sharpton starts now. >> tonight's lead, showdown in wisconsin. a defining moment for progressives fighting back against the gop war on workers. 480 days ago government stot walker unveiled his union bashing plan. just three hours from now, the polls on his historic recall election will close. and scott walker's political fate will be decided. wisconsinites have been lined up at the polls all day, and by all reports, the turnout has been huge on both sides. aeb it could be decide on the ground game. political strategists say quote, the only mission left for both sides is to get the average supporters to the polls. an nbc news exit poll just out confirmes a whopping 88% of voters made up their minds more than a month ago.

scott walker and challenger tom barrett began their day casting ballots. they talked about their vision for wisconsin's future. >> if i have the honor of winning the election today i will certainly talk about ways of bringing state together this evening, but the most important thing we can do is not just talk about it, but do it. i think tomorrow will be the first of many steps. >> over the last 96 years, around the state, the energy has been building and building and building. which we think is a good sign. we're glad to see so many people care about our democracy and the future of our state and the want a governor who will represent the middle class of this state. >> people care about the future of our democracy. they care about the future of the state. and that's why this election is so important. it is a fight for the soul of wisconsin. it is a fight for fairness. a fight for the rights of working people. and a fight we won't back down

from. joining me now from milwaukee is state senator chris larson. he's been in this fight from the very beginning and in madison, wisconsin is kristin crowl, executive director of grass roots labor coalition, we are wisconsin. the group engages and empowers resident to act on important public policy issues. thank you both for being here tonight on this special night. >> thank you for having us, reverend. >> let me start with you, state senator. how are things looking to you opt ground? how are things looking tonight on the ground to you? >> things are really exciting here. i was just down in racine. we kicked off with over a hundred volunteers and mayor barrett and there are other places in the state where we have run out of clip boards and all across the city of milwaukee we are getting word there are lines out the doors. w but we are not stopping, not

slowing down yet. we are making sure everybody and their friends are getting out to vote in this historical election. >> you've been involved in a lot of elections, over 150 i'm told. what are you seeing out there? >> well, we're just seeing massive enthusiasm. i'm here in madison. but what we're seeing statewide is that, like everyone has predicted, that this is a race to turn out. our side is energized and mobilized and like you said, just under three hours to go until the polls close. so we're out hitting the doors hard in this final stretch. making the most of every moment and we're just seeing all of the massive enthusiasm here. >> senator, let me ask you a couple of polls that have come out, exit polls. according to nbc exit polling, they are about evenly split about changes in state law that limit collective bargaining by republican employee unions. 50% approve.

48% disapprove. but when asked about government workers' unions, 52% favorable, 43% unfavorable. does any of this tell youhe tha of it. but as much as some people might think that it is just about collective brg anning, it is not so much more than that. that is one piece. that definitely goes in tom barrett's favor because he is in favor of collective bargaining while scott walker attacked it. but it is about more than that. it is about education. this government cut education more than history in our state. it is ethics investigation swirling around governor walker for two years. with three of his aides, already charges filed against and 13 given immunity. there is always a question about whether it will come back on him. he spent $160,000. so it is about all of these things. there is thousands of people coming out.

i bet you would find thousands of different reason why people are excited to reclaim the state of wisconsin for us today. >> christian, there's also the money factor here. when we look at the fact that the incumbent walker, governor walker, raised $30.5 million, barrett 3.9 million, 38% from wisconsin for walker. 74% of the dodonors for barrett from wisconsin. so this tells us the gap on money and where the gap came from. >> well we have known from day one that we would not be able to compete in the money game. what we are seeing on the ground is not unusual to what we are seeing across the country. that is really, it is coming down to people, power versus corporate power. and corporate billion airs have been giving scott walker money

since day one. and he has been flying around the country spending more time collecting checks out of state than he has been here on the ground helping to solve problems here. facing real working families. so we're not surprised by this. we knew going into this, this was always going to be about our will of the people here in wisconsin and frankly, no amount of money can buy the will of the working people. we are proud, we are strong, and we are out in numbers today thousands of us on the street fighting corporate power with a good old fashion et shoe leather and hard work. >> senator, when you look at the fact we are hearing now that some dirty poolers have been put in this game, democrats in wisconsin are reporting that allies of walker have launched a campaign of robo calls to voters telling them quote, this is the call. if you sign the recall petition, your job is done and you don't need to vote on tuesday. i mean, if these calls are going

out, they are clearly trying to suppress the vote of those that may be inclined to support the recall if in fact this is happening. and it is something that is not wrong but it is probably illegal. >> right. rev, this is simply disgusting, these tactics we are seeing coming from walker's allies. it shows how desperate they are. how much they know that barrett's been creeping up in the polls and has been appealing to the working class and middle class all across wisconsin. that they have to try a tactic like this to try and trick people into not coming out and voting. so it shows that tom bare set underdog but he is catching up and i think that people are getting out the message. dave barrett's campaign was able to hear about this early enough. they were able to raise money and hit each of those. people who sign the recall petition, make sure they get out to vote today and make sure that they know about this disgusting

tactic and remind their friends about that, to make sure they get out and vote too. because they don't want a governor who will stand behind something like that. they want somebody who will bring our state together and put wisconsin first. >> we still have three hours before the polls close. for the record, no matter who you vote for, the fact that you signed a petition or not has nothing to do with it, come out and vote. before we go, let me go back to you, christian. what, in the next three hours, do your people have to do? what is it that has it happen in these three remaining hours on the ground in wisconsin for this recall to be successful. >> we know right now people are getting off of work and we've got hundreds of folks going door to door, giving every last person, making sure they know where to vote, how to vote, and that we are mobilizing them. we have seen today records of new voter registrations happening across the state. we are very excited about the

activity and enthusiasm and we're not letting up on the gas on these next three hours. we've got three hours to catch people as they come home from work. and that's exactly what we're going to do. right up until 8:00 p.m. tonight. >> all right, state senator chris lawson and christian crowl, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you so much. >> joining me now is former wisconsin congressman david olbe, long time champion for worker's right. congressman, thank you for joining me tonight. >> i'm glad to be here reverend. >> now you know voting in that state as well as anyone. probably better than most. what is your sense of the election as you see it transpire today? >> well, i think we need to remember that harry truman said once, that some people love the government of the united states so much they would like it buy it. and today is an example of how hard the out of state economic

elite is trying to do just that. the only people who can stop them are the voters of wisconsin by exercising their ballot rights and i think it is looking very good. the turnout is terrific. and any time you have a high turnout, you know the average working people are getting to the polls. >> now, in 2010, the turnout was around 2.2 million. we are forecasting that tonight the polls were closed and there would have been somewhere between 2.6 and 2.8 million voters, which is 400 to 600,000 more voters that you feel leans toward the working class and the union supporters in your opinion. >> i think, yeah, i think the more you can get voters to the polls especially now after they're done working, the better off that tom barrett will be and the better off the state senate challengers will be and better

off wisconsin citizens will be when they wake up tomorrow morning and have a governor who will try it heal the state rather than continue to divide it on id logical ground. >> now one of the things concern me, congressman, is the money fight. i went through this with the -- a couple of people from wisconsin a few moments ago. but let me show you what bothers me. when you look at the fact that 38% of walker's money comes from out of state, 74% from barrett's instate, but 62% of out of state donors, 26% from out of state donors were barrett. are we looking at a trend of big money guys, billion airs, that will go all over this country and dump money in to try and bring about those that want, that are ideal logically and aligned interest that have

nothing to do with the constituent in the indigenous states. are we at risk of seeing a national pattern start if they're successful? >> there's no question about that. i mean, look at the stories about, we see stories that the koch brothers may be spending as much as 400 million. we see one very rich fellow from the west single handedly kept newt gingrich on life support for months. when i got elected in the legislature, a long time ago, i spent $1160. today in that same state senate district, you are seeing almost $45u7b,000 spent on behalf of the republican candidate. it's incredible. they are trying to turn elections into auctions. and when you see that kind of money that's come in, then you understand why the top 1% of people in this country have more income than the bottom 90%

combined. >> turn election niece auctions. i think that hit it right on the head. former wisconsin congressman david obey, thanks for your time on this very important night. >> thank you. ahead, the gop master plan to buy elections, they are testing it in wisconsin and it could spread like an out of control wildfire. why it's only the beginning of the fight. plus, all of a sudden, karl rove is worried about the president's spending. wait until you see where it all started. and dynamic duo bill clinton comes out to campaign for the president. and both were on fire. >> the reason we're here today is because we're not going back. we're going forward. we have worked too hard and too long to right the ship and move us in the right direction. we're not going backwards, we're

going forwards. >> you've got to have the right captain of the ship. and i am depending on you to take care of future generations by making sure that that captain is president barack obama. >> duo, bill clinton comes out campaign for the president. both on fire, as i said. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. [ woman ] for the london olympic games, our town had a "brilliant" idea. support team usa and show our olympic spirit right in our own backyard. so we combined our citi thankyou points to make it happen. tom chipped in 10,000 points. karen kicked in 20,000. and by pooling more thankyou points from folks all over town, we were able to watch team usa... [ cheering ] in true london fashion. [ male announcer ] now citi thankyou visa card holders

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nice turn out at his polling place in wisconsin. but he was uneasy about all of the outside money. so is martha who says, it works in wisconsin, it will work everywhere. we want you to join the politician nation community too. head over to facebook and search politician nation and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. we can't wait to see you there. g the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

we're back with the serious threat to democracy. as i mentioned, all eyes are on wisconsin tonight. less than three hours to go in

the recall election and already there are allegations of voter suppression. a state anti-voter law will likely prevent thousands of students from voting tonight because of stricter registration guidelines and we've had reports of some cause going out, telling people, they don't have to vote. folks, let's be clear, this election is about money and power. just watch walker talking to a billionaire donor about his plans last year. >> any chance we will ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions and become a right to work. >> oh, yeah. >> what can we do to help you. >>. >> we're going to start in a couple weeks with the budget adjustment bill. but the first is we will start with collective bargaining for all public employees. divide and conquer. >> divide and conquer. that attack on union was kick started, that is what kick started this whole recall.

and this is why wisconsin matters so much. since the 1960s union membership has declined and along with it the middle class family income has plummeted and if you get rid of unions, there is no one to make corporations pay workers their fair share. so corporations are pouring millions into campaign coffers. how much? look at this. scott walker has brought in over $30 million. that money isn't coming from voters. it is coming from corporations. wisconsin is a test case for the corporate agenda. folks, this is why wisconsin matters. this anti-union agenda spread from wisconsin. just look the at the number of anti-union bills passed last year across the country. this is not a state election. this is a national plan attack on the middle class. it is backed by millions of corporate dollars and is coming to a state near you. the fight is only beginning.

joining me now is senator bernie sanders ever vermont. thank you for joining me. >> my pleasure. >> senator, how big a deal will this be for corporate interest groups if scott walker wins tonight? >> well, it'll be huge, al. as you've indicated, this is really the tip of the iceberg. what is going on now, is class warfare to an unprecedented degree is being waged against the middle class and working families of this country. and what the disastrous supreme court citizen's united decision did is just open the door wide open, flood gate wide open, for corporations and billion airs to take over our democracy to spend as much money as they want without disclosure on campaigns throughout america in order to elect right wing extremist who are going to protect the interest of the 1% against the 99%.

>> now, tim phillips, head of the koch funded conservative group americans for prosperity, he said, and i'm reading his quote, the wisconsin approach to changing and making state government better is the new model for the country. you are the model for the country. what we are seeing tonight, if they are able to sustain walker's governorship, they feel this model will work elsewhere, senator. >> it's not working in wisconsin, and it's not going to work anywhere else. we have seen that model on a national level in george w. bush's trickle down economic theory. the truth is, al, when you give huge tax breaks to the richest people in this country, when do you deregulation, yeah, i guess it does work if you are a millionaire or a billionaire. but the results nationally on fl bush is that we lost 500,000 private sector jobs, median income for average families went

down and the gap between the rich and everybody else went wider. so all we are seeing again is replay of trickle down economics tax breaks for the people on it up, suffering for the middle class, lower income people. >> look at the fact we are seeing the money guys come together in an unusual way. gop groups are planning a record $1 billion blitz. 400 million from koch brothers. 150 million from romney super pam called restore our future. 300 million from karl rove super pac. chamber of commerce kicking in. and another 800 million from the rnc. senator, that's $1.8 million. >> this is unprecedented and it is the most savage attack against the american democracy

and concept of one person, one vote, that we have seen in our lifetime. and what it is, is saying that if you are a billionaire, you can buy elections, buy politicians and by the way, on the floor of the senate, on the floor of the house, can you intimidate members, because you will be saying to them, if you are going to vote against wall street, or the insurance companies or the military industrial complex, you just do that and we will have millions of dollars and 30-second ad in your state this weekend. so this whole effort to put huge unprecedented, unbelievable amounts of money into the political process, is the top 1% saying, look, we're not content that the top 1% holds 40% of the wealth. we want more. we want more. we want more. and we are going to buy the political process to get what we want. so this is the worst assault on

the basic democratic traditions which have made our country great, than you and i have seen in our life times and what it means, we have to overturn citizens united. we have to pass a disclosed bill -- disclosure legislation next month which at the very least forces the ceos to get on television when they do a negative ad and say, i approve this message. and it forces us to know who is contributing. >> senator, i'm going to have to hold it right there. but thank you for your time tonight on this important issue. polls close in 2 1/2 hours in wisconsin. you must understand the gravity of what is going on here. in 23 states, they are limiting unions being able to organize their right to work states. we're talking about a real change in the ability of middle class and working class americans to defend themselves

against big money. this is a very important night. still ahead, republicans showed they're not quite ready for the 21st century. blocking a plan to help women get paid the same as men. we'll talk with new york senator gillibrand about today's vote and the fight ahead. ♪ ♪ lord, you got no reason ♪ you got no right

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nation" with an idea long overdue. women deserve equal pay for equal work. but in the 21st century there are still politicians who are fighting to keep that from happening. today's senate republicans filibustered the paycheck fairness act. a bill that would have helped women fight for equal pay. right new, women make just 77 cents for every dollar made by man. democrats say today's vote by republican is helping to keep that status quo. >> for goodness sakes, how can you have a party to a person here that votes against equal pay for equal work? >> so i say, to the women here, to the good men who support us, to the women out there in america, let's keep this fight going. put on your lipstick. square your shoulders. suit up. and let's fight for this new american revolution.

>> president obama issued a statement saying quote, it is incredibly disappointing that in this make or break moment for the middle class, senate republicans put partisan politics ahead of american women and their families. democrats are also calling out mitt romney for his silence on this issue. >> even mitt romney has refused to publicly oppose the lengs lags. legislation. >> he may oppose it, but he is afraid to say anything about it. why? it's obvious why. he should show leadership. in my opinion, governor romney and tell republicans that opposing fair pay for all-american says shameful. instead, no one knows where he stands. >> joining me now is senator kirsten gillibrand, democrat from new york, who has been a leader in fighting for this issue in the senate. thanks for being here senator. >> thank you, reverend. how are you? >> great. what's your reaction to this

vote today from republicans? >> well, it's outrageous. this is about opportunity for women to get equal pay for equal work that men do. and it's about nearly every american family. most of our american families are two-income families. when one wage earner is not earning her fair share, it will hurt the family, and it'll hurt the children. this is about fairness and about making sure that we really untap the economic potential of women. if they are only and earning 78 cents on the dollar, that is money taken for food, clothing, everything that a child needs to grow. >> everyone voted against the bill and even beyond that, republican senator dean heller on the senate floor claimed that the paycheck fairness act is a job killer. listen to this. >> this lengs lags opens the door to frivolous lawsuits which already costs our economy billions of dollars every year.

in an econnolly already marked by uncertainty, this legislation which surely means lost jobs, limitations on benefits, and pay cuts. >> so let me get this right, we'll get lawsuits, we will lose jobs, so let's keep women making 77 cents to a dollar to men. is there a logic in there anywhere, senator, from your republican colleague? >> no. that's absurd. if you allow a woman to make a dollar on dollar, you could raid the gdp by up to 9%. you want to talk about an economic engine, pay women fairly for the work that they do. give access to information so they can know if they are paid unfairly. it is important for the u.s. economy that women are paid for the work that they do. >> in april, it was said that compared war on women to

caterpillars. watch this. >> the democrats said we add war on caterpillars in every mainstream media outlet talk about the fact that republicans have a war on caterpillars, then we would have problems with caterpillars. the fact of the matter is, it's fiction. >> i don't know if you will have problems with caterpillars, but will they have problems with women for their attitudes? is mr. romney going to suffer because of this, senator? >> i believe he is. i think america's women are listening. they are listening to this debate. they are hearing mitt romney not only is anti-choice but someone who hasn't come out one way or the other on equal pay. but support the governor of wisconsin who one of the first things dewas get rid of equal pay laws in that state. he called him his hero. so we are talking about two different visions of america and two different views of equality earn fairness for women. the first bill that came out of this house of representatives was to defund title ten. do you know what title 10 pays for? it pays for precancer screenings. it pays for prenatal care.

for at risk mothers. it a safety net for healthcare for women. so you look at how they've started this congress, how they are ending this congress. it is a constant attack on basic rights and privileges. basic safety nets, basic healthcare. >> let's talk for a minute about food stamps. 75% of participants are with children. the fact that food stamps has been used reduced poverty by 8% in 2009. you've been trying to deal with this in a bill in the senate and trying to get your colleagues to understand the significance of this. this also links to a lot of women who are single mothers like mine was, that had to try and make it the best way they can. these are not people that are misusing the system. they are actually helping the country and reducing poverty in some cases. >> yes. that's true, reverend. for every dollar you invest in food stamp, it creates an

economic return of 1.71. it is money that goes directly into the economy. economists have said it is one of the best you can make because it is spend on nutrition, children yb seniors. if you don't feed a child and they go hungry at night and in the morning, they can't learn. they can't reach their god-given potential. it is so important it fight for hungry kids. this bill slash bed $4.5 billion from the food stamps program. i'm working very hard it restore that money. in new york state alone, 300,000 families will be effected. what it translates to is $90 a m. that's the last week of the month, a family will be food insecure. they will have less access to whole foods, fruits and vegetables an children will go hungry. seniors will go hungry. it is untenable to me, unacceptable to me in this day and age that we think it is acceptable to balance this budget on the back of the most

at risk, poor, children, seniors. >> it is totally unacceptable. i want you to come back so we can talk about that bill because people need to understand what is really at stake there. senator kirsten gillibrand, thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. coming up, presidents obama and clinton team up to tell the truth about the gop. and mitt romney's extreme agenda. stay with us. piro.obert over a million people have discovered how easy it is to use legalzoom for important legal documents. so start your business, protect your family, launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. launch your dreams. ♪ ♪ we all need it.

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tell obama, stop the spending. >> funny, rove didn't stop the spending when president bush was in office. under bush the national debt increased by 86%. now i know the right wing say the national debt has gone up more under obama than bush. but do you know a huge part of that in bush's policyes. check this out. outlining the causes of the national deficit. see the red part? taking up most of the space is this red part. those are the bush tax cuts. and another huge part of the deficits come from the wars that bush got us into. but if rove is serious about cutting spending, i'm sure he agrees to having the tax cuts go, right? wrong. under the super pac's website it says they support house bills 206 and 86. which would make the bush tax cuts permanent. carl voef and the rest of his

right wing are perfectly happy to keep on spending money as long as they're the ones who get to do it. didn't he think he would notice his hypocrisy in this? nice try, but he gotcha. yone in, all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment. i wouldn't trade him for the world. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders

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welcome back to politician nation. remember when willard mitt romney couldn't stop praising bill clinton. you would have thought he was running as a democrat. well, somehow i don't think he's going to be name dropping the former president any more. not after clinton's blistering attacks during a series of obama fund-raisers last night. >> his opponent who says that he's got a better idea was a governor of a state that was 47th in the country in job growth, and his plan, his plan, is to go back to the bush program. except on steroids. >> former president didn't stop there. he took the whole gop to task. >> he's had to get all this done while people as recently as last

week were still saying he wasn't born in america. he's had to get all this done with a house of representatives that had one of the tea party members claim that 78 to 81 members of the democratic caucus were members of the communist party and neither the presidential nominee nor any of had leaders rebuked him for saying that. nobody has seen a communist in over a decade. >> and then president obama came out to make it clear he's not going to stop fighting to move this country forward. >> i am more determined now than i was in 2008. i am more inspired by america now than i even was then because i've seen more of this country. i promise you, we will finish what we started in 2008. we will not go backward. we will go forwards and we will

remind the entire world just why it is the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. >> now that's some powerful one-two punch. but luckily pour mitt, he has his own former president on his side. let's roll will tape of his campaigning with george w. bush. guys, guys, i said roll the tape. oh, that's right. the tape doesn't exist. romney and the rest of the gop are staying away from president bush. they don't want voters to remember who got us into the mess in the first place. joining me now is democratic strategist tad divine, senior adviser for kerry and gore campaigns and steve kornacki political columnist for salon upon the pn't com and msnbc political analyst. thank you both for being here. >> sure. >> ted, how did clinton help obama's reelection effort? >> well, reverend, he helped him

in so many ways, besides helping him raise millions in new york, he is able to put it in such powerful terms and to explain the connection between romney and bush policies, when president clinton is arguing effectively is that election of romney would be a third term for george w. bush, and everybody understands that. they understand the policies that almost bankrupted these policies. he is connecting with swing voters, with independent, with people who decide this election and energy the joysing the base of the democratic party as well. so a huge as the for the president. >> now steve, last night, former president clinton talked about his own economic record. while he was praising president obama. let me show you what he said. >> i care about the long-term debt of the country a lot. remember me, i'm the only guy that gave you four surplus

budget out of eight i sent. so i hope what i say to you will have some weight. i don't think it's important to re-elect the president. i think it is essential to re-elect the president if we want this country to have the kind of future that our children and grandchildren deserve. >> how important is it to have connection with the president with the economic record of bill clinton? >> not just the economic record but i think the really important thing and the thing forgotten over the years is how exactly those surpluses came ba about in the 90s. this is the result of the 1993 budget. first budget that bill clinton passed at president. the main feature was a tax increase on top 1.8%, people making 200,000 and above. every single republican in the house in 1993, every single republican in the senate voted against that, said it would

plunge the country into recession. cost millions of jobs and basically a lost decade or another recession of the united states. the end result was the economy boomed. i'm not saying the economy boomed but a of the budget but the budget didn't stop it from that. when the economy turned around with the new rates in place, higher rates, the money came into the treasury. that's how the deficits got wiped out at the end of the decade. that's a very important lesson to keep in mind as we deal with bigger deficits. >> tad, the race is tight in about six battle ground states. in ohio obama leads by six point. in florida, president leads by four. virginia leads by four. nevada, two. colorado, he leads by one. and iowa, president is tied with willard romney. how could bill clinton help in these six states? >> well, president clinton first of all can go to every one of those states and campaign everywhere this those states. he is someone who enjoys

tremendous popularity all across this country. number two the argument that president clinton can frame in those swing states that in fact if mitt romney is elected the bush policies will put back into place. that in fact the policies that almost bankrupted america will be let into law again. that is a resonating argument with people who will come out and participate in the general election. these are states that president clinton won when he ran for president with the exception of virginia. so you know, these are state where he can have a huge impact. though know him well there. he has a record. and he can remind people that if mitt romney is elected the bush policies will be back in place again and that's bad for america. >> steve, when you look at former presidents, you look at the favorable ratings of president clinton, former president clinton and former president bush, clinton's 67% favorable. bush 42%. he's among independent. clinton, 66. bush, 43. the only area where clinton has been defeated by bush is in

unfavorability. >> right. >> and this is a potentially important role from this standpoint too. it is important for the obama campaign to remind people of what he enheritied. it is important to remember the melt down in 2008. to remember the exploding deficits and spending under bush, what the tax cuts did. but there is a sense that if obama is out there directly making that case himself, it looks like he is the guy blaming the predecessor, that can come across the wrong way to people. but if you have bill clinton out there, i can't think after better person, you know, he is basically as prominent as barack obama is, and not only can he defend the obama record, remind people about bush, but also protecting his own legacy there to a certain point. because like he said in that clip, when he left office this country was on course to wipe out deficits and look where they ended up eight years later. >> that's true, but tad, just bill clinton walking out on stage reminds people of the clinton years and reminds them of what happened between the

clinton years and now and most of that was under george bush. also, he addressed europe and the threats to the american economy. here is a man talking that was president eight years and brought us through good times. it is hard to dismiss and marginalize what president clinton says about any of these things. >> absolutely, reverend. president clinton has the unique ability to frame complicated arguments in a very simple way. he has the one thing that everybody who runs for public office wants it have, he connects with people. that connection is still powerful and vivid. the fact that mitt romney has no wing man. there is no one like clinton on the republican side. no one who can stand up and verify on behalf of romney the arguments. so i think this is a huge and powerful asset for president obama and i hope president clinton spends a lot of time all across this country. >> thank you both for your time this evening. >> sure. >> thank you.

>> just over two hours until polls close in wisconsin. we'll be right back with some final words on unity in america. [ 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. cuban new v8 v-fusion plus energy. ca jun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack

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whoever wins the wisconsin recall tonight will be governor of a deeply divided state within a deeply divided country. and a new fuel survey shows that over the last 25 years, americans have become more polarized than ever and the bulk of that shift comes from republicans. for example, gop support for the safety net helping people who can't help themselves have dropped 22% over the last quarter century. but among democrats, staying nearly level. and gop support for environmental laws, have dropped 39%. yet democrat supporters stayed the same. republicans have been lurching further and further to the right. president obama tried to reach

out to the other side. he tried to meet republicans after way. >> we're always trying to deal with the compromises and accommodations that are required in a big messy he can mock racy. but the one thing i have great confidence is, people have core decency. most people, i think, want to dot right thing. >> but republicans won't budge even when our country need help. nearly a quarter of our kids are living in poverty. the jobless rate is over 8%. we can take action right now to stop this from getting worse. senate passed a bipartisan highway bill that would create or save 3 million jobs. but house republicans are blocking it. the need to put aside their differences and pass it. this is not a time to divide and conquer. it is time to come together. you and i must, in life, decide whether we want to get things done or just