lying in a ditch somewhere after say a traffic accident, i'd do what i could do care for them. i know this. and you know this about yourself. we are all god's children. that is a fact we need to remind ourselves of. suffering a horror together ever since the day that aurora, colorado, flashed across the headlines and ventured into our hearts. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to "politicsnation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, let the gaffes begin. mitt romney has stumbled out of the gate on what was to be his big debut on the world stage. it started in london when romney insulted his olympic host in an interview with nbc's brian williams. >> in the short time here in london, do they look ready to your experienced eye?

>> you know, it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. there are a few things that were disconcerting. the stories about the private security firm not having enough people. the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials. that obviously is not something which is encouraging. >> not encouraging 37 disconcerting. the folks in london have been working on this for 15 years. they've spent $14 billion to make it happen. and romney says he's not encouraged? that was bad enough. but then he expressed doubt about whether the british people would rise to the occasion. >> the people of the country, do they come together and celebrate the olympic moment? and that's something which we only find out once the games actually begin. >> reaction from the british press was swift and severe. and london's mayor called out romney in front of thousands of people. >> mitt romney who wants to know

whether -- he wants to know whether we're ready. are we ready? are we ready? >> the british prime minister also fired back taking a pot shot at romney's olympic games in salt lake city. >> i think we'll show the whole world not just that we come together as a united kingdom, but also we're extremely good at welcoming people from across the world. i'd obviously make those points to mitt romney. we are holding an olympic games in one of the busiest most active bustling cities anywhere in the world. of course it's easier if you hold an olympic games in the middle of nowhere. >> the middle of nowhere? ouch. and now the salt lake city mayor is getting into it saying the prime minister can stop by any time. we'd love to have him and are happy to send a map so he doesn't run into any trouble locating the middle of nowhere.

them's fighting words. romney has practically started an international incident and his european vacation is only getting worse. late today romney was spotted arriving at a five-star hotel for a fund raiser with executives whose banks are linked to one of the worst financial scandals in history. a plot to rid interest rates in europe. is that how he's going to erase his 1% image? by toasting each other during their financial scandal? along the way romney has also revealed why he's afraid to come clean on his tax returns and pointed out how his economic policy is basically bush.0. we'll get to that in a minute. but first, i want to say i think i know why romney seems to have such a beef with london. his heart belongs to another city. >> i have a lot of memories of

france. i think the best memories were with my wife on vacations from time to time in france. the last vacation we had there walki ining around the city of s and walking over to luxembourg. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> in fairness to mr. romney, that was not today. joining me now is melissa harris-perry, host of "melissa harris-perry" here on msnbc. and steve kornacki also here on msnbc. this is the biggest story in england right now. it led the bbc news tonight. what happened to romney? >> it's great. i've been trying to figure out if this is a little bit like the naacp moment when sort of romney

was doing pretty well. then all of a sudden he starts to stumble. first with the obama care line and then later when he talks about free stuff. and the major analysis behind that was well, when romney said free stuff, he was actually signaling. it was kind of a dog whistle. i actually wanted the boo. >> that's what i felt. >> because of the critique of obama is he is a cosmopolitan president, he has an understanding of the world. that by going overseas and making a mess of it, making a gaffe of it being sort of ridiculously non-cosmopolitan. there he is talking about being in france, speaking in french. it's his way of saying i'm so joe six pack i don't know the right thing to say in london. >> let me give you this. the political editor of "the daily mail" another verdict from

one romney meeting, apparently devoid of charm, warmth, humor or sincerity. worse than sarah palin. total car crash. new york times says, mr. romney toured an exhibit with former secretary william haig. his campaign shared in an e-mail conversation was broad and wide ranging. also noting the e-mail read, they both discussed their mutual love of kit kat bars. i mean, how can you take this man seriously making these kind of gaffes, getting these kind of analysis and he's running to be the head of the free world? >> my guess here is he just stepped in it. if i had to guess this sequence of events. it would be he prepared for the trip by doing what anybody would. reading up on how the british media is handling the olympics.

if you're in britain, there's been a lot of controversy in the run of these games. there's been a lot of outrage in the press and among the masses of the cost of it, the planning behind it. the government's execution of it. all the things that romney was kinds of articulating to brian williams in that interview, they're prominent in the coverage of the olympics. when you're the visiting american dignitary and you give voice to those things, it sounds different than if you're somebody who lives there every day. >> i'm thinking and i had my own theory i said on the show. that he was trying to get booed at the naacp. but i think on this one, when he was doing the interview with brian williams, he was talking as a ceo of the olympics. not as a dignitary, not as a candidate. he went into business mode and started analyzing how they were doing it compared to him as ceo it was like i was a better ceo kind of thing. he went into private sector

mode. >> it's a fair point. specifically when we talk about politics and particularly international geo-politics is an actual skill. if you say i'm the ceo and i should be president, this is what might happen. instead of having an awareness of what his positionalty is as a visiting american instead of having an understanding how this could create multiple -- never mind the fact he -- things a president needs to never do as a part of national security and diplomacy. >> in more domestic political discussion with brian williams, he talked about why he will not release his tax returns. brian williams came at him outright on that. let me show you what he says on that. >> i'm following the same precedent that was put in place

by john mccain. two years and by the way, hundreds of pages of returns, for the democrat operatives to go through and twist and distort and turn in different directions and try to make a big deal out of. >> yeah. i don't think the average voter sees the release of a tax returns primarily as something that serves as fodder for the other party's research. the more i put out there, the more the other party is going to have to attack and distort me over. there's some truth to that in general, that's politics in general. >> if that was the case, no one would be releasing. >> i think people view the issue of tax returns as something that's expected of politicians at a certain level. i don't know if there's a certain number there has to be. he's only released one right now. in erm it is of pages in

there -- >> there's hundreds of pages because he has a lot of money and lot of complicated -- >> right. i think people think i'd like to see more here. not oh, no, let's keep the researchers busy. >> then also in the same interview he listed five ways his economic policies will be different from george w. bush. listen to this. >> one, take advantage of our energy resources. particularly natural gas, but also coal, oil, nuclear, renewables. number two, trade. i want to dramatically increa particularly with latin america. number four, show better training and education for our current workers and coming workers. and finally what i call restoring economic freedom. that means keep our taxes as low as possible. >> platitudes. i mean, first of all -- i want

trade. sure. right? so some of that is platitudes. >> freedom, justice. >> freedom, justice, the american way. some of that is saying words that resonate. some of that is talking quite specifically about obama era policies. he's talking about keeping taxes low. i'm not sure what he thinks he means by that, but certainly in this moment, president obama has kept taxes extremely low. even in the context of our economic recovery. and i think what he means is maintaining the bush era tax cuts at the top. something that president obama has indicated. he thinks needs to expire for it to move towards balanced budget. and other workforce training that and thing. >> i was very proud of him to admit that george bush didn't work on those things. i think willard is doing better. melissa, steve, we will be watching the rest of the romney comedy tour -- i mean, tour of

europe. and the middle east. thank you so much for your time. be sure to catch melissa harris-perry weekends at 10:00 a.m. eastern. and tune into "the cycle" week days at 3:00 p.m. eastern. still ahead, president obama speaks out on gun violence and why this debate should just come down to one thing. common sense. >> i also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals. they belong on the battlefield of war. not on the streets of our cities. plus paranoia activity. another day, another republican comes out in support of michele bachmann's wacky conspiracy theory. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. ovider is differentty, proud to support the education but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company by continuing to help you do more and focus on the things that matter to you. three words dad, e-trade financial consultants. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. wa-- wa-- wait a minute;

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folks, have you checked us out on facebook? the conversation is going all day long. today the "politicsnation" fans were buzzing about romney's london gaffes. marilyn doesn't think romney will be invited to tea any time soon except perhaps with the bank executives he's catering to. while cori points out it's not a great foreign policy move quote, going to our closest ally and insulting them? nice job. but it's not all politics today. we shared this photo of u.s. olympic gymnast gabrielle douglas. coalman said i watched her in the trials and i know she's going to win gold. go get 'em gaby.

and marla pointed out her nickname the flying squirrel. she got that snam because of the amazing heights she gets on jumps. we want to share your thoughts to. head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. you won't regret it. so you brushed with colgate total and you didn't. let's compare. germ party! eww! now the colgate total mouth. nice! [ female announcer ] colgate total fights 90% more plaque germs. i'm in. [ female announcer ] colgate total. less germs. healthier mouth. i bought the car because of its efficiency. i bought the car because i could eliminate gas from my budget. i don't spend money on gasoline.

it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt. ♪ we're back on "politicsnation" with more fear mongering from the right wing. michele bachmann has been at the center of controversy for alleging muslim-americans tied

to the u.s. government may be trying to spread muslim brotherhood beliefs. bachmann and her republicans of congress wrote letters of government agencies asked to investigate. quote, three muslim groups have been afforded access to senior policy makers and have been able to exercise influence in ways that align with muslim brotherhood agendas. another demanded to know how is the muslim brotherhood active in the programs and operations of the department of defense. and the allegation that quote, the state department's deputy chief of staff huma abedin has three family members. her late father, her mother, and her brother connected to the muslim brotherhood operatives and organization. these baseless allegations are having serious consequences. in egypt last week, secretary of state hillary clinton's motorcade was pelted with

tomatoes and shoes and huma abedin has been put under increased security after a man threatened her life. over the last couple of weeks, there's been a flurry of criticism from both sides of the aisle. but today republican congressman trent franks of arizona doubled down in an oped calling to protect the u.s. from hostile foreign influences. joining me now is politics reporter for "the huffington post." and bob franken. thank you both for being here tonight. >> good to see you. >> thank you for having us. >> sabrina, let me start with you. we've seen islam-phobia before. but now congressional people are attacking people with base cles claims. how dangerous is that? >> it's very dangerous. you already mentioned the increased security that huma abedin is under.

we live in a post-9/11 world where islaislam-phobia is preva. they attack the community that are patriotic as any other american. muslims at the center of this particular investigation are dedicating their careers to serving the u.s. government. there's no evidence that they are trying to infiltrate the u.s. government, the muslim brotherhood is trying to infiltrate the u.s. government. we've also seen a rise in hate crimes in the last decade since 9/11. you know, when you're talking about increased security, you're running the risk of angering a lot of people for whom that was a very sensitive incident. and there are threats, serious threats to these particular individuals' lives now. >> now, bob, congressman trent franks writes in usa today that calls really for an

investigation. this is what me writes. it's about the failure of our government in the name of political correctness to enforce his own laws and policies to protect this country from hostile foreign influences. >> first of all, sometimes i really get tired of that term political correctness. if it means you're not a bigot, then okay. this is political correctness. the fact of the matter is there are certain politicians out there that like to play to the worst case of the united states. this is a wonderful country. there's so many positive instincts that made us what we are. but there have always been the sinister layer of bad instincts that can be exploited. the polls consistently show that in the united states a full 40% of americans have negative views of islam and muslims. that is an astonishing thing

that can be easily exploited. and we're seeing it exploited by the likes of michele bachmann and louie goemer. >> you've covered capitol hill and washington a long time. what's different about this? >> well, it's just a matter of degree. there have always been people who have exploited these things. first of all, newt gingrich got -- rose up in the early '90s in all this kind of thing. practicing that kind of politics then. he is now one of the most outspoken who charges -- constantly making islamic phobic comments. this is not really as different as it is. if you go back to the mccarthy era, we're seeing a carbon copy of this. mccarthy was finally asked by somebody at a hearing have you no decency? i think the same question could

be asked today of gomert and michele bachmann and the rest of them. >> have you no decency and fairness, there has been some leading republicans that have spoken out against this witch hunt. they do deserve some credit. let me show those. >> i think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous. >> the first amendment prohibits the government from making a distinction between what is good religion and what is bad religion. that's none of the government's business. religion is a personal issue to every one of the people who lives in the united states. >> these attacks have no logic, no basis, and no merit. and they need to stop. they need to stop now. ultimately what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. this is about who we are as a nation and who we aspire to be.

>> now, the thing that gets me about this, sabrina, before you respond to the republicans that did stand up, is this gets so serious it even has implications abroad. a recent new york times article quoted several egyptians who thought the united states put their new president in office. pressed by american reporters to explain where they got the idea that their new islamic president mohammed morsi has been forced on them, several. egyptians cited information gathered from american blogs and sites. this is really dangerous. >> absolutely. it's dangerous on levels mentioned. it impacts the impression of muslim-americans in the united states and it impacts the perception of the united states overseas.

they do -- the republicans that you mentioned absolutely deserve credit. senator mccain, speaker boehner, for standing up against these allegations. i caught up with senator mccain the day after he made that speech. because michele bachmann said following mccain's speech that her letter was being distorted. and when i asked senator mccain about that if he felt that the letter was being distorted, he said that was not my impression. the allegations speak for themselves. and they carry with them very serious implications. >> sabrina sidi requeqqi and bo franks, thank you. if first you don't succeed with the president, then try and try again. they're latest attempt up next. [ snoring ]

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can you hear that? if you listen carefully, you'll hear the right wing spin machine hitting overdrive. for nearly two weeks, willard mitt romney and the right have been deceiving the american public with the president's you didn't build that line. they're trying to claim he's anti-business, and now they've got a new one. >> the internet didn't get invented on its own. government research created the internet so all the companies could make money off the internet. >> the internet got started

through government research. nothing shocking there. but a "wall street journal" editorial out this week claims quote, it's an urban legend that the government launched the internet. this is pure politics. one is cited in the editorial public pli disputed it. my book bolsters the argument that the internet had its roots in a government project. that's not stopping this train from leaving the station. >> had it been left to the government, had it remained the sole property of the government, it wouldn't exist today. that's all you really need to know about this. >> you think that xerox traded in. >> the internet was created by a lot of people. >> it was private enterprise that built the internet. so the president with the remark has hit a raw nerve amongst small business people. >> that's all you need to know.

government funding allowed researchers to work on what eventually became the internet. that's what people should know. but maybe we should be surprised at the attack. after all, mitt romney holds events with business people who say the government didn't help them get where they are except that their businesses were built with government subsidies and contracts. i don't need the internet to know this. it's called hypocrisy. did they think we wouldn't call out this worldwide web whopper? nice try, but we got you. ♪

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well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. we're back on "politicsnation" with more on mitt romney's overseas adventure. he's in london, and that means he's closer to all those jobs outsourced by companies that his company bain capital invested in. for over a month, we've been trying to figure out how the man

who wants to be president could have invested in companies that specialized in shipping american jobs overseas. mother jones washington bureau chief david corn has advanced the story. his exclusive reporting on how romney's bain capital invested heavily in companies that pioneered outsourcing of manufacturing of jobs could be a game changer this fall. his reports include details on whose then-ceo said outsourcing is good for america. and bain investment global tech, a chinese company that built profits on outsourcing. a major presidential candidate connected to sending american jobs overseas? are you serious? joining me now is msnbc political analyst david corn. he's the washington bureau chief for "mother jones" who has

reported extensively on bain's activities during romney's tenure. he's also the author of "showdown." david, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> now, you've done a lot of digging in romney and bain. you looked at how the company was deeply involved in outsourcing. tell us what you found. >> thanks for asking. there are two key things here. bain capital which would buy up companies and help manage them. and a few weeks ago the washington post did a good piece by tom hamburger knowing that six of those companies were engaged in outsourcing. and the romney campaign said he wasn't making decisions when we took over those companies. and there was a kerfuffle about that. after all that happened, i went and i found that brookside capital which was an invest fund, part of bain capital, that was wholly owned by mitt romney

while he was at bain, no question about this, was making massive investments, tens of millions of dollars in a couple of different companies that was part of this expansion of the outsourcing in offshoring of jobs. >> this was 100% owned by mitt romney? >> the fund itself is 100% owned by mitt romney. it's managed by other partners and people. but he created this, he put the people in charge. you know, it's his name as the owner of the fund. there are at least three companies that total over 1/10 of the value of the fund. the whole fund was worth half a billion dollars. but there are companies which at the late '90s were pioneers going to high-tech offshoring. >> csi stream. we have it on the screen to see all the companies you talk about. that bain invested in. >> at that point in the late '90s, it was new for high-tech

companies, computer companies, phone companies, microsoft and others to have a lot of outsourcing done in china and mexico and other places. and these companies were advancing that. they were setting up facilities in guadalajara and china and elsewhere. they had some domestic facilities in the united states, but the expansion wutz mostly overseas to produce this stuff for the u.s. sfifirms. >> when you look where bain outsourced american jobs, it's quite extensive china, india, taiwan, japan, singapore, mexico, brazil. not a little dabbling here. this is an extensive list. >> these were all major players. global tech appliances which you mentioned earlier is a chinese-owned, chinese-based manufacturing firm that was making household appliances for companies like sun beam,

hamilton beach. if you read their literature, it's all about their end report. their whole deal was to take advantage of american firms outsourcing to china where people were being paid 75 cents an hour compared to what you'd get here in the high teens. $20 or more in america. that was just one firm. you had flextronics. the guy who ran it was named chief executive as the number one trail blazer for high-tech outsourcing in the '90s. revolutionizing the business. so these are all major firms that were doing everything they can to take advantage of this trend. we can argue a debate or discuss whether the outsourcing is good or bad. isn't good for the workers. here's mitt romney out there every day saying he's going to stop jobs from going overseas. but at the time when he could put his money where his mouth

was, he had no problem investing in these companies that was trying to exploit the new trend in outsourcing and offshoring. >> now, romney's campaign does not want to comment about it. here's what they told you. romney campaign officials declined to address the issue of global-tech profiting from the outsourcing. the aide did assert what global-tech did was nothing other than a routine investment in a foreign company. >> they won't talk about the outsourcing implications of this. whether mitt romney should have thought about that or people at his firm before they made investments. all they say is hey, he invested in it. a lot do that. i think it is a big deal and will continue to be a big deal throughout this campaign. >> if it's not a big deal, then why don't they come forward and talk about it? he's running for president of the united states.

and he says he's a job creator. we just want to know if he was talking about inside the united states. david corn, we'll keep watching this. and we'll be watching those debates. thank you for your time being here tonight. >> thank you, reverend. still ahead, president obama makes a major move to close the education gap in america. i was there to see it happen. but first we'll introduce you to a singing walrus named e.t. the summer break is next.

the colorado shootings has reignited a national debate about gun violence in the country. and last night president obama tackled the issue head on. >> i like most americans believe that the second amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. but i also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that ak-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals. they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities. >> polls show that gun owners agree. 82% support criminal background checks. 78% say concealed weapon permits

shouldn't be given to those who have committed violent crimes. and 85% say gun rights should go hand in hand with public safety. but here's how mitt romney addressed the issue during his interview with nbc's brian williams. >> this person shouldn't have had any kind of weapons and bombs and other devices. and it was illegal for him to have many of those already, but he had them. >> but romney's wrong. police say the guns used by the suspected shooter were all purchased legally. over the years we've seen lots of confusing statements on guns from mr. romney. >> i'm not a big game hunter. i've made it clear. i've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. small varmints, if you will. i began when i was 15 or so and have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. more than two times. >> now, governor romney just

hasn't made sense on this issue. the candidate's reaction to gun control is just a small part of the political debate. meantime in aurora, colorado, it's much more personal. 23-year-old caleb medley is in a hospital fighting for his life. he was at the theater thursday night with his wife katie when he was shot in the head. he suffered brain damage, lost his right eye, and is in a medically induced coma. on tuesday morning katie gave birth to the couple's baby boy hugo just one floor away from her husband's hospital bed. obviously the new family is facing some challenges. caleb is uninsured which means his medical bills could be as high as $2 million when he's released from the hospital. he's one of 1.5 million colorado residents who lack health insurance. part of nearly 50 million

americans who don't have coverage. one of caleb's friends have stepped in and started a website to help him out. so far they've raised more than $300,000. joining me now is mike west who helped start the website for caleb. mike, first of all thank you for joining us tonight. >> no problem. >> what kind of response have you gotten as you try to raise money for your friend? >> all positive. everybody is praying for us. and this has been way bigger than i thought it would ever be. >> now, we read that caleb works but doesn't have health insurance. can you elaborate on his lack of health insurance? >> he had just gotten a new job and his insurance wasn't set up yet, so he was not insured. but katie was insured, so the hospital costs for the baby were covered. >> i see. so katie was insured, but he was not insured.

>> correct. >> so can you tell us about his progress? i mean, have you even had a chance to visit him? >> yeah. i'm with him every day since this happened. and i came straight here from the hospital. the surgeon came in, he talked to us. talked to me and the family. they said that he is making steady improvement. the surgeon's happy with his progress. they're looking forward to maybe even trying to wake him up from the coma here in the next week or two. and positive thoughts and everything goes right, hopefully we'll get him out of the icu soon. >> so it's very serious, the condition he's at. >> yeah. >> go ahead. >> i was told by one of the hospital employees that out of the victims that are still in the hospital, that caleb is the most severe. but i don't know if that's true or not, but that's what one of the hospital employees told me. >> now, does he know that his

wife has given birth to the child? does he know he has a child? >> she came in there with hugo and laid him in his arms. we won't know for sure until he wakes up, but from the signs, we're pretty sure he knows. >> what do you mean from the signs? what happened that make you think he may know? >> well, after katie -- she went in there and put baby hugo on to his arm and the baby started crying and katie was holding his hand. and his vital signs, his blood pressure and pulse started rising up and he started squeezing her hand the hardest he's squeezed anybody's hands since he's been in the hospital. and he started to move around a bit. you could tell something was going on with him. he definitely knows. >> how is katie doing? >> she's -- for the situation, she's doing great.

the baby is healthy. she's focusing on taking care of the baby and her husband. and we're trying to help out and keep as much pressure off of her as possible. >> so she's holding on with a new child. but obviously every breath she takes, she must be concerned about him. how can people help? tell us about the website. >> matt and i made a facebook page and a donation page. we developed this to be able to get caleb's story out so people can know what's going on with him. we wanted to raise awareness for him. through the donation page we're trying to take donations to help him with his medical bills. but there's been rumors going around that the hospitals are trying to reduce the costs if not eliminate the cost on a

case-by-case policy on trying to help out everybody. but they haven't come to me or the family, so we don't know if it's true or not. but even if they do eliminate all of his hospital bills, he's still going to have to deal with months if not years of rehab. >> no question. and no way of working with a newborn baby. >> yeah. so this -- the website is strictly just to get help for caleb and raise awareness of this tragedy. >> how do you go to the website? >> you can just type it up in the bar. it's caleb medley.com/help. >> all right, mike west, thank you for your time tonight. our prayers are with caleb, his family, and all the victims of this terrible tragedy. >> no problem. thank you. still ahead, president obama delivered on a promise today and it could go a long way in

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we're back with a pause from the political battles of the day. a time to rest, relax, recharge. that's right. it's time for the "politicsnation" summer break. our first stop, kazakhstan and a gopher who got a little too close to the camera. this little guy lives next to a russian space base. i wonder if sarah palin can see him from her house? well, back in the states we're at the point to tacoma, washington, where fans are flocking to hear the vocal stylings of e.t. the walrus. he can growl and whistle. just listen.

>> with all this barking, he's already ready to debate on capitol hill. a little more rehearsal, and he'll replace mitch mcconnell. just kidding, just kidding. and that's today's summer break. all multivitamins give me the basics. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients,

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tomorrow i'm establishing the first-ever white house initiative on educational excellence for african-americans so that every child has greater access to a complete and competitive education from the time they're born all through the time they get a career. >> that was president obama last night talking about the need for every child to have a shot at a good education. today myself and other black leaders watched at the president took the nation one step closer

to that goal. he signed an executive order aimed at fixing the racial despairty present in our educational system. it's aimed at fixing the inadequate opportunities for millions of black students. fixing a system where the graduation rate for african-american public high school students stand at 61%. while the national average is almost 75%. it aimed to create opportunity in a system where african-americans make up about 7.6% of all college degree holders. this is an area that needs attention. education is the key to unlooking the gates to equality. that's why it's been a focus of mine for so long. it was why in 2009 i met with president obama to highlight the need for education reform.

>> we may not agree on certain specific issues, but there must be a commitment in this country for equal education for all american young people. >> together we toured the country to encourage bipartisan cooperation on the issue. because education isn't a left or right issue. it's an american issue. and i would hope as we go towards the general election and beyond, we can maintain a bipartisan commitment. a real commitment across all party and ideological lines. that we must provide educational opportunities equally to all of our young people. too many of our young people have fallen prey to all kind of negative and in my opinion riotous living. but we must also give them the opportunity to do what is right