cocktail party chatter, how much can we believe? >> and in the guest spot, missed opportunities in afghanistan. how personal rivalries might sabotage president obama's exit strategy. >> sometimes we all need a little therapy. the new season of showtime's "web therapy" starts tonight. we have a preview session with the show's co-creator. >> plus, those old light cereal commercials have to do with health care. >> and "the cycle" for monday, july 2nd, begins right now. the gang's all here for week two of "the cycle." and i saw the most frightening, disgusting thing last week walking down the street. a woman clearly third trimester about to go, probably eight months, had two kids, i know what eight months looks like.

>> beautiful. >> beautiful, but she was sucking down a cigarette. i mean really going hard at the cigarette. i have not seen anything like that -- i think ever. >> you know what's kind of unreal about that? is beyond just the disgustingness of doing that but feeling like you can do it in public. >> yes. >> shameless. >> are you sure she wasn't just large and in charge? >> no, i promise you. i know what eight months pregnant looks like. >> wow. >> there was an outy? >> we begin with the need for true leadership in washington. both the house and senate are in recess this week for the fourth of july after miraculously squeaking out work just in time to go on vacation. why can lawmakers only work together when they want to get out of town? we're not here to argue who is to blame, however, for the partisan ways because in all honesty, the entire process is broken. take health care, for instance, the court upheld the law, but doesn't it feel like we're still in gridlock. former u.s. comptroller general

david walker says it's time for what he calls an adult conversation about health care. which means putting our differences aside. david ran the government accountability office, served as social security and medicare trustee and leads the comeback america initiative. david, the court upheld the law, but a handful of states saying they'll continue to fight. how do we move forward to help the 50 million uninsured americans? >> well, there's no question that we need some level of universal health care in this country. but we need to be honest with the american people. the federal government has way overpromised and can't deliver on all the promises it's made. we need to focus on four points. agree on a basic level of health care, preventive, wellness, and catastrophic that we can afford and sustain. we have to also have a budget for what we spend on health care. we're the only major industrialized nation that doesn't have one. we have to move to evidence-based medicine for payments, practices, and malpractice. and make sure that people have

skin in the game. providing very lucrative tax subsidies and premium subsidies for people who are very well off. that's not right. it's not affordable, it's not sustainable. >> so david, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was on some other network over the weekend. and i wanted to play a quick clip for you and get your thoughts on it. >> we'll pull out a scalpel and go step-by-step and make more modest changes that would deal with the principal issue, which is cost. >> what specifically are you going to do to provide universal coverage to the 30 million people who are uninsured? >> that is not the issue. the question is how can you go step by step to improve the american health care system? it is already the finest health care system in the world. >> but you don't think that 30 million -- >> but our friends -- >> you don't think it's an issue? >> let me tell you what we're not going to do. we're not going to turn the american health care system into

a western european system. that's exactly what is at the heart of obama care. >> so, david, you said we all agree that we need to have universal health care. but watching that clip, i'm not sure we do all agree. obviously we disagree on the means, but do the two sides have different goals where health care is concerned? >> well, they clearly do. the majority -- excuse me, the minority leader and right and wrong on certain issues. first, we do need to focus much more on cost. the affordable care act did not adequately focus on costs. we have tens of trillions of dollars on unfunded promises for health care we don't know how to keep. secondly, we don't get good results for our health care dollars spent. we spend double per person and get below average results. he's wrong to say we don't need universal coverage. we have to be honest with the american people about how much we can afford and sustain. and nobody's been honest with him yet. >> you know, steve, something i like that david said in this

politico piece. he says you can't increase coverage and save money, it's an o oxymoron. >> we can't get agreement on how much the affordable care act is going to save, cost, or reduce the deficit. various accounting firms say other things. so, it's -- you can't get agreement, how do you address the problem? and i challenge you to tell me that any elected democrat is going to come out at any point between now and november 2012 and say or admit the affordable care act is not going to save us as much as we thought. would they do that? and if they can't, the first step is admitting you have a problem. >> first of all, there were a fair number of conservative democrats who voted against this. >> right. >> i would guess there are going to be some elected democrats the same ones maybe aren't going to the democratic convention this

summer. but on the broader point, i think david made the point about cost control and saying this is sort of -- this law is inadequate in that regard. you can make that argument, but i think we shouldn't overlook that there are real efforts in this law at sort of understanding why the cost of health care is so out of control and trying to rein it in. the accountable care organizations, you know, basically the idea you're going to have, you know, one provider who sort of coordinating all sorts of coverage for people. >> that's just bureaucracy, steve. >> bundle payments, paying a lump sum for all of your care for outcome based care. a lump sum. there are -- there are all things -- there was a report from a medicare trustee that basically estimates, you look at the long-term shortfall of the hospital insurance fund for medicare over the next 75 years, basically saying it's going to be cut by 2/3 because of the law. >> david, this is just one of the many issues that we have gridlock on.

we have partisan gridlock throughout washington. let's take -- let's step back from the health care debate for a second. and just talking about how can we get away from gridlock? what is the answer to that question? >> well, we need policy reforms, but we need political reforms, as well. we need redistricting reform, we need integrated and open primaries, we need campaign finance reform and ultimately we're going to need term limits. but frankly, we don't have time to wait for all that. therefore, two things have to happen. we have to make sure that this presidential election focuses on the economy, jobs, and fiscal responsibility that the candidates are very specific about what their visions are for the way forward so that the american people can make an informed choice about who to support and so that whoever wins will have a mandate for action. they then have to use the bully pulpit, and people have to put pressure on their officials to work with the president. >> and to that point, that mandate for action, you know, one reform that you didn't

mention in that list is filibuster reform, which i feel passionately about. i think you should have the opportunity to put your agenda into place. and i was wondering what your thoughts were on that particular reform. >> well, i'm one of the founding members of a group called no labels and they have a reform agenda that would make congress work which includes filibuster reform, includes the concept that if congress doesn't have a budget on top and appropriation bills on time, they don't get paid until they do. some very basic and pragmatic things. so, yes, we need filibuster reform. we need guaranteed votes on nominees within a stated period of time and a variety of other things. >> thank you, david, for that. it's going to be hard to find a mandate in a close election which we're almost certain to have. next inside the secret of the secrets inside of the supreme court. word is chief justice roberts switched his vote. does that make him a traitor,

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the inner workings of the supreme court of one of washington's most closely guarded secrets. until now. new details about how the high court reached its ruling on the president's health care law and it's some serious behind-the-bench drama. the word is justice chief roberts initially sided with the

courts four conservative justices but then switched his vote to uphold the mandate. kennedy spent a month trying to flip him back, allegedly. cbs reports he, kennedy, was relentless. he was very engaged in this. and when roberts didn't budge, the conservative justices ostracized roberts and left him to fend for himself. listen, guys, if this is true, this is a look inside the court we're rarely privy to. i read this article top to bottom. jan crawford, cbs news. and it speculates -- >> right. >> dozens of unnamed sources about the inner workings of chief justice john roberts, his mind, his psychology which we'll probably never know, which is why it's easy to do this with the supreme court, sort of project all your fantasies on to them because there's no -- >> he can't say anything about it. >> right. so -- >> i don't do that.

>> there's so much in here that we'll never know. i mean this is one of the quotes i pulled. there was countless news articles in may warning of damage to the court and to roberts' reputation if the court were to strike down the mandate. leading politicians including the president himself had expressed confidence the mandate would be upheld. some even suggested that if roberts struck down the mandate it would prove he'd been deceitful when he explained philosophy of judicial restraint. so the idea here is that the liberal media was going crazy in the press threatening the court to come down a certain way. and then top democrats and obama himself -- >> threatening? >> were out there sort of trying to influence the court. and this is why john roberts, you know, cowered in the corner and came up with this decision? >> right, i would say, first you're right. we'll never actually -- >> no. >> firsecondly, i suspect there something to this.

and that doesn't mean i'm buying the whole idea that the liberal media or obama administration got to john roberts. i'm not necessarily buying that. but if you take a step back and look at where john roberts is in his career. he's been the chief justice for seven years. he could be there for well over another generation, another 25 years, there is going to be a lot of stuff. a lot of big, heavy stuff, starting in the next year coming before this court. there is still ample opportunity for him to put -- >> a conservative -- >> absolutely. >> every other decision. >> right. >> if you look at this, it may be that at some point there was just an awareness of, hey, look, if i'm -- if i am the guy that gives the fifth vote here to overturn this right now, this goes -- this causes problems i don't want to deal with right now. >> and to that point, the descent that was written by the four conservative justices or the three and the alleged swing, kennedy, was very aggressive. and it was thought to struck down the entire law not just the mandate. it's possible if we're going to

play the speculation game that roberts thought that really went further than he really could go and maintain any sort of credibility for the court. >> yeah. >> but, you know, it all sounds sort of like a sweet valley high book i think i read in high school it's like so -- >> right. >> it reminds me less of "sweet valley high" which i did not read in high school. >> yes, you did. it was middle school to be honest with you. >> no, it was last year for you, but whatever. it reminds me more of whining about the refereeing the day after the game. the game is over. the high court has ruled and now the republicans want to talk about -- >> it's not even -- >> how we got to this decision. and he changed his mind. it doesn't matter. this is the decision that he put down for all of history. this is the decision that he made. >> right -- >> it's not whining. it's saying the referee came down this way because he's having personal problems at home. i mean, it's weird speculative. >> one thing that is interesting -- cocktail party

chatter. >> and that is the part that's interesting. we spent all this time talking, leading up to the decision about, wow, the supreme court is so leak proof, and come to find out maybe it's not. >> i've got to move on, guys. i've got to move on. something else happened this weekend, apparently. from hot debates to just, well, hot, millions are sweltering and still without power. this after severe thunderstorms ripped through the midsection of the east coast over the weekend. d.c. and four other states have declared a state of emergency. as the heat wave continues to broil residents on the eastern half of the united states with temperatures at or approaching the century mark, everywhere from atlanta to new york is feeling the heat. the combination made for this bizarre scene. this is saturday at the at&t national golf tournament played in front of nobody -- as heat and downed trees left fans barred from the third day of tournament. fans watched sunday when the tourney winner tiger woods

thanked the fans, the downed trees and heat. >> those are committed fans, the ones who showed. >> yeah, i mean, it was really bad. it was really bad down there. i had friends coming up from d.c. and friends who were leaving new york for d.c. that night who were overnighted on an amtrak train. >> my parents and my sister were stuck in west virginia. they called me. they had no cell service. they could only send text messages. no air-conditioning, no food, none of the stores where they were had backup generators. there was no gas. >> and there's still a lot of people without -- >> they had no idea what was going on. there was no way to get any -- >> some people live like that all the time. >> they do and they're probably happier. >> you did some weather work. >> no. i worked at the weather channel. but i was -- >> you brag about it all the time. >> what's your expert take? >> there's no expert take. i was the guy who didn't know about the weather on the weather channel. that was the whole game. >> so you have no opinion -- you have nothing to adhere? >> i mean -- what do you want me to add?

tiger woods won a golf tournament in front of nobody because it was really hot. >> on the fourth day, people were there. but on the third day, nobody got to see this, which, i mean, i'm not a golf fan, this doesn't bother me particularly. and i actually -- can we make this a partisan story, please? can we inject politics here? >> sure. it's obama's fault that it's so hot? >> can i blame george sorros? >> i'm sure it was the koch brothers. >> can i blame the new enemy of the right, john roberts? can i? >> yes. >> go for it. >> he didn't do anything, he didn't stop it. so it's his fault. >> he didn't stop it. he could've decided to stay here. he didn't, he did nothing. >> but he can do anything he wants because he's the chief justice. he's the decider -- >> liberal icon john roberts. >> he's on my list. >> let's see if toure's saying this a year from now. >> voting right's act, affirmative action, going to rip

my heart out again? i fell in love with you and you're going to rip it away from me. the war in afghanistan from a veteran reporter who has covered it for a decade. find out why he says personal political rivalry has sabotaged america's best hope for an exit. that's next on "the cycle." the president from interview: i talk to folks on rope lines and in coffee shops. people who have been out of work. you can tell it wears on them. narrator: he's fought to pull us out of economic crisis for three years. and he still is. president obama's plan keeps taxes down for the middle class, invests in education and asks the wealthy to pay their fair share. mitt romney and his billionaire allies can spend milions to distort the president's words. but they're not interested in rebuilding the middle class. he is. i'm barack obama and i you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you.

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more evidence today of the no-win situation in afghanistan. a suicide car bomber killed seven and wounded more than 20 at an attack near kandahar university. strikes there have been increasing recently. also up, the number on green on blue attacks in which afghans are turning their guns on what is supposed to be their western partners. overnight, a man wearing an afghan police uniform opened fire on british troops killing three. this year has seen more than two dozen green on blue deaths. when the people you're helping

and training turn their guns at you, what more proof do you need it's time to get out? and a veteran journalist who has covered the war more than a decade, a senior correspondent and associate editor for the "washington post" and author of "little america: the war within the war for afghanistan," you report that in 2009 we could have been out of this mess in afghanistan, but we missed something crucial. what was that? >> well, we had a path to getting out of this mess. which is trying to negotiate, essentially a deal among the various fighting factions in afghanistan. between some members of the taliban, and other factions there. the problem was while we were at a point of increasing leverage, we were sending more troops in there, not at a moment where we are today pulling out. but we were trying to put in more forces, various players in washington were too consumed fighting with one another. and i detail some of the vicious

bickering that occurred between the state department's point man, richard holbrook, and members of president obama's white house team, members -- senior members of the national security council staff. both of whom were essentially on the same page and trying to come up with a peace deal in afghanistan but essentially wound up spending most of their efforts fighting one another as opposed to presenting a common front to try to end the war. >> so washington political bickering kept us from moving forward in afghanistan and cost american lives. is that right? >> i think there was ultimately a consequence on the ground. i mean, we had -- we have 90,000 men and women there right now serving, you know, the sooner this war can be ended in an honorable way, the sooner troops can come home and they're out of danger. so i think any time that infighting in washington continues a conflict or at least prevents us from finding ways to

end this or to reduce fighting -- i'm not trying to say this extended the war, but it could have provided a path toward reducing conflict. if that doesn't happen, certainly there's a cost there for our men and women who wear a uniform who serve so nobly. >> if we stay another 15 years, will things get better? if we get out in six months, will things ultimately get worse? >> look, i think afghanistan is headed for a messy future. there's no appetite among the american people to stay there for 15 more years. you know, i think that if we were to pack up tomorrow and come home, things could get pretty bloody pretty quickly. i think, you know, what the administration is trying to do now is find a way to quickly reduce forces there, put more responsibility on the afghans. but as i argue in this book, i think we could've gotten to this point earlier had we not surged the way we did. had we sent the troops to the right parts of the country. you know, i detail something pretty shocking. the first waves of new forces

sent by president obama weren't sent to kandahar where there was just that recent attack you were talking about. they were sent off to another province of the country that was far less populous. and so we wound up squandering key months, key year of the build-up over there. so, you know, had we fought this differently, and had washington not been so consumed with fighting amongst itself, i think we could have been in a better position. i'm not saying peace in our time over there, i'm not saying jeffersonian democracy, but an afghanistan more stable and secure. >> i'm wondering if you can tell me how big of a factor do you think pakistan's been? if you had to break it down percentage wise, what percent would you say pakistan's been helpful? and which percent would you say pakistan has sort of undermined our efforts? >> oh, i think there's no doubt about this, pakistan has been largely undermining our efforts. there's very little help. i think the big question is how much of this is pakistan's problem, how much of this is a

problem caused by bad government in afghanistan, how much of this is caused by insurgents? certainly the obama administration hoped the pakistani government would crack down on the sanctionries. and have done relatively little to crack down on them. and it's a big source of the ongoing conflict in afghanistan. >> right. >> you know, guys, i -- i'm thinking about the future and you just talk about the idea of what would happen if we pulled out. you see stories now like the latest episode of, you know, somebody being trained to be a police officer and afghans being trained and returning fire on the mentor basically. you see stories like this and sort of makes you think, you know, yeah, really getting counter productive in that 2014 withdrawal day can't come fast enough. but i do wonder, does the story this weekend in the "new yorker" that talks about the experience of the soviets sort of driven out at the end of the 1980s and basically propped up a communist government for the next two

years, tried to make it work, sending money, sending arms, and the story details how the soviets gone, with the soviet union collapsing, that government fell apart and it was a civil war eventually broke out, you know, kabul became a horrible place to live. i do wonder, is that inevitable whether it's six months, 2014, whenever. if we're out of there, is anything sustainable? >> i mean, i need to care about the american lives -- >> sure. >> who are at risk in these places and not just worry about how things are -- >> not saying that. >> i'm very concerned about when we are in a situation so long that the american people are numb to it. and we don't really care that much that we're at war in afghanistan anymore because we've just heard afghanistan for so long just coming through the 6:00 news and the cycle and other sorts of things. and i mean, there's something -- there seems to be a disconnect there that's wrong about american foreign policy there. >> we've heard about afghanistan

for a long time. we don't hear political leaders talking about it all that much. how often does mitt romney and president obama talk about it on the stump? the risk of a civil war there. if we are able to build up a decent enough afghan army, the hope is that they'll be able to keep the warring factions of the country apart. the most interesting thing about the soviet withdrawal was that communist-backed government, that didn't topple when the last soviet tanks left. it toppled a couple years later and they stopped sending checks to kabul. so even if we pull out most of our forces or all of our troops and we provide a modest degree of financial support, which is far, far less than it's costing us to prosecute this war today, there's a good chance that at least a reasonably stable government in afghanistan might be able to hold on to the major cities. it's not going to be totally clean and peaceful andory victory, but may not look like chaos. >> and at least not a terrorist

breeding ground is the idea to have some form of stability and not completely let afghanistan drop off the map. >> of course, of course. up next, lisa kudrow's back tonight serving up web therapy. we're going to talk to the creative force behind showtime's funny hit. >> tomorrow morning at 7:00, not tonight at 7:00. >> i knew i was right! >> i'm so sorry! i've got all your clothes in the suitcase in the hallway. >> where's my book? i have to pack my book. >> i've got your manuscript! [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home. until i got a job in the big apple.

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i'm so sorry, i have all your clothes in the suitcase in the hall way. >> what about my book? >> i have your manuscript. >> i have it here. i have it! >> and your shoes. >> new york! >> don't get hurt! >> well, that's a preview of "web therapy," series starring lisa kudrow and our next guest.

the show tells a story of an online therapist. web therapy's co-creator and executive producer is here to give us an idea of what's in store for the second season which starts tonight on showtime at 11:00 p.m. and thanks for joining us. one thing i wanted to ask you was the evolution of your show is kind of an interesting story itself. it started as a web series. i guess it was three seasons on the web and you guys became a television series. can you talk a little bit about that transition? is that a model we're going to be seeing more of in the future, do you think? >> well, we didn't set out to necessarily, you know change the way television is made. it's a passion project. lisa came up with this brilliant character who would be given three-minute sessions to people online. and all we could do was laugh. who would get therapy for three

minutes? and who would give that kind of therapy? what kind of unaccredited narcissistic self-serving person. and as it turns out she's come up with this character of fiona wallace, which we've done four seasons online. and lucky enough, we were able to work out a system where "showtime" licensed our content in a half hour format. and we built these half hours, 10, 11 episodes we'll premiere tonight on showtime. we're pioneers of web to tv. >> don't pat yourself on the back too much. but it seems like you've got a great thing going here. and all great television is always going to be based around a great character. talk a little bit about what lisa kudrow's doing. we've seen so many sanctimonious therapists in television from the "sopranos," other places. you're throwing that out the window and making fun of therapy and having to sort of

judgmental, crazy therapist, talk about her a little bit. >> i have to say that it was really fun to watch lisa come up with this character. this notion of who would be the person who would think this was a good idea? to give therapy in three-minute segments online. and to be honest with you, it's somebody who came out of the warden school of business who was self-serving and thought this was a good business model. and so season one, season one is all about her attempts to franchise the idea and make a ton of money. and season two is about her husband running for office and all of the ways in which her business and her agenda and her self-serving ways get in the way of his campaign. >> but there's something to this -- you can get something done in three minutes, can't you? >> as it turns out, she's not wrong. she's not wrong. she's like no dillydallying, no worrying about feelings and emotions, you get right to it.

>> sounds like cable news. >> you can get a lot done in three minutes, really. >> what are the kinds of people who would be attracted to the idea of three-minute therapy. >> people like toure, i can answer that. toure has no stomach for therapy or personal growth of any kind. three minutes is all he could handle. >> i'm way into personal growth but there's an a.d.d. thing happening. so absolutely, can we do it quickly? can we do it fast food type therapy? squeeze it in. >> guys -- >> yes? >> here we are talking about therapy about people who need therapy, couples who need therapy. >> yes. >> and i feel like there's an elephant in the room. >> i don't. >> i don't see the elephant in the room. >> tomkat are getting divorced. >> when i was told tomkat, what's that? >> good for you, steve. i didn't hear about it, i never

heard the -- >> steve, this is the dumpster diving part of the show, right? so far beneath us. >> don't get your hands dirty. >> we are all muddy and messy. >> let's stay -- >> krystal, here's what i don't understand about this. >> okay. >> if the story surrounding this, this was an arranged marriage of some kind and there was a contract and the contract ended or maybe she felt her end of the contract wasn't be fulfilled. i don't understand if this was agreed to from the start, why end the contract now? you know that this was just an arrangement, right? >> so are you insinuating maybe it wasn't just an arrangement sham situation? >> i don't know, it's really strange. there are -- the scientology story part of this is weird. i came across a quote. mimi rodgers, nicole kidman, and katie holmes, all 33 when they

got divorced. and a scienologist, former scienologist told a blogger that the number 33 is known as the master teacher. it represents increasing your positive energy. i mean, i could conspiracy theorize about this all day long. >> you are a -- >> i think we need to get dan's opinion on this. dan, do you want to weigh in on the divorce? >> will katie holmes be on -- >> do they need web therapy? >> what would fiona wallace say? >> i think fiona wallace would see a marriage as she does as a business venture. i think she would -- it'd be hats off to katie for looking at it possibly the same way and give her three minutes of really good advice and probably try to tack on and become her on -- you know try to tack on to become her therapist full-time. she's available. >> she's available. i love it. >> all right. we'll look for the katie holmes guest spot later this season. thanks, dan, for joining us. up next, you've been sending

in your suggestions. and after this, luke russert's back to get his power ranger name as he put it. that and maybe he can tell us what if anything congress did to earn recess. we're back in a few. southfork ranch in dallas for a cookout with world champion grill master brett gallaway. he's serving his guests walmart choice premium steak. but they don't know it yet. they will. it's a steakover! the steak is excellent. very tender... melts in your mouth... so delicious... tonight you're eating walmart steak. what? it's good steak. two thumbs up. look, i ate all of mine. it matches any good steak house if not better. walmart choice premium steak in the black package... it's 100% money back guaranteed. try it for your fourth of july barbeque. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans.

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o0 ♪ hello...rings ♪ what the... what the... what the... ♪ are you seein' this? ♪ ♪ uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh... ♪ ♪ it kinda makes me miss the days when we ♪ ♪ used to rock the microphone ♪ back when our credit score couldn't get us a micro-loan ♪ ♪ so light it up! ♪ even better than we did before ♪ ♪ yeah prep yourself america we're back for more ♪ ♪ our look is slacker chic and our sound is hardcore ♪ ♪ and we're here to drop a rhyme about free-credit-score ♪ ♪ i'm singing free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ dot-com narrator: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com. we talked about it at the top of the show. congress is now out on its july 4th recess. and amazingly, they got a couple of things done before they left. >> what? >> i know, it's crazy. but before the last-minute magic

act there was everything else. they did argue over the true definition of a cat fish, which is something i've always wondered. they argued over health care legislation that's not 2 years old. they argued over an immigration bill that failed 17 months ago. democrats staged a walkout and i really like this one. a republican held a committee hearing to study his committee hearing. >> amazing. then finally, just as the bell rang for recess, d.c.'s favorite sons and daughters did pass a 596-page bill that froze stafford loan rates and funded transportation with more than a few lawmakers hinting that they probably didn't even read the bills. >> wow. >> so that's an interesting message to send because generally when you don't do your homework and you spend most of your class time goofing off, you don't get recess and yet now they're going home and doing whatever they do for the summer. so to talk about all of this we would like to bring in friend of the show luke russert. how are you today? >> pleasure to be here in new york in the flesh. >> we love having you. >> thank you.

>> so this was likely the last little bit of work that we're going to see them get to until after the election. why can't they seem to get anything done? i mean, honestly, what is -- why are we going to see absolutely nothing happen this summer when we have so many major issues on the table? >> well, there are a few reasons. i think number one, bipartisanship when it happens it helps president obama and it also helps house republicans and senate republicans and democrats. and you'd think, well, why don't they all work together and move forward? the last time the president had great approval ratings was after the lame duck session in 2010. the reason is it comes down to presidential politics and there's also a lot of issues where both parties feel that their side will win a mandate come election time. so there's no reason to sacrifice things they could have all together and one side come 2013. so that's been the prevailing wisdom.

you hear sort of people say, well, we should tackle these big issues. you know, where is the president? where is the speaker? but at the end of the day, if you believe, look, i'm going to double down on this strategy and i sincerely believe that the citizenry and the electorate in november of 2012 is going to validate what i think and i'm going to put it into action in january 2013, we're close enough that you don't necessarily -- i would argue in their mind set you don't have to sacrifice anymore. >> and ironically if you look at the bills that just passed, the sacrifices aren't that huge. you look at the transportation bill. this is the first time you've had a long-term transportation bill in 2005. states are going to get the money for the construction project they desperately need for two years. what do democrats give up? democrats gave up on the epa, things are streamlined quicker. republicans gave up the keystone pipeline. fair on both sides. student loans, yo u no longer cannot accrue interest after seven years, democrats gave that

up, moved forward and completely paid for. they can work if they want to but doesn't necessarily benefit the electoral prospects in the long-term. >> luke, wouldn't you -- wouldn't you put the onus on the people who continue to reelect congressmen and the senators who they say they don't like congress and senate. we see approval ratings in the teens and yet they keep sending these people back. the 94% or something like that will be reelected. isn't that the problem? shouldn't the voters be throwing the bums out and making them get to work like the rest? >> the biggest problem that america faces i would argue when i talk to journalism students, talk to political scientists is gerrymandering in terms of how it increases partisanship in congress. the worry a lot of us have isn't being defeated by the party, until you fix gerrymandering, there's no incentive for extreme bipartisan cooperation.

you talk about what the people can do. you hear this thing, well, we hate congress but everyone loves their own individual member. and that's true. you hear a lot of people say, you know, they don't do anything correct in washington, d.c. they don't listen to us, they don't understand us, but i love my congressman. he came by the local church group last sunday. he was so nice handing out to cupcakes. the connection is to the individual not the institution. and until people realize how important the institution is and how it needs to work together to get anything done, that won't happen. >> we are pretending you're in your own little box over there, but actually you're right here in new york. come over here. get over here. >> oh, my goodness. the secret is out. >> magic of tv, folks. >> we broke through the fourth wall. >> exactly. >> made it to the table. >> here he is. >> now i have the pleasure of taking a knee at the krystal ball and toure. >> how are you? >> thank you for joining us. >> he's not going to propose. >> you asked us for your own

cycle -- >> i wanted my power ranger name. >> we agreed. and since you are like a brother to the show. >> and because you're like a 25-year-old frat boy with -- >> 26 -- >> with a 50-year-old man's mind, we've apparently, still the question facing facebook when it comes to the exchange. >> indeed and the answer that you are reading. "the new york times" reports facebook is still considering switching to the nyse, but "wall street journal" says the social media journal will stick it out with the nasdaq. even bob, you see him there on that day admits.

. well, congratulations. congratulations on a new name. >> now i want to t-shirt. or a jersey. personalized jersey. >> maybe a mug. keeps asking for new stuff. >> there you go. all right. next, it's toure's turn and it's a blast from the tv past. we will figure it all out when

we come back. >> let's get mikey. he'll eat it. he eats everything. hey, mikey. s didn't just arrive at these fires with cold water and checks to help the grown-ups start the rebuilding... they also brought thousands of these teddy bears for kids. people come first. everything else is second. [ female announcer ] allstate customers affected by the recent wildfires call 1-800-547-8676. visit a mobile claims office, your agent or allstate.com

many americans say they're unhappy about the health care law, but the the popularity of the law u is something of a red herring. sometimes, government must lead. sometimes, government must demand people accept change they're not yet ready for. those are the moments when leaders with vision can change society and create the crescendos of history and freeing the slaves, desegregating schools and legalizing gay marriage, government led america into a new world much of the country wasn't ready for, but in time,

we adjusted and this, too, shall pass. mandates that run counter to public perceptions are risky, but makes for a weak leader. sometimes, government must pull us into the future even as a large swath kicks against it. the leader who's playing a long game knows that time heals all wounds. because the public mind is spongeable. the public is maneuvered one way by misinformation and then back the other way by things like the supreme court. why, i can hear it now coming over the hills. a change in the national mood. a poll released sunday showed support for the health care law rising among registered voters where voters were polling 57% against it, now, they're 52% against and 48% for and of course, many of those lumped into the against pile like the law and believe it doesn't go far enough. a new gallup pole finds 46% in

favor. with distances fading, and this, too, shall pass. the people are sometimes like mikey from that old life cereal commercial. perhaps if there's a second term for obama l and people see it working well and get used to it, he'll float to a new level of power, so maybe he'll go even further by enacting new mandates meant to make the nation better. all americans must vote. because government works better when all participate in selecting leaders. maybe mandates that all citizens must go to some sort of post high school college because america works better when we are better educated and trained. eat your vegetables. how about a year or two of public service after college? or this. mandate extensive premarital counseling and review board that

can determine whether or not a couple can get married and predivorce counseling because teaching relationship skills is critical to building strong nuclear families. eat your vegetables. and then a law that mandates justice scalia must eat broccoli. obama can send a plate of steaming broccoli ond can say, eat your vegetables, it's constitutional, bitches, and drop the mike. >> i am speechless. i mandate that toure never be elected to office. if he thinks the government's role is to pull us into the feature like we're all children. >> any conservative viewers out there -- >> bobby jindal was wondering whether he might be mandated to

eat tofu and drive electric cars. >> if toure were elected. >> sometimes, the people doebt know what don't know what's best for them. >> you do. >> i am not the elected if i recall, but -- >> okay, but serious point, sometimes leaders do have to lead even when it's unpopular. >> absolutely. that's the only void. >> point well taken. >> and we're not just supposed to look at polls and say the people don't like it, so let's not do it. >> usually conservatives do a better job at that than liberals. >> yes, the mandate was initially their idea. okay. that's it for "the cycle." martin, what do you want to mandate? >> i want to mandate your show and it's great, your back for week two, so thank you for that and good afternoon. it's monday, july 2nd and here's what's happening.