sheep. sounds like noah. nearly 11,000 athletes from all over the world all over the city. and the networks of nbc will bring it to you with more than 5,000 hours of coverage. i'm going to watch every single one. can michael phelps become the most decorated swimmer in history? will team usa continue to dominate basketball or will tunishia end their run? so many stories lines. michelle kosinski is in london in the heart of it all. michelle, what's the vibe in london right now? >> hi, toure. so many questions, so many facets of the vibe right now but it is extremely positive. brits are sometimes known for their very calm, steady demeanor, making everything understated and there is an aspect of that, absolutely. and people have been making jokes about how brits even now

are not getting too terribly excited. can you really feel the national pride. and especially over the last 70 days we've been watching the torch make an 8,000 mile run around the u.k. the emotion that it's generated even in the stoic brits has been truly touching. it's always fun to see that video of what the latest kind of event is and the brits are really getting a chance to showcase their national pride and showcase the history here. all of the amazing things that make this country what it is. even though this is the third time that england is hosting an olympics, 1908 it jumped in at the last minute to substitute for rome which had a volcanic eruption and 1942, that was the austerity games. it's fun to hear the stories of the athletes say i was a milkman and i ran really fast and people said why don't you audition for

the game and they practiced in the back yard and the day of the olympics, the cooks didn't show up and they just ate sandwiches they made. it's amazing how much it changed. this olympics will cost britain possibly $20 billion. but as one official said today, this is the longest advertisement for their country in history. it comes at a great time, too, because just this week the u.k. got some pretty dismal economic news. the olympics is expected to bring a boost to that. it's not just a sort of technical aspects or economic aspects, it's a real feeling of national pride and people are very, very excited about it. >> nice to hear about brits being excited. nbc's michelle kosinski in london, thank you very much. can you catch all the games on the networks of nbc, including your favorite station, msnbc. and due to the olympics, we're

going on hiatus for two weeks. we want to bring the two best economic minds we know in a week early for their predictions. peter, let me start with you. do you see any hints or what hints do you see that would give you a clue as to what numbers we're going to see next friday? >> well, retail sales have been flagging for the last three months in a row. my feelings just the numbers can't be much better than they were last month. consensus was 100,000, last month was 80,000. i think we're coming in at 80,000 again. >> peter it was reported the gdp grew at a dismal 1.5 clip, businesses are slowing investing, consumers are slowing spending. what action or activity do you expect to see over the summer and leading up to the election? >> i don't expect the economy to

get much better. i do expect the fed to do something. i don't know that it will have much effect. interest rates are already lower than a snake's belly and i don't think lowering them any further will get banks to loan any more money or people to buy any more houses but the fed will likely want to look like it's taking some kind of action, even though it's an election year. >> i want to ask you about this because this is going to be coming up in congress probably in the next week. the senate passed last week to extend the rates for all incomes at $250,000 and below. the house is going to take that up this week, it's obviously not going to pass so nothing real is going to happen here. in a fantasy world where this happened, where 98% of the taxpayers were told next week your taxes are not going to be going up at the end of the year when this fiscal cliff happens, if that were to happen works that have any meaningful impact on the state of the economy right now? >> i don't think it will have a lot because most people in that group expect their taxes are not going to go up. you really do have everybody on capitol hill agreeing on this

point that, the middle-class tax cut should not expire. the squabbling is about the top 2%. i think that's kind of baked in the cake. i will say that the significance of that vote has been underplayed. it's significantly a charade. you saw democrats hanging tough on a pretty significant issue. that was a positive thing. >> let me ask you about another thing hanging over the economy and that's the situation in europe. there was a comment made by the head of the european central bank mario draghi yesterday. he said within our mandate the ecb is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. believe me, it will be enough. what does that mean in practical terms? can we all breathe a sigh of relief about europe or do we still have hurdles ahead? >> i don't think you should breathe a big sigh of relief because he said stuff like that before. >> can i breathe a small sigh of relief?

>> you can breathe a small sigh of relief. i'll breathe along with you. he's talking about direct lending from the european central bank to some of the banks in countries like spain that are going through the same kind of liquidity problems that our bank went through after the lehman crash. so they really got their own banking sector problem not unlike we had. of course that's a serious problem for credit markets in the economy. if the central bank lends directly to the banks, then it doesn't have to lend to the countries themselves, which actually worsens their indebtedness. the problem is they said they were going to do that a few months ago and i haven't seen much yet. there's always a follow-through problem with those guys. >> gotcha. >> i wanted to follow up on the gdp numbers and why we've seen this pattern play out the last few years where each year begins with hopeful signs that maybe the economy will turn around, then subsequent reports that it seems to be slowing again. what is at the heart of that? why at the core level is the

economy slowing again? >> we failed to address structural problems that caused the great depression. the consumer spends, the money leaves and it doesn't come back to support u.s. exports. that causes businesses who are making a lot of profits here and abroad, here by cutting costs, to take their money abroad and invest in those markets growing more rapidly. the financial sector reforms have not worked out. they're causing a lot of banks to sell out to big banks and the big banks don't stand main street's problems. they are not adept at loaning money in toledo. they don't know how to do it. don't believe the bank of america ad so to speak. >> can i take a stab at that one because i like that question. >> sure, jared. >> can we pick our questions around here? >> why not, jared. it's your show as much as ours. >> thank you.

i have a simpler answer, it's a four-letter word, jo-o-b-sj-o-b. i think we're into this negative cycle. if we can take some serious action, even temporary stimulative measures on the jobs front, it would help a lot. >> you said if we could do temporary stimulus. i've been hearing that since we had the last stimulus in 2009. it seems politically impossible right now. how do you sell people on stimulus in this climate? >> i think it's tough to sell still also a.

the deficit in 2007 before the calamity was $161 billion. now it's about $1.3 trillion. the difference is a lot of stimulus. so the question, jared, is how much more money are we willing to borrow from the chinese to do this? >> i can speak to that. this is interesting and important. >> we don't even need to be here, which i love. >> i'm going to get a little pedantic here but i'll try to do it painlessly. thei issue is not the level of the deficit, its change from year to year. if the big deficit is getting smaller, and it is, you actually have less fiscal stimulus in the economy. that's what we've been having. jared, peter, if it's okay with you guys, we're going to move on to another segment. is that okay? >> no, that's not okay at all! >> there's four of us but we will have you guys back because

we love you guys. >> mitt romney's olympic size gaffe aren't helping him. that's up next as we roll on for july 27th. [ male announcer ] this is rudy. his morning starts with arthritis pain. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. insuring that stuff must be a pain. nah, he's probably got... [ dennis' voice ] allstate. they can bundle all your policies together. lot of paperwork. [ doug's voice ] actually... [ dennis' voice ] an allstate agent can help do the switching and paperwork for you. well, it probably costs a lot. [ dennis' voice ] allstate can save you up to 30% more when you bundle.

well, his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. ♪ bundle and save with an allstate agent. are you in good hands? ovider is differentlstate agent. 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.

mitt military escaped the political mud slinging our state side election season and headed for what he thought was going to be friendlier territory. but who knew the former olympic savior would have such a tough time, well, talking about the olympics. >> in the short time you've been here in london, do they look ready to your experienced eye?

>> it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. there were a few things disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials. that is not something which is encouraging. >> shockingly the british press went crazy over the flap and the american press has piled on. with none other than charles krauthammer, fumbling to ways to adequately describe it. >> unbelievable. it's beyond human understanding. it's incomprehensible. i'm out of adjectives. >> in the pantheon of gaspffes, romney's probably does not crack the top ten. there are silly gaffs like hillary clinton presenting

russia with a reset button that says "overcharged by mistake" and unfortunate gaffes like president obama joking about the special olympics but romney's london flap is not the kind of press he wants in an overseas trip in which all he had to do is show up and smile. i want to know where you place romney's mishap in the history of awesome overseas gaffe. starting with president bush gives awkward shoulder rub to angela merkel. number two, president obama gives the queen of england ill formatted video and president bush vomits on japanese leaders. >> the problem for romney -- >> we're bypassing other presidents?

>> no. the problem for romney is he's in campaign mode. they're already presidents. as he's going out to the world stage to say i'm ready for the world stage, no, he's not ready for the world stage. for americans wondering, how's your people skills? they're horrible, i have rich guyitis -- >> that's horrible twice. that's overstating romney calls the security lapses disconcerting. >> would you crap on your hosts? what is that? that's what he did. >> i think that's the issue. totally unnecessary for him to say these, right? not untrue but unnecessary. >> you don't go to someone's house, show up for dinner and even if the food is dinner, you can't say the food is terrible. even though the people in the family might complain. >> but he did. where did these cookies come

from? 7-elev 7-eleven? >> the american press is largely reporting on the reaction overseas. >> except for toure, who was outraged on his own. >> this is an actual genuine reaction to an odd and unnecessary statement that we are now reporting on. >> but we're also fixating on one of the many. it was a gaffe fest, right? i mean, there were so many things that he said and shouldn't have done yesterday. >> part of the problem becomes is this self-perpetuating thing, when you get the reputation as the gaffe candidate, the little things that other politicians get away with start getting tagged from you. >> nobody would teak that from joe biden. >> that's a perfect example. this is something everyone in britain has been saying. what romney said was a very tame

version of what the british press has been saying for months but when you're the outsider, you can't come in and say that. >> i liked what you said earlier, that this was maybe the thing that britain needed to rally -- >> he turns the table by saying i was trying to unite the country that hadn't been united and now they are. >> against me to each other. enough about politics. it's friday, we need something a little more fun. so behold, i give you the man aisle, one manhattan grocery store's way to make shopping a little easier for guys. it's stocked from everything a guy can need from ramen noodles to beef jerky to hot sauce. sounds like my refrigerator, charcoal and of course condoms. >> yay. >> so far shoppers are actually into it. >> it seems like people are loving it, they're having fun with it, making suggestions, buying the stuff off the section and if you notice it's in the beer aisle so it is a man aisle. >> right next to the beer aisle sounds like good planning.

the west side market is even handing out men's supermarket survival guides. that's apparently how dumb the supermarket thinks you are. you need a survival guide and an aisle with all your stuff at eye level. >> they're noticing that we don't want to ask. i don't want to ask somebody where's the chips, where's the pre pretzels, even in the supermarket. i love this man aisle thing. >> you are a neanderthal. >> i hate shopping. this is all the stuff you want, it's right here in 1a. i don't have to go to the other aisles. this is great! i love this. >> i cannot imagine how offended i would be if a grocery store had a women's aisle and was giving us women's guides to shopping. i mean, who know what is they would put on the aisle. i would be offended. it doesn't bother you, the stereotype -- >> the whole supermarket is the

women's aisle. >> actually, that is the message they're delivering by saying this is the designated men's aisle, then everything else is the designated women's aisle. i've lived on a very, very small diet of foods. i go to the grocery store and get cereal and milk. >> more confessions from kornacki. >> i actually wanted to learn how to cook. the store near me, i've been there twice in the last month. it's been like an adventure. there's foods i've never heard of. i don't need this aisle. >> spaghetti. >> this is why you can't do the switch test. do this for women, do it for men. do it for white people, do it for black people. >> how would you feel about an african-american aisle? >> it would depend on what's in

it. here's your fried chicken and pork rhines, no thank you. >> what if home depot or loew's had a women's aisle? >> i would be offended. >> would you? >> depends what's in it. >> power tools. like the power tools made by emily, the women's power tools. >> that's not what they would put on it. they'd put pink paint. >> if the men's aisle does not have steak in it, it's not ready for primetime. >> that's the fatal flaw somebody on twitter pointed out, where's the bacon? if you're going to have a men's i'll, you should have some meat. >> your woman at home should be cooking that for you. >> we're counting down to the 2012 olympics. but before the calderon is lit,

we have your last minute guide to the game. the least three don't miss athletes are just ahead. do you see it ? there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. i'm making my money do more. ♪ i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions. i'm making the most of my money. and seven-dollar trades are just the start. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. and i'm loving every minute of it.

[ rodger riney ] ascottrade, we give you commission-free etfs, no-fee iras and more. come see why more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade. look at these teeth! they're made for meat! do i look like i'm stalking plants? [ male announcer ] most dry foods add plant protein, like gluten but iams never adds gluten. iams adds 50% more animal protein, yum! [ male announcer ] ...a naturally complete protein source. look at this body! under this shiny coat is a lean, mean purring machine [ male announcer ] iams. not just food, nutrition for life. i'm an iams cat. feed me what i'm born to eat. meow. i'm an iams cat. feed me what i'm born to eat. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious.

last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through.

the summer games are here on the networks of nbc. i'm ready to watch team usa smar stash the competition. our guest spot is all about the olympians to watch over the next two weeks. senior editor at "sports illustrated" has made it across for part two of his picks. john, who you got for us now? >> these are three more athletes to watch. last time we started with michael phelps. now we'll start with usain bolt, the fastest man of the world from jamaica. a star of the games coming in, stole the show in beijing.

there's a lot of intrigue here. this is a very fast runner, 100, 200. he has not been running particularly well lately. his training was shrouded in secrecy. seems like the figure most likely to beat him is his training partner, johan blake. fastest man in the world is going to be any any event a sexy premiere event. especially with the intrigue surrounding usain bolt. >> we're not saying usain bolt has lost a step since beijing, right? >> well -- >> maybe? >> we shall see. he's had an issue with false starts and the ioc rules have changed. there's a lot of intrigue here. you talk to some of the jamaican journalists and they think blake might have a chance. to bolt's credit, he's been very outspoken. he said i'm here to become a legend. somebody asked him if somebody else was going to win, who would he like it to be. he looked at the interviewer from the bbc and said "don't ever ask me that question

again." >> bolt tends to win by huge margins. as long as he doesn't false start, he should be fine. >> that's a big conditional as i understand it. this is always a sexy event and now sort of all the more so. >> so is the country split over who they're cheering for? >> no. bolt is sort of this michael phelps towering figure. he's the overdog. there is a little bit of a split. people want to see this underdog but there's a sense this is the fastest human on the planet. let's see if he can do better than last time. we'll do the second time. this has really become the year of the woman. in the u.s. delegation, there are more female athletes than male athletes. this is the first year for u.s. boxing. keep an eye out for claressa shields. >> i love her. >> we did a piece on her for "sports illustrated," she kept cracking us up. a lot of women's sports are going to get a lot of attention.

this is a very dynamic athlete. we're all going to know about her within two weeks. >> am i a little silly saying i find women's boxing very difficult to watch, two women trying to pound each other's heads? i just find that really difficult. >> there's women's ufc and mixed martial arts. that's even -- >> i don't like anybody doing ufc. that looks cro-magnon to me. >> we'll save that for another time. this is the first year it's played out. they're dedicated athletes that have trained. if the men are going to box, why shouldn't -- if we have an issue with boxing fine. but if the men are going to have boxing, we ought to have the women do it, too. >> is that feminist that women get the chance to pound each

other in the head, too? >> of course it is. if they want to do it, why shouldn't they be able to do it? >> assumption of of the risk. >> here's a sport where they're not pounding each other. >> i want to know john's third athlete to watch. >> i was going to say, this is -- >> it's going off the rails. >> if you don't like boxing, i don't know about -- >> let's talk about mariel zagunis. she unexpectedly won gold in athens and then won gold in beijing. she's from oregon, went to notre dame. the u.s. has a lot of maris athletes, serena williams, phelps. i think it's great they picked a fencer. if we're talking about olympic spirit and honoring amateurism, i think there's not a much better choice. within a few hours we will all know mariel zagunis. i think it's great they chose her to carry the flag and not an

athlete that might be more prominent. >> i think that's very cool. i wonder if we are getting into phelps fatigue syndrome. before the last games he was the clear superstar going in. now i think people are a little like let's hear about somebody new. the olympics is all about a new name. sports are about people like the underdog. people don't always like -- >> i can't let this go unanswered, i'm sorry. you have smeared the good name of the tunisian basketball team not once but twice. this is the beautiful part of sports. the united states will have one of the best basketball teams ever assembled and here is this tiny north african nation that against the odds won the tournament, makes it, longest shot on the board and they'll get a chance 10:15 p.m. tuesday on the nbc networks to see.

i'm cheering for tunisian because it's the ultimate underdog story. >> do you actually want tunisia to win or make it a close game and the u.s. -- >> in the fantasy world of things that will never happen, 15 seconds left in the game, 84-83 u.s., are you not cheering for the biggest upset in the history of sports? >> no, not when it involves america losing! >> go tunisia. >> you are so anti-patriotic. >> america was an underdog once. >> john wertheim, please take him with you when you go to london. the 2012 games has also been dubbed the year of the woman. next we'll meet a team feminist who says the year of the woman

rights is a little f'd up. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction

get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. 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. so what i'm saying is, proupeople like options.cation when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

♪ girl, you'll be a woman soon >> tonight as the world's best athletes enter olympic stadium, they'll be making history even before they begin. all 205 countries have sent female athletes, including saudi arabia and qatar and bruni. for the first time the ladies outnumber the gents by eight athletes and for the first time the women's beach valley ball players will not be required to wear bikinis. don't worry, toure, the american team is still going to wear the bikinis but it will be at their option. compare this to the world of the woman in the 1900 olympics in

paris where only 22 of the 900 athletes were women. but it hasn't been easy. as you all know, we've still got a long way to go before we really create true equality for women. we have a teen nem nis, one of the new feminists you need to know. she's the author of "a little f'd up, why feminism is not a dirty word." thanks so much for joining us, julie. >> thanks so much for having me. >> i wanted to start by playing a clip. we had another feminist icon and author who was talk about her definition of feminism and why she feels it's gotten a negative con onotatio connotation. >> women live feminist lives. it's just we've forgotten what that word means.

in my book i give women a test which is you should put your hand in your panties and check what kind of genitalia you have. >> that is catlin's take on what a feminist is. what's your definition of what a modern feminist is? >> feminism is all about equality. it always has been and always will be. i will take that a step further and say feminism is about being able to live your life free from discrimination. it's a broad movement and means many different things to many different people but the one thing we can all agree on is equality. >> one of the common criticisms i hear in feminism circles is the young women don't get it, they don't understand the previous battles fought, they take their rights for granted and they're not carrying the feminist torch. what do you feel about that charge sp. >> i think there's a huge

misconception about our generation. we're not educated about it enough. in my own high school feminism and women's rights in general were all relegated to a side bar in a history book. that's a huge reason why i created "the f bomb." i think most women would call themselves feminists if they understood what it meant. young women are exposed to the concepts and say of course i'm a feminist, i hate that i feel bad about my body, i don't like that i'm sexually harassed on the streets. that is feminism. it's just about getting that message across. >> you talk a lot in the book about why young women and older women have a hard time embracing feminism. i want to get a quick poll of the table of just one or two words what you think of when you think of when you hear the word feminist. >> outdated feminist politics. >> equal rights amendment, gloria steinham?

>> i think of me. >> i think of gloria steinham. >> when you heard the word feminist, julie, what do you think of? >> my pierce on the f bomb and largely the blogging community. we're able to congregate online in huge numbers and move this forward and figure out what it means for our generation. i think that it is a different fight from the 70s. that's something we need to make clear. in the 70s feminism was fighting for legislature and laws but more often than not what we're fighting for is social equality, things like body image and sexual harassment. it's more on a day-to-day basis. >> do you think feminism has become something of a dirty word, as you put it, because there are some elements within

feminism of women criticizing women for their choices, whether that's for being pro-life, for staying home, for being a mom, for getting married. that kind of woman-on-woman crime has not given feminism a particularly good name. would you agree? >> one thing that was really important for me to address in "a little f'd up" was that us against them mentality. what i would love to do and would love to see this movement work on a lot more is starting those conversations, whether liberal or conservative. we're all women. i think equality is something that we can all agree on. we may not agree on all of the same issues that feminism hopes to cover and hopes to fight for but i think that we can find common ground. i totally believe we need to work more towards that goal. >> julie, to be a successful movement i think feminism has to bring in more than just women. there has to be some sort of pitch to men to say, hey, this is your fight, too, you need to be here with us.

what is that pitch to the average 20 something-year-old guy today? why should he call himself a feminist? why should he be engaged? >> i totally believe men should be much more involved in the feminist movement. young man have written for the f bomb. one of the most common themes i seem to find among these young men is body image. it really affects young women of our generation and they've gotten a lot of time on that in the media and elsewhere but something that seems to go undiscovered largely is that young men are really impacted by those same standards, really rigid masculinity standards in general. i believe feminism is a movement that can help young men with that and try to help us achieve our human equality rather than gender equality. >> great message. i love it, julie. congratulations to you on the new book. >> thank you. >> next we cycle back to some unfinished business from today's show. wonder what that's going to be. s package... oahhh!

[ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare surance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans,

it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationshipsatter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medare patients. and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel th us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over

for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.

i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. ♪ we're back with your taco bell tunisian basketball preview. >> what? >> can you believe taco bell is sponsoring this. >> can you believe you just gave a free shout out to taco bell for no reason? >> the tunisian basketball preview show. we're here to get your thoughts on the upcoming olympic -- no. >> i have to say to tie this all

back in, if the dorito taco was on the man aisle, i think that would be a good fit. >> that is sort of the goal of what we're doing here. they've given us a segment and said talk about something that came up earlier. as tempted as i am to get into the tunisian basketball team i'm going to go to something a little more significant and meaningful and that is the presidential race and mitt romney. we talked about the big gaffes he's had in england. >> the gaffes. i don't know that they're the big gaffes. dh they're gaffes. >> that's the question. >> the british press core thinks they're pretty big. >> the entire british press core has a history of -- >> popper romney? >> the funniest thing is the rupert murdoch papers having to turn their guns on mitt romney.

>> this shift it is back to romney making a gaffe. it's hard to say obama misspoke when you said you didn't build that. now we're only talking about the things you shouldn't have said. he's changed the polarity. >> there's a difference between that and obama's you didn't build that, which speaks to his political philosophy and world view of america -- >> well, no. conservatives have turned this into something that it's obviously not and most americans understand quite obviously he wasn't making some argument that is not true, that you didn't build the -- >> don't walk this back and try to explain it. >> you didn't build the wall, you didn't build the bridges. >> this conversation is sort of ridiculous. let's talk about -- i mean it is frankly. it is. >> it is. >> why is it ridiculous?

>> because it's a quote that was taken out of context. >> ridiculous to talk about obama but not about romney. >> it was taken out of come tex and the whole republican machine is building a -- >> of course they are. it was a terrible thing to say. >> every reasonable person understands exactly what he meant. >> so mitt romney -- so mitt romney -- >> we're not going to agree on this. we're not going to agree on this. s.e., we're not going to great on this, let's move on. >> double standard. >> let's move on. >> got it. >> do you think the romney gaffe is going to have an impact -- >> getting back to what i started out with, take a look at the news today. look at what led the news this morning after everybody finished up with the gaffe it was gdp at 1.5% for the second quarter. the entire -- really when you get down to it the premise of

the romney campaign is in an economy like this, when unemployment is stalled over 8%, swing voters, the one who is will decide, this that 10% of the electorate or so will be so economically anxious that they are looking for reasons to turn over the incumbent. mitt romney can go to england and irritate the entire country and get everybody up in arms but at the end of the day if the economy is in the shape it's in now, those swing voters are looking for a reason. that's the premise. >> this is not necessarily going to be remembered in a month, right? which is probably what you're saying that this gaffe is not going to turn the race. but what we're seeing is the definition of romney different than what he would like. impolite to his hosts. what are you talking about yourself? if he can't say this is who i am, if he's only saying don't vote for that guy. if he can't say this is why you should vote for me, he's not

going to be -- >> that's what the romney campaign has decided to test. they want to make this guy as generic a candidate as possible, nonspecifically on policy. he was very offensive rhetorically to the british peoplething. but the premise here more than any campaign at the presidential level, we want to put a guy up there who is a nonentity and we want people to vote out the incumbent. >> yes. >> what is the entity? do we want to talk about bain? no. do we want to talk about income tax? no. do we want to talk about success? no. do we want to talk about mormonism? no. who are you then? >> the whole purpose of this trip was basically two things. has not been controversial, which was his tenure turning around the olympics, which he also sort of undermined that conversation. and no, i don't think this is going to be the driving force in the election. >> it won't be. >> the president has a sizable

advantage over mitt romney, double-digits both on who would handle afghanistan better, and who americans trust on foreign policy. romney obviously is trying to eat into that advantage. and i think because of this disastrous day has failed. >> this election is going to be about the economy, not afghanistan. >> then why -- >> and more ridiculous conversation to have, it is will this gaffe in london affect the election? i mean that's preposterous. people are going to remember this in a week, not a month. in a week. i mean you can build a story ark around this. and there have been things that mitt romney have said that go to the narrative in a very negative way that he has had to atone for this. is not one of them. this is a mistake he made. this will not affect the election at all, the fact that we're talking about this. >> you're right. that -- this is not going to define the election. but human beings are really good at looking at other people and saying you're not good at relating to people. you don't like people. you don't like me. and he keeps sending that message that i don't like

people, i don't relate to people, people are going to pick up on that and punish him for it. >> and they have to be able to imagine him as a president as well. and he, you know, doesn't have foreign policy expertise to run on. so this undermines, and he had a very successful overseas trip that did help people to be able to imagine him as commander in chief. so i think to the effect -- >> he has plenty of embarrassing moments overseas of his own. >> all right. we will have a few more months to debate this, i think. so we'll leave it there for now. but up next, the seasons of toure. he is talking about the summer games and the arab spring that odd couple is straight ahead. >> play that music. ♪ ♪

♪ i want to go ♪ i want to win [ breathes deeply ] ♪ this is where the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try ♪ i can almost touch the sky [ male announcer ] even the planet has an olympic dream. dow is proud to support that dream by helping provide greener, more sustainable solutions from the olympic village to the stadium. solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ voice of dennis ]...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah we are.

no...we're not. ♪ ask an allstate agent about the value plan. are you in good hands?

when tunisian mohammed aziz city set himself on fire just a year and a half ago, launching the arab revolution, also called arab spring, he wasn't thinking about the olympics he and the others who would drive the protests in egypt, libya, bahrain and syria and other middle eastern nations wanted freedom from repressive dictatorial governments. but the fruits of revolution are both large and small. so athletes from the middle east will be in london, benefitting from the london spring and showing the true spirit of the olympic games. in the past these athletes had dictators who didn't allow them to participate, or they participated, thus spreading the glory of leaders they despised. in london they'll be free from the double consciousness of loving their country while hating their leader. for these athletes, medaling is less important than participation. that's the true olympic spirit. so many middle eastern athletes were part of the arab spring

protest. egypt's amr seoud is the fastest man in africa, but admits he didn't train as hard as he could have, but went where his nation needed him mote. yemen's judo wrestler was shot in the stomach while protesting. he thought his olympic game was over, but he will compete in london. wajdi, a tunisian gymnast was banned for life for ripping a picture of his dictator. he too will be in london. a libyan rower lost an arm while protesting against gadhafi. he'll be part of the opening ceremonies. america used to have athletes who held principal approximatelies who sent the world a message about black solidarity and power at the 1968 games in mexico. their gesture resonated, but they have paid for it throughout their lives. now too many of our athletes are too corporate or too interested in becoming corporate to stand up to their nation when it fails their citizens. their silence is deafening.

also deafening is the ioc silence around the munich massacre. in 197211 israeli athletes at the munich games were kidnapped and killed by palestinian force. this year israel asks for a moment of silence during the opening ceremony in order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the murders. the ioc refused. appalling. they want the games to be apolitical. but this is impossible as the participation of the arab athletes shows. the olympics are unavoidably political. no one wants avert political theater or international tragedy to be part of the games. but forgetting about our tragic past is not the answer. >> you just made my case cheering for tunisia. i'm stunned. i'm sitting there listening to it. that's exactly it. the united states athletes, of course it's our country. we want them to have a good experience and everything. but how can the story of the united states competing at the summer olympics possibly compare to the stories you're talking about from the arab spring? >> those are beautiful stories. and i think we can root for them and people who come from

repressive countries. and also remember this is our country. we want our country to win as well. >> even in the sports, silver medal for that tunisian athlete, you don't want to take the gold? >> but we see their participation is as important as medaling. >> i'm interested whose silence is deafening, and what you would have -- is there someone in particular you're thinking? >> i wouldn't particularly point a finger at one individual, but there are many people who have a platform and don't use it. and we think back to arthur ashe, jim brown, kareem abdul-jabbar, on and on and on, those guys from the '60ss who used their soapbox and used their power to make a point. and the guys today are almost always silent about everything. they could make a difference. they choose not to. all right. that does it for "the cycle." jonathan is in the chair. >> he is never silent. >> how are you? >> thanks, guys. good afternoon.