awesome stuff or can't be bothered. it is an overt choice we have to make. that does it for us tonight, and we will see you again tomorrow night and now it is time for the "last word with lawrence o'donnell." lawrence, good evening. >> thank, rachel. >> indeed. >> there is nothing tea party candidates love more than telling us what is wrong with politicians in washington even as they all dream of becoming politicians in washington. what the joe millers and the christine o'donnells and the sarah palins most want to avoid, answering questions. tonight, a tea party candidate who is now leading in her race for the senate was finally forced to answer questions in a debate this ended moments ago. >> you don't know me. let's get together, and let's ç talk. >> getting to know sharron angle, easier said than done. >> she has been ducking the media ever since she won the primary in june. >> you, the viewers, had a number of questions for sharron angle and we have made numerous

attempts to schedule an interview with her. >> we needed the press to be our friend. >> to be your friend? >> to report the news the way we want it to be reported. >> reporter: even when her own campaign called a news conference, she bolted for the door before anyone could answer a question. >> why won't you answer what remedies mean? it is a simple question? >> reporter: why is she running away? she would have to explain this. >> we need to look at personalizing the social security and medicare programs. >> your plan calls for transitioning -- >> that is a harry reid lie. >> your program says transition out -- >> to a personalized account. i am here to save social security. >> reporter: by transitioning out of it? >> and now in some cases saying, i did not say that or in other cases saying, well, not privatize it, but personalize. well, what is personalize it? >> and on jobs -- >> you can make more money on unemployment than going down to make a job that is an honest

job. as your u.s. senator, i won't be in a job to make jobs -- >> sharron angle says it is not her job to fight for jobs. >> reporter: she has a plan for schools and children and health care. >> little boys should not go have to go to school where they have to concentrate on small motor movement until they republican or 8 years old. take off the mandates that you are paying for things that you don't even need. everything, everything that they want to throw at us now is covered under autism. and how about maternity leave, and i won't have anymore babies, but i sure get to pay for it on my insurance. those are the things we want to get rid of. >> angle said she does not like fluoride. >> reporter: why does she want to outlaw abortion and kill social security and take fluoride out of your water? >> the reason is a calling. god has been in this from the beginning, and because of that, when he has a plan -- >> and what is the sharron angle

plan? >> the american, liberty and nation under god, and reagan and michele bachmann and cutback and tkl back. >> good evening from new york, i'm lawrence o'donnell and what happened in vegas tonight will not stay in vegas, the most important of the debate of the campaign season concluded at 7:00 p.m. las vegas time. former assembly woman sharron angle faced majority leader harry reid in the first and only debate in the fight for harry reid's senate seat. in the latest mason dixon poll angle leads reid 47% to 45%. nevada has the highest unemployment rate and the highest foreclosure rate in the country, so that the focus was on the economy. >> yesterday, or day before, we had a company from china come here to create 1,000 jobs, and they have leased the warehouse and they are going to make led lighting and build windmills and that is a result of tax policy that i put in a bill.

we have now almost $2 billion of work going on in nevada with renewable energy jobs as a result of tax policy and incentives to do that. mccarran airport, and as a result of the tax policy, we have a $3 billion project going on there today. harrah's, and as result of language and bill, we saved 31,000 at harrah's alone. all of these things i have talked about and my opponent is against those and she would not do it. what she is talking about is extreme. we have to do this and we have been doing it since boulder dam was created 81 years ago we started the construction. >> and your response? >> once again, harry reid, it is not your job to create jobs. it is your job to create policies to create the confidence for the private sector to create those jobs. >> and immigration was another big topic. >> immigration is a problem. we have a system in america that

is broken and needs to be fixed. >> senator reid talks about comprehensive immigration law, but really what he is talking about is something that didn't work in 1986ment. i'm a big fan of ronald reagan's, but he had it wrong with amnesty and we need to first secure the borders. >> and angle was on the defense of comments she made in the past about social security. >> man-up, harry reid. do you need toç understand tha we have a problem with social security. that problem was created because of government taking that money out of the social security trust fund. >> these ideas of my opponent are are really extreme. >> joining me now the co-host of the msnbc's "daily rundown" chuck todd. the first question after one of the debates, were there any knock-out punches in there? >> no, there weren't, and what was astonishing to me was how it would seem to be unprepared

harry reid was to make sharron angle the story tonight. this is what a lot of us were wondering about and a lot of folks in nevada were curious about who is this sharron angle, what is she about and what was amazing is how much harry reid allowed himself to be on the defensive and stayed on the defensive and spent time talking about, talking in washington speak a lot. i heard the word cbo quite a bit and kept talking and at one point said something about, you don't understand how this worked in washington. which in a year like isn't the best thing to say, and look, the draw or whatever you want to call it is not the result that harry reid needed tonight. >> and the questions for sharron angle were not easy and many of them were pointed and especially the questions about the things she said in the past. listen to her again talking about social security. >> you claim that senator reid, quote, voted to give special tax breaks to illegal aliens and to

give illegals social security benefits. most reputable fact checkers have said that is patently false, especially the line about social security benefits. the ad was even criticized by the chair of the republican hispanic caucus and would you like to denounce the ad as deceptive or give the voters documented evidence about the accuracy? >> not at all. i am glad to give voters the opportunity to see that harry reid has voted to give social security to illegal aliens and not only vote to give it to them after they have become citizens and even before they were citizens, he voted to give them the benefits of our social security. our social security system is one that needs to beç addresse. and we are not addressing it. in fact, what we need to do is to make sure that we keep our promise to the senior citizens and make sure that our younger

folks have the opportunity to have a personalized social security retirement account similar to the thrift plan that senator reid has and if it is good enough for harry reid, it should be good enough for the rest of us. >> chuck, on the social security, she has said in the past that basically it needs to be phased out? >> right. >> and here tonight, as you say, harry reid never managed to close in and use those statements that she has in the past, because what we have seen with sharron angle and with christine o'donnell and other tea party candidates when they step up to the debate stage, they are ready to make much softer statements with much rounder edges to them about things like social security. >> what was amazing actually is she did not deny, and there was another question, lawrence, where the moderator quoted her saying, you know, in a primary debate, you said you were for privateizing social security and now you say it is personalize personalized -- basically saying

that you have changed your stanls from the privatizing and personalizing and she did not deny it. and personalizing for private and public and i did not understand what she was trying to explain when she said as you say trying to soften the stance, but what i was amazed at was how harry reid never, as you just pointed out never went for the kill on some of the things on some of the issues. he never button holed her, and the moderator button holed her more times than harry reid did. look, the theatrics to the entire debate were so awkward and painful to watch for a voter in nevada, because both of them struggled to be articulate in the beginning of the debate. by the end of the debate, they were both a little more comfortable, but the lack of exchanges by harry reid in particular with sharron angle is what surprised me. >> and the tea party candidates and sharron angle and christine o'donnell now i think seem to benefit from having such low expectations of the performance

and they spend so much time on the campaign trail ducking reporters and they build up the belief they can't really handle any of this, and so that it seems to me that the sta'ard for them is, did they fall on their face? and if they don't fall on their face on the debate stage, they have in effect succeeded? is that the new standard for these debaters? >> well, it should not be the new standard for the debaters. the problem that harry reid has is that he is so unpopular right now is that that is the standard that could be as far as the undecided voter sitting in nevada may have for sharron angle. i will say this for this debate, ideologically, you know exactly where both of these folks stand. it was crystal clear. you didn't come away going, boy, i'm not sure what kind of senator, or if she is a conservative or harry reid is pro-government, because that was clear coming out of the debate. >> chuck todd, thank you very much for your time tonight, and

this one we will watch right dun to the wire. >> yes, we are. >> thanks, chuck. >> you got it, bud. >> one of the candidates not on tonight's stage, but still is seen as a factor in the nevada senate race was tea party candidate scott ashton who joins me live now from las vegas. scott, you are on the ballot in nevada along with harry reid and sharron angle, but you were not allowed in this debate, and did both sides want to exclude you from the debate? >> i think that i'm not sure if both sides wanted to exclude me, but i surely was excluded. i'm not sure why, because everybody's opinion should have been heard. >> and if you had a chance to ask one question up there in debate as the moderator since you weren't a participant what question would you have asked? >> i probably would have asked both of them since they are career politicians, why are they charging the american public when both of them clearly sharron angle 15 years and harry

reid 30 years, why are they continuing to take money from the citizens of nevada. >> you did make it into the debate and there was a question about you in this debate. let's listen to this. >> people want to know if you engaged in favor buying when you promised political juice to tea party candidate scott ashjian if he should drop out of the race? >> no, what i offered was the all people want when they have a representative in the u.s. senate. they want to know that when they come to washington, d.c. they will be heard. they want to know that when they request a town hall meeting that they will be heard. >> scott, is that what it felt like to you when she made you that offer? >> no. that is a boldface lie. there are groups to sue me to get me off of the ballot. they know it is going to make a difference. we have been victorious in every

lawsuit. this is a case of career politicians trying to dupe the citizens of nevada, and we are on the ballot. we are offering nevada a third choice, and they will have a choice between angle or reid which are career politicians and doesn't mean democrats or republicans, because it is the same, and they will lie to you and get you the believe it and then change after they get into office and do whatever they want to do, so the state of nevada has a choice this year to send a message. >> well, you see no real difference between the republican candidate and the democratic candidate in the race? wasn't there a difference just on the discussion of tax cuts? harry reid is clearly open to allowing a higher tax rate for the top income brackets, and sharron angle is opposed to any inxrees in the rates at all, and probably would like to cut them below where they are now in the bush rates. isn't that difference worth voting over? >> i don't know that it is or isn't. but i know that harry reid is for more taxes, but sharron

angle has changed the position since she started the race multiple times on almost every topic she has changed the position. so i don't believe either one of them and once they are elected, they will do what they want to do anyways. >> from this point forward, how hard are you campaigning? the polls clearly indicate that you don't have a chance in this thing. and the most you can do is to be a spoiler and maybe take away the 1% or 2%, somewhere that the, that ends up defining the winner. are you just riding this out with your name on the ballot or are you out there really seriously trying to effect this out come? >> no, i think that we are giving nevada a third choice and the reality is that it was the republicans who chopped up the vote between 12 or 13 candidates. and the candidate that should have won and walked into the senate is in our studioç today sue lowden and there would not have been a race if she was in. it was not scott ashjian who chopped up the vote, but the

republican party, itself. we started the race and we will finish the race. they have bombarded us every step of the way, and it has not worked. we will finish november 2nd and there is a tea party of nevada on the ballot november 2nd and nevada will have a choice. >> scott ashjian, senate candidate in the state of nevada. thank you for joining us toni t tonight. >> thank you forhaving me. our coverage continues, and we will talk to sue louden who lost to sharron angle in the primary against harry reid. and what is said about bullying and teenaged suicides, and it was said by a texas politician. it is tonight's spotlight. ♪ [ female announcer ] mousse temptations by jell-o. decadently delicious. 60 calories.

it's finally me o'clock. time for jell-o. try new chocolate mint sensation. is a powerful force. set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another... and another. we all have a hand in it. because opportunity can start anywhere, and go everywhere. let's keep it moving. ♪

the one and only debate between harry reid and sharron angle is in the books.

sue loweden was in the election, and she lost to sharron angle, and we will talk to her. and today, the "view" saw two co-hosts storm off of the set. that is tonight's rewrite. five months ago. we are building a website by ourselves. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own small-business site with intuit websites. just choose a style that fits your business and customize, publish and get found in three easy steps. sweet. all from just $4.99 a month, get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com.

[ cellphone beeps ] [ tires screech ] [ cellphone beeps ] and if you've got cut-rate insurance, you could be payin' for this yourself. so get allstate. [ tires screech ] [ dennis ] dollar for dollar nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. sharron angle did not have an easy path to the republican nomination for senate in nevada. first she had to get past this candidate. >> most people walk into a

doctor's office and the first thing they ask you for is your insurance card. >> yes, nay do. >> and when you make an appointment. >> and they say, i don't have one, can i speak to the doctor -- >> and they want the insurance card. >> yes, they are used to doing that, but let's change the system and talk about what the possibilities are. i am telling you that this works. you know, before we all started having health care in the olden days, our grandparents would bring a chicken to the doctor and say, i will paint your house, and they would do -- i mean, the old days of what people would do to get health care with their doctors. doctors are sympathetic people, and i'm not backing down from that, sue. >> and joining me now is former state senator and former leader of the pac for the republican nomination for senate in nevada sue loweden, and was that comment the beginning of the end of your campaign about the chickens? >> i can't believe we are still talking about bartering for chickens. it was an oauoff-handed comment

made in a rural community in nevada. it took a life of its own is what i want to say, and i can't believe we are still talking about it. >> well, that is the world of the new campaign where everything is on video and video lasts forever. but in the republican primary was that a turning point? did sharron angle start to get traction against you around that time? >> i don't know if she got traction. at that time, but i do know that harry reid and the 527 that was brought in here to nevada to spend millions of dollars against me sure did make a big issue of that comment. >> now, scott ashjian just said that if you had won the republican nomination that this race now would not be close, you would be way ahead of harry reid, and you would have put this thing away basically by now, and is that your feeling now when you sit there on the sidelines and watch this? >> çlawrence, in my heart, i don't think so. i think that i would have been

vilified like she is being vilified. millions of dollars in commercials are being spent in commercials against her, and i think that the same would have happened to me. it's a brutal campaign season. and i'm flattered that people would say that about me, and i do hear that from folks here in nevada, but the truth is when you have millions of dollars of money being spent against you to vilify you, and anybody can look bad. >> i know you have endorsed sharron angle as a loyal republican, endorsing the republican ticket in nevada, but surely, there are some differences in the policy differences between you and sharron angle, and would you for example i abolish the department of education? >> let me explain what i believe sharron angle is trying to say. we hear in nevada have a huge dropout rate. we have one of the worst education systems in the country, although we do have exceptions to that rule. and when we see so much money

being spent in washington, d.c. on the department of education, and instead of that money being spent right here in our classrooms, right here in nevada, that is what she is trying to say, we would rather have the money spent here in our school districts to decide where the money should go, and we believe in the classroom and not necessarily to employees who take, who live in a cubby hole in washington, d.c. that's what i believe she means. >> and i know you never wanted the job of explaining what sharron angle really means about these things, but having heard that glide that you did past the question of does she want to abolish the department of education, i want to join the group of people who thinks that if you were in this group of people against harry reid, you would be polling better than sharron angle, but in the past in your long history of nevada politics, you have supported harry reid in the past, haven't you? >> yes, that is part of the downfall and we sure did hear that over and over again. you know, harry reid used to run

as an independent, independent like nevada was his battle cry. and there was a time when he remitted us. we were a small state, and we all know each other, and i think that he did a good job at one time. i don't know if it is because he has had too many years thereç washington or because he has become leader in washington, but he has changed. and, you know, we are first in unemployment and first in foreclosure in the state, and yet you are running as the most powerful man that nevada has ever sent to washington, and we don't have a lot to show for it. >> sue lowden former chairman of the republican party, and candidate for senate, and i don't think that anyone ran the bartering chicken video more than this one did. good luck. >> thank you. and this morning, when bill

o'reilly crossed the line, whoopi and joy got up and left. that is what gets the "rewrite" tonight. and the comedy "30 rock" is live broadcast tonight for the first show and the first toot imthat the shi -- first time that the show is done live for a studio audience and it will be done live again for the west coast studio audience. ♪

[ male announcer ] at ge capital, we're out there every day with clients like jetblue -- financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was. what do you think? take one of the big ones out? nah. an everyday moment can turn romantic at a moment's notice. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident...

in their ability to be ready with cialis. with two clinically proven dosing options, you can choose the moment that's right for you... ... and your partner. 36-hour cialis and cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a low-dose tablet... you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. day or night. tell your doctor about your medical condition... ... and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed back ache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. 36-hour cialis or cialis for daily use. ask your doctor if cialis is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com.

still aheadç tonight, as t

country confronts suicides among gay youths, celebrities are providing videos with "it gets better" but the most moving of all comes from a city councilman from texas. it is something that every troubled teen, every bully, and every parent needs to see, and you will see it here. and later, television history inside of this building tonight. nbc's emmy-award winning comedy "30 rock" has been broadcast live once tonight, and the cast is prepared to do it one more time for west coast viewers. we will talk to one of the cast members before the next live performance. ♪ oh ♪ my love, what have i done? ♪ ♪ my burden is too heavy ♪ how will we go on? ♪ my burden is too heavy ♪ how will i go on?

♪ life goes on ♪ life goes on [ female announcer ] great tasting wine doesn't have to be expensive. yellow tail. open for anything.

oh. about what? uh, they don't really think you're an exchange student. what? they think you're a businessman, using our house to meet new clients in china. for reals, player? [ woman speaks chinese ] they overheard a phone call. [ speaks chinese ] something about shipping with fedex to shanghai. and then you opened a bottle of champagne. that was for a science project. [ man and woman speaking chinese ] i'm late for...soccer... rehearsal. [ man speaks chinese ] you and i are cool? i'll be home by curfew. [ male announcer ] we understand.® you need a partner who can help you go global. fedex. aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal. ♪ let's szush up this one tone hair color! try nice 'n easy, with color-blend technology.

in one step, get a blend of tones and highlights for dimension that takes you from drabulous to fabulous. nice 'n easy. your right color. city council meetings are

usually about zoning laws and property taxes and school budgets, but one city councilman used his speaking time this week to talk about something much, much more important. you should gather the family for this one, everyone, especially our kids need to hear this. in the spotlight tonight, ft. worth city councilman joel burns. >> mayor, as you know, we are gathered here today in our pink shirts to bring awares on the the fight against breast cancer here in ft. worth and across the globe, but tonight, i ask my ç colleagues' indulgence to talk about an issue u that is near to my heart. the parents of azure brown as you can see above complained to the school district that their son was being bully and harassed in school. the bullies called him faggot

and queer and shoved him and punched him and despite the parents calls to the councilmen, and the school, the harassment and intimidation continued, for years it continued. a couple of weeks ago after being bullied at home, he went home and found his father's gun and shot himself in the head. his father found him dead after he came home from work. he was 13 years old. i'd like for you to look at his face. unlike azure indiana teen billy lucas never self-identified as gay, but was perceived to be by bullies who harassed him daily at the greenberg community high school. three weeks ago, he hung himself in his grandparents' barn. he was 15 years old. minnesota 15-year-old justin augberg came out to friends at age 13 after which the harassment and the bullying began and it grew from middle

school to high school and when he found the harassment more than he could bear, he hung himself in his room and was found by his mother. classmates started teasing and name calling seth walsh in the fourth grade and it continued through the middle school years where other students told him that the world didn't need another queer and he should go quote hang himself. on september 18th after being threatened by a group of older teens, he went home, and threw a noose around a tree branch, and he did just that. he hung himself in his backyard. his mother's -- his mother saw him, pulled him down, seth survived on life support for nine days before dieing a couple of weeks ago. he was 13 years old. in recent weeks new jersey teen tyler clementi jumped off of the bridge to his death after his roommate outed him on the internet. rhode island teen tyler chase

hung himself in his dorm room and also we heard of a teen who killed himself after at the ending a city council meeting in norman, oklahoma, where speakers made disparaging anti-gay remarks, but tonight, i would like to talk to the 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17-year-olds at paskel in arlington heights or at dagget or rosemont school or any school in ft. worth or anywhere across the country for that matter. i know that life can seem unbearable. i know that the people in your household or in your school may not understand you, and that they may even physically harm you. but i want you to know that it gets better. when i was 13, i was a skinny lanky awkward teen who had grown too tall, too fast and would

stumble over my own feet. i was the son of a methodist church pianist named jeanette and a cowboy named butch in crowl crowley, texas, and as their son and a kid in a small town, there was a certain image of who i thought i was supposed to be, but as i entered adolescent i started to have feelings i didn't understand and i could not explain that i knew they didn't mesh with the image of what i thought i was supposed to be. i was a sensitive kid, but friendly. i was a band dork, and i played basketball but not very well. i was teased like all kids, but i was fairly confident and i didn't let it bother me much. one day when i was in the 9th grade just starting crowley high school i was cornered by some older kids who roughed me up. they said i was a faggot and i should die and go to hell where i belonged.

that erupted the fear that was pushed down and what i felt on the inside must be somehow showing on the outside. ashamed, humiliate and confused, i went home. there must be something very wrong with me, i thought. something i could never let my family or anyone else know. >> catch your breath.ç >> i think i am going to have too hard of this next couple of sentences that i wrote, and also i don't -- i don't want my mother and father to bear the pain of having to hear me say -- >> take your time. take your time. >> so i will just say, and i will skip ahead, i have never told this story to anyone. before tonight. about my family, not my husband,

not anyone. but the numerous suicides in recent days have upset me so much, and have just torn at my heart, and even though there may be some political repercussions for telling my story, this story is not just for the adults who might choose or not choose to support me. this story is for the young people who might be holding that gun tonight or the rope or the pill bottle. you need to know that the story doesn't end where i didn't tell it on that unfortunate day. there is so, so, so much more. yes, high school was difficult. coming out was painful. but life got so much better for me, and i want to tell any teen who might see this, give yourself a chance to see just how much life, how much better

life will get. to those who are feeling very alone tonight, please know that i understand how you feel. that things will get easier. please stick around to make those happy memories for yourself, and it may not seem like it tonight, but they will. and the attitudes of society will change. please, live long enough to be there to see it. and to the adults, the bullying and the harassment has to stop. we cannot look aside as life after life is tragically lost. if you need resources, pleaseç check out the trevor project.org online and you can call me and i will get you whatever resourceous need. my number is 817-392-8809. i want to thank those in this

room for allowing me this time, and to j.d. and the rest of my family, i am sorry for you learning of this painful personal story, in this public way for this first time, but know that i am able to tell it, because of your love for me. and mom and dad, i'm alive today, because you loved me. again, attitudes will change. life will get better. and you will have a lifetime of happy memories if you just allow yourself and give yourself the time to make them. thank you. [ applause ]

it has been an exciting day for live television shows. the "view" had not one but two

hosts walk off in disgust and reaction to bill o'reilly. that earns tonight's "rewrite" and inside of this very building the show "30 rock" has gone live to the nation once and is preparing to do it again for the west coast. a cast member and writer joins me ahead on "the last word." since i've been with the company, i've been promoted ten times over the span of 11 years. today, i'm a divisional learning and development manager. we can actually help people develop in their own careers. my job allows me to make a difference in the lives of almost 100,000 associates in the northeast. if you think about it, that's almost 8 times the size of my hometown. my name is nick and i work at walmart. ♪ [ female announcer ] mousse temptations by jell-o. decadently delicious. 60 calories. it's finally me o'clock. time for jell-o. try new chocolate mint sensation.

time for to night's "rewrite" and sparks fly whenever bill o'reilly appears on the greatest daytime talk show in the history of tv, and

today was no exception as o'reilly tried to explain president obama's slipping poll numbers on the "view." >> the mosque down here on 9/11, that is inappropriate and sure, they have a right to do it, and the constitution, but it is inappropriate, because a lot of the 9/11 families who i know say, look, we don't want that. that shouldn't be there. >> but what about the -- >> and what about the discussion -- >> no, no, there is the president going, well, they right to do it. and then the guy -- >> yes, this is america. this is america. >> hold it. hold it. listen to me, because you will learn. [ audience jeers ] >>, so he says to the press, yes, they have a right the do it, and that is true, and then the question is, but what about the wiz democrat of it, mr. president? and he goes, i'm not going to comment whereupon everybody in the country goes, what? come on. >> well, let me ask you this, so you are saying that, that

americans are not smart enough to recognize that while it is part of our constitution to have freedom of religion and freedom to worship and there are 70 families who were muslim who also died in that building -- so you are saying that we -- that his saying that they have the right to do it and not saying that anymore than that is why his approval rating is going down? >> no, i am showing that there is a gulf between americans wanted to know what his opinion was on the issue and he would not give it. 70% of americans don't want that mosque down there, so don't give me the we business. >> i want to see that mosque. >> you want to bet? i will show you that poll in a minute. >> well, i'm an american, too. >> and 70% of americans don't want it down there. >> and why çnot? >> because it is inappropriate. >> and what about -- >> and because they killed on

9/11 -- >> oh, my god! >> muslims didn't kill us on 9/11? >> that is extremist. >> listen to that -- >> you are screaming, everybody. >> and i am telling you that 70% of the country -- >> and i don't want to sit here. i don't want to sit here. i don't. i am out. [ cheers and applause ] >> i want to say something. >> it was extremist, and you cannot take a whole religion, and demean them, because of what -- >> i am not demeaning them. >> yes, you are when you say it was muslims that killed -- >> that is what we think. >> extremists. >> you didn't say that. >> you didn't say that, bill. >> here is the issue and here is what has to be understood. >> you have to make a distinction, bill. >> if somebody felt i was demeaning all muslims -- >> hmm, okay.

nothing to rewrite there. so, then what happened? >> well, you think that the problem, bill, if we go back earlier in time in this administration that the president said early on we could not use the word terrorist, and so early on he started to use the word radical islamist, and radical muslims so there was a closer association with what happened and the religion and if he would have let us say terrorists, because there are terrorists across all religions and all faiths, then this would not be a problem. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, elisabeth, elisabeth! the president, himself, said we weren't allowed to use the word terrorists? i think that if he would have just let us say terrorists -- ugh. okay. so elisabeth, you have heard of the first amendment, it is the one that actually has the phrase freedom of speech.

and what that means, of course, is that this is the country where you can say anything you want. it always has been. so, even if the president, himself, said thatç we weren't allowed to use the word terrorists, which he didn't, you could still use the word terrorist. how do i know? because i did. i used the word terrorist all of the time. yeah. on tv. now, elisabeth, you know, you don't have the speak just because it is your turn, right? you know that. i have done a lot of panel shows on the mcglocklin group and others, and inevitably they get around to talking about something that you just don't know anything about. now most of the time, not all of the time, but most of the time when i have nothing to say, i just shut up.

i have even been known to say, i don't know. when i have nothing to add to something that i know nothing about. yes. you can say i don't know on tv. i have done it. so, elisabeth, your rewrite for tonight is nothing. you should have said nothing. and the next time you find yourself in this situation, you should just say -- nothing. yes, i know how hard that sounds to you. but if i can do it, you can do it. i know you can do it. okay. if you find that impossible, then there is one thing that you can always say, and you can never go wrong saying this on your show, and it is alwys what most of the audience is thinking anyway. and it is simply this, "i agree with barbara."

♪ ♪ [ growls ] ♪ ♪ [ polar bear grunting ] [ growls ] [ male announcer ] introducing the 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all. [ male announcer ] introducing the 100% electric nissan leaf. [ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain.. that's breakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time for two more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day

with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

for the first time in its history the emmy winning nbc show "30 rock" starring tina fey and alec baldwin was broadcast tonight. they are usually shot in long island in about a week and when something goes wrong with an actor forgetting the line or forgetting to turn on a camera, they can do another scene, and what you see is the 30th take, but in a live show, it is no retake, and the editing room

cannot retake it. instead of all of that, tonight's show performed at studio 8-h the home of "saturday night live" where mistakes could not be hidden, and the only thing prohibiting nbc from tracy morgan from an fcc fine was a five-second delay. >> it is eschew! that thing fell off! oh. now, my shirt is accidentally falling off. [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, i warned you, liz, and now i am slipping a nip, the big one. the show guest stars matt damon and jon hamm and for those on the west coast who have not watched it yet, the cast will perform it again live tonight at 8:30 pacific time.

tina fey has promised that the script will be tweaked to include references specific to the west coast audiencement tomorrow, you can watch both the east coast and the west coast version on nbc.com and see the tweaks for yourself. joining me now outside of studio 8-h is "30 rock" writer ine star john lutz who plays lutz on the show. thanks for joining us, john. >> my pleasure. >> what made you do to live episode, because it is the hardest thing that you could take on? >> well, a while back we did a stage reading in the writers' strike of "30 rock" live at the ubc theater and the energy and the laughs from the crowd are nothing like what you get when you tape a show, so we all got excited about that, and then i think that the tina and those guys were like, we should do this. it took a couple of years to do, but now we are doing it tonight. >> you know, i am feeling very competitive about this, john, because i wrote the live episode for the "west wing" and we did

one live episode and it was a huge challenge for the show, and nobody involved in the "west wing" had no experience with live tv including the director who did a masterful job, but you have cheated, because you have all of the actors who have "saturday night live" experience, and they have experience performing live, and your director is a former "saturday night live" director who knows how to go live. come on, this is not fair to the rest of us who have tried live episodes. >> listen to me, you should have thought of all of that -- >> we should have. >> -- when you were writing it. you should have called on us. i cannot imagine an hour-long drama live, because this is insane. i cannot imagine that, and i could not even fathom that. >> now, did you hit the time which is the most difficult thing about this, or did you go over time or come in short? how did you come out? >> well, real close to hitting it, and what happened in the second act of it is that i think that like lauren and some of the other writers like robert

carlick said to pick up the pace because we are behind and people just got it, so almost right on time. we will see what happens. >> so, now that you guys have the first one done, do you feel like, okay, this second one is going to be easy, and we know how to do it? >> no. [ laughter ] no. because they have changed some stuff, and you know, we had a meeting in lauren's office and this is changing and this is changing, and we don't know, it is going to be different and hopefully we say all of the lines right again. >> lauren michaels is the executive producer of the show and the king of live tv, "saturday night live," and that is cheating having lauren >> i said you should have gotten him involved. >> john lutz, thank you very much, cast member and writer. thank you very much. for clark kim, and sarah miller, and jerry, and anthony