ryan's hardline position on abortion. romney has set the table for himself. he's made too many deals with the right that he cannot disentangle himself from. he's one of the people now he's gotten in bed with. and that, ladies and gentlemen is a fact. that's "hardball" for now, thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts now. thanks for tuning in. tonight the storms of tampa. weather forecasters say there's a strong possibility that tropical storm isaac will hit tampa or near tampa on monday. that's just as the republican national convention is scheduled to begin. it's a serious story and we'll be watching closely to see how it could impact this important week for the romney campaign. but there's another storm, a political storm that's already landed and blowing the

romney/ryan effort off message. four days after todd akin's legitimate rape comments matters only got worse today. as the issue of abortion continued to sidetrack a campaign that was supposed to be about the economy. mike huckabee turned on his party in defending todd akin. and we learned the romney campaign is telling reporters, do not ask the candidate about this issue. just what is going on with the republicans? joining me now, steve carnacki. and patricia murphy. thank you both for joining me. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> steve, let me start with you, governor huckabee is scheduled to speak on monday night. how is that going to go down? here's what this governor wrote, governor huckabee to support us today. now, reading the e-mail he sent, from the spotlight of political

offices and immediamedia crutch may appear akinthe demand for as head is universal in the party. it is not. we don't like to see a fellow political pilgrim bullied. if todd akin loses the senate seat, i will not blame todd akin, he made a mistake. he was man enough to admit it and apologize. i'm waiting for the apology from whomever was the genius on the high pedestals of our party who thought it wise not only to shoot our wounded but to run over him with tanks and trucks and feed his body to the liberal wolves. strong, strong language. we must remember, now, this is not a blog or commentator. this is the man that came in

number two to the nominee. christopher cage four years ago, and who's speaking on opening night. >> right. >> how is that going to play out? >> well, the back story here is, todd akin basically, nobody in the quote/unquote republican establishment backed todd akin in the primary. except mike kuk ka bee. there's personal loyalty there too. mike huckabee nurses a grudge about how that 2008 campaign went. he believes he would have won that primary if he had more money. he thought the big money in the republican party didn't like him, lined up behind mccain, he has this resentment of the big money class of the republican party, and he sees them trying to intimidate the guy who he was with in the primary. he's rallying to his defense. the significance is pretty huge. the republicans are trying to basically. they're trying to get in the race. the way they're trying to do it is to deny him money. the nrfc said -- they're basically trying to put the word out there, we're not going to

have financial support for this guy if he stays in the race. with huckabee realigning his support like this, it opens up the possibility of grassroots money not only coming out, but being there for him. >> with huckabee coming out, who is a major player in the party, are we seeing a major split in the party just days before the republican convention? and how do you deal with huckabee on the stage opening night? >> we are absolutely starting to see a split here. it's not just mike huckabee, the family research council has come out and said they're supporting fod akin, the susan b. anthony list. also supporting todd akin. and a split within the republican party is the story line that mitt romney has wanted to avoid since he got into the race in the first place, and the chance that there is a story line of a divided fighting republican party, they're not even fighting about mitt romney, they're fighting about this other guy. they're fighting about todd

akin. for the fight to break open on the monday night of the convention is the worst case scenario for mitt romney. what they're going to have to do is get together with mike huckabee before he goes on, he's a man who says what he wants. he's not beholden to anybody, most especially not mitt romney, he's going to say what he wants. the romney campaign is going to have to get mike huckabee under control. that's a difficult thing to do, mike huckabee has no reason to become under control. >> it's not only huckabee, patricia, you're starting to see a lot of the social conservatives starting to begin the rally. we're seeing a real split here. and then at the same time, we're now hearing romney aides telling reporters, don't even raise the question. we saw today that mr. romney had banned reporters from asking him about abortion or akin. denver reporter and political

specialist sean boyd explained this today. listen. >> you were one of only four local reporters to get to talk to him. what did you ask? >> i had about five mints with him, we got through a fair amount of material in that five minutes. one stipulation was that i not ask him about abortion or todd akin, the missouri republican who created a firestorm after saying women's bodies shut down in a legitimate rape to prevent health care. i did ask him about health care, the female vote and energy. >> we have romney people telling reporters don't ask the question -- the guy that came in number two in the primaries, splitting the party on this. not a good forecast for -- before the convention start. >> no, they don't want this spilling over to the convention. the thing that republicans remember, is the nightmare scenario, what happened in 1992,

when they gave a prime time speech. lots of pat buchanan. that's the speech where pat buchanan talked about how there is a culture war in america, really turned off people, really alienated people. they don't want mike huckabee as a friendlier voice, they don't want mike huckabee or anyone else riling up delegates, when you look at these delegates, they're far more conservative. the ring -- far more conservative than the image that republican strategists want to be painting for the rest of the country. they don't want anyone getting up to the podium who's going to rile up the delegates, and bring back memories what have happened in 1992, that really scared off swing voters. >> patricia, help me here, i don't want all of this inside baseball. we are talking about a candidate who needs to come up in the women's vote significantly. and we are talking about what akin said is outrageous to women, even republican women.

doesn't this at all play into the conversation. it's almost as if they're oblivious to the insult that was stated by mr. akin. >> i think that they are not oblivious to the insult that todd akin had for all women. and that is why the romney campaign dumped him overboard as soon as he said it. that's why the nrsc dumbed him overboard. 2,000 voters were women. 53% of the voters nationwide were women. barack obama won that race. you have to know that republicans understand fully that you cannot go in to a national election with a 15 point deficit among women and expect to win the election. that's why they're trying everything they can to back pedal from what has been stated publicly from todd akin. but what many republicans actually believe to be true in terms of which cases you should not have an exception for when it comes to abortion.

this has always been the very tense underlying tension for the romney campaign. this just happens to be the catalyst that's busting wide open. you're not going to win this election without winning much more of the women's vote than mitt romney has right now. >> the back pedalling just got jammed with huckabee bringing this public, now they're going to have to defend it or confront huckabee. they're going into the convention with this and the obama campaign couldn't be happier. i mean, you couldn't have -- you couldn't have dreamed that this could happen. in fact, one official calls it hurricane todd today to reporters. let me read you what one of the officials of the obama campaign said. i think hurricane todd has already born down on tampa, and the damage has been done. it highlighted what is completely out of step, out of touch, republican party when it comes to these issues, and i don't think they can put the genie back in the bottle, even if they put akin off the ticket. >> yeah, you know, and i would

respectfully disagree with something patricia just said. it's true the romney/ryan ticket has distanced itself from todd akin. they didn't do it immediately, this story started on sunday afternoon. the initial response, the initial official response from the romney campaign was retepid, very hesitant. what it was -- what it signalled to me was -- >> it was sunday night. >> it wasn't until monday he gave the interview to the national review. it signalled to me, he was waiting for other conservative leaders, other republican leaders to take the first shot to make sure it was safe. that indicates to me something we've seen a lot in this campaign, how unsure mitt romney is with his relationship with his own party's base. he wants to make sure it's safe before he says anything. that shows you what a sensitive issue this is with that base. >> it's going to be interesting. patricia murphy, steve kornacki, thank you for your time tonight. >> and catch steve on the cycle week days at 3:00 p.m. eastern

right here on msnbc. coming up, republicans have been longing for the good old days under bill clinton. well, be careful what you wish for. the new ads starring clinton should have the romney team worried. and we all know paul ryan loves stimulus money. but who knew he also had a thing for military stimulus. all that plus my exclusive interview with oscar winner jamie foxx and ron howard. wait until you hear their take on the election. you're watching "politicsnation" only on msnbc. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment.

across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today.

oscar winners jamie foxx and ron howard on politics, and why there doesn't seem to be any compromise any more. my interview with these two hollywood heavyweights coming up. [ male announcer ] this is the land of giants. ♪ home of the brave. ♪ it's where fear goes unwelcomed... ♪ and certain men... find a way to rise above. this is the land of giants.

♪ guts. glory. ram. welcome back to "politicsnation." in just 75 days, voters head to the poll. do we want to live in a country where the middle class thrives or is driven to the brink by handout to the rich and special interests. that's what november 6 season going to be all about. today, during a speech on energy independence, we got a further

idea of whose side governor romney is on. >> offshore drilling. we're going to add about 2 million barrels a day . alaska. another sources in alaska, that will add additional oil production in this country. >> i wonder what shape that energy policy. could it be the $10 million mr. romney rigged in from big oil over the past two days? or the fact that his chief energy adviser is an oklahoma oil billionaire who's donated a million dollars to the romney super pack? what about the oil rich koch brothers who vowed to spend $400 million this election. these are the people mr. romney is looking out for. his ticket would give big oil over $2 billion in new tax breaks while raising taxes on

the middle class. how's that for priorities. this is what this election is all about. a new study out today says this has been a lost decade for the middle class. the middle class has shrunk. and on top of that, they've gotten poorer. their net worth has dropped by 28%. this isn't time to give more to big oil. or the time to pump up the rich. it's time to build up the middle class. >> when you look at the history of this country, we didn't grow through topdown economics, we grew through middle class out economics. we grew from bottom up economics, we grew together where everybody got a fair shot, and everybody's doing their fair share. and everybody's playing by the same set of rules. that's the choice in this election. >> america, the choice is yours. joining me now is joan walsh, editor at large with salon.com and an msnbc political analyst.

and author of the new book "what's the matter with white people"? . and jonathan kitdrop. joan, let me start with you, in your new book, you write extensively about the middle class. it seems that the romney/ryan ticket makes your point. and that is that the gop is really stuck in the past. >> well, i love hearing the president talk about the way we built the middle class from the top up we really made a lot of decisions after the war to build that vast middle class. we made unions easier to organize. we gave people lots of help going to college, buying homes. the president sees a way for us to do again. the policies that have been pursued under the bush

administration in that decade really took money away from the middle class, and of every race, but particularly blacks and latinos, and really have -- are making everyone more pessimistic about what the future's going to hold for their children. >> now, jonathan, when you hear joan talk about the pessimism, you look at the polls, american people know the president would protect the middle class while romney would not. who helps the poor? obama 62%. romney 33%. who helps the middle class? 52% obama, romney 42%. who helps the wealthy? 38% obama, romney 71%. it's real clear to the american people from these polls. it's not even close who's on what side.

>> right. this gets at the heart of president obama's campaign. he talked about how the middle class built this country. and he's trying to get the country back on the right path. the way to do that is strengthening the middle class. it pays into that ad featuring president bill clinton talking about what the president's trying to do about the middle class. the great thing about that ad, yes, you use probably the gatest asset that the democratic party has in the former president, but also, he is a visual reminder of what times were like when this country actually had a surplus. when the only limit on the possibilities happening in america and for middle class families, not just middle class families was the sky. and so you look back on the last ten years and see what happened to that surplus. deficits and wars, having bill clinton out there to remind people that it is possible for the middle class in particular

to thrive in america. that it's possible. >> we're talking about bill clinton later in the show. but let me ask you this, joan. when vice president biden was at an event yesterday, for whatever reason, he talked about a discussion in their ads about middle class americans. and he kind of mocked them saying, now they've discovered the middle class. listen to the vice president. >> ryan was elected to the congress in 1998 during a democratic administration. we had a balanced budget. and the middle class was thriving. the day we were sworn in, we inherited a deficit for $1 trillion before the president sat behind his desk. and the middle class that was devastated.

and now -- and now, it's amazing, they discovered the middle class, and they care about it. >> they discovered they care about it, what -- to be fair, so people don't think it was partisan, in an interview with time magazine, governor romney had an interesting reason, because he challenged on -- tell us what deductions you would make on taxes. what wu do that would be fair? his answer was "i know our democrat friends would love to have me specify one or two so they could amass a special interest to fight that effort. the way you're going to talk about your tax plan and fairness and the middle class is to say, i'm not going to be specific because my opponents would oppose it? >> i'm not going to be specific and we're not going to talk about abortion. and i'm not going to release my tax returns. this is a refrain of the romney campaign, reverend al. and the media, it's a question whether the media will get away

with it, the thing i like about the president and vice president biden are doing. one of the things that i stress in my book, is despite the fact that government, we together built the middle class, a lot of white people in my experience don't quite see those programs as being government help. what i think the president -- >> what do you mean by -- see what program? >> programs like the g.i. bill, programs that they were -- that mortgages were insured. the inner state highway let white people -- white america drive out to -- >> all government money? >> all government money, government made that decision. we built vast public universities which we no longer build. we made that commitment, but people took it for granted and now act as though, we didn't have any help, so why should other people have help. i feel like the president and vice president are finally -- to some extent talking about that legacy of what we all did together that this is an american value. this isn't something that they're inventing this goes back

to what our grandparents and great grandparents did for us that we need to do for the future generation. >> jonathan, the governor didn't stop without saying he wasn't going to lay out his specifics because of his opponents. he also said in an interview, another interview, though. that fact checkers had debunked his welfare claims. here's what he said. fact checkers on both sides of the aisle will look in the way they think is most consistent with their own views. now, i mean -- i thought fact checkers check facts. and the idea of a fact checker, we're not talking about views. what is he talking about? >> well, he's trying to get away with continuing to run an ad. now, two ads, maybe even three ads by now, making a false claim

about what the president has done. and the obama administration has done in terms of welfare and the work requirements. he's saying that the administration has done away with them, and everyone under the sun from here at the washington post, the new york times, everyone has said that that is dem on straably false. for mitt romney to cast doubt on an authority like that, fact checkers is really kind of -- not kind of, it's shameful, because if people -- if there's no authority for anyone to turn to to say what is right or wrong, then what you have is mayhem. >> exactly, joan walsh, jonathan capeheart, i have to leave it there. thanks for your time tonight. >> thanks. >> joan, congratulations on your new book and best of luck. >> thanks. the clinton factor looms large over team romney. the ad everyone is talking about. plus, the romney team has a

medicare problem. here come the scare tactics, the facts are coming. stay with us. if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. it may be a sign that your digestive system could be working better. listen to this. with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system, causing discomfort. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day.

7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! ♪ activia

have you joined us on facebook yet? the plucksnation conversation is going on all day long. our facebook family was buzzing about president clinton and the new ad he did for the obama

campaign. president chin wiclinton will ba big difference in this election. he's glad to see him coming out speaking on behalf of president obama's objective. barbara calls him the best ally ever. while president obama can call on bill, romney is running for bush. we've got more on president clinton's impact on the race coming up. but we want to hear what you think first. head over to facebook and search politics nation and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. we hope to see you there. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine

and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbaa.lt dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer.

we're back on politics nation. bill clinton's career has been so strong, that even republicans have been trying to get a piece of it. for months, governor romney has

publicly held bill clinton out as the shining example of a democrat. the praise just kept on coming. >> president clinton, remember he said the era of big government was over, president obama brought it back with a vengeance, president clinton made efforts to reform welfare as we know it. president obama's trying to tirelessly expand the welfare state. >> who knew bill clinton was a republican's democrat. but mr. romney's real strategy was to drive a personal wedge between president clinton and president obama. >> president obama tucked away the clinton doctrine in his large drawer of discarded ideas. it's enough to make you wonder it was a personal beef with the clintons, but it runs much deeper than that. >> personal beef with the clintons, where does he come up with this stuff? make no mistake about it, they've had a complex relationship over the years. president clinton is going to bat for president obama in a big

way. he'll have a speaking role at the convention. and today he's featured in a new add. >> this election to me is about which candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. this is a clear choice. the republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper income people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us in trouble in the first place. president obama has a plan to rebuild america from the ground up. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that's what happened when i was president. >> now, that ad will run in eight key states, including six that president clinton won overwhelmingly 16 years ago. here's reverend al's advice to the republicans. be careful what you wish for. joining me now is ryan grim, washington bureau chief of the huffington post. and alicia menendez, host and producer at huffpostlive.

thanks for being here tonight. >> thank you. >> did the republicans make a mistake trying to make bill clinton their own? >> i think they made a mistake in underestimating the obama's campaign ability to publicly jujitsu this. clinton has almost 70% approval ratings. i think that came out in your recent nbc poll. he's really a huge political asset. i think that the republicans understatemented obama's willingness to embrace bill clinton, to bring him into the fold. to use him as the perfect surrogate to articulate the difference between the democratic vision for america and the republicans. >> now, when you look at the fact that on that poll that she referred, to that alicia referred to. bill clinton is probably the most popular american politician around to date. 57% of americans have a positive view of clinton.

more than any other american politician on that poll. >> he was extremely popular as a president. and as people get further away from their terms, their popularity seems to rise. it even happened to nixon, and it's happening somewhat to gourge w. bush. i'm sure 10, 20 years, he'll get a little more benefit of that distance. when people look back at the 90s, real wages actually rose somewhat for the first time in several decades. things were pretty good. there was a tech bubble that helped things along, and then -- which then fed into a housing bubble which collapsed and blew everything up, and people are reminded by this that things blew up on bush's watch. i think they're trying to create this contrast without bringing up bush, because the obama campaign thinks they can't mention him specifically, because then they'll get accused

of trying to pass off blame. clinton is sort of a clever way of reminding people what things were like five, ten years ago. >> not only a clever way, but a credible way. a senior obama official has told nbc news that clinton is key to the president's re-election campaign. he says we believe he's an important messenger and obviously he's going to play a significant role in our convention and beyond our convention because of his credibility on the issues. now, the president has also proven to be a great campaigner for president obama. just listen. >> i care about the long term debt of the country a lot. remember me, i'm the only guy that gave you four surplus budgets out of the eight i sent. so i hope what i say to you will have some weight.

i don't think it's important to re-elect the president. i think it is essential to re-elect the president if we want this country to have the kind of future that our children and grandchildren deserve. >> you have to have the right captain of the ship. and i am depending on you to take care of future generations. by making sure that that captain is president barack obama. >> quite effective campaign, don't you think? >> i love when bill clinton is fired up and ready to go. if you want to be an incumbent, there's only one way to do it, make it a referendum on the incumbent. that's what they've been trying to do since the primary and failing. by choosing paul ryan, the romney campaign made this a clearer choice. that's the language that you see in this ad. it's a clear choice. can you either choose republicans, and i think they did a diplomatic laying out of republican policies, tax breaks for wealthy americans, less

regulation, i think republicans would agree with that characterization, and then have you a democratic vision which has to do with innovation, job training. now it is no longer a referendum, it's a choice and there's no better messenger to deliver that choice than bill clinton. >> ryan, when we look at the fact that this ad by bill clinton will be playing in some key swing states, including florida where the race is close. have you president obama at 49 to 46. pretty close. the clinton ad will play in the state of ohio, where the president is leading a six point margin. this ad could be very effective in these key states, swing states, wouldn't you think? >> sure. i mean clinton brings out some of the places where obama is the weakest, which is the white working class. clinton just has this ability to

connect with voters, and he's extremely good, probably better than any other democrat alive today of making the case for democratic policies. his -- you know, you know that his speech in charlotte is going to be a good one. he's going to lay out -- use his years like he did there, and say, i had four years of surpluses, then we went into a deficit. and he's -- he's just a tremendously effective campaigner, there's no question about it. now, you know, it's interesting that he brought up deregulation, because as you remember, and we were all critical of it at the time, the clinton administration deregulated wall street a lot, and moved the party toward wall street, something that it paid for over the next couple years. >> yeah, we were critical. but the facts are facts, and when clinton left office, aleash yarks there was a $236 billion

budget surplus, when george w. bush left, his successor, there was a debt of $11.9 trillion. those are the facts. >> yeah. and it's easy to understand those facts, if you understand basic math. you did not increase revenue. we spent money on two wars, republicans were reckless in their domestic spending and that is how you blow a surplus and end up in debt. without even needing to invoke the bush name, i think he managed to hail back to those times and help americans remember how things were and how they can be again. >> ryan grim and alicia menendez thank you both for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. coming up, oscar winners jamie foxx and ron howard on the election and fairness. my interview with those two hollywood heavyweights coming up. and who did we catch singing on our plaza this morning? the answer is next in your summer break. ♪

why not use all your vacation days this year? get points you can easily redeem for your vacations, with chase sapphire preferred. of more than 550 miles you'll inevitably find yourself on a desolate highway in your jeep grand cherokee. and when you do, you'll be grateful for the adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts your speed when approaching slower traffic. and for the blind-spot monitor... [ beeping ] ...that helps remind you that the highway might not be as desolate... as you thought. ♪

get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. we're back with a pause from the political battles of the day. a time to rest, relax and recharge. that's right, it's time for the politicsnation summer break. we start off with one pumped up baby. he flexes those little muscles with some creative pullups.

i love to see such healthy habits at a young age. this guy doesn't need p90x. and we close out on the plaza with the "today" show's summer concert series, look closely in that crowd. who's that in the middle? it's a politics nation regular joe crawly of new york. he even knows all the words. he tweeted his kids are huge fans. looks like he is too. if you ask me, the congressman has got to bring some of that fun back to the house floor this fall. speaker boehner, do you have that jobs plan ready? if so, call me, maybe. and that's today's summer break. this attractive graph...

that our sales have increased by... sorry, my liege. honestly. our sales have increased by 20%. what is this mystical device i see before me? it's an ultrabook. he signed the purchase order. vo: with an ultrabook, everything else seems old fashioned. introducing the ultra sleek, ultra responsive ultrabook. a whole new class of computers powered by intel.

we're back now with my conversation with two hollywood heavyweights. they're both creatively at the top of their game, both oscar winners, produced in, starred in hollywood's biggest blockbusters. in our wide ranging discussion, they shared views about same sex marriage, presidential politics, and fairness. both talked about what they think the country and what's going on in the country and why it's so divided. and told me what they think politicians can do to bring people together. listen to jamie . >> i think we have to challenge our politicians to sort of get beyond themselves and their own agenda. because at the top, no matter what happens, the if people are still suffering, the lower class and the middle class are still suffering, we're still in

trouble. we can't survive with just the top. we're not able to do that, now we're not america any more, we buck something else. you look at that farmer or that person that works a regular job, we have to constantly think, we ask our politicians to constantly think about the regular person. when i look at america now, it's that we seem to make those people that do regular things, push them to the background. >> this meeting in the middle idea, i keep thinking this there ought to be something called the militant middle. how do you get anything done without compromise? you don't build anything, you don't make a movie, without -- people arguing, having their differences, but somehow saying, we need to get this done, so let's not stand in our corners, and argue about it. let's build something. and that's -- that's how you really make your mark. that's how you really make your mark. not just staying in your little click, your little world.

president clinton once said to me, when he was still in his first term. i said, what surprised you the most about being president? he said, it's that the media won't allow you to a centrist idea. in order to be heard and make noise and even get your idea thought about, it forces you to move to one direction or the other. and that's not how problems get solved. so somehow we need our politicians to get in the business of solving our problems. and if they're not doing that, then somehow they're not doing their job. >> i was teasing obama, we went over -- i said in '08 when he was running, you had to explain me, now i got to explain you. they made you the demon. it's crazy. i mean, it's like -- it's nuts. >> you know what it is. it's like -- what i've noticed is that in politics, it doesn't come down to main issues, comes

down to what issue can i find that a group of people are passionate about, and then drive the wedge. and, therefore, if i keep driving that wedth, whether it's prochoice or gun laws, if i drive that wedge we can take them off what the real situation is. >> we're with you, but this thing -- same sex marriage. i say people have a right to do what they want to do, whether i agree or not. how many gays at your church asked you to do the wed something he said none. i said then what are you getting all excited about. >> i'll take it a step further, my daughter was 13, she's 18 now. and same sex marriage came up five years ago. and i asked a group of 13-year-olds in a limo on their way to some justin bieber -- whatever, i said what do you think about it. my daughter goes dad can we be

honest? grown people are worried about that we don't care. we don't think about it. my friends are gay, some are girls, some are guys. and i was -- she was teaching me, because i was like, eh? she said we don't care at all. she said, that's why we don't want to be a part of politics, we don't feel that you guys are going to listen, because you already have in your mind what it is. you're just asking questions. but you don't want the real answers. we're telling you that this is how we feel, and so sometimes i think it may be good to have people that are 13 or 14 years old to just say, hey, you don't need to trip about that until we do get to a certain point in our age, and then all of a sudden you have to go with the majority of the people you're with. >> that's a little disappointing about the baby boomer generation to me. we were this bunch that was supposed to have this vision, belief, progressive set of

ideas. and for that same group to flip around and do a 180 out of -- especially when so much of this is inspired by -- really irrational kind of selfish thinking, and when you say that -- when you make that point about, you know, choose an issue and drive it, it seems to me that, you know, the people who are in the world of politics, who are making all these decisions, they're creating these campaign ideas, these strat guys. they must be just saying, we know that, you know, there's a whole sea of people who are just going to think this is crazy. but the people that we're going to solidify our base by driving this crazy idea over. and there's a bunch of other people in the middle that are leaning our way, and they'll forgive us. they know better. but they're going to forgive us. and i can't -- i have to believe that these people are thinking

that -- in that cynical way. >> you're right. >> for anybody out there that's watching this program or anybody that can hear our voices. don't get it twisted. this is the best country to live in. we've all travelled. we've been all over the world. the freedoms we have here. even the freedom to question at any point, i can say, whatever about my president or about my mayor, my governor or whatever it is, and not worry about someone coming and dragging me into the street and doing whatever -- i have to be able to say, there's some things i agree with you on your side, some things you agree on our side, if we do this, we can get back to getting people jobs, and also, i hate to take up too much time, but also bringing jobs back here. so when we're doing this, we're taking people's ideas. no politics or anything like that, we want to see how you feel and respect each person. >> thanks to ron howard and jamie foxx for coming on the show.

we'll be right back. [ lenn if take anafn.ic on wi cor 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.

just two aleve can keep pain away all day. until i had the shingles. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. it's something you never want to encounter. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover.

as we see more and more of congressman paul ryan, we're starting to get a measure of demand. i'm not so sure he's measuring up. he's criticizing the $600 billion in defense cuts. set to go into effect in january. okay, that's fair. he claims to be a budget cutter. but surprise, surprise, he says its president obama's fault. >> president obama's reckless defense cuts that are hanging over our cloud, hanging over the horizon. >> reckless, irresponsible defense cuts, a result of the president's failed leadership. >> defense spending is not half of all federal spending, but it's half of the cuts approximately in this. we disagreed with that then, we disagree with it now. >> time out. when did these become the president's defense cuts? if mr. ryan is against the cuts,

why did he vote for them? that's right, last august he voted for the budget deal that outlined these defense cuts. now mr. ryan doesn't want to cut defense under any circumstance. it's almost like he thinks this government spending will stimulate the economy. i don't think mr. ryan wants to be talking about stimulus since this is what he said about it before much. >> the failed stimulus is typical of washington's failed economic agenda. all this system eye husband didn't work in the stimulus package. >> just last week we found out ryan repeatedly asked the energy secretary for stimulus funds. if the stimulus didn't work, why did congressman ryan want it for his district? the money from the stimulus for his district. even