on our website, thelastword.msnbc.com or you can hear more from dorian warren and some of our other guests and you will hear more from me tonight after the show on the very last word. that's it for "the last word." "the ed show" is up next.word." he had eviden the ed show is up next. good evening, americans. i'm in for ed schultz. the miss adventures for mitt romney continues. he managed to create criticism for comments about their economy. we'll have all of the details. this is "the ed show" and as ed would say, let's get to work. >> somebody who spent most of his life in business, i'm particularly impressed with israel's cutting-edge technology and that arriving economy. >> mitt romney thinks that israel's economy is based on culture and the hands of providence. >> dnc chair, debbie was ser man

schultz will weigh in. >> ready to take over. >> dick cheney speaks the truth about sara palin and sparks of family feud with his daughter. >> i think that was a mistake. >> lizz says palin is more qualified than obama. we'll see if jonathon alter agrees. bill clinton is set to play a major role at this year's democratic convention. meanwhile, the gop is running away from bush and cheney. e.j.dionne "the washington post" has the latest. mitt romney's misadventure is now 0-2. he tried to praise israel but it backfired. instead of looking like a president in waiting, he's come off as diplomatically tone deaf, at best. this happened at a fund-raiser in jerusalem. initial leet 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 sheld sheldon adelson, as you come here and see the gdp per capita in israel which is $21,000 and compare that with the gdp per capita just across the areas managed by the palestinian authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality. as i come here and 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. yes, a few other things just might account for the gdp difference. the palestinian president's reaction to romney was swift and severe. through a senior aide, sa saeb erekat. >> mr. romney steps forward and says it's because the israeli

culture is better than the palestinian culture. look, the palestinian and israels are people and equal and such statements does not serve those who are trying to protect and save lives in this region. >> mr. erekat also said that 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 israels themselves. the criticism came from both sides. a political science professor in tel aviv suggested romney's comments can be seen as anti--semitic. you can say it's anti-semitic, jews and money. and his comments were grossly miss characterized. the income disparity between israel and palestine is even greater. but romney and his campaign made other far bigger mistakes.

romney's top foreign policy adviser suggested that romney would support a un rat ter israeli strike against iran. a few minutes later he tried to clarify his remarks. 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 believe how any of this would hope back home. the latest gallup survey shows president obama beating mr. romney from 68 to 25. get your cell phones out. tonight's question, can mitt romney go anywhere without offending people? text a for yes, 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

congressman, debbie was ser man schultz. congresswoman, thank you for being on the show. >> great to be with you. >> did mitt romney do anything for himself a cultural superiority tea over the palestinians, bringing in an ethnic specificity to the debate here? isn't that treading on dangerous territory? >> well, i think what happened here, michael, 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 chief diplomat. the first rule of a 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 the 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 the 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. >> the predicate for politicians as do no harm but secondly, do no fool. you mentioned already the dispute between the israelis and the palestinians. he had nothing to say about that. wasn't that remarkably depression for a leader who showed as stepsable commitment to being a leader of the region?

>> that's to compare president obama's trip to israel when he ran for president. president obama went to israel as a kantd date and what he did was he went to southern israel and met with the families of -- and victims of rocket attacks that were being launched into israel from their neighbors. and not friendly neighbors at that. and that trip informed his policy as president, which is why president obama has stepped up to the plate repeatedly and authorized and pushed through funding for the iron dome missile defense system and then on friday in the oval office signed the israel enhanced security act which adds more funding and more batteries for the deployments around the perimeter of israel because he saw firsthand the impact of those and the harm of those rocket 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 throwing in a few meetings to basically dress up the fact that he wanted to raise some money over there. and that's a really cynical approach to a foreign policy trip. basically, it's disguised -- it's a fund-raiser disguised as a foreign policy trip. >> let's piggyback on what you said. he said today that president obama's administration has been extraordinarily supportive. >> absolutely. and he's repeatedly said that, as has prime minister netanyahu and, that president obama has been a strong israel and israel has no greater friend than president obama. >> absolutely. so the other problem romney has is this considerable inability to articulate a clear message. his chief foreign policy aide suggested and then three hours

later had to walk it back. are they simply in over their heads, congresswoman? >> they really seem to be in over their heads. they have not been able to articulate any foreign policy position on israel and the iran sanctions, mitt romney has absolutely 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 that he's pushed through as president, both international and domestically to ensure that we do everything that we can before you go to a military option. if mitt romney thinks that we should be pursuing a military option against iran, then he should just come out and say it but to dance around it and to essentially pretend that he has a different policy than barack obama is simply ridiculous and continues the distortions and the lies that mitt romney and his supporters have engaged in.

barack obama has said not only will we do everything as a nation tone sure that iran never achieves its nuclear ambition but that we do not have a policy of containment, all options are on the table and president obama, both international and domestically has ensured 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 sampgss at the u.n. that's because barack obama has on the world stage re-established the united states diplomatic relationships that were pretty decimated after the iraq war. mitt romney seems on his way to being hell bent on doing that just as a presidential candidate onseting 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. it was insulting the british in their own country. has the trip accomplished anything for his presidential aspirations that 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's absolutely not ready. not ready for primetime. it's been amateur hour, unfortunately. but i guess that helps us inform voters as they make that very 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 the last 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 really be terribly problematic for the united states. >> all right. thank you for giving us the political low down on whether or not he's ready for primetime. congresswoman debbie was ser man schultz, thank you for your time. >> thank you, michael. answer tonight's question at the bottom of your screen. i want to know what you think. coming up, the cheney family is a house divided and sara palin is the culprit. why the sara palin effect is still rocking the republican party. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet,

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coming up, dick cheney and

his daughter liz disagree over sara palin's qualifications. former president bill clinton will get a prime spot at the national democratic convention but republicans are not willing to embrace the bush years. we'll have the details. a prominent black journalist tweets his run-in with the police. he says he was pulled over while driving because he is black. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter usi using edshow. we'll be right back. 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.

if you're wondering if the gop and look no further than dick cheney's interview with abc

news. the former vice president was asked about the vp selection process and noted that the john mccain selection of sara palin was not well handled. >> i like governor palin. i've met her. i know her. she's an attractive candidate but based on her background -- she had only been governor for, what, two years. i don't think she passed that test. >> being ready? >> 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. rarely do i disagree with the best vp ever but sara palin more qualified than obama and biden combined. huge respect for what she's done for the gop. hence the rapid smackdown of her dad. senator john mccain was also quick to dismiss the 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 view. but i'm proud of what we did. >> who says the republicans can't make ample and liberal use of the retro activity that romney has so recently accessed going back four years and mccain getting back at cheney for torture. we, he said, being the key word. john mccain's legacy is forever linked to sara palin. let's turn to jonathon alter, msnbc political analyst and columnist for "bloomberg view ". jonathan, are republican candidates still afraid of the power weilded by the tea party

ring? it seems they are still a bit shaky by them and nervous. >> no question about that but this was cheney family business. liz cheney lives in virginia but wants to run for the u.s. senate from wyoming and there are a lofty party folks and palin supporters 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 sara palin or the tea party. they are going to have a very fine line to walk on this, michael, at their convention, because they are not giving palin a big role and we'll see that. >> if she's important, why not

give her a bigger role or at least a role at all to play before the cameras so that she can secure that particular element of the party? >> because they are worried about what pat buchanan did to the republican party 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 sara palin's not very popular in this country, especially with certain constituencies that they are trying to woo. mitt romney is in israel trying to get jewish votes in the united states. obama got 78% of jews the last time, in large part because sara palin was on the ticket. so if he wants those jewish votes in ohio and florida, mitt romney wants to move away from sara palin. on the other hand, if he moves too far away, he alienates the palin supporters in states like iowa that he's going to need for his base. >> sure.

>> so he's in a tough spot on palin. >> very difficult spot there. does liz cheney do harm saying that sara palin is more qualified than obama and biden combined? >> that was kind of over the top. she was trying to clean up for her old man and show her loyalty to sara palin and the tea party folks. they should not be underestimated. 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 on his ear and ended his political career. you know what his sin was, michael? he talked to a democrat.

senator ron wyden, they worked together on a piece of 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 of vote efforts with the rank and file. and 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 very far away from their agenda as president. >> that's a big dilemma. when it comes to picking the vice president, dick cheney told abc news that there are two lists to consider. >> the tough part is the small list, the one under active consideration and the test to get on that small list has to be s. this person capable of being president of the united states? and that's usually a very, very short list.

>> well, jonathan, dick cheney ought to know. he picked himself off the short list. is there any chance he will want to choose another game changing pick like sarah palin? >> most people think that romney will go with a safe pick. everybody also fights the last war in politics. so 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's got some experience now that he's been governor of louisiana for a while, trying to go for an out of the box choice, somebody who would pass that test of being a plausible president which palin's two years as governor did not get her. she's also not as smart as

jindal. so they could go that direction. oftentimes it is not the person that the press most speculates about. there's a long history of this in both parties. so folks that in trade should get pretty skeptical of anybody 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. a political could be conservative and also a safe choice. >> jonathon alter, thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks, michael. nerks, bill clinton will play a key role at the democratic convention. e.j. dionne will way in on that. plus, playing dumb. mitt romney gives an interesting excuse why he won't reveal his tax rate. his newest nonanswer when we come back. [ male announcer ] every day, the world gets more complex.

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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 monday car from bill wit thers. clinton will play a bigger role at this year's convention in charlotte, north carolina. he will make the case for be a second obama term. the former president is 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 feels our 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 be attending the republican convention in tampa, which is is odd, considering romney's economic advisers were bush's economic advisers. according to one official, romney's policies are bush's policies, just updated. come to think of it, romney rarely invokes the good old bush's. >> the major planks of your job plan, lower taxes, both corporate and marginal rates and reduce regulation, explain how

that would be different than what george w. bush tried to put through. >> my policies are different than anything you've seen in the past. they are designed for a new america that has 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, george w. bush, say my name? i'm joaned by e.j. dionne and author of the book "follmy poli heart. >> bill clinton has given a marquise for the convention. will this be a tale of two conventions? >> it's certainly a tale of two presidencies. if you think about it n. the 16 years before barack obama took

office, we had two presidents and 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? and 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 branch -- 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 and 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 plas voters. if romney doesn't have a margin of around 25% in this group, he's in trouble. if obama can only lose by 15%, he's in good shape. bill clinton can reach those voter. the second thing is, whose tax

rates are -- 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 the clinton rates sure have fond memories of the economy in the clinton years. >> whatever you said about him, at least your pocketbook was in good shape and the bottom line was being observed. >> clinton measures, is that effective or very, very effective? >> i think the second. bill clinton had something in common with ronald reagan. the two of them both knew how to make an argument. i think a the lo 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 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 and i think that's what they are doing here, too. >> they are political sermonizers, right? you tell them what you're going to tell them, then you tell them, then you tell them what you told them. it seems to me bill clinton is expert at that. four years ago obama was not invoking ronald reagan, as you say, speaking of someone who could give that kind of speech. what does this full embrace of clinton say of a shot so subtle shift? >> well, you know, 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 cloiinton and he went o of his way to say that he shifted the party 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 those folks were bill clinton people. so i have never seen the big ideological gulf that some people see between barack obama and bill clinton. the obama campaign and the primaries in '08 probably wanted to make it look a little bigger because he was running against hillary clinton at times, particularly on the iraq war. i think these guys are very close in their view of the war. >> no doubt about it. we'll see how close during that convention as well. e.j. dionne, thank you so much. >> it's great to be with you. a lot more coming up in the next half hour on "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. >> i don't pay more than i legally do and frankly if i had paid more than i legally do, i don't think i'd be qualified to become president.

in tonight's dyson-ary, through the candidacy of mitt romney. >> and journalists t.j. holmes tweeted that he was pulled over while driving while black. tonight, holmes will weigh in on the race debate. sweetie, you have to scrub it first.

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a cascade product has been chosen by consumers hey america, even though slisa rinna is wearing the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too. 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. >> ain't got a calculator that big. so romney's endured weeks of pressure about his taxes on

every network and in every major newspaper, everyone from president obama to george has weighed in and romney says he just hasn't had the time to check his tax rate. let's bring in joy-ann reid, john and emily, executive director of the young democrats of america. mr. bramrick, i've got to ask you, are we really supposed to believe that romney hasn't had time to check his tax rate? >> president obama only paid 20% as oon 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. >> first, i have no problem with the fact that romney is successful. and if that's the rit sichl, that's exactly what we want in america, people who are successful, do we want to stop charitable deductions? what is wrong with doing what is

legally responsible. >> i asked a question -- you're giving great detail but romney has not answered the simple question, did you or didn't you. joy-ann re dichlt. didn't romney have to calculate his tax rate when he filed his return? >> i folked on -- one of the things that i focused on is that when he was asked further, sort of more probing questions about this, he said, the accounting firm that does my taxes, the accounting firm -- most people i know will say, the guy, the turbotax that does my taxes. he's got an entire accounting firm that does his taxes. romney is so rich, he has like eight degrees of separation -- >> it takes a village. >> it takes aville age. >> and a firm. >> romney says he doesn't know his tax rate but he knows he pays a lot. listen to this. >> the tax rate paid year by year, i pay a very substantial amount of taxes and every year

since the beginning of my career, so far as i can recall. >> so romney pays a substantial amount but it could be less than most middle class americans, right? >> sure. you know, a substantial amount, as the law requires, let's just end all of this dancing around. americans are looking for authenticity and to be spoken to like he represents them. mitt romney not releasing them for fear that they are going to look through them, you are not respecting people and i think people see through this. >> mr. ramnick, you understand that. you're a politician. you have the trust of people at heart. don't you think the refusal to answer goes to the issue of trust and respect and decency? >> even if he releases his tax

returns, i assume you're going to pick it apart any way. if people want to pay more than legally required, the president could pay another 10% and follow the buffett rule. there's options for everybody who wants to pay more that's not legally required. >> but joy-ann, if you've not nothing to hide, what are you hiding for? >> exactly. trying to run for president by telling americans as little about himself as possible. he won't talk about his govern shorship of massachusetts. he doesn't want to talk about bain. he sengs eely wants to be the brand x that somehow gets into the white house but what he doesn't understand is that the american people want to know who they are voting for and he really leads nothing positive for people to look for on the ballot in november. >> so you didn't even set that up but we're going to talk about him in the first dyson-ary. miss sussman, you made an interesting point about the

politics and respect. do you think that will affect who the young people will vote for? >> absolutely. if you look at a president who has grown up understanding the issue that so many young people are facing today and you look at a man who is running who -- he really does not act like he respects young people. speaking to college students in ohio, dea major flip-flop a few weeks ago when the stafford rates were looking to double. he said, have as much school you can pay for when a young person said how they should pay for it, he says, ask your parents and then he flip-flops and says, i definitely support the rates not doubling. that's not showing the respect. that's not showing the respect that you understand the young people in america. >> speaking of disrespect, i want to ask mr. bamnick, how do you think the adventure overseas is going? >> i think they respect him as a

businessman, his success in running the olympics. >> whats about b as a diplomat representing the interests and values of america? >> i think if you blow up small, little statements -- and the media is good at that -- you can 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. >> he's receipt tore clee blowing himself snup. >> it depends on which statement you watch, each media has a different angle on that. in essence, i think he's a very capable person as a governor as well as a president. >> joy-ann reid, what do you think? >> i don't think it depended on what brilt tissue media you were watching. and then he goes today to israel and essentially says that the israeli culture is superior to

that and the palestinians. he's 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 ann-rein, jonathan bramnick, and emily tisch sussman, thank you. are so amazingly good, you'll get lost in an all-beef hot dog world. what was i supposed to wish for? why am i wearing a bow-tie? where did i leave my bicycle? after all, when you're enjoying the beefiest, juciest bite of pure kosher beef, nothing else matters. goodness gracious, that's kosher. with no fillers, by-products, artificial flavors or colors. hebrew national. the better-than-a-hot dog- hot dog.

up next, i'm cracking open my dyson-ary to help define mitt romney's campaign. what effect has the ee lx of president obama had on race relations in this country? i'm talk with journalist t.j. holmes. stay tuned. as the world around it. with the available lexus enform app suite, you can use opentable to make restaurant reservations... search with bing... and listen to pandora. presenting the 2013 lexus gs, rx and the all-new es,

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as many of you know, i've been a university professor for nearly a quarter of a century but you may not know before that as a kid in the ghetto of detroit, my

school plates teased me as brainiac. as a 10-year-old i won a couple of spelling bees and contests as well. i gas you can 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. those are the days when a kid had to turn to the wonder of the worded world. now you just google it. the merriam-webster dictionary was my favorite. tonight i want to introduce you to the dyson-ary. get it? dyson dictionary. tonight's word is obfuscate defined through the candidacy of mitt romney. here's a quick example. >> i can tell you we follow the tax laws and if there's an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in this country, will follow that opportunity. doing away with redundancy in

government and shifting programs to the economic player who deliver the best. these are the serious steps towards getting our debt and spending under control that i'm going to take. >> you've asked quite a few questions there. so let's go through. i didn't involve myself in any way with bain capital's there. i didn't involve 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. 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

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yeah, and i took on all the bigger, tougher ones. but now that mr. clean's got this new select-a-size magic eraser, i mean, he can take on any size job. look how easily he gets things cleaned. it's enough to make you cry. you, specifically. not me. i'm just happy we don't go near rex's mobile home as often. because it's hard to clean or because you're scared of an itty-bitty doggy? [ dog barks ] aah! oh! [ clears throat ] yeah, that was a sneeze. i think i sprayed myself. [ male announcer ] new mr. clean select-a-size magic eraser. lets you pick the right size for every job. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. racial discrimination is a part of america that is hidden in plain sight. it's felt on a daily basis by millions of americans, and in

one basis today it was felt by a public individual and documented in a very 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 wrongdoing. he kept a running account of the traffic stop while on twitter. driving while jack ain't no joke. later he updated, officer's reason for pulling me over. wanted to make sure you had insurance on the car. i kid you not. 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 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 documenting my experience, which i know, as i mentioned, so many other young people probably went through just today. >> 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. >> you do it because you're a black man. you don't want them to think you have a gun or anything. >> 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 car. >> 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 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 ever gets done. >> we have 30 seconds left. you're an expert at this. you're a journalist. in 30 seconds. what's the nub of this matter? what do we learn from this? >> well, what we learn is, hopefully, and the reason i'm talking to you today is there was another young man who got stopped today who didn't have several attorneys on his contact list that 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 officer. i'm not naming the police department just yet because i want to go to them and try the make an improvement in my local community before i just put them on blast. hopefully having this conversation, putting my name and face on it, gets it out there and makes it more real to