doing so, they imagine how damn good it will feel. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts right now. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" tonight from new york. mitt romney is a gambling man. newt gingrich says he's a changed man. the other candidates are just scrambling to get any kind of attention. and president obama is cool with the populist tone. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. rick, i'll tell you what. 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> middle class millionaire mitt romney is a betting man, and newt gingrich is jumping all over him. >> i'll bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer. >> katrina vanden heuvel of "the nation" magazine joins us. plus, gingrich is defending his marital infidelityties aend promises to behave.

>> i've made mistakes at time and had to go to god for forgiveness. president obama is speaking out on the republican obstruction. >> they made a political strategic decision that says anything obama's for, we're against. >> he also says americans shouldn't be satisfied. msnbc political analyst jonathan alter is here with the latest. and this weekend, i spoke with some hardworking americans who think their voice is being stepped on. >> i saw the 94-year-old woman on television and they didn't let her register to vote because she didn't have a marriage license? that was absurd to me. >> tonight, my commentary on the assault on voters' rights. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. one brief moment at the republican presidential debate on saturday night has mitt romney's campaign in full throttle damage control. you can call it the $10,000 moment. >> but i read your first book and it said in there that your mandate in massachusetts, which

should be the model for the country. i know it came out of the reprint of the book, but, you know, i'm just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend. >> you know what, you've raised that before, rick, and -- >> it was true then. >> no, no. >> it's true now. >> rick, i'll tell you what. 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> i guess you could say the republicans have broken out into their own conversation about class warfare when it comes to the fight over class warfare. candidates are rushing to criticize mitt romney as out of touch with the american people. rick perry is using the moment to his advantage. >> $10,000 bet? >> mitt romney was trying to wager a $10,000 bet in a debate in iowa. the median income in this country means that $10,000 is roughly three months' income. >> not too many caucusgoers here in iowa would ever place a

$10,000 bet. even if it was a sure thing. >> 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. the people of this country really want to get america back on track. >> democrats are just as thrilled. today the democratic national committee began distributing these fake $10,000 bills to state party headquarters and other allies around the country. don't you love it? romney was on fox news this morning trying to put out the fire. >> this was an outrageous number to answer an outrageous charge from him. it's been proven wrong time and time again. he keeps raising it. i said, okay, let's put something outrageous out there. like saying, hey, i bet you a million bucks, kpt q," "y" or "z." afterwards my wife came up and said, it was a great debate. you're good at a lot of things, not betting.

>> it didn't take long. >> the pretty much hated agencies now, do you believe he should give that money back. >> i sure do. he was on a debate saying that politicians who took money from freddie and fannie should go to jail. i mean, which is outrageous in itself. >> you know, mitt, maybe you should give those jobs back to all of those people you outsourced when you were running bain capital. i mean, how many jobs did you ship overseas? you want newt to give his money back, how about giving those jobs back to those folks that you took and shipped overseas? gingrich said last week that he wasn't going to attack his republican opponents during his election process. those days are over. he responded to romney's charge with his own undercut during a campaign stop in new hampshire. >> i would just say that if governor romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupti ining companies and laying off employees over his years at a

bain, i would be glad to then listen to him and i bet you $10, not $10,000, he won't take the offer. >> something tells me the $10,000 comment is not going to go away anytime soon. mitt romney knows it. he's launching an aggressive attack on front-runner gingrich as a response. today the romney campaign unveiled a new website about gingrich's contradictory positions. it's called unreliableleader.com. romney's friend, tom stemberg, the ceo of staples, he also was sent into battle today. the romney campaign put out a statement from stemberg saying "newt gingrich has no clue how the real world economy works." new campaign ads are on the radio airwaves in iowa, with an ann coulter endorsing mitt romney ad for president. just in case you forgot who ann coulter is, here's a reminder. >> it shows you that we don't have racism in america anymore. we just want to be perfected. that's why our blacks are so much better than their blacks.

>> well, when you're turns to ann colter for support, you might as well put a sign named bottom feeder on your chest. how low will the romney camp go? just how many people are in his camp right now when they have to turn to somebody like that? they are in trouble. one thing that got me at the debate on saturday night is the question that was asked from the candidates, a question from an e-mailer in texas. and the question was, "when is the last time you had a personal financial strain that forced you, not only to give up a luxury, but also to cut back on a necessity? and what were the consequences you faced?" none of the candidates could answer that. they talked about their daddy, they talked about where they grew up. they did not have specifically a point in time in their life where they said, you know, i had to give this up. they haven't been there and haven't done that with the middle class. they are all from privilege. every single one of them.

and not one of them could point to any time in their life where they had to give something up at all? don't you find that rather unusual? we have this big conversation going on in this country right now about income inequality, but none of them have ever experienced it. and let's talk about this populist tone that the republicans are trying to gather right now. what populist tone? every poll they are at odds with the american people. when it comes to health care, when it comes to taxing the wealthiest americans, when it comes to income inequality. the republicans are totally against the majority of the american people in all of their positions when it comes to polling on those issues. populist tone, no. they can't fool the american voters this time. this is an elite bunch that doesn't really know the struggle of america and they're all living the good life. all they want to do is give more tax breaks to the wealthiest americans and continue on a failed economic policy that has driven us right into the ditch. get your cell phones out.

i want to know what you think. tonight's question. does mitt romney have any clue how much $10,000 means to average americans? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. joining me now, katrina vanden heuvel. author of the book "change i believe in." congratulations on that. >> thank you, ed. >> all right. is this a turning point in any way, shape or form for the republicans, with newt being the front-runner right now? and this big stumble by mitt romney? your thoughts. >> i think it's too early to tell. we've seen bullets before. there's still time to take newt down some. i still think in iowa ron paul has a chance to come in first. has the best field to ground operation, may bring in new caucusgoers. for romney, that moment, i don't know if your viewers remember, when his father came back from vietnam in 1967, mitt romney's

father, his father said, i was brainwashed. he was out of that race. the campaign ended. i don't know if the campaign ends for mitt romney. boy, is he clueless. $10,000 is one-fifth of the median income of an iowa family. he didn't know it. they're out of touch in general with the state of economic pain and problems in this country and the solutions they offer are from a reality show, a bad one. >> i want to play a sound bite from newt gingrich, in south carolina last month. here it is. >> i was charging $60,000 a speech, and the number of speeches was going up, not down. normally celebrities leave and they gradually sell a fewer speeches every year. we were selling more. >> can any of these candidates make a pitch to the middle class and have it connect? >> i don't think so. i don't think so. let's be honest. there is a view in this country that government is rigged against working people. the fight is not to destroy government, which these people, the republican party, which has been hijacked and moved so traumatically tram

dramatically to the right by the tea party believe, it's to reclaim government to worken behalf of the people. the tea party people who have driven this party to this level, they talk against corporations. you see that with newt gingrich. the people supporting newt gingrich must have a faith that the tox ix combination of moral hypocrisy and unfettered greed is a winning one. this man is used unethical goods. you know there's a struggle for the heart and soul such as it is for the republican party. that's what we're seeing. in debates, ed, which have been debased. it's a travesty. it would be a farce if it wasn't a tragedy to watch these debates. but what's happened to them, and what's happened to the republican party is not healthy for this country. >> don't you think newt gingrich has enough media savvy and enough moxy not to make the kind of stumble and not to make the kind of mistake mitt romney made on saturday night? i mean, he's been around the block. he knows how to talk. he knows the code. >> he knows how to debate. you know what, he also is smug

and he think he has big, bold ideas. you know what? they're big, bad ideas, too, ed. he's made some whoppers. you know that. i mean, if people wake up as they will, and by the way, our campaign season is way too long and allows the silent candidate money to dominate. people are going to wake up and say, hey, i'm not sure i want to live in an america which is going to allow child labor which is what newt gingrich came out f for. what he says about poor kids in the country at the time when the middle class is squeezed and falling into poverty, he's saying poor kids don't know much about jobs except illegal ones. what is he saying about this country he wants to govern? president obama on "60 minutes" i think he was right when he said, doesn't matter which candidate comes out of the republican party, they have the same ideology. it's the yoyo economics. you're on your own. discredited, trickle down economics. >> katrina vnation." let's turn to brad woodhouse, communications

director if the democratic national committee. mr. woodhouse, good to have you on tonight. >> thank you, ed. >> is this $10,000 moment the gift that keeps on giving to you guys? >> well, it is. in many ways, ed. because it tells us about the mitt romney we've been talking about, you know, all year. this is someone who is out of touch with the american people. i mean, look, in the same debate where he offered to bet rick perry $10,000, casually, as if he does it every time he plays golf or whatever. he also has said the middle class tax cut the president wants to provide that republicans are standing in the ways of was a little band-aid. he doesn't understand what $10,000 is to middle class. he doesn't understand what $1,500 is to the middle class. >> here's another line of attack gingrich has for nominee. here it is. >> let's be candid. the only reason you didn't become a career politician, you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> wait a second. now, wait a second. wait a second.

>> okay. go ahead. >> do i get to go ahead? >> theplease, please. >> i looked at it and thought, you know, i'm a citizen, i served the country in many ways. you're a citizen. row served the country in many ways. you'd have been a 17 year career politician by now if you won. >> mr. woodhouse, do you welcome the debate over which one of them is a career politician? >> well, sure, they both are. i will say this. newt had that right. i think he may have gotten it from us. because we've been talking about that for a couple weeks. i mean, you know, mitt romney has used that charge against the president. mitt romney said he was not a career politician. he would have been. he ran for office the past nearly 20 years and now a second time for president. he's as career a politician as you get, except he finds a way to lose most of the races he runs. >> dick cheney says today not to underestimate newt gingrich. do you take his warning seriously? >> absolutely. i think what you saw the other

night in iowa was someone who, you know, the betting going in was he was going to be under fierce attack. that was right. the betting was he would wilt under that attack or he would make a mistake or gaffe. not only tdid he come out of tht debate really strong, it was mitt romney who came out of that debate in trouble. >> so have we seen the democrats play their cards early here? i mean, is this going to be the theme for the democrats? stand with the workers, stand with the middle class, pretty much the same platform that the democrats had in the last election. >> absolutely. >> not much has changed here. and is this what president obama has been talking about? is this going to be enough for the democrats to get the house back? >> well, i sure think it is. i think we have a great shot taking the house back. and i do believe president obama will be re-elected. as you know, as you've said, the debate in this country right now is about income inequality. it's about fairness. it's about balance. here the republicans are, last

night, or this weekend, in that debate, you know, debating each other on who has the deepest tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. i mean, they are so out of touch with what's going on in america, t it's not to be believed. >> mitt romney, if he had said, i'll bet you dinner, he'd be a hell of a lot better off. instead he throws the 10 grand in there. most people would have said, dinner, i can understand that, but not the 10 grand. >> no one would have noticed. >> dnc communications director. thanks. answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen and share your thoughts on twitter @edshow. newt gingrich needs the evangelical vote. his answers about marital infidelity may be crucial. we'll see if evangelicals are buying it in iowa. will the american people buy the president's new populist tone? he sat down with "60 minutes" to talk about income inequality and

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coming up on "the ed show," newt promises the third time's a charm when it comes to his marriages. radio host steve dais from iowa will tell us if that's enough to satisfy evangelical voters in his state. thousands marched in new york city this weekend to protest voters' rights. in favor of voters rights. you'll hear from them later. and the last of the troops will be out of iraq by year's end. john sults of votevets.org who returned from a tour of duty joins me tonight to discuss conservative reaction and the future for iraq and the vets here at home. tweet us using the #edshow. we're featuring your tweets throughout the show tonight. stay tuned. but we believe in helping people take steps to keep them every single day. that's why every day we help people across the country get into their first homes. prepare for a comfortable retirement

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if you will cheat on your wife, if you will cheat on your spouse, then why wouldn't you cheat on your business partner? or why wouldn't you cheat on anybody for that matter? >> welcome back to "the ed show." that was rick perry hammering newt gingrich, answering a question about whether voters should consider marital infidelity when making their choice for president. newt gingrich, who was going to need evangelical voters in iowa, was the last one to answer. >> first of all, i think it is a real issue. i think people have to look at the person to whom they're going to loan the presidency and they have the right to ask every single question. they have to have a feeling that this is a person they can trust to the level of power we give to the presidency. i think that's a very, very important issue. i think people have to render judgment. in my case, i said upfront

openly, i've made mistakes at times. i've had to go to god for forgiveness. i've had to seek reconciliation. i'm also a 68-year-old grandfather and i think people have to measure who i am now and whether i'm a person they can trust. all i can tell you is that, you know, i am delighted at the way people have been willing to look at who i am, to look at what my record has been and the amount of support we're getting from the american people and from all across the state of iowa, the number of people who are supportive of a candidacy of real change and a record of real change. >> gingrich still on the move. made a pledge today to the family leader. a conservative group in iowa. gingrich pledged to enforce the defensive marriage act and pledged to uphold the institution of marriage through personal fidelity to my spouse and respect for those marital bonds of others. well, gingrich, on this issue, he had a different answer in march. it was a little bit more bizarre. >> there's no question that at

times in my life, partially driven by how passionately i felt about this country, that i worked far too hard and the things happened in my life that were not appropriate. and what i can tell you is that when i did things that were wrong, i was entrapped in situation ethics. i was doing things that were wrong, yet i was doing it. i found that i fet compelled to seek god's forgiveness. >> basically he was passionate and he worked hard and made mistakes. but now he gets it. for more, let's turn to syndicated radio talk show host steve deace out of iowa. steve, good to have you with us tonight. do these answers in your opinion play with your listeners and play with evangelical voters in iowa? is this going to work? >> ed, i think that people are very impressed with the brains and bravado that newt has shown, especially in the debates. but i think they'd still like to hear a little bit more about his

background and what specifically happened with him on an individual basis to cause this change of heart. i think they like what they're hearing, but i think they'd like to hear even more. >> what do you mean they'd like to hear more? what do they need to hear from this candidate who says he's a changed man? >> well, i can only just go with my own experience. my wife will tell you, she's on her second husband. i went to a promise keepers event ten years ago, and from there i, you know, that's where my faith came from and my christian faith just totally transformed my life and the way i live now. compared to the way that i used to live before. and i can give you all kinds of rationales for how i used to live and the way i live now by comparison. i hope over time people that know me have seen those changes in my life and i think that sort of change and the evidence for it is what people are still looking for in newt gingrich's life. they certainly like what he's saying on the issues. >> you're not running for president, and newt gingrich is. >> right. >> and the question is, will people in iowa, do you think,

accept this, or will this still be a problem for evangelical voters when they go to caucus? >> i think it will still be a problem. how big of a problem remiains t be seen. i think people would prefer either a candidate like, say, michele bachmann or rick santorum were saying the things with the confidence that newt gingrich is saying them. i think they'd feel more trusting because those are people that have been more consistent in their personal and in their public lives. but i think in the end, this election will be decided on issues and not personalities. and unless the less risky candidates start taking risks on the issues, i think voters will then take a risk on newt gingrich. >> and where do you think the pulse of the people is in your state of iowa? do they consider gingrich's ethics violations, his changing answers on his consulting for freddie mac? and his flip-flops on things like the health care mandate? where does that leave him? >> well, see, i actually think the mistake in the analysis is

separating what's happened in the past with his marriages with where he's come down on the issues in the past. i think voters, particularly in a republican primary, they don't accept the idea that someone's private character is not impacted by their public morality or vice versa. they actually see one being the result of the other. so i don't think voters just look at the fact that he's on his third marriage or some of the things you just mentioned. i think they see those things as a total package. i think that they look at what goes on in his private life as a result of what happens publicly. >> well, you know, limbaugh and other conservative talkers around the country were all over bill clinton saying character counts. and is this a way to mop it up for newt gingrich? i mean, which republican candidate benefits the most if iowa evangelicals aren't happy with newt gingrich? >> ron paul i believe benefits the most. i think the election now, ed, you know, i listened to katrina before i came on. really the only thing she said i agreed with is i think people

are really underestimating ron paul's answers to win the iowa caucuses. i think right now the race is a battle between newt gingrich's surging popularity in poll numbers and ron paul's organization. he's got one of the best political organizations in the state. he probably has a better political organization in iowa than governor terry branstad does. and so i think this is really what it comes down to right now is gingrich is trying to build an organization that can actually mobilize his support. there's not a lot of time. >> you know, there's a candidate for office who is a good family man. he's raising a couple of kids right now. he cares about the poor. the underprivileged. and also a lot of what people talk about is income inequality. obviously his name is barack obama, president of the united states. i see that president obama is polling well in south carolina and in florida. ahead of the other two republican candidates that we're talking about, mitt romney and newt gingrich. how does president obama poll and sit with the people of iowa where you see it right now?

>> there's been a couple of polls that have been done just in the last couple of years that have shown iowans by in large have buyers remorse about barack obama and really we're the state that gave rise to obama. had he lost to hillary in the caucuses, he probably wouldn't be the president of the united states today. so i think that the polls in iowa mirror what you're seeing across the country in that a lot of people have buyers remorse about barack obama. >> actually, steve, the polls are showing -- actually the polls are showing right now he would beat newt gingrich or mitt romn romney. i understand your political take. i appreciate your time. thanks so much. steve deace from iowa joining us tonight. rush limbaugh couldn't make it through college, but he thinks he's qualified to go after president obama's intelligence? psycho talk is next. thousands turn out to protest new restrictive voter laws. i was there and spoke with some of the protesters over the weekend. see what they had to say. coming up. ♪ it's nice to be here

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and in "psycho talk" tonight, college dropout rush limbaugh is going after president obama's intelligence? >> we're also told obama's smart. where are his grades? where are his -- they will not release his grades. nothing about law review. all of this we're just supposed to accept and we accept he's smart because he sounds it. there isn't any quantifiable empirical evidence that obama is smart, because they won't show us that.

so it's all based on how he speaks. >> oh, yeah. limbaugh is spouting the bogus dwonld trump line. it goes hand in hand with the birthers. barack obama got into columbia university and harvard law school and he was elected editor of the "harvard law review." unlike the guy in the white house before him, obama's not a member of the lucky sperm club. he had to work to get into the ivy league schools. and rush, the way a person speaks does reveal something about his or her intelligence. listen to some of the guys running for president in limbaugh's party. >> we wouldn't have an american embassy in iran. i wouldn't allow that to be there. >> i'm running for office for pete's sake. i can't have illegals. >> it is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children first of all in child laws that are truly stupid. >> now with a president, he put us in libya. he is now putting us in africa. >> people, my friend. >> obviously i know there are nine supreme court judges. i don't know how eight came out of my mouth. i can't. the third one, i can't.

sorry. oops. >> oh, rushky, you love to brag about being called the head of the republican party. well, your republican candidates are a bunch of small minded 1%ers. for you to say there is no evidence of president obama's intelligence is just plain dumb "psycho talk." president obama keeps his populist message in an interview with "60 minutes." msnbc political analyst jonathan alter will weigh in on that. how is the president doing? and president obama has finally accomplished president bush's mission. today he formally marked the end of the iraqi war. but liz cheney s hey, the new guy is loaded with protein!

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the economy moving in a way that benefits everybody. as opposed to just a few. >> president obama on "60 minutes" last night acknowledging a tough road to re-election. using the same pop populist tone he took to kansas, the president addressed income inequality and called out republicans for protecting the 1% at the expense of everyone else. >> our politics has gotten to the point where we can't have an honest conversation about the greatest income inequality since the 1920s and we can't have an honest conversation about the irresponsibility that resulted in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. was that somebody saying that somehow we're being divisive. no, we're being honest. >> president obama laid out his accomplishments from health care to financial reform, to the death of osama bin laden. despite the gop's relentless obstruction. >> when i came into office in 2008, it was my firm belief that

at such an important moment in our history, there was no reason why democrats and republicans couldn't put some of the old ideological baggage aside and focus on common sense, what works, practical solutions to the tough problems we were facing. and i think the republicans made a different calculation which was, you know what, we really screwed up the economy, obama seems popular. our best bet is to seem on the sidelines because we think the economy is going to get worse and at some point just blame him. >> let's turn to jonathan alter, msnbc political analyst. and columnist for "bloomberg view" and author of "the promise." you know this president well. you know his white house, his operation. the things that he's saying right now, jonathan, is he too late? six months ago we weren't hearing this kind of a tone. now we are. >> better late than never. >> true. >> you know, there was that 18-month gap between when health care was signed in march of 2010

and when he introduced his jobs program in september of this year. and that period he should have been pivoting to more of a jobs agenda. he didn't. he cost him, but he would be in some real danger now anyway because he is sailing into such a stiff wind. so i think he's gotten to a place now where he's playing a bad hand about as well as you could expect. >> well, when you say it cost him, it wouldn't cost him this election. i mean, he can obviously recover. in fact, he's actually polling pretty well against the republican candidates, whether it be newt or mitt. but why did the president not listen to the base? because they were all saying, you know, the republicans are out to sabotage the economy. the obstructionism was just at a torrid pace. now finally he is admitting it and saying it in interviews. >> well, he knew all that and he said in interviews in 2010 things like, all i want for

christmas is an opposition i can negotiate with. i think he felt in order to keep getting things done, and remember, ed, he got a tremendous amount done in his first two years. he had the best legislative record of any president since lyndon johnson. way better than bill clinton or john f. kennedy or jimmy carter. >> with the amount of filibusters. >> he still got an awful lot done. and as he said, he ended this era in american life where if you have somebody sick in your family, you go bankrupt. that's now in the past. assuming the republicans don't repeal health care. so there's some big changes this president got through. the problem is he thought the 2010 midterms were sending a message that independents wanted him to move to the center. and so he spent the latter part of 2010 and the early part of this year trying to move to the center. >> well, you know, the wealthy

paying more, after getting two big tax breaks over the last ten years. income inequality. i mean, these are all things that are polling extremely well with the american people right now. is this the campaign? >> yeah, i think it basically is. and the reason that he has a better chance is that, remember, in 2008, 130 million americans voted. in 2010, 80 million americans voted. those 50 million americans, a lot of them, they're busy. they have other things to do. they don't pay attention to politics. they don't watch cable tv. they don't vote in midterm elections. when they come back to the polls this next time, you're going to see them taking a hard look at which candidate is working in their interest. >> the president was asked on whether he promised more than he could deliver. here's what he said. >> i didn't overpromise, and i didn't underestimate how tough this was going to be. it's going to take more than a year, it's going to take more than two years, it was going to take more than one term.

probably takes more than one president. the one thing i've prided myself on before i was president and it turns out that continues to be true as president, i'm a persistent son of a gun. >> you think that plays well? >> i think it does. i think people like to see somebody who if he's not a fighter, because that's not part of his temperament, is at least very persistent, keeps pressing the issue, as he has on jobs all fall. et even when the republicans obstructed him, he kept at it. that's how you win these elections. you have to stay in there, be a political survivor. i think he showed in 2008 when he had a long struggle in the primaries with hillary clinton that he could be a dogged campaigner. and it will serve him well. but don't underestimate where all these clownish republican activities, don't underestimate how hard it is to win a presidential election when you have 8% or 9% unemployment. >> he struck the right tone you

think in that interview? he was really mellow. >> he sounded reasonable. >> yeah. >> confident. >> yeah. >> and he laid out a rationale for re-electing himself. and he also, he talked for the first time that i've seen in a while about what he got done. the man prevented another great depression. >> he saved the automobile industry. >> saved the auto industry. he doesn't get a chance enough to brag on himself and explain to people -- >> is he going to do more of that, you think? >> he's going to have to. i don't think he likes doing it. he thinks it looks immodest dr something. he's going to have to. >> msnbc political analyst jonathan alter with us tonight. thanks so much. a program note for this purz. i'll have an exclusive interview with democratic leader nancy pelosi on this program. we'll talk about the republican obstruction in congress, on jobs, the democrats' chances of taking back the house next year and a whole lot more. we're thrilled to have the democratic leader, pelosi, on this program. we hope you'll join us coming up on thursday night. coming up, over the weekend, thousands marched in new york

city in protest of the restricted voting rights around the country, voting laws enacted. i was there to talk to some of the protesters. you'll hear what they have to say, next. [ beep ] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ breathing heavily ] ♪ ♪ [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] the tight-turning, space-saving, eco-friendly smart.

escape your stuff. ♪ up next, voting laws in 17 states could silence minority groups. this weekend, protesters gathered to make sure their voices were heard on the issue. don't forget to tweet us using #edshow. [ female announcer ] have you met your skin twin? covergirl trublend has skin twin technology. other makeup can sit on your skin, so it looks like...makeup.

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this crowd of occupy protesters, and we think there's several hundred of them here now, are in the middle of an intersection here and they have managed to shut down access to this part of the port of long beach. >> as the occupy movement continues across the country, today protesters focused their efforts on some of the nation's busiest ports. protesters block eed and attempd to disrupt ports all along the west coast. dozens were arrested, but demonstrated remained largely

peaceful. meanwhile, here in new york over the weekend, thousands marched on saturday in protest of the prestrictive voting rights laws that have been passed in 17 states. what's happening out here? why are you marching today? >> well, we're trying to keep our voting rights. trying to keep our voting rights. as a child i remember what happened to my people fighting for rights. and, you know, i want my kids to have the same rights. my children, my grandchildren. >> really fundamental to being an american, isn't it? >> yes, it is, yes, it is. >> do you think young people get this? the struggle of what you went through as a people and where we are today? >> i think they're getting it. i thing they'k they're getting . things like this will make them get it. >> there are about 100 kids today from our school and 250 kids in our class. so the majority of our class is here today supporting naacp and all the other groups that are

here for voting rights. we are young. we need our voting rights and we need to be able to register. >> it wasn't just voting rights protesters were focusing on. the attack on education and the shortage of resources has professionals speaking out. >> i made a promise to kids and i made a promise to the parents that i'm in this neighborhood, i don't care what it is, i'm going to get the job done. as they bind my hands, i'm trying to figure out how am i going to get it done? because i had to lay off five people this year. we had about a couple of grand for books and i had to be very strategic to get all of my supplies ordered. what am i going to do next year when they cut another 5%? i don't know. i don't know. >> it's all about the resources, isn't it? >> and they are dried up. they have dried up. >> tell me what democracy looks like! >> this is what democracy looks like! >> how about promoting a values summit for lefties?

to get in the face of the righties who pull all the social bull [ bleep ]. talk about left wing values like the right to vote. how about that? i'm talking about a value summit. >> right now. >> a summit. >> a summit now. >> what do you want me to do? >> a value summit for progressive causes to go against the righties with all of their values summit bull. you can do it. >> you can do it. no one else can do it. >> you want me to do it? >> i want you to do it. >> you're our voice. >> i even wrote you about it. >> yes. everybody wants to shake your hand. >> you're the man. >> well, some broadcaster across the street said the movement is politically dead. no. lots of passion right here in america. and i think it's all just getting started. president obama followed through with his campaign promise to end the iraqi war. our troops will all be out by the end of the year. iraq veteran john soltz just got back from his final tour in

iraq. he'll have a lot to say next on "the ed show." [ 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. with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved

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"the ed show" survey tonight, i asked does mitt romney have any clue how much $10,000 means to average americans? 3% of you said yes. 97% of you said no. next up, president obama keeps his promise to bring the troops home. i'll talk exclusively with john soltz, just back from iraq. he's now the chair of votevets.org.

when i took office, nearly 150,000 american troops were deployed in iraq. and i pledged to end this war responsibly. in the coming days, the last american soldiers will cross the border out of iraq. with honor and with their heads held high. after nearly nine years, our war in iraq ends this month. >> president obama checks off another campaign promise. he hosted the iraqi prime minister at the white house today, mr. maliki, while the two leaders formally declared an end to the nine-year, $800 billion war in iraq. eight years and eight months after president bush declared mission accomplished, president obama finishes the job. of course, the right wing critics are out in full force. >> he right now as commander in chief is performing abysmally with respect to afghanistan and iraq. he's about to snatch defeat from what was a victory in iraq by

pulling everybody out. iraq and afghanistan are two places where this president is absolutely failing. in afghanistan, he's pulling our troops out so fast that he's putting the mission at risk. we've got these two wars that have been incredibly important and in which we sacrificed tremendous lives and treasure. this president's performance means we may well lose both wars. >> joining me now is john soltz, chairman of votevets.org. john has served his country so well. he's an iraq war veteran who has served as a major in the army and returned last night from his final deployment to iraq. john, congratulations. and thank you for your service to the country. what are your thoughts when you see president obama announcing it is now going to be over in iraq for military involvement? what goes through your mind? >> well, i think the first thing for everybody is it's humbling. just flying back here, coming back to the states. 8 1/2 years. people were like, where are you going? i'm like, i don't know where i'm going. it's all i've known, you know, since i was 25 years old.

i've been to iraq twice. everything i've done in advocacy of vote vets has been about the iraq war. so it's humbling that you make it through and you're okay. you're not missing a limb. i mean, there's so many soldiers and marines, specifically, who served in iraq or afghanistan that have been injured or wounded. for the first part it's humbling that it's finally over. >> what do you make of the rhetoric i just played for you? liz cheney saying president obama is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and that he's losing both wars. what's your response to that? >> that's why i was laughing in the lead-in. i actually couldn't believe they put her on tv. i heard this a little bit, you know, when i was in iraq, you know, look, there's stuff exploding all the time. you focus on your mission. i keep hearing this rhetoric from the republicans. my first gut reaction to that is, her father was the vice president. this agreement to get the u.s. forces out of iraq that we signed with the iraqi government was signed by her father's administration. so what president obama did is

executed the bush administration's plan. it's no different than the obama-care, mitt romney conversation. mitt romnauomney has huge probl with his because his health care plan is obama-care. she is saying her father's agreement is wrong. she might as well spit on the grave of everybody who died in iraq. this is operation iraqi freedom. they asked us to spend 8 1/2 years of our lives establishing an iraqi democracy. the iraqi democracy cannot and will not ask for an extension of u.s. forces because nuri al maliki's governing coalition is a very close relationship with the iranians and the government would topple. if we stay there one day past the end of the sofa agreement, that's the only way we can lose the war. >> you just told us in a detailed manner liz cheney has no clue what she's talking about. >> none. none. it appalls me they allow her to come on tv. >> what about other republicans who have been critical of this exit?

what's your response to them? >> i just think they don't know anything. they don't have anyone on their staff who understands iraq. if the americans wanted a longer relationship in iraq, we should have focused more on the political debate within iraq. essentially helping the nationalists. al araqia won the most seats in the iraqi election. the hardline shia groups are the ones who empowered nuri al maliki and have the close relationship with the iranians. if maliki had requested an extension of u.s. forces, sadr had two options. could have fought u.s. forces, which part of his movement did violently over the summer months and killed 20 americans, or pull out of the government. then maliki doesn't have a government coalition and they could essentially topple the government. it shows there's no lack of -- any basic understanding of what's going on in iraq. the actual software of the iraqi democracy can't sustain a long