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tv   The Ed Show  MSNBC  July 30, 2012 5:00pm-6:00pm PDT

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the clintons, think about the clintons, guess about them, wonder at them. bet against them? at your peril. count on things to go smoothly at your own risk. know this, they will be among us living rent free in our political souls. listen even now. somewhere high in manhattan above park and the trees. you can hear the bark loud, clear, and happy. the big dog has gotten his bone. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. tomorrow on "hardball," will ferrell and zach gal funocs will be with us. "the ed show" with michael eric dyson starts now. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show." i'm michael eric dyson in for ed schultz. mitt romney's overseas misadventures continue. he traveled to israel to win over jewish voters but only managed to court criticism about their management of the economy. this is "the ed show," and as ed would say, let's go to work. >> someone who spent most of his
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life in business, i'm particularly impressed with israel's cutting edge technologies and thriving economy. >> mitt romney thinks israel's bustling economy is based on culture and the hand of providence. >> you export technology, not tyranny or terrorism. >> dnc chair debbie wasserman schultz will weigh in on mitt's shocking lack of foreign policy knowledge. >> i don't think she passed the tesz. >> being ready? >> being ready to take over. >> dick cheney speaks the truth about sarah palin and sparks a family feud with his daughter. >> i think that was a mistake. >> liz says palin's more qualified than president obama. we'll see if jonathan alter agrees. bill clinton is set to play a major role at this year's democratic national convention. meanwhile, the gop is running away from bush and cheney. e.j. dionne has the latest. >> governor mitt romney's european misadventure is now 0 for 2. after insulting britain, he
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tried to praise israel but it backfired. instead of looking like a president in waiting, romney has come off as diplomatically tone deaf at best. romney's latest mess happened at a fund-raiser in jerusalem. initially, the romney campaign wasn't going to allow reporters. after criticism, it reversed its position, no doubt with great regret. in front of a group of wealthy donors including billionaire sheldon adelson, he pointed to the cultural super orty of israel over the palestinians. as you come here and see the gdp percap taw for instance in israel and compare that just across the areas managed by the palestinian authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality. and as i come here and i look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, i recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things.
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yes, a few other things just might account for the gdp difference. the palestinian president's reaction to romney was swift and severe. through his senior aide. >> mr. romney takes another step forward with his statement, saying it's because of the israeli culture is better than the palestinian culture. look, palestinians and israelis may be in a confluct, but they're people, equal. and such racist statements does not serve those who are trying to protect and save lives in this region. >> he also said, this man doesn't realize that the palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an israeli occupation. he also lacks knowledge about the israelis themselves. i have not heard any israeli official speak about cultural super orty. the criticism came from both sides. a political science professor in tel aviv said his comment could be seen as anti-semitic.
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you could understand this in many ways. you could say it's anti-semitic, jews, and money. they said his comments were grocely mischaracterized. by the way, romney didn't even get his facts straight. the income disparity is even greater. but romney and his campaign made other far bigger mistakes. romney's top foreign policy adviser suggested romney would support a unilateral israeli military strike against iran. three hours later, he tried to clarify his remarks. in the final analysis, of course, no options should be excluded. romney created yet another failure of diplomatic skill when he canceled a meeting with israeli's labor party at the last minute. hard to imagine how many of this will help romney back home. and his support from jewish voters is already poor. the latest gallup survey of jewish voters shows president obama beating romney 68% to 25%. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think.
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tonight's question, can mitt romney go anywhere without offending people? text a for yes, text b for yes -- okay, text b for no to 622639 or go to our blog. i'll bring you the results later in the show. i'm joined by florida congress woman debbie wasserman schultz, chair of the democratic national committee. welcome to the show. >> thank you so much. >> did mitt romney do any good by suggesting a kind of cultural spear orty over israel, of israel over the palestinians, bringing in a kind of ethnic specificity to the debate? isn't that treading on dangerous territory? >> i think what happened here, microal, is that when you are a candidate for president and you're taking a foreign trip, the idea is that you are supposed to come back at least leaving the impression that you are ready to be the commander in chief and the chief diplomat of
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the united states of america. so the first rule of a foreign trip like this should be first, do no harm. mitt romney went over to great britain and to israel, and essentially was like a bull in a china shop. what was amazing to me was that particularly in a sensitive region like the middle east, and israel and the west bank in particular, to not be careful about the way he chose his words, and to risk potentially setting back the process in which we hopefully will be able to get both sides, the palestinians and israelis back to the table for direct bilateral negotiations, that really is damaging and potentially harmful to that goal. so i think it's been an unmitigated disaster so far. >> sure, you cited the hippocratic oath for politicians, as well. first, do no harm.
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secondly, make no fool. it seems he's been intent upon doing that. you mentioned already the dispute between the israelis and the palestinians. he had nothing to say about that. wasn't that remarkably depressing for a leader who shows ostensible commitment to being the leader of the free world and bringing peace in that region? >> let's compare then candidate obama's trip to israel and his overseas trip when he ran for president. president obama went to israel as a candidate. what he did was went to southern israel and met with the families and victims of rocket attacks that were being launched into israel from their neighbors. and not very friendly neighbors at that. that trip informed his policies as president which is why president obama has stepped up to the plate repeatedly and authorized and pushed through funding for theire dome missile defense system. and friday in the oval office, signed the u.s. israel enhanced
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security act which added more deployments around the perimeter of israel because he saw first hand the impact of those, and the harm of those rockets attacks, and knew that the united states had to stand by israel's side. that is what a trip as a candidate for president should do, inform your policies as president. what mitt romney seems to be doing is basically flowing in a few meetings to basically dress up the fact that he wanted to raise money over there. that's a really cynical approach to a foreign policy trip. basically, that's disguised -- a fund-raiser disguised as a foreign policy trip. >> israel's deputy foreign minister said president obama's administration has been extraordinarily supportive. >> absolutely. he's repeatedly said that as has netanyahu and the unanimity among the leaders that president obama has been a strong friend
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of israel and that israel has no greater friend than president obama. >> absolutely. so the other problem romney has is his considerable inability to articulate a clear message. his chief foreign aide had to walk it back. are they simply in over their heads, congresswoman? >> they seem to be in over their heads. they really have not been able to articulate any foreign policy position on israel. and iran sanctions, mitt romney has absolutely actually agreed with president obama, president obama has always said that all options are on the table and all options means all options. but that we need to use diplomacy and the most biting sanctions he has pushed through as president both internationally and domestically to make sure we do everything we can before you go to a military option. if mitt romney thinks we should be pursuing a military option
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against iran, he should come out and say it. but you know, to dance around it and to essentially pretend that he has somehow a different policy than barack obama is simply ridiculous and continues the distortions and lies mitt romney and his campaign and his supporters have engaged in. barack obama has unequivocally said not only will we do everything we can as a nation to insure that iran never achieves its nuclear ambition, but we do not have a policy of containment, all options are on the table, and president obama internationally and domestically has insured that iran is suffering under the most biting economic sanctions ever, and has brought our fellow nations like russia and china, who previously have not been -- we have not been able to bring them to the table, to support those biting sanctions at the u.n. that's because barack obama on the world stage has reestablished the united states diplomatic relationships that were pretty decimated at the
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iraq war. mitt romney seems on his way to being hell bent on doing that just as a presidential candidate, on setting us back. and it's unacceptable. he should just come back to the united states and stay here because his trip has not done us any favors. >> of course, it's not just israel. last week, it was romney's british misadventure, insulting them in their own country. when you step back and look at this, has the trip accomplished anything for his presidential aspirations we can count up and point to? >> i think trips like these are important because it shows american voters whether or not the candidate actually has the policy chops, the diplomatic skills, the experience, and the ability to actually be the world leader that the president of the united states is expected to be. and mitt romney has proven with this trip that he absolutely is not ready. not ready for primetime. it's really been amateur hour, unfortunately. and i guess that helps us inform voters as they make that very
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important decision over who has the ability to be our commander in chief. president obama has been the chief diplomat, the commander in chief for almost four years and has really done america proud on the world stage. has strong foreign policy credentials and accomplishments and the alternative, mitt romney, has shown us would be problematic for the united states. >> thank you for giving us the political low down on whether he's ready for primetime. debbie wasserman schultz, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen and share your thoughts on twitter at ed show and on facebook. i want to know what you think. coming up, the cheney family is a house divided, and sarah palin is the culprit. jonathan alter joins me to explain why the sarah palin effect is still rocking the republican party. donovan ] i hit a wall. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard."
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coming up, dick cheney and his daughter liz disagree over sarah palin's qualifications. >> former president bill clinton will get a prime spot at the democratic national convention, but republicans aren't willing to embrace the bush years. we'll have the details. and a prominent black journalist tweets his run-in with police. he said he was pulled over whfo driving while black. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using the hash tag "ed show." we'll be right back. 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.
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if you're wondering whether the g orc p is still enthralled
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to the tea party and other fringe conservative elements, look no further than dick cheney's interview with abc news. he was asked about the vp selection process and noted that john mccain's selection of sarah palin was not well handled. >> i like governor palin. i have met her, i know her. she's an attractive candidate, but based on her background, she had only been a governor for two years, i don't think she passed that test. >> being ready? >> of being ready to take over. and i think that was a mistake. >> it was only a few hours later when cheney's own daughter liz had to smooth over her father's rough remarks. she tweeted, rarely do i disagree with best vp ever, but sarah palin was more qualified than obama and biden combined. huge respect for all she's done for the gop. she needs the palin constituency on her side if she runs for
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office. hence the rapid smackdown of her dad. john mccain was also quick to dismiss cheney the elder. >> i'm always glad to get comments four years later. look, i respect the vice president. he and i had strong disagreements as to whether we should torture people or not. i don't think we should have. but the fact is that i'm proud of sarah palin. i'm proud of the job she did. i'm proud of the job she continues to do. and so everybody has their own views, and i respect those views, but i'm proud of what we did. >> who says the republicans can't make ample and liberal use of the retroactivity that romney has so recently accessed, going back four years and talking about stuff. we, he said being the key word. john mccain's entire legacy is forever linked to sarah palin and he needs to play nice if he wants continued support from the party's far right wing. let's turn to jonathan alter.
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jonathan, are republican candidates still afraid of the power wielded by the tea party wing? it seems they're still a bit shaky about them and nervous. >> no question about that. but this was cheney family business. liz cheney lives in virginia, but she wants to run for the u.s. senate from wyoming. and there are a lot of tea party folks and palin supports in wyoming. so she's just looking out for her own future. but it's true that in a number of different states, the tea party is very important to mitt romney getting elected. so take a state like iowa. they basically have nothing going on the ground there. except for evangelicals and tea party folks. so that's one of the reasons you have not seen mitt romney move to the center. you have not seen his people saying critical things about sarah palin or the tea party. they're going to have a very
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fine line to walk on this at their convention because they're not given palin a big role. >> i was going to ask you, if she's that important, why not give her a bigger role or a role at all to play before the cameras so she can secure that particular element of the party. >> they're worried about what pat buchanan did at the 1992 republican convention where he got up and gave this very extreme speech and it really hurt george h.w. bush get re-elected that year. so sarah palin is not very popular in this country. especially with certain constituencies that they're trying to woo. mitt romney is in israel right now trying to get jewish votes in the united states. obama got 78% of jews the last time. in large part because sarah palin was on the ticket. so if he wants those jewish votes in ohio and florida, mitt romney wants to move away from
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sarah palin. on the other hand, if he moves too far away, he alienates the palin supporters in states like iowa he's going to need for his base. he's in a tough spot on palin. >> very, very difficult spot there. does liz cheney do damage to her credibility saying sarah palin is more qualified than barack obama and joe biden combined? i don't know many republicans who are honestly going to say that? >> that was a little over the top. she was trying to clean up for the old man and she had to show her loyalty to sarah palin and the tea party folks. they should not be underestimated. you know, the most vivid demonstration of the power of the tea party was at the utah state party convention in 2010. when they took bob bennett, the son of a president of the mormon church, a very, very conservative republican senator who had been in the senate for 20 years, and they threw him out
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on his ear. ended his political clear. you know what his sin was, michael? he talked to a democrat. senator ron widen, a democrat, they worked toort on a piece of quite conservative health care legislation. and the price that he paid for that was the end of his political career. that's how powerful the tea party is in republican primaries and in get out the vote efforts with the rank and file. so this will be a continuing problem for mitt romney going forward. he is their prisoner and he would be as president, too. he would not be able to move far away from their agenda as president. >> when it comes to picking the vice president, dick cheney told the news there's two lists to be considered. >> it's easy to get on the big list. the tough part is the small list, under active consideration, and the test to get on the small list has to be, is this person capable of being president of the united states.
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that's usually a short list. >> jonathan, dick cheney ought to know. he chose himself off the short list. do you think romney is heeding the advisory. is there any chance he would like to pick another game changing pick like sarah palin? >> not like sarah palin, but most people think that romney will go with a safe pick. everybody always cites the last war in politics. that would argue for a rob portman or tim pawlenty, bob mcconnell, the governor of virginia. somebody safe like that. there could be something unusual that happens. you could get maybe bobby jindal, who has got some experience now. he's been governor of louisiana for a while. so to try to go for an out of the box choice who would also pass the test of getting over the threshold of being a plausible president, which palin's two years as governor did not get her, and also she just wasn't as smart as jindal. they could go that direction.
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oft oftentimes, it's not the person that the press most speculates about. there's a long history of this in both parties. folks at intrade should getpry skeptical of anyone who thinks they know exactly how this is going to go. you would have to give an edge right now to a conservative choice in both meanings of that word. you know, political conservative and also a safe choice. >> we thank you for your moderate views on those conservative people. jonathan alter, thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks, michael. next, bill clinton will play a key role at the democratic convention. e.j. dionne will weigh in on that and much more. plus, playing dumb. mitt romney gives an interesting new excuse on why he won't reveal his tack rate. we weigh in on his newest non-answer when we come back. [ female announcer ] research suggests the health of our cells plays a key role
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ladies and gentlemen, i am honored to be here tonight. sit down. >> he's back. that was former president bill clinton working the crowd at the 2008 democratic national convention as only still bill can. to borrow the moniker from bill withers. democrats announced today clinton will play a bigger role at this year's convention in charlotte, north carolina. he will formally nominate barack
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obama for the democratic ticket and make the case for a second obama term. he's expected to argue for the current president's economic policies, offering a clear contrast between the obama plan and the romney one. or as bill clinton puts it, bush on steroids. with a 66% approval rating, the democrats know the guy who felt our pain, i feel your pain, is the best person to appeal to voters. meanwhile, the republicans are running away from their last president. neither george w. bush or dick cheney will be attending the republican convention in tampa. which is odd considering romney's economic advisers were bush's economic advisers, and according to at least one republican official, his policies are bush's policies, just updated. come to think of it, romney r e rarely invoked the good old days of the bush administration, even when he's asked to specifically explain how his policies differ fraumg the former president's. >> the major planks of your job
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plan, lower taxes, both corporate and marginal rates and reduce regulation, explain how that would be different from what george w. bush tried to push through. >> my policies are different than anything you have seen in the past. they're really designed for an america which has some new resources, energy being one of them. trade with latin america being another. and the need for a balanced budget now more urgent than ever before. >> you get the feeling that romney needs to listen to beyonce, say my name, say my name. george w. bush, say my name. i'm joined by e.j. dionne, msnbc contributor, washington post columnist and author of the book "our divided political heart." i figured beyonce was one of your favorites so i threw her in there. >> i feel your pain, too, michael. i really do. >> thank you, e.j. bill clinton is given a marquee primetime role at the convention. that's a no-brainer for many. george w. bush endorsed romney
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in an elevator. is this a tale of two conventions? >> it's a tale of two presidencies. in the 16 years before barack obama took office, we had two presidents, and yes you ask the question, which one is very popular. you showed the 66%. which one had his term end in prosperity, not economic collapse, and which one balanced the budget? the answer is clinton. it's not surprising that democrats pull clinton out and i guess the republicans want president bush to cut some more brush down on his ranch in texas. but i think what's really interesting here is how prominent a role the obama team decided to give bill clinton. i for one think this is a very shrewd move politically because bill clinton can reach precisely the voters that barack obama is having some trouble reaching. particularly white working class voters. if romney doesn't have a margin around 25% in this group, he's
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in trouble. if obama can only lose that group by 15%, he's in good shape. bill clinton can reach those voters. and the second thing is that whose tax rates is barack obama trying to restore. he's trying to restore the clinton rates. who can make a better case for clinton economics than bill clinton himself? and that's the other constituency. upper middle class people who may not want to pay those clinton rates sure have some pretty fond memories of the economy in the clinton years. >> i mean, whatever you said about him, at least your pocketbook was in good shape and the bottom line was being observed. clinton as economic messenger, very effective or very, very effective? >> i think the second. i mean, bill clinton had something in common with ronald reagan. the two of them both knew how to make an argument. i think a lot of times we underestimate how important it is for a politician to make an argument to the voters and keep making it. here's why i'm doing what i'm
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doing. here's why it makes sense. here's why what the other guy wants to do doesn't make sense. bill clinton is one of the best people we have in politics. and even though i didn't agree with him, ronald reagan was good at doing that, too. why not haul out your best argument maker? i think that's what they're doing here, too. >> they're political sermonizers right? you tell them what they're going to tell them, then you tell them, then you tell them what you told them. it seems to me bill clinton is an expert at that. four years ago, obama was out envoking reagan, speaking of someone to give that speech, but what does this full embrace of clinton tell us about a subtle or not so subtle shift in obama's idealogical universe itself? >> a lot of people look at it that way. i think obama's always been fairly close to clinton. i interviewed him back in 2007, and he went out of his way, and maybe some of it was tactical because he was running against hillary clinton, but he went out of his way to say that bill
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clinton shifted the democratic party in the right direction in important ways. when you look at his economic team, this was clinton's economic team. when you look at his foreign policy team, a lot of the folks in that foreign policy team were bill clinton people. i have never seen the big idealogical gulf that some people see between barack obama and bill clinton. the obama campaign in the primaries in '08 probably wanted to make it look a little bigger because he was run against hillary clinton at times, but they're close in their view of the world. >> we'll see how close in the convention as well. e.j. dionne, thank you so much. >> great to be with you. >> a lot more coming up on the next half hour of "the ed show." stay tuned. >> was there ever any year when you paid lower than the 13.9%? >> i haven't calculated that. >> mitt romney can't answer a very simple yes or no question. up next, our panel will weigh in on romney's best nonanswer yet.
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>> i don't pay more than are legally due. and frankly, if i had paid more than are legally due, i wouldn't be qualified to become president. >> in tonight's dyson-ary, i'll define the world obfiskate through the candidacy of romney. and t.j. holmes tweeted he was pulled over for driving while black. he'll weigh in on the race relations debate in america and president obama's role. this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete.
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anti-aging cream undeniably. it creamed unbelievably a $500 cream and now women have made regenerist microsculpting cream also unscented. women love it. in original and also fragrance-free. welcome back. mitt romney was asked a very simple yes or no question about his taxes this weekend. the question, was there ever a year when you paid less than 13.9%? >> i haven't calculated that. i'm happy to go back and look, but my view is i have paid all the taxes required by law. i don't pay more than are legally due.
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>> ain't got a calculator that big. romney has endured weeks of pressure about his taxes on every network and in every major newspaper. every from president obama to george will has weighed in. romney says he just hasn't had the time to check his tax rate. let's bring in joann reed, new jersey republican leader john bramnick, and emily tuckman. mr. bramnic, are we supposed to believe that romney hasn't had time to check his tax rate? >> if the issue is a tax rate, president obama only paid 20% as an effective tax rate in 2011 and 26% in 2010. >> but he knows what he paid. he can answer when asked did he pay the rate? >> i have no problem with the fact that romney is successful. and if that's the criticism, that's exactly what we want in america, people who are successful. so the fact that he doesn't give
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you an exact number, do we want to stop charitable deductions? that's one way to lower your tax rate. what is wrong with following the law and paying what is legally responsible? >> we're not asking for all that. you're giving great detail, but romney has not answered the simple question, did you or didn't you? joann reed, do you think there's a problem going on. didn't he have to calculate his tax rate when he filed his return? >> what i focused on, one of the things i focused on was when he was asked feather, more probing questions about this, he said the accounting firm that does my taxes. most people i know will say the accountant, the guy, the turbo tax, he's got an entire accounting firm that does his taxes. maybe the reason he doesn't know is that romney is so rich, he has like eight degrees of separation from the recording of taxes. >> it takes a village. >> and a firm. >> he's got an african ideology going on there.
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romney sehe doesn't know his tax rate, but he knows he pays a lot. listen to this. >> the tax rate paid year by year, i know i pay a very substantial amount of taxes. in every year since the beginning of my career so far as i can recall. >> so romney paid a substantial amount, but it could be less than most middle class americans, right? >> sure. i mean, a substantial amount, as the law requires. let's just end all of this dancing around and release your tax returns. one year is absolutely not going to cut it. i mean, young people as so many americans are really looking for two things. authenticity and to be spoken to like you respect them. by mitt romney refusing to release the years of returns for fear that people are going to look through them and question them, you're really not acting like you respect people. i think people see through this. >> mr. bramnick, you understand this. you're a politician. you have the trust of the people at heart. don't you get the fact that
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romney won't answer or refusal to answer goes to the issue of trust and respect and decency? >> even if he releases the tax returns, i assume you're going to pick it apart anyway. so at this point, what he's saying is i have done what is really required. if people want to pay more than legally required, the president could pay another 10% and follow the buffett rule. ante up more money. there's options for everyone who wants to pay more that is not legally required. >> if you got nothing to hide, what are you hiding for? >> this goes back to what romney has done. try to run for president by telling americans as little about himself as possible. he won't talk about his gsk gskership in massachusetts, doesn't want to talk about bain. he wants to get into the white house, but what he doesn't understand is that the american people want to know what it is they're voting for and who it is they're voting for. and by him obfuscating everything they're talking about, he leaves nothing positive for people to look for.
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>> you didn't set that up, but we're going to talk in my first dyson-ary, the word obfuscate. do you think that plays a big role in how young people decide who is able to cast their ballot for? >> absolutely. i mean, if you look at a president who has grown up understanding the issue that so many people are facing today, and you look at a man who is running who really does not act like he respects young people. you know, speaking to college students in ohio, he did a big major flip-flop a couple weeks ago when the stafford student rates were looking to double. first he says young people, you can have as much school as you can pay for. when they ask how to pay for it, they say, ask your parents. then suddenly flip-flops as he always does and says, oh, no, i definitely support the rates not doubling. i mean, that is just not showing respect. it's not showing the respect that you understand the experience of young people in america today. >> speaking of disrespect, i want to ask mr. bramnick, how do
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you think the adventure of mitt romney overseas is going right about now? >> i think people respect his success as a businessman. his strong support for israel. his success in running the olympics. i think they understand this is someone who knows how to get a job done. >> what about as a diplomat, though? as a diplomat representing the interests and values of america? >> if you blow up small little statements in the media's good at that, you could take any comment by any president or candidate and make it into international issue. i don't think it is an international issue, but people like to make it an international issue. >> you think they're detonating the bomb or is he a suicide bomber rhetorically blowing himself up. >> whichever station you watch, they have a different angle. but he's a very capable person as a governor as well as a president. >> joy, what do you think? >> i don't think it depended on what british media you watched.
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they were mocking him, and then he goes today to israel and essentially says that the israeli culture is superior to that of the palestinians. so he's basically going from nation to nation offending people. i don't know if that's a good resume builder for president of the united states. >> he's taking the word offensive to a new level. joy reid, john bramnick, and emily, thank you so much. >> we'll go beyond the pundits and sound bites to get a better understand of what romney is up to. the word that captures his candidacy will crack open the dyson-ary for insight, next. gr. ♪ [ man ] you think jason bourne was the whole story? there's a lot more going on here. ♪ who the hell is he? it's aaron cross. you trying to put me down? [ man ] i thought they were dead! yeah, he's supposed to be dead. [ woman ] we have never seen evaluations like this.
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♪ [ cross ] you okay? [ male announcer ] "the bourne legacy." rated pg-13. starts august 10th. [ male announcer ] "the bourne legacy." this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. 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. up next, i'm cracking open my dyson-ary to help define mitt romney's campaign. and in the big finish, what has the election of president obama had on race relshzs in the country. i'm talk with journalist t.j. holmes. stay tuned.
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welcome back.
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as many of you quo, i have been a university professor for nearly a quarter century, but you may not know that before that as a kid in the ghetto of detroit, my schoolmates teased me. they predicted what i would become long before i would know my destiny. i won a couple of spelling bees and later a few contests as well. so i guess you could say my love for words started when i was knee high to a tadpole. back then when i didn't know a word my mama used to tell me, look it up in the dictionary. boy, those were the days when a kid actually had to turn to a physical volume that contained the wonder of the worded world. now you just google it. the merriam-webster dictionary was my favorite along with the oxford english dictionary. tonight, i want to introduce you to the dyson-ary. get it? each night this week, i'll define a word in his political, cultural, and moral context. tonight's word is obfuscate. here is a quick example.
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>> i can tell y we follow the tax laws and if there's an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in the country will follow that opportunity. >> doing away with the redundancy and waste in government and shifted services and programs to the economic player who can deliver them best. these are the serious steps toward getting our debt and spending under control i'm going to take. >> you asked quite a few questions there. i didn't volve myself in any way with bain capital's enterprise after february of 1999. >> he says he's following the tax laws, but he's evasive about the details. he'll cut government, but he won't be clear about how he'll do it. he says he wasn't involved with bain capital after 1999, even though he signed legal filings for the company as its ceo in 2001. so let's check that dyson-ary one more time. obfuscate, to dismable, not answer, confuse, be evasive or unclear. until after elected. see mitt romney.
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tonight in our survey, i asked, can mitt romney go anywhere without offending people? 6% say yes, 94% say no. coming up in the big finish, much ink has spilled in 2008 about how president obama's election would usher in a post racial america. t.j. holmes joining me next to describe an altercation he had this morning that exposed the wounds of racism in the country. [ female announcer ] think coarse facial hair removal has to be painful? challenge that with new olay facial hair removal duo.
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racial discrimination is a part of america that is hidden in plain site. it's felt by millions of americans and it was felt by a public individual and documented in a public setting. former cnn anchor and b.e.t. host t.j. holmes was driving near his home when he was pulled over unaware of any wrong doing. he kept a account. driving while jack ain't no joke. he said, officers wanted to make sure i had insurance on the car. unfortunately, this is hardly shocking. it may, however, come as a surprise to some who believe we're living in post-racial america. a gallup poll taken the day after barack obama's election in 2008 showed 70% of americans thought the election would make race relations better. but less than a year later, we were hearing things like this. >> this president, i think, has exposed himself as a guy over
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and over and over again who has a deep seeded hatred for white people or the white culture. i don't know what it is. >> that's a far cry from the hopes of a presidential candidate who sought a more nuanced conversation about race in america. >> i have asserted a firm conviction, a conviction rooted in my faith in god and my faith in the american people. that working together, we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact, we have no choice. we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union. >> let's turn to t.j. holmes, the host of b.e.t.'s upcoming show "don't sleep" which launches on october 1st. t.j., welcome to the show. >> hey, good evening. good to see you, dyson. didn't expect to be talking to you like this. kind of a reluctant guest in some ways. i didn't expect to be here
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documenting my experience. >> that's all right, my friend. i appreciate you as a very public person coming on here to explain this because millions of people around the world watch you and we want you to help us understand this. so explain what happened during your traffic stop today. >> well, i literally was 1.5 miles from my driveway. the officer had been following me for at least a mile, maybe even a couple, and he was following closely. knew something was up. i anticipated his lights coming on. sure enough, they did. i pulled over and do what i always do, which some people find crazy. i stick my arms out the window and cross my hands like this so that the officer sees my hands. that's just something literally my mother has taught me to do. >> because you're a black man, you don't want them to think you have a gun. >> there you go. i don't want the officer nervous when he walks to the door. sure enough, the only thing he asked for, and i asked specifically several times why was i stopped. he said i want to make sure you have insurance on the car. he even asked me for a bill of sale on the ca
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>> what kind of car is it? >> you know what, a couple things on that. i purposely didn't say what kind of car it was because i didn't think it should matter. if i was in a 2012 bmw or '89 pinto, it shouldn't matter. the other part of that is that really, what difference does it make what kind of car that i was in. so i purposely didn't put that out. i might talk about it later. i didn't think it should matter. he wasn't rude or anything necessarily, but he didn't have a reason for pulling me over. i was, i was frustrated at the time. dyson, and i tweeted about it. i was frustrated at the time. all day today, i have wondered if maybe i made a mistake. if i did something wrong by enflaming people's emotions. by using the phrase driving while black and putting that out, immediately, there were two sizes, clearly polarized on the issue. one side, mothers, fathers, young black men who have gone
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through this experience. and another side that called me a racist. the n word has been thrown around today. been called other names saying there you go using the race card. talk about post-racial country, well, we can't have a conversation about race ever because this is the -- it happens every single time. we go to our corners, we come out, we fight for a round, beat the crap out of each other, and know back to our corners and get ready to fight again and nothing gets done. >> we have 30 seconds left. you're an expert at this, a journalist. what is the nub of the matter? what do we learn from this? >> what we learn is hopefully and the reason i'm talking to you today, there was another young man who got stopped today who didn't have several attorneys ahis contact list he could call. he didn't have an attorney he could go to and say hey, i would like to file a complaint, which i did do today with that police department, but i want to start the conversation, continue the conversation, put a face and name on it, make it real. i'm not naming the