no money. i don't think he'll go anywhere. it's romney's mostly because all the other candidates are more deficient than he is. perry may have left an indelible impression on social security with his opening debate performances with what he said on immigration. i don't think cain can stand the scrutiny. cain may actually in the end, though, prove to be romney's best friend in the nominating process. because cain may strip enough votes away from perry or someone else who might challenge romney so that romney can get through. now, cain's also a threat because in the general election if he hasn't completely destroyed himself, he conceivably could run as a third party candidate and pull votes away from romney as the republican nominee. >> and then he'd run on 0-0-9 by then. bob and erin, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. coming up, americans are fighting to protect our most

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the fight for justice is alive. i've been telling you about voter suppression going on right now in america. 34 states considered voter i d.

laws this year. and folks, let's be clear. this is not random. it's orchestrated by a corporate funded right wing operation known as alec. that is funneling legislation to the states. but people are standing up across the country and fighting back. in wisconsin, the league of women voters just sued to block its voter i.d. laws. in texas and south carolina, the justice department is now investigating if these laws violate civil rights. in tennessee, two democratic lawmakers officially filed a bill to repeal it. and i'm happy to report that 96-year-old victim of voter suppression we introduced you to now has her i.d. to vote in tennessee. fighting for justice isn't easy. but it's powerful. joining me now, mike turner, the tennessee house democratic chairman who is fighting to

repeal the voter i.d. law and judith brown, co-director of the advancement project, civil rights organization focused on issues of democracy in race. thank you both for joining me. judith, what is the best way to fight these radical laws? >> you know, reverend sharpton, we're finding ourselves in a moment where americans are connecting the dots to greed. so americans are fighting back. we're seeing folks in tennessee take it on, in pennsylvania where it's still being considered. there was a rally just a few days ago. because americans are sick and tired. we know that we cannot allow voter suppression to take our voice away and we are going to fight it every step of the way. >> now, that may seem to some

people watching us like it's extreme, but let me show people the founder of alec, paul wayrick in 1980 talking about how he skpt wadoesn't want ever voting. >> i don't want everybody to vote. elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the majority of our country and they are not now. as a matter of fact, our leverage goes up as the voting populous goes down. >> now, this is the founder of alec who is the group that's pushing this voter i. d. legislation around the country with some of the corporate funding jew diudith is talking . let me go to you, representative turner. in your state of tennessee, let me show you this graph so people will understand the context of your fight. 126,000 registered voters and

675,000 people of legal voting age don't have photo i.d. if you don't did do what you're doing, these people potentially will not vote and it can be decisive in the outcome of an election. >> yes, sir. they're putting a real strain n on-sceon senior s citizens and people in rural areas. >> what are you trying to do in your legislation in the state and how suck is hef successful you'll be? >> the bill has been filed to repeal. last year it got caught up in all the other crazy wills that were going through, tort reform, attack on teachers, the birther bill and those type things. i don't think the media quite

caught on to what her coming. now after we've had time to vet will bill, it started to get out to how bad this bill is. and i think a lot of republican, and we had a couple republicans vote with the dams last time to try to defeat this bill. i think some of the republicans are having second thoughts about this. they're being put under a lot of pressure and i'm hoping we can have enough republicans join us to repeal this law. >> so you say republicans have had some second thoughts about this because of the public reaction. >> yes, sir, that appears to be that. we have been touched with some of them and that appears to be the case. but hopefully we can get more of them to join us. we'll they'd about 16 to join with the democrats to repeal this bill. >> well, we'll keep the public informed on this. judith, let me ask you, the states that you are very concerned about i.d. laws, wisconsin and texas, am i right? >> that's right. >> explain that to us. >> in texas, we know that there are 600,000 already registered voters who do not have the photo i.d.

in kiss wisconsin, we also know that 50% of african-american voters co s do not have i.d. so these are two places where we know there is a disparate impact. because we're educating the public about it, we're going to see some republicans hopefully moving back from this because we're debunking the myth of voter fraud. when you pull back the curtain, we know this is all about old time -- >> let me show you how right you are p. let me show you this very quickly about wisconsin p. in 2004, out of 3 million voters, 26 confirmed cases of fraud. 3 million voters. 26 fraud cases. so this is bogus as a huge problem. this is really about disenfranchisement. let me thank you, state representative turner, hangthan you, judith, for your work in the advancement project.

thanks and both of you have you a great weekend. ahead, i've been waiting for this day for years. 39,000 troops coming home. what today means for america's future. next. [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. whose non-stop day starts with back pain...

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just moments ago, we heard former president george w. bush will not comment on today's decision by president obama to end the war in iraq. no comment from the man who launched an unnecessary war. no comment from the man who started that war under false pretenses. millions of americans opposed the iraq war from beginning. we marched in the street. we called for justice. we spoke out about the tragedy of this war. i took the message all the way to the democratic convention in 2004. we were told that we were going to iraq because there were weapons of mass destruction.

we lost hundreds of soldiers. we spent $200 billion at a time we had record state deficits. and when it became clear that there was no weapons, they changed the premise for the war. we were misled. >> that 200 billion has gone to 800 billion. but now i have another message that i take to you. and that is when those troops come home, they need jobs. they need medical attention. they need affordable housing. we cannot stay in this partisan gridlock in washington and love troops when they're in wars that were unjustified but don't love them when they come home and need health care and need affordable housing and need to be able to take care of their families. it is not their fault they