playing the tambourine. >> it's a pretty good one. that will do it for us today. i am dylan ratigan. "hardball" with chris matthews ll he'll start with the jobs report starting flight. >> the big chill. let's play "hardball." let me start with this horrific day for the american economy. the stock market dropped 275 points today, wiping out all the gains of the year. we've fallen back to where we were in january. why? because the jobless rate rose today for the first time in a year that vital number went up instead of down. the underlying news is worse. the american economy created just 69,000 job last month, less than half the number predicted. and it turns out the economy produced less than a third that number in the combined two

months earlier. this recovery has run out of steam. we're in a stall. got it? what's the political power of this? what will the president do? what will the fed do? what will the american people demand they do? action. that's the word i'm interested in "action." what action can we expect, what action can we hope for? let's get to the two people who should know the answer. former clinton labor secretary robert reich who has authored the book yt beyond outrage" and pennsylvania governor ed rendell. if you were running the show right now, if you were in the president's ear and had the power to set or at least recommend economic policy action step, what would they be? >> number one, chris, i'd say even if the republicans are not going to join me, i, the president, am going to propose number one that the first $20,000 of income be exempted from payroll taxes effective immediately. a shot in the arm for consumers. number two, i'm going to propose that we, as a country, we use

the fact that borrowing costs are now unprecedented at a low point because everybody else in the world is pouring their money into dollars. that means we can borrow, and we can have a major infrasfrur program to fix our crumbling highways, bridges, roads and ports. and i'm going to hire to make sure that a large portion of the people, 23 million people who are now unemployed or underemployed, i'll hire as many of them to fix america as possible. then we'll have a wpa, works project administration and a civilian conservation corps to take the long-term unemployed and put them to work on our parks, our playgrounds and in our schools as assistant teacher, whatever. i'm not going to sit back. if the republicans don't want to go along with this, if they want to be called the nattering naybobs of neg tichl, that's fine, i want them to understand we'll move forward on this. >> from your words to god's ears. ed rendell, i don't know how you

can beat that band, because that sounds like music to me. the republicans may oppose it, but what you've been talking about for years now -- i hate the word "infrastructure," but everybody knows what it means. we're behind the europeans. they've got the chunnel, they've got the trains that go 300 miles an hour. we ride that wild west buckboard called the amtrak, which is nice, but it certainly is yesterday. they've got -- put a big tunnel to new york from new jersey. tell that governor to get out of the way and put that thing in. we have bullet train in asia. everybody's ahead of us now and we're put-putting along here like it's 1953. your thoughts, governor? >> secretary reich is absolutely right. it's the time for action. the president should understand what the american people, i think, are looking for in this election is what's next? what are the plans? we know the economy's improved, but it's stalled. what's next? governor romney is suggesting that we cut taxes.

first of all, that's never worked in the last 60 years, but even if it were to work, that's two, three, four years down the road. we need action now. i think bob's plan is a good one, particularly infrastructure. 25,000 jobs are produced for every billion dollars of infrastructure spending. every expert agrees with that. chris, if we did a $200 billion infrastructure improvement program -- and i'm not just talking about roads and bridges -- our electrical grid, our broadband, dams, levees, everything we need to fix, we're falling apart, number one it would make us more economically competitive, number two, it would make us safer. and if you do the math, 5 million good paying jobs back in manufacturing and american factories. >> let's go the president told congress to stop obstructing his limited -- i have to call it limited yobs agenda. >> limited. >> let's watch what he said. >> my message to congress is now's not the time to play

politics. now's not the time to sit on your hands. the american people expect their leader to work hard no matter what year it is. congress should pass a bill to help states prevent more layoffs so we can put thousands of teachers and firefighters and police officers back on the job. congress should have passed a bill a long time ago to put thousands of construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our runways. instead of just talking about job creators, congress should give small business owners a tax break for hiring more workers and paying them higher wages. >> robert reich, let's get to the politics. why -- if the congress and the republican side, boehner and the rest of them, are going to say no to spam, why not ask for steak? if they're going to say no, go all the way. i hate to use the word, you know what i'm saying the chicken. if they are going to say no, make them say no to something worthwhile. they're not going to say yes to

anything. >> chris, that's exactly right. what the president needs to form is a clear contrast in the public's mind between his desire to go forward and create jobs and what the republicans want to do, which is basically a war on tax breaks for the very rich. they're not the job accurater s award tax breaks to those who are sitting on $2 trillion of cash that they don't know what to do with. there's not adequate consumer demand. and what the republicans want to do is cut the budget already. that's austerity. that's austerity economics. we saw what that got europeans in terms of making that european situation even worse and creating a recession in all of europe because of those budget cuts. so what, you know, what the president needs to do is say that's what their agenda is, here's what my agenda is. i'm going to get jobs back. if they want to say no, then you make sure that i have a senate and a house of representatives that will say yes. >> here they are. here's boehner and cantor, the joy boys here with strong words for the president this morning. let's watch them in action.

this is easy stuff for opposition. >> these job numbers are pathetic. the american people really deserve better, and i think on the right leadership, we can do better. >> it's clear that the policies that we've seen are not working. i'm not an economist. all i can say is that if they would have taken our advice and worked with us, the economy would we better. >> well, governor, he's not crying there, i have to tell you that boehner -- this is something that's not bringing tears to his eyes. it's probably put a spring in the step of romney. you were in the news today, i don't know how many in the last several hours, no, you didn't -- bill clinton made the news but he was marching to your tune saying don't go after bain capital, the massachusetts experience of romney. in other words, defend your own record, build on your own record, don't go negative. are you sticking with that? let's hear bill clinton speak for himself. he took an ax to that whole thing when he was out there with harvey weinstein the other

night. let's watch him. >> i don't think that we ought to get in the position where we rk. this is good work. there's no question that in terms of getting up and going to the office and, you know, basically performing the essential functions of the office, a moon who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold. >> so there you go. mr. clinton, i don't know what he's doing. you know him well, he's saying don't go down the negative t route. you can't win by bashing this guy on bain capital. you have to win this positively. >> i think the president's doing two things. number one, exactly what you said, chris, he's saying get out there and talk about what we're going to do. we do have good plans. the plans that bob outlined, the plans the president outlined. and you're dead right. don't do just $50 billion of infrastructure improvements over the next 18 months. the cbo says we can afford

almost $200 billion of spending for the next ten years. let's have a plan that will transform america, make us economically competitive, ten years of 5 million jobs each year, good, well-paying jobs. do something bold. that's what the american people are looking for. the second thing the president's doing is very smart. he's going to be of course for president obama. but he's building up credibility saying that mitt romney was a good businessman, whatever. when he does give the american people reasons to support president obama, they're going to say, bill clinton, he didn't try to trash the other guy, he's just giving us arguments why barack obama's better. it's great politics. >> you know, i wouldn't have agreed with that two or three days ago, robert reich, but i think now with the depths that this economy's fallen to the fact that we're now seeing a rising unemployment rate, we're seeing a pathetic creation of new jobs, less than half was predicted for this month, a revised look at what happened the previous two months where it

looks like we created nearly any jobs. we haven't hit a second dip. we haven't hit two quarters of declining gdp, so nothing is happening. if the president doesn't do anything between now and november, nothing will happen. >> i think it's clear, the president has got to put forward an affirmative, clear, concrete message how he's going to get jobs back. paint the republicans as negative. but he also has to go after romney. with all due respect to my former boss, i think my former boss is dead wrong. bain capital is part of the wall street-ification of the entire economy. you have financial entrepreneurs instead of product entrepreneurs which is one reason that we got into the trouble we got into this 2008 and one reason this economy is having such a difficult time getting out of it. >> you say play offense and also develop a strong program for the future. >> absolutely. >> governor, i got to ask you about bill clinton, who you still call the president, fair

enough. he's still the ongoing once and future president, but here he is, the president, former president clinton, again with harvey weinstein on that other network saying nice things about donald trump. >> i know donald trump to be a sane, smart businessman, but he has this benefit, romney comes and he talks about that birth certificate again. how do you put that out of the minds of the american public once and for all? and doesn't he realize how uncool he is? >> i don't know. donald trump has been uncommonly nice to hillary and me. we're all new yorkers. >> me, too. >> and i like him, and i love playing golf with him. but the evidence is pretty clear that president obama was born in hawaii, and this whole election should not be about any of these side issues. >> well, there he's giving the president the benefit of the doubt. he's saying the evidence is pretty clear. would you say that's a strong

endorsement of his fellow citizen, the fact that he was native born, the evidence is pretty clear here that donald trump might be wrong. i'm just teasing, but it is a strange way to phrase it for a very articulate fellow like bill clinton. >> let me tell you, we want donald trump to keep it up. i think that donald trump said some important things. every time he says this stuff, it drives independent voters into our column. i would disagree with bob about one thing. i think that president clinton is right about one thing. this is not the right time to attack mitt romney. we can use that for counterpunching if he stands up and makes a policy speech and says as governor of massachusetts i did a great job with the economy. we can raise our hand and say governor you were 47th out of 50 states in job creation. that's not a great job on the economy, particularly in a well educated high tech state like massachusetts. let's counterpunch, but let's go on the offensive by telling the american people what we do. what the american people are looking for is who's the best

bet to get them out of this. and i think it's barack obama because i think he has the best plans. and i would pin the tail on that republican congress. i would say they don't want to do anything. they're more interested in politics than getting this economy charged up. let's roll, let's get this done. >> i think that's what the agreement is, get the economy rolling. a major historic commitment to building this country up in terms of its infrastructure, electric grids, mass transit, highways, everything. >> broadband. >> the low interest rates, robert, is so critical. the fact that you have people ready to work, you have capital ready to be used, you have low interest rates. look, we built the empire state building in 1931. that to me remains the great example of what you can do. >> chris? >> yes, sir. >> you remember what they said 75 years ago when they said we're going to build a bridge, the golden gate bridge, people said, no, you can't do it. too dangerous, it will be too expensive. but we did it.

we used to do big things. we were a country that no challenge was too hard for. we got to get back to doing it. >> i got to tell you, the golden gate bridge, i offer it as an example of the one case in which mankind has improved on nature, the golden gate bridge. it is stunning today, every time i go near it. thank you, robert reich, thank you ed rendell for joining us. coming up, john edwards hints at a comeback. now there's a man with optimism. but after a dramatic fall, could he actually rise again? maybe we need john edwards' hopefulness. and why did house republicans push a bill based on gender based abortions. are they really willing to say a what they're talking about here? i wonder if the republicans are playing this as a game. what happens when a top surrogate like bill clinton gets off message? and make or break moment for the president. i think that's what he's in right this moment. this is "hardball," the place

for politics. [ male announcer ] considering all your mouth goes through, do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine®... power to your mouth™. holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ]

so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] mayhem is everywhere. so get an allstate agent. are you in good hands? here's another foreign policy move from president obama. "the new york times" reported today that since he first took office, this president secretly stepped up cyberattacks against iran. the attacks on the computer systems over there that run iran's nuclear enrichment facilities began under former president bush, but they've grown increasingly more frequent and more sophisticated in the obama administration. we'll be right back. ree-credit-s gonna direct you ♪ ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ ♪ and you end up strapped for cash ♪ ♪ patching your board with duct tape ♪ ♪ so hit free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ find out what credit's about ♪ ♪ or else you could be headed for a credit wipeout ♪

offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. [ creaking ] [ male announcer ] trophies and awards lift you up. but they can also hold you back. unless you ask, what's next? [ zapping ] [ clang ] this is the next level of performance. the next level of innovation. the next rx. the all-new f sport. this is the pursuit of perfection.

well, john edwards may have gone free yesterday, but can he rebuild his political career. three jurors who smoke with matt lauer this morning said they thought he was guilty of the crimes he was charged with, but they didn't have the evidence to

convict. >> i think he had some knowledge. i think he definitely had some knowledge of the money, where the money was going. >> he was just smart enough to hide it, and we could not find the evidence. >> raise your hands if you think john edwards was guilty on at least some of the counts against him? okay, raise your hands if you think john edwards is a bad guy? interesting. >> they chose wise there there. is he planning a comeback or is he out of touch with that? he first met john edwards while working on his senate campaign, which he won. and an msnbc contributor. what's with john edwards? is he all delusion? is a guy that has so much optimism that he doesn't really connect with reality? like talking yesterday about god still has a plan for me and all that, what was all that about, after basically beating the judge by a few feet? >> well, the people don't have a

plan for him. lo look, he can maybe redeem himself as a person if he doesn't talk about himself. that's what he did wrong. it can't be about him. he has to quietly give himself to a cause he genuinely cares about, stay in the valley for a while, no publicity. no oprah-like interviews. he has to do something good, not because it's good for his image, but because it's right. maybe he can never undo the nonjudicial verdict that's been rendered on him, but he might change some people's lives. if it looks for a moment, though, like he's manipulating this, he'll tarnish himself even further. >> i wonder last night, joan, whether he was really making a call out to rich contributors out there saying the lord's not -- by the way, whatever your religious beliefs, you got to wonder about a guy who starts describing what god's plans are for him. that's certainly a strange thing to start talking about. i think god would like to make his own plans, and he doesn't like somebody to basically predict them. but your thoughts, joan, about

that strange sort of egotistical moment where he began acting narcissisticcally. >> oh, it was a terrible moment, chris. i honestly couldn't believe it. i speak as somebody who supported him in 2007 and i speak as somebody who voted to put him a heartbeat away from the presidency in 2004. you know? i apologize to the american people for that. we didn't know. but when he started speaking, like bob says, yesterday, i literally couldn't believe it. i knew he was a narcissist, but it was so wrong and it was wrong from the minute he started. maybe a thank you to the judge and the jury and to his family for standing by him maybe. but that performance just showed a man who is so out of touch with the world, with himself, and is just so full of himself. i mean, love your children, go out and love your children, be a good father, go out and help the world, help the children of the world, god bless you. don't do that. don't tell us about it. >> -- your girlfriend. >> well then that.

>> it was too strange. >> here he is speaking for himself and i have to say in a narcissistic fashion yesterday. >> i don't think god's through with me, he really believes there's still good things i can do. and whatever happens with this legal stuff going forward, what i'm hopeful about is all those kids that i've seen, you know, in the poorest parts of this country and in some of the poorest places in the world, that i can help them in whatever way i'm still capable of helping them. and i want to dedicate my life to being the best dad i can be and to helping those kids who i think deserve help. >> well, public opinion in this country is sort of not on john edwards' side. in april, a cbs news/"new york times" poll shows that just 3% of the country has a favorable opinion of him. 41% unfavorable.

he's been hanging around the bars and restaurantses of chapel hill, which is not a bad way to spend your time, but not exactly stuff that gets into the 12 apostles. you know? >> i don't think he's trying out for the 12 apostles. he'd be lucky to kind of get into the lower ranks of heaven. >> i want to go to him after you, mr. shrum, because you're one of my close friends. people fell or this quite. it was his cute manner, that little boy -- why did you fall for it? >> when i met him in 1997, i thought he was a person of extraordinary talent. >> why? >> he was articulate, he was smart. look, nobody thought he could beat lauch faircloth and he did it. and john mccain was impressed with him, ted kennedy, but then over time he never fulfilled that potential. >> did he ever read a book? did he ever read a newspaper? >> i think he read a newspaper. >> i don't believe that. i don't think he reads anything.

>> i think he worked very hard -- to be honest, i don't think he worked very hard at being a senator. i watched him in the 2004 campaign, when quite frankly we should have picked dick gephardt. i went up to his practice. he wasn't ready for that debate. he had to go back to his room. >> of course he wasn't. he was never ready. >> elizabeth had to make him study the books. >> study, study, study, learn what you're talking about before you run for anything. joan, i was out on this bus out in iowa during the 2004 campaign, i finally get in to see him. i'm looking through the bus, i don't see a piece of paper, not a briefing note, no magazine, no indication of any intellectual life. it was all bs, all cute, all hair, it was nonsense. and he fell for his own bs. he believed he was some kind of sparkling savior of the nation based upon what? what? >> based upon -- >> what was there? >> -- being a good looking southern guy at a time that we all thought that the next president like bill clinton should come from the south -- >> bill clinton was a rhodes

scholar. bill clinton was a rhodes scholar. >> look there's no -- >> john edwards is smart, by the way. he is smart. >> he has to be smart. we all thought the -- >> he's very self-involved. when i told him in the 2003 that he shouldn't run for president, he wasn't ready. and that i wasn't going to work for him. i was going to work for john kerry, he said something to me that i've never forgotten. it was stunning. i'll never forget even on my death bed what you have done to me and my family. >> i'm sorry, i don't mean to laugh. >> no, it was an extraordinary statement. >> i know. >> he does have a sense of his own power, though. like he is mef stofleys, he'll bring the darkness on your people. >> sadly he's in the dark valley. i'm glad he wasn't convicted because his family has been through a lot of tragedy, and it would have been very tough -- >> i think he's red too much of "the count of monte cristo," the great avenger. joan, i love it when you're

sympathetic to the beautiful young men of this country. >> oh, stop. >> i'm off, i know. donald rumsfeld, he's back and he's pooh-poohing president obama's decision to get bin laden. i'd say obama has a slightly better track record than typical rummy, by the way. ♪

♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

lastin florida we hadulf's best tomore sun tans...years. in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records down here on the gulf. more people more good times. this year we're out to do even better... and now's a great time to start. the sun's out and the beaches are even more relaxing. you can go deep sea fishing or enjoy our world-class restaurants... our hotels and rentals have special deals for the whole family. go golfing, kite boarding, or build the worlds biggest sand sculpture... with the world's best sand. so come on down to mississippi... get yourself down to louisiana...

we'll see you in florida... you know you want to come to alabama. the gulf is america's get-a-way... and we're 100 percent ready to see you. come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. back to "hardball." now to the "side show" that proposed ban in new york city on sodas larger than 16 ounces is causing noise. "the daily show's" jon stewart is perplexed. >> let me get this straight, as a new yorker i can go on my lunch break to -- i don't know -- carnegie deli and order 14 pounds of pastrami garnished with 7 pounds of beef tongue.

then over to hooter's for battered chicken wings with hot sauce served with a bowl of cheese. top it off with a little bit of frozen hot chocolate. this is legal until it melts. mr. mayor, i know you can be intimidated by these large-sized drinks. you and i are both, let's face it, small. we might see a generously proportioned sugared beverage and think of it as a drowning hazard. but it's not fair! it's not fair! >> actually, mayor bloomberg marked today as national doughnut day. officially nyc doughnut day with a proclamation. i think there's some sugar in doughnuts, mr. mayor. in illinois state representative mike bost took to the floor to argue it was too soon to bring that bill to a vote. >> total power in one person's

hands. not the american way! these damn bills come out all the damn time! i got to figure out how to vote for my people! i'm sick of it! every year we give power to one person! it was not named that way in the constitution. he was around when it was written! enough! i feel like somebody trying to be released from egypt. let my people go! >> i think he just had one of those 16-ounce sugar drinks. he says he doesn't normally act that way. again i think it was a sugar attack. finally robert gates has said that president obama made a gutsy call on how to kill osama bin laden. in an interview with charlie rose, his predecessor donald rumsfeld said the decision should have been a fast one and easy one thanks in part to earlier administrations. >> he spent million ps of dollar the and lives trying to track down osama bin laden and you have 40% or whatever bob said

confidence in your intelligence. >> 87 i think he said. >> seem to me that it is a 15-minute decision and the first 14 are for coffee. could it be wrong? you bet. >> with enormous consequences. ask jimmy carter. failed mission. >> oh, listen, our special forces in the jimmy carter era were so early in their evolution. the investment that the obama administration benefited from, the capabilities they have were developed during their predecessors. and each president. >> meaning the bush administration you served? >> exactly. >> wasn't that rumsfeld the guy who said that saddam hussein had nucle nuclear weapons? how long did that decision take for him? let's remember these guys' track records. up next, republican in the house try to ban gender-based abortions, but are they really just going after the asian

american community here. we'll talk to two members of congress on either side of the ban. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪

i'm hampton pearson with your cnbc market wrap. stocks are crushed by dismal data on the state of the economy. the dow tumbles 275 points wiping out all gains for the year. the s&p loses 32, the nasdaq falls 80 points. as you heard earlier, there were just 69,000 jobs created in may, much fewer than expected. the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%, adding to worries china's factory showed further signs of weakening. oil prices fell 4% to $83 a barrel. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball."

this is the ultimate war on women, mr. speaker. if we don't allow women to be born, we cannot talk about any other rights. >> you talk about a war on women, this is a war on ethics. woe to you if you vote against this bill. >> welcome back to "hardball," the bill if question we're talking about with the members were on the floor, a bill that would criminalize gender selections a a reason for borgs, although 246 members voted for it and 169 against it it didn't get the requisite two-thirds of the rule in which it was brought up. let's talk to two congressmen on both sides of the bill. cliff stearns of florida who voted for it, and we have donna edwardses of maryland who voted against it. i want mr. sterns to make the

case. what community in this country is engaged right now in gender selection in terms of abortion? >> well, it's across the united states. dr. prury of the university of california has shown through evidence by interviewing women from 2004 to 2009 that a lot of them made this decision based on sex selection. >> which community, though? >> the immigrant community is one of the large ones that he looked at because of that problem. >> is anyone else involved in this to your knowledge besides asian women who come to the united states who have that culture they bring with them that prefers boy children? does anyone else -- any evidence beyond that community of this practice. >> let's talk about the -- >> no, i want an answer. >> yes, the national academy of science has done a study from the last census in this country and they found statistically there's a deviation that shows more of these abortions occur and that there is sex selection. so i think it's a national academy of science shows that evidence pretty strongly. >> you don't have any facts of

cases, in other words, if you were going to go to court, you wouldn't have cases, would you? in other words, you're talking about a law here. my problem is this, you don't want to punish the woman. you want to punish the doctor. but in this case a woman, if she did have this sbeng because of her background or values -- and i'm certainly not for them -- if there was such a case, she would go from doctor to doctor who wouldn't ask her the question and she'd proceed with the abortion. so what do you accomplish with this law? it couldn't be enforced. >> what you accomplish, one thing you're missing. this same law has been passed in all the western civilization countries including canada, american kingdom, norway, sweeten, i can go on. when you go to the asian community it's banned in china, banned in singapore, banned in thailand. all these countries have banned it. so to think that the democrats voted against a bill that was prevalent in all these countries both in the european community as well as the asian community really flabbergasts all of us. >> they don't ban abortion in china, let's get that straight.

>> no, they ban sex selection. >> i think you guy are sporting for trouble here because i think this is about one community, and i don't certainly like what i see in that community if they do this and the evidence shows they did. i don't know who is against having girl children? who do you know that doesn't want to have a girl grandchild or daughter? who's out there doing this? >> chris, the whole point of what your question is, why did we try to pass this bill and we had 246 people that think it's the right bill. i thought we were talking about the bill. the bill is the same that's passed all through europe. are you arguing against the bill yourself? >> i don't know why you're doing it. to find moderate republicans from swing district us can nail. >> no. >> this is pure politics. >> this is pure principle. and those people that voted against this bill are -- woe to them because they're immoral. >> you see what he just did, woe to them. what are you, lincoln? >> woe to me, i voted against it. >> i wish i was lincoln.

i wish i was lincoln. >> the study he cites they interviewed 65 women out of millions across this country. 65 women. and that's the basis for national policy here. this is really ridiculous. this continues, the republicans on one hand don't want us to say there's a war on women, yet every single week there's some new measure to ban abortion, to end family planning. they don't want to provide for family planning, but then they want to prevent so-called sex-based abortions. finding a problem that really doesn't exist in this country to merit the level of national policy. this is really ridiculous. >> can i answer that? >> sure, go ahead, sir. >> the united nations agrees with this bill. donna is saying this is a war on women. this is not a war on women. in fact, the unit has saed stat said that abortions based on sex selection is a war on women. >> you just agreed to end family planning for the work that the united nations is doing across the country.

i mean, let's stop this already. the republicans every single week in this congress, chris, the republicans put forward yet another measure that says to women, you don't have privacy in the decisions with your doctors, we're going to criminalize the doctor, we'll make doctors mind readers. >> let's stay on the facts. >> i want to know your background on this. if you could pass a law in this country to get a constitutional amendment passed that banned abortion, would you do it? >> well, certainly. >> certainly, so you're totally against a women's right to make a decision in this regard. >> well, i'm pro life, that's absolutely correct. >> this is one way -- this is one step forward in terms of your ultimate goal. >> no, no, this is not talking about one step forward. this is talking about basic moral values. do you think it's wrong to abort a baby because she's a female? and that's a question that donna has to ask in her inner heart -- >> is it morally wrong -- why don't you punish the woman? >> we can punish the doctors. >> why not the women?

>> the way the bill is set up is the doctor has no right to question the motivation of the girl. >> because that's not what this is about, that's why. so you punish the doctors, you ask the doctors to be mind readers, to sit and figure out when a woman comes to the office -- >> i hate this with people who say they are pro life. what should be the punishment for a woman who chooses to have an abortion? >> i'm not talking about abortion. >> answer that question before we go on. >> no, no, no. >> you want to outlaw it, call it murder, use terms like that. what should be a punishment for a woman that goes to a doctor, they don't go door to door, she goes to the doctor and asks for this procedure, what should be the punishment for that? >> if we're talking about abortion, we have the hyde rule which says you can have an abortion for incest, the life of the mother. >> go on. >> and things like that and rape. so we already have that in place. >> what should be the punishment

for a womb who waan who doesn't deliver the child. >> let me ask you -- >> you don't want to answer the question. >> i want to ask you a question. >> i get to ask the questions. you want to outlaw abortion because you know that they don't believe that the woman is guilty of murder, they don't think it should be a murder charge, they don't think it should be fineable because deep down people are troubled by this issue. it's a difficult moral dilemma and that's why we let the person make the decision, it's so difficult. that's why we don't make all these laws that you can't pass. why don't you let the women answer it. >> it's your show. let me answer the question. >> -- bors. you won't answer it. >> i'll answer the question the way i want. i might be your show and you can do all the talking but i can answer the question the way i want. should there be a law preventing a woman making an abortion based upon sex selection to eliminate female embryos and that i agree

is wrong and i think you agree and donna also agrees. >> what should be the punishment for the woman doing that? >> it should be against the law. >> what should be the punishment? >> i think the punishment should certainly be very serious. >> what should it be for the woman? what should it be for the woman? >> it should be more than a civil case. it should be something very serious. >> a criminal matter for the woman as well as the doctor. >> i think so. you are killing an embryo and sometimes four or five months into gestation. >> i agree with the value. i just think we get involved in personal decisions here. >> i understand. but you just said you agree with the bill. you just said that. >> no, i don't believe in punishing people for having abortions, unlike you. i couldn't be more different. >> but chris, you just said that you agree that sex selection is bat -- >> of course it is. >> that's the bill we're talking about, that's the bill that's going to come back on the floor not under suspension. >> please come back. >> all right. >> you are a good sport even

though i think you got to rethink where the moral decision -- i think sometimes you guys on the far right think women are incapable of a major decision like this, so you punish the doctor who you presume is a male. i think you got a problem with this and you don't want to admit that it's a moral conflict here. that's why we leave it in the hands of the woman because it is so difficult. that's why we let the woman decide. >> of course. this is a really difficult decision, it really needs to be between the doctor and the woman. we don't need the government in the doctor's office making those decisions. >> especially when they can't handle the question like you can. >> we don't need to punish women. we can educate women but we don't have to punish women or doctors. >> can i have the last word? >> quickly. >> the basic question is if all of europe and most of asia has this same rule that you cannot have sex selection as an abortion, why can't we in the united states pass the same bill? >> it's always amazing when you guys on the right want to import the values of other countries.

any time we do it, any time a liberal tries to do it, you say they're bringing foreign values into this country. anyway, thank you, nice try. congressman donna edwards and congressman cliff stearns. why is president clinton off script, he's talking up donald trump? what's with this guy? is he really helping the obama campaign?

we'll be back in a minute to talk about bill clinton. he's supposed to be president obs [ male announcer ] what's in your energy drink? ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about market volatility. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 in times like these, it can be tough to know which ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 way the wind is blowing. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we're ready with objective insights about ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 the present market and economic conditions. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and can help turn those insights into

ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a plan of action that's right for you. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 so don't let the current situation take you off course. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 an intense burning sensation i woke up with this horrible rash on my right side. like somebody had set it on fire. and the doctor said, cindie, you have shingles. he said, you had chickenpox when you were a little girl... i said, yes, i did. i don't think anybody ever thinks they're going to get shingles. but it happened to me. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com

okay, this is a great question. we're back, what was bill clinton thinking. that's an old question by criticized the obama's campaigns attack on bain capital and saying nice things about donald trump. we have todd harris here. how fun is this to watch the democratic party come apart other these stupid things like

donald trump and bain. >> when you're an expresident, it's like being an 85-year-old man, you can wear your pants pulled up, and no one cares and you just don't care. unfortunately for the obama campaign, the former president of the united states loves talking to the media. and he is so smart and you know this wasn't a mistake. >> he is not joe biden. >> here he is talking to harvey weinstein. here he is talking about donald trump. >> i know him to be a sane smart businessman. how do you put it out of the minds of the american people once and for all and doesn't he realize how uncool he is? >> i don't know, donald trump has been uncommonly nice to hillary and me.

we're all new yorkers and i like him and i love playing golf with him, but the evidence is pretty clear that president obama was born in hawaii. and this whole election should not be about any of these side issues. >> if it's pretty clear -- he didn't exactly lock it in, did he? >> the former president is in a different business now and he runs with people in new york, raises money for his foundation, hangs out with donald trump, you get to say whatever you want, you're an expresident, you don't have to worry about it, but it's not doing the obama cam pawn any good right now. >> it's not just a pile on, but it's a pile away from obama. nobody is waiting to give away special credit. all of theefz heavy weights in the party are saying i i don't

agree with him. >> what you hear time and again is that the white house and obama in particular has never made any special effort to reach out of any of these people. >> they'll get asked at midnight. roosevelt would sit around all night hanging out with southern congressman and congressmen knowing they would never catch the check. >> the democrats walking away are all democrats from the northeast that hang out from venture capitalist. all of their friends are equity people and they're choosing friendships over the president on this one point. they support him, they think he's done a great job, and they want him to be reelected. >> the forested moment of the money so far was produced by harvey weinstein. what a bad day today in the

economy. steve mcmann, thank you, and tot harris. when we return, let me finish with why president obama needs to do something to get the economy rolling again now. [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me! twenty-one vitamins and minerals and zero fat! hmmm. you'll bring a lot to the party. [ all ] yay! [ female announcer ] new ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. free-credit-score-dot-com'sur boargonna direct you ♪ts ♪ ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ ♪ and you end up strapped for cash ♪ ♪ patching your board with duct tape ♪ ♪ so hit free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ find out what credit's about ♪ ♪ or else you could be headed for a credit wipeout ♪

offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. woman: what do you mean, homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods? [ heart rate increases ] man: a few inches of water caused all this? [ heart rate increases ] woman #2: but i don't even live near the water. what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you -- including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $129 a year. for an agent, call the number that appears on your screen.

♪ home of the brave. ♪ it's where fear goes unwelcomed... ♪ and certain men... find a way to rise above. this is the land of giants. ♪ guts. glory. ram. glory.

let me finish on this tough hard note it's come to, i'm talking about this coming election. there was a sense by the obama

administration and that the white house that it had to be negative for this campaign. you could not rely on defense, only a good strong offense. i think today's hard economic news, the pathetic number of new jobs this past month, and the worse in your opinions coming in must be a wake up call. now here this. there is little way that obama will win the election in the midwhere it will be fought by middle the road voters by telling the voters that things are bad, but will be worst under romney. the american people are at their core an optimistic people. we don't believe the only alternative to a bad outlook is a worse outlook. that's why you can't put it together. we have to believe and have faith and see a better day coming if we make the right deci.