let me finish tonight with this. with the risk of challenge, i risk i've spent much of my life taking, i expect no grand deal among the president, house democrats and house republicans. why on god's earth why a republican want the interest of of protecting him or herself to vote on taxes? why? because they make more voters angry by cutting medicare. they get means tested? give me a break. so this odd republican will raise taxes and make his somewhat better off voters pay more for healthcare? no way. so we really don't have to even get to the democrats, liberals, progressive but for the sake of candor here, why, again, on this god's earth would a good democrat want to have his or her name on vote to either cut or means test medicare so that they could then go and raise taxes? i just don't get why people keep talking about a deal. that no politician out there

worried about his or her reelection or renomination would ever want to make. watch. it will take a few weeks, maybe a month or two on the truth on what i'm saying will shine through. and the sequester won't seem so bad after all. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts now. >> good evening americans. welcome to "the ed show" from new york. tonight, for the first time anywhere, you will meet the man who videotaped mitt romney's 47% comments. this is the "the ed show," let's get to work. >> how much of that gets picked up? there are so many things that don't get picked up in a campaign. >> big morning in politics here. >> today is political earthquake -- >> president obama's base of voters believe they are victims -- >> this could be a potential game-changer in the presidential -- >> the recording that ignited a media fire storm. >> i understand there's a video

that's been on the internet. >> secret video that began a political collapse. >> this this case, this is just completely wrong. >> for the first time, you'll find out all the details. what was it like in the room? what did mitt romney say that was so offensive? and who shot the secret video that changed the course of history? >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. 4% individu the 47% video changed the course of the election. the proof was on the video. governor romney was not concerned with the middle class in this country or the poor in america. for months, the identity of the person who shot this video has remained a mystery. over the next hour, you will hear his story and right now, you will find out just who he is. >> what is your name, and what are you all about? >> my name is scott proudy.

i'm a regular guy, middle class, hard-working guy. i think i would like to think i have a good moral compass and a core. and i think i have a little bit of empathy. i think i have more empathy that mitt romney had. i don't know how i describe myself, but i was behind this whole thing. i was bartending that night for the romney fund-raiser. >> let's talk about may 17th. what happened that day? >> we got there, you know, it was, you know, a political fund-raiser. we did our usual thing. we set up and, you know, it went off without a hitch. i work high-end parties all over just for extra money. and you know, it was really just another typical party that i've done plenty of them just like it. >> did you know you were going to record him?

>> you know, i did -- i brought the camera and a lot of other people brought cameras, like i said, for thinking that he would come back and take pictures. clinton in the past had come back with the staff and taken pictures. and that was, really, my thought. i hadn't really made up my mind, you know i was willing to listen to what he had to say. i was interested to hear what he had to say. but i hadn't -- i didn't go there with a grudge against romney. i was more interested as a voter. >> how did you get the camera in there? >> i just carried it in. carried it in my backpack. it never said don't bring cameras, don't film. that was never said. and you know, i just thought, you know, why not? >> so you didn't go there with the intention to get mitt romney on tape to make it a big story. >> i really had no idea he would say what he said. i thought he would say,

basically the same things he was saying in public. i had no idea what was going to be this big thing that it turned out to be. had no idea. >> so this was done, and the way it unfolded with you, was not because you weren't an obama supporter. this is a justice injustice issue with you. that there was someone running in public and saying something different behind closed doors. that's your analysis. >> yeah. you know, frankly, the people that were there that night, that paid $50,000 per person, for dinner, and you know, i grew up in a blue collar area of boston. and nobody i know can pay -- can afford to pay $50,000 for dinner. i just don't know anybody that can do that. and in a way, i felt like, you know, whether you're a republican or an independent or -- there are a lot of people that can't afford to pay $50,000 for one night, for one dinner. and i felt an obligation, in a

way, to release it. i felt an obligation for all of the people that can't afford to be there. you shouldn't have to be able to afford $50,000 to hear what the candidate actually thinks. >> what did you personally go through? was there any defining moment that you can remember that said, i'm going to do this? i have to do this. >> i had gone back and forth in that two-week period, i had gone back and forth and said, i have a pretty comfortable life. i struggle like everybody else. and why would i -- why am i going do this? why am i going to risk everything? should i risk everything? should i put myself in jeopardy? should i put myself in legal jeopardy. there were were times i went back and forth a little bit. and i woke up in the middle of the night one night, and i was, you know, in the darkness of my house just looking out the window and just thinking about it, and i walked into the bathroom and i just looked in

the mirror, and the words, you coward just came out of my mouth and i just looked in the mirror and said, you're a coward. you're an absolute coward. because i was leaning to not putting it out. and it just kind of came out of my mouth. and i -- you know, i went back it bed and said, all right, well that's not going to work. i'm going to put it out. i'm going to be proud i did it. i'm going to do it, do it to the best of my ability and make sure the most people can hear it. i turned the corner and felt i was doing the right thing. i went down the path and never looked back. >> let's go to the recording. this is may 17th. candidate romney comes in the room and you have the camera set up, let's play this. >> i guess everything here is a dignitary, and i appreciate your help. and gi the way, i am serious about the food. bring that -- clear the place, places.

and but hillary has to eat her beets. >> whalt's happening here? >> he had only been in the room for maybe a minute or two. and i think it was telling for me, he had basically just walked into a dinner party, that was the guest of honor and he demanded that the service be sped up. he literally had just walked in the door. and i thought that was kind of remarkable. just, you know -- anybody that walks into a dinner party, doesn't matter who you are, i can't imagine demanding to be fed faster, to be served faster. it wasn't like we were behind schedule. you know. and i think that says a lot about who he is, to walk into a person's house and demand speed it up, speed it up, bring it,

bring it, bring it. >> this next video we have is an attention db grabber. i understand it was for you. he is talking about being lucky, being born with a silver spoon. then he transitions to talking about china. which really caught your attention. here it is. >> when i was back in my private equity days, we went to china to buy factory there. employed about 20,000 people, and they were almost all young women between ages of about 18 and 22 or 23. they were saving for potentially becoming married and they worked in these huge factories. they made various small appliances and as we were walking through this facility, seeing them work, the number of hours they worked per day, the pittance they earned, living in dormatories, with little bathrooms at the end of maybe ten rooms, and the rooms they had 12 girls per room. three bunk beds on top of each other. you've seen them. and around this factory was a fence, a huge fence with barbed

wire and guard towers. and we said, gosh, i can't believe that you, you know, you keep these girls in. they said, no, no, no, this is to keep other people from coming in. because people want so badly to come work in this factory that we have to keep them out or they will just come in here and start working and try to get compensated. so this is to keep people out. >> so at this point you wanted to make sure you got what he was saying. that is not your intention as it started but you as it unfolded you wanted to take measures to keep recording. >> i add secret service agent behind me. we weren't told this was a secret meelting or private meeting or don't bring cameras. there were plenty of people in the area with cameraes. there was a reception area where people were taking video. there was a videographer there with a with a tripod. a microphone and sound man. there were several people in the room and they never said don't

bring cameras. but i realized, this was not your typical speech. >> so this is the clip that motivated you to go public. >> a hundred percent. absolutely. >> let's look at the 47% comment, which you admit and i think we all know, got the most play out of all of this. >> there are 47% who vote for the president and 47% with him who are dependent upon government who believe that they are victims who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you name it. >> what was your response? initially? >> you know, i knew where he came from. he was born with all of the advantages that few people have. the son of a governor. ceo. you know, prep school educated. harvard educated. you know. and i don't think he has any clue what a regular american goes through on a daily basis. i don't think he has any idea what a single mom taking a bus

to work, dropping her kid off at a day care, that she can barely afford. hopping on another bus. the day in, day out struggles of everyday americans, that guy has no idea, no idea. and i don't think he will ever have an idea. >> so you've got this tape and you go home, enyou know what you've got, but you really don't know what to do with it. >> yeah. you know, it was that two-week period. and i lost sleep and i waited and i just thought, you know, what am i -- i knew it can could be an absolute mess. i just knew it could throw my life into absolute turmoil. i would lose my job. you know, maybe i would get sued. i looked into, you know, all those issues. >> issues meaning you looked into the research of china? >> i looked into the research of china. after i decided, i eventually, about two weeks into it, i said, this is going live. if i'm going to do it, i'm going

to do it the biggest way i possibly can. i'm going to make sure as many people hear his words and his words only. i felt an obligation that -- and people can decide for themselves whether they agreed with him or not. but i felt like it was my doubty to make sure that as many people heard it as possible. and so i started doing a little bit of homework. i wanted to find out what factory exactly he was talking about. and just -- and have a little bit of back up there. and you know, that brought me to david corn's july 11th article in "mother jones." he did an article about global tech. >> so you were thinking and the research you were doing and articles you read, one specifically by david corn of "mother jones" that this is what romney was talking about. >> i thought so. it was a small appliance factory, a large factory, i was able to find a photo of the factory, and it was as

described. huge barbed wire guard towers huge factory. and it all lined up for me. >> that took you to what conclusion? >> took me to moving forward, james carter was noted as a research assistant in that article. >> jimmy carter's grandson. >> correct, yeah. i didn't know that at the time. and figuring that i respected david corn's journalism, and considering that he had done this article already about global tech, i said, you know, this is the guy that i want to take it national. i want him to hop on this and do it. i figured the best way to get a hold of david was his research assistant. that made me contact james carter on youtube and twitter. >> that particular point, when they started, you didn't release the whole tape, right away. what was your strategy behind that? >> you know, my goal was for, if you typed in mitt romney into

google, my goal was to have that clip, that china clip pop up. and you know, the way you do that or the way i understood you do it, is by having as many links as possible all over the place on the internet, that raises your standing on google, and so my goal was to spread that as far and wide as possible. knowing, you know -- i considered, you know, if i'm going to do it, do i release the whole thing right now. it was may 31st when i put the first clip on-line. i came to the conclusion that, no, i wanted to go live and full and probably when most people are paying attention thought that was probably around the conventions. rnc and dnc. >> so first tape went out late may. then another one. and you saw this build on the social network. why didn't you just come out and do an interview. >> i had offers. i had offers, eventually when --

i was spreading it and spreading it and spreading it. and it was all over twitter and all over facebook and all over all of the social networks. >> anonymous name. >> yeah. anonymous name. i wanted to put it out there and get the conversation started. but i degraded the video. i didn't want them to pinpoint exactly where it had been taken. and i didn't want to give the romney camp a head start in tracking me down it find me. and so i did everything i could to minimize my personal risk but still to make sure that i got it out to the maximum number of people possible. so i was putting a link here and link there and link here and link there. then other people were picking up on it and talking about it and they would put it in a blog and this blog and that blog. >> you just wanted the conversation. >> i wanted the conversation. >> you didn't want the attention to yourself. >> no. when david went public with it and released the full video, i

had offers, the "today" show and this and that and the other and as far away as germany. and i thought, it was absolutely the wrong thing to do. all along with david, i wanted mitt romney's words and mitt romney's words only. set guy running for president. i wanted his words to be the absolute center of attention. and you know, maybe it would be fun to go on a show or do this show or that, but i thought that would change the topic of the conversation away from the primary thing that was most important to me. and of course, i expected to be ripped apart by the right wing media and i'm sure that's to come. the blow back will occur. but you know, before the election, i thought it was just too important for me to just stand up and say, hey, i did it and try to, you know, get a little bit of fame from it. >> up next, more with scott prouty. the man who changed the face of 2012 election, next. stick around. morning, brian!

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welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for staying with us tonight. we are continuing the conversation with scott prouty. the man who recorded the 47% video. scott's video started a wildfire of controversy and immediately changed the conversation in the presidential election. i asked scott to give us his take on how mitt romney and president obama reacted. >> so the 47% comment is out there and picked up by the media and played on every show. it's the conversation piece now. what does it mean? this is mitt romney's first response on september 17th. let's look at it. >> do you worry you've offended this 47% who you've mentioned? >> well, it is not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. i'm responding off the cuff to a question and i'm sure i could state it more clearly and a more

effective way than i did in a setting like that, and so i'm sure i'll point that out as time goes on. but we don't even have the question given the snip let it, nor the full response and i hope the person who has the video will put out will full material. but it is a message which i'm going to carry and continue to carry, which is look, the president's approach is attractive to people who are not paying taxes because frankly, my discussion about lowering taxes isn't as attractive to them and therefore i'm not likely to draw them into my campaign as effectively as those who are in the middle. >> mr. romney at that point says he wants you to put out the full tape. what was your response when he said that. >> let's do it. he asked for it, so let's do it. i was on the phone with david corn. originally i asked david corn to blur out everybody else in the room. i wanted romney to be seen.

i really only wanted romney's voice to be heard to. in a way i felt it wasn't fair to the people in the room. i only wanted his voice. but you know, he came out and did this pros conference and frankly, my reaction, it looked like he is kind of a broken man. that was my impression. his hair was a mess. his face is contorted. he is as stressed as you could be and he doubled-down on it. and he said it is a message i will continue to take forward. he didn't back up from it at all. but then he did, he specifically asked that i release the whole thing. scald kauld called it a snippet and insinuated it was taken out of context. so at that point, if he asked for it, i decided i would give it to him and said, david, go for it. >> so the out of context comment by romney with a was a big motivator for you. you're going to the firewall with this. >> yeah, he asked for it. >> now the pressure is on candidate romney because he was

asked about it everywhere and it evolved into a number of different answers. let's look at it. >> and those that are dependent upon government and those who think that government's job is to redistribute. i'm not going to get them. i know there is a divide in the country about that view. >> when someone is running for president in this day and age, you can't always say what you believe. >> you do say what you believe. now and then you don't say it very elegantly and you get tongue-tied or mix it up and say something you don't exactly mean and you have to go back and say that's not quite what i meant. >> clearfully a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you say something that doesn't come out right. in this case, it is just completely wrong. >> what did you -- how did you react to that? i mean, he was giving a series of answers that didn't match up. >> i think it kind of describes his campaign in a nutshell. he will go back and forth on every single issue depending on

what audience is, and you know, and i don't know what he believes. i don't know if he knows what he believes. >> at that particular time, did you realize what you had done and how this had been injected into the conversation in the country? i mean, this was the story, thanks to you. >> yeah. i think it defined him at a critical point. you know. and defined him exactly for who he was. and you know, i thought that, you know, kind of, job well done. because it is exactly what i had hoped. at least, everybody can make their own judgment on whether they believe what he is saying to be true or not. but at the very least, people heard, all of the people that couldn't afford the $50,000 to be there, people in the midwest, regular people like myself, they heard what he really believes and that was the important part of it. and that's what happened for sure. >> in the story reached its pentacle in the second debate on

october 16th and the closing remarks by the president of the united states, was in reference to what you had released. let's look at it. >> i believe governor romney's a good man. loves his family. cares about his faith. but i also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47% of the country considered themselves victims, who refuse personal responsibility, think about who he was talking about. folks on social security who have worked all their lives. veterans who sacrifice for this country. students who are out there, trying to hopefully advance their own dreams but also this country's dreams. soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now. people who are working hard everyday, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don't make enough income. and i want to fight for them.

that's what i've been doing for the last four years, but if they succeed, i believe the country succeeds. >> president obama used your material to close a debate at a very crucial time after his first debate was heavily criticized. this is his closing statement. what was going through your mind at that point? >> it was the last line of the debate and i think i was sitting on the edge of my couch at the time, just waiting. i watched the first debate and there was no mention of it. and you know, there was certainly a cheer erupted in the room at the time. you know, it was -- i was thrilled that he hit them with it when he did. and it was well done. >> at this point, had you ever had any contact with the obama campaign? >> no. no. >> this was all organic? >> yeah. i voted for president obama, i'm proud to call him our president. i'm independent. i'm registered independent.

i typically vote democrat. but i've certainly never had any can contact of any sort. >> did that validate your instincts about how important this tape was when you saw the president use it? >> yeah. you know, i was glad -- in a way, i was wishing he used it in the first debate but it all worked out well. it worked out exactly the way i would have hoped it would. i'm thrilled that he mentioned it and i think that he used it to great effect for sure. >> do you think it changed the election? >> yeah, i think it did. it defined him at a point when he needed to be defined for the american public. and that it defined him in a real negative light, in an honest light. i think it showed who he was as a person. >> were you following the polls? >> sure. >> and did you notice there was a closing between the two candidates and then after this story there was a separation? >> yeah. you know, i was falling along,

the entire time i was trying to push the agenda and trying to, you know, even when david corn would come out, i was on twitter and on -- you know, just trying to spread the message. it was high stakes for me at that point. because i had rolled the dice. i had decided, well oob i'm , i >> this is your first on-camera interview? why now? >> romney came out again on fox news and did an interview just recently, and i know he is going to be on the c pac convention. his interview on fox news, he has called the president neuro. he is saying his words were twisted. he blames the media. and if he is going to still interject himself, you know, he could do a lot of good for this country but instead he is sitting in his mansion in san diego somewhere, and giving interviews and calling the president names.

i think the guy needs to respect the will of the voters. the election wasn't even that close. i think he needs to take personal responsibility for his campaign. take personal responsibility for the words he said. and move forward. a good start would be to go back to some of those towns that bain capital shipped jobs, plant, freeport, illinois. start a business, hire some people. create a product. build something in america. do something other than vulture capitalism. do something for america other than make another million dollars for himself. i would have a lot of respect for him if he went forward in that way, and i hope would he. but time will tell what he does with his life. >> next, scott prouty will tell you about the specific moment he decided to expose the real mitt romney to the world. stay with us. [ mom ] with my little girl, every food is finger food.

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welcome back to "the ed show." there is so much more to the story of scott prouty. you are about to find out the specific part of the video that changed his life as well as the man who inspired scott to stand up and speak out. >> he really put his life on the line. his living on the line. his job on the line to do this because it was the right thing to do. so that american people would know that they got to see the real romney.

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for a love this strong, his family only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein... ...to help keep ziggy's body as strong as a love that reaches further than anyone's words. iams. keep love strong. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. welcome back to the ed shoe. scott prouty was motivated to take action by another part of the video. mitt romney's can comments about buying a factory in china opened up scott's eyes to a story he felt america needed to know. >> this really drove your

passion, this comment, about the treatment of workers, when we had this big narrative going on in the campaign about american jobs, and building the economy, and you heard this. >> you know, i realize that, you know, bain was kind of the pioneer of this outsourcing business model, you know. and i realized that, number one, it is wrong on so many different levels. you know, essentially what he is talking about is almost a prison camp in communist china. and you know, and i realize that the complete lack of empathy when he talks about the girls stacked three high and he pays them a pittance, when he comes away with a good feeling about it, i thought, this guy is dangerous. he just wandered through the e horrendous place and thought, this is pretty good.

he doesn't care good b those girls. he sure as heck doesn't care about the people in illinois or ohio on manufacturing jobs that all of the can companies that he closed down to ship this place -- ship these jobs to china. he doesn't care about the people that are out of work in the u.s. and i said, man, this seems to be his m.o. this is what he does. a vulture capitalist. doesn't care. just even on the most basic level. >> scott's research led him to a report exposing the horrible conditions in the global tech factory. the report called betting against america's workers showed the horrible working conditions, conditions in the factory. but it also led scott to man who might be familiar to ed show viewers. charles kernaghan is the executive director for the institute of global labour and human rights. he is a tireless worker for human rights and has been a guest on this show. scott prouty hoped the romney

video would help highlight charles kernaghan's work. he showed up during the interview to explain why the work was so important. >> it was clear that romney and his colleagues were lying through their teeth. there is no way in the world, nobody with half a brain, would say, there's barb wire and, you know, armed guards around the factory. >> to keep workers out. >> that's completely ridiculous. everybody should have burst out laughing. then he said, when i walked through the factory, global tech, when i walked through the factory, nobody looked up. he said to the owner, the chinese owner, why don't they look up? he said, we take our work very seriously and they concentrate. that's also bologna. they were told if they raise their heads they would be beaten, possibly arrested, certainly thrown out of the factory, so every single thing that's in the tape that romney is talking about, it's in lala land. it's lies.

>> the whole conversation of the campaign was now unfolding in front of your eyes. everything you thought of romney was now on tape. did you know it was the game-changer? >> absolutely. yeah. i personally felt frightened for anonymous. i didn't know his name or her name. but i was quite scared that they are going to come after this guy. and -- >> who is "they"? >> well, many of the people who were out at this meeting. and you know, the right wing, extreme right wing. i still think there is great risk here. but when it first came out, my first thought was, god, what's going to happen to this guy. you know, if there is any way we can help, we have to help. we have to take care of each other. watch each other's backs. >> did you tell him what his world was going to be like? >> i think scott's incredibly

brilliant and so, it only took like a minute before we could really be talking the same language and, have the same concerns. i think what he did was -- he is like an incredible hero to take these risks to put these documents out. i mean, i think he deserves credit from every single serious person in the united states. who wants to know the truth about these campaigns. >> how rare is this man? >> i think absolutely 1 in a million. and not only the fact that he made the tapes. he also knows what he's talking about. and he also judged every single step of the way, should i do this, should i not. and looking in the mirror and just saying at one point like two weeks or ten days after the tapes, you're a coward.

and with great risk for no reason. he really put his life on the line, his living on the line. his job on the line. to do this because it was the right thing to do. so that american people would know that they got to see the real romney. >> you're not so sure that president obama would have won reelection without this tape. >> i don't think so. it looked pretty rugged and a little bumpy there. and this is what threw it over the top. >> is this a lesson for activist. i mean, do you hope that this motivates people to get involved when they have an opportunity? >> a hundred percent. i mean, not everyone wants to do it, or could do it. but when there are people who really can play an activist role that actually matters and educates the american people and stands in solidarity with the american people and works with the american people, i think

what scott did was -- >> charlie, in advocating for workers and telling the story for workers, he calls you a hero. >> charlie has done this for about 20 years and hasn't gotten the attention. we put glory and attention on a lot of people for a lot of silly things. and there's not a lot of money to made for what charlie does. he stands up for people over there that can't stand up for themselves. they don't have a voice. they are not allowed by their communist governments that don't have a voice. he is standing up for them and that's important. to hear them say those things about me, it's -- you know, i don't think, coming from him, it is an honor. he's been doing this work and hasn't gotten the credit that he deserves. and like i said before, i'm

happy that i can just chan ael little bit of light on the work he does and it's an honor to have met him and be associated with him in any way. >> stay with us on the ed show. scott prouty will join me for his first live interview. that's next. ♪ twith blackberry hub10 and flick typing. built to keep you moving. see it in action at blackberry.com/z10. bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone

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changed the course of political history joins me live in studio. he'll tell us what his life has been like since he shot the explosive video. we will find out what he hopes to do in the future. and most importantly, he has a special message for ed show viewers. this is "the ed show" on msnbc. we'll be right back. two one two. two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel,

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now you've seen scott prouty speak out for the first time. the man behind the 47% tape that changed the course of a presidential election will join me live. here in studio, on the ed show. stay with us. ♪

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welcome back to "the ed show." joining me now live in studio, scott prouty. scott, good to have you with us. been fun to get to know you. >> thank you. >> you're a unique man and a guy with a lot of guts. >> thank you. >> what's your future? >> i don't know. we will see how it goes. i think i will work with charlie a little more closely. i had the pleasure of meeting leo gira are rd, the president of the united steel workers. i met him in washington. and tim waters has been great through this whole process. so i hope i can work with them a little closer and see how it goes. >> have you ever done any kind of advocacy work before? have you ban politico or someone actively involved in politics? >> no. just politically aware and i stood for one day to protest for

the iraq war but that's the sum total of my political activism at that point. >> what do you want to say to your coworkers? >> you weren't the only worker there that was at that dinner. what do you want to say to them, if anything? >> i have an apology to make to the people i work for because they were fantastic people. they treat their employees fairly. they pay above average wages and treat their employees with dignity and respect. that was the most difficult part of deciding to release it because i felt like maybe i wasn't being fair to them. but i felt like maybe what was at stake was more important than my job and i knew that they had such a great business. i work with really talented professional people. and i knew that, you know, their business would be okay. but i would apologize to the people that owned the business. and you know, if it affected them in any way, that was not my intention whatsoever. >> did the other workers know it

was you? >> you know, i think they probably had an idea. i think they had an idea? >> did they ask you? >> no, i just stopped all contact. i just couldn't really talk about it with anybody. i just figured the best thing to do is just to stop talking totally. and you know, i think they probably add pretty good idea but you know, they were great to not expose me. >> how did you respond to the conversation and the community that they were going to quote, get -- not your employers, but just people in general, were going to get the guy that did this? >> you know, i kind of expected that. and you know, that's the way it goes. and if you're going to play at that level and interject yourself that level, then i guess you're going to get what you get. and i'll take my lumps and deal with what i have to deal with, and it will be okay. >> if you had a moment with president obama, what would you say to him? >> i would probably thank him. he think he has done a great

job. i think he works hard and i think he is owed a thank you from me. i would thank him for being a good president. >> do you think you changed the election? >> i think so. you know, i think so. i -- no, i think mitt romney changed the election, i think. >> about what you did. i suppose. yeah, i think it was critical, a critical point. and like i said before, it defined him that he time. >> there was a time in the video where you -- a towel was thrown over the camera, what was that all about? >> it was holy cow, i don't believe he is saying this. i don't believe he is -- is he really saying this? >> you were afraid that someone would notice the camera? >> it was a gut instinct. i will cover this up because this is not the normal speech that you hear when he does a stump speech, this is not normal. >> i want to make it clear that we have a policy not paying for interviews. but you have received offers of money to do interviews. >> sure. >> why didn't you do that? why did not you t