he knows that certain realities just need to be accepted if you're going to continue leading the country. he knows too that president obama must succeed for his party to succeed. he knows that even if hillary has foresworn any desire to pursue electoral office again. the best bet for her in 2016 is a good record for obama until then. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "countdown" with keith olbermann starts right now. untdown which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? the great sellout nears. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show." tonight from new york, these stories are hitting my hot buttons and at the table at this hour. well, president obama wanted this tax cut deal now he owns

it. the senate just passed the first stage of his tax cut, compromised with the republicans. folks, i think this is a disaster. i think it's the wrong thing for the country. my commentary on that in just a moment. plus, senator bernie sanders spent nearly nine hours on the senate floor protesting this tax cut deal with the rich. he'll be coming up live for more in just a moment. a right-wing attorney general in virginia has convinced bush-appointed judge that health care reform is unconstitutional. a big fight on the horizon. and the republicans orchestrated this ruling and now they're celebrating their work. we've got rapid-fire response on that. and sarah palin's big humanitarian trip to haiti lasted, less than two days. and it included exclusive access for a fox news crew. how interesting. she basically parachuted in for a photo-op. and this just in, of course the

giants and vikings play tonight in detroit. brett favre, he's been put on the inactive list, so the streak stops at 297 games. our technical crew here, don't diss me during the show. i still love the viks. but this is the story that has me fired up tonight. congress is another step closer to blowing a $900 billion hole in the deficit by lining the pockets of americans who are in the top 2% of income in this country. now, late this afternoon, the senate overwhelmingly passed a test vote on president obama's tax cut compromise with republicans. the president late this afternoon, moments ago, just addressed it. >> i am pleased to announce at this hour the united states senate is moving forward on a package of tax cuts that has strong bipartisan support. and this proves that both parties can in fact work together to grow our economy and look out for the american people. once the senate completes action on this bill, it will move over

to the house of representatives for its consideration. and i've been talking with several members of that body. i recognize that folks on both sides of the political spectrum are unhappy with certain parts of the package. and i understand those concerns. i share some of them. but that's the nature of compromise. sacrificing something that each of us cares about to move forward on what matters to all of us. right now that's growing the economy and creating jobs. and nearly every economist agrees that that's what this package will do. taken as a whole, the bill that the senate will allow to proceed does some very good things for america's economy and the american people. first and foremost, it is a substantial victory for middle-class families across the country who would no longer have to worry about a massive tax

hike come january 1st. it would offer hope to millions of americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own by making sure that they won't suddenly find themselves out in the cold without the unemployment insurance benefits that they were counting on. and it would offer real tax relief for americans who are paying for college, parents raising their children, and business owners looking to invest in their businesses and propel our economy forward. so, i urge the house of representatives to act quickly on this important matter. because if there's one thing we could agree on, it's the urgent work of protecting middle-class families, removing uncertainty for america's businesses, and giving our economy a boost as we head into the new year. thanks very much, everybody. >> there you have it, the president comes out, gives a two-minute talk, no questions asked. how determined he is to move forward in on this. the discussion in his mind is over. this is where we're going. today's vote was only a test though. harry reid's scheduled the final vote on the compromise for tomorrow. now, the president and the senate feel emboldened by the

two new polls that are showing wide support all of a sudden for this deal. a new poll showed 60% of americans want the tax cut compromised to become law. a new "washington post"/abc news poll shows 69% of americans support the tax package. 75% of republicans back the deal. 68% of it independents, and even 68% of democrats support the plan. you know i don't want to be the fly in the ointment here. i'm a 30 percenter tonight. i'm out. i don't believe it. i think this is a huge gamble for the country. i think it's a huge gamble for president obama and the democrats and i don't trust the rich that they're going to take this tax cut and you know what they're going to do to help out this president, they're going to go create jobs. i don't buy it. they never have. and i think they never will. if this $900 billion bet fails, it could be a generational game changer.

and that will plague the democratic party for years to come. this is also the beginning, in my opinion, the end of social security as we know it. they're all about attacking the new deal. that's what the republicans want and we're going right down that slippery slope. you mean to tell me that in a couple of years on this social security reduction or in a year from now they're going to come back and say, hey, what do you say we raise it back. if it has any measurable of success, the republicans will say, let's leave it the way that it is, and have another fight on it. i know the president is 100% committed to the middle class. and those americans who have lost a job through no fault of their own, but i think this deal is with the devil. it's wrong. for the long-term fiscal sanity of americans and for the health of this country, i just don't like this china thing. i don't like borrowing $420 billion to give a tax cut to the top 2%. there's something morally wrong about that, i don't care what the polls show. john boehner can't even bring himself to use the word compromise. leslie stall tried to nail the tan man on "60 minutes" last

night. here it is. >> we have to govern. that's what we were elected to do. >> but governing means compromising. >> it means working together. >> it also means compromise. >> it means finding common ground. >> okay is that compromising? >> i am not going to compromise on my principles nor am i going to compromise the will of the american people. >> and you're saying i want common ground but i'm not going to compromise. i don't understand that i really don't. >> when you say the word "compromise" a lot of americans look up and go, oh, oh, they're going to sell me out. and so finding any common ground, i think, makes more sense. >> boehner might be a big

crybaby, but he knows exactly what he's doing with this issue. common ground, what does that mean? that means that boehner wants the president to do things his way, his way or the highway. compromise means he has to give something up. he's not going do that. the white house has no problem with the word compromise. david axelrod proved it on sunday. >> the nature of compromises means that you have to accept some things that you don't like in order to get the things that you do. >> the nature of compromise is that you have to accept things that you don't like in order to get things that are very important. >> we didn't particularly like the treatment of the estate tax for the wealthiest states but compromise by its very nature includes things that you don't necessarily like. >> interesting point there. what is it about this whole package that the republicans don't like? they like it all. they've got everything they want and then some on the estate tax. if the house doesn't move. liberals want president obama to fight the bush tax cuts as hard as senator bernie sanders did on the senate floor on friday, but the white house wants to move past this issue and go on the attack against republicans next year. robert gibbs talked about sanders' nine-hour friday filibuster today. >> i think the president will be the first to agree that there are there are aspects of this that he doesn't like as i've

said before and as he's said before. our preferred method was to make permanent the tax cuts for the middle class. the votes weren't there in the senate to do that. and rather than threaten our economic recovery, the president believed that this bipartisan agreement was the best way to go. >> and i agree with that. i agree that's exactly where the president is. i think that he's committed to the middle class. he was not going to give any ground on that. this has nothing to do whether i support president obama or like president obama or going to really advocate for him in the next election cycle. i mean, i'm a fan. i'm a fan. but i think the president is making a huge political miscalculation here. he is precisely the right president and this is precisely the right time in history to step up and ask the american

people to sacrifice. if he doesn't, this tax compromise will follow the president through his last days in office. he owns it. his signature's on it now and that's exactly what the righties want. if the top 2% society their money the way that they have over the last couple of years, it'll cripple the economy and kill any chance of lowering the unemployment in this country and at this point nancy pelosi is really the person that's holding all the cards. she has to decide if she wants to compromise with the party that's demanding common ground? she has to decide if she wants her legacy as speaker of the house to end with a vote to extend the bush tax cuts, the very policy that ran us into the ditch, speaker pelosi, liberals i think want you to fight till the finish. give it some more drama. maybe even don't even bring it to the floor. would she be so bold to do that? there was one other political note that i wanted to throw in here tonight on this conference that was taking place here in new york today. the no labels conference. boy, it sounds very good,

doesn't it? you're a better american because you're not taking a stand. you're a wishy-washy on a lot of stuff. you don't like the labels? let me tell you something, folks, you know why we got into this trouble? because there are absolutes. and one of the absolutes of the conservative mantra in this country is that they want low taxes. they like to have stuff off budget. we had two wars off budget. we had tax cuts for the top 2% and now look where we are. the absolutes on this centrist crowd that's out there, this no labels crowd. can you tell me exactly from the middle. the road what your position is on social security? can you tell me that you believe that every american should have health care? and oh by the way since the surge was a year ago what's the centrist position on afghanistan? we're living in political times that call for absolutes. and it's up to liberals to stand tall on principle that this is how we're going to turn this country around and change this

country. for the record, i'm in the 30% crowd tonight if you want to believe the polls. i think this is going to be a devastating mistake and i want to be wrong. i mean i really want to be wrong. i want to come back a year from now when there's another million jobs that have been created and the economy's turning around and the treasury's starting to get a little bit more solvent, even by a dime. but i don't believe it. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's text survey question is, do you think the republicans will ever compromise with president obama? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no to 622639. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. this man brought to this show tonight for respect. joining me now is independent senator bernie sanders of vermont. he spoke friday for nearly nine hours against extending the bush tax cuts for the rich. senator, thank you for the

fight. you said on this program last week that you were going to do everything in your power, you did, you're true to your word. what about tomorrow in the final vote? will you stand up for round two? >> no of course i voted against this agreement today. i will continue to vote against it. i think there is no question that we could have reached a far, far better agreement. one that does not give billions and billions of dollars in tax breaks to people who don't need it and then force our kids and our grandchildren to pay that off by an increasing national debt. we could have had a much better agreement. >> the vote is still open. 82 in favor, 12 against. why did so many democrats in the senate go for this? >> well, you have to ask them, ed. i think what they will probably tell you is that they were given a take-it-or-leave-it proposal by the president. something that they had no part in negotiating. and they looked out, and they said you know what, we've got a lot of unemployed people in this country, who's unemployment compensation is going to expire. we've got to protect them. yes, we've got to extend tax breaks for the middle class. and, of course, we've got to do that. but i think apropos of what

you've said a few moments ago, what the president in my view, what all of us should have done, is gone around the country, rallied the american people, and say, really, do you think we should be lowering the estate tax for the top 0.3% on 1%. do you really think that billionaires need a tax break? i think we win that debate. and then we come to the table with the republicans on the defensive. not us. >> senator, finally tonight, do you really think this might be a bridge too far? i don't think it is. a bridge too far to say that this is the beginning of the end of social security as we know it? >> i just spoke this afternoon to one of the leaders of one the largest -- of one of the senior organizations in this country and she worries so much that when you start diverting $112,000 of payroll taxes away from social security, this could

be the beginning. our republican friends like this idea. and they will extend, i fear, that conssept. it is not good for the future of social security. >> senator, good to have you with us tonight. thanks for fighting, i appreciate it. >> thank you, ed sniechltd coming up, the weeper of the house. the tan man loses control on national tv. again? i mean, this guy really needs to get some help and get ahold of himself, doesn't he? >> making sure that these kids have a shot at the american dream -- it's important. >> the guy can't be around schools, that's too bad. also coming up, sarah palin's grandstanding tour in haiti is over, folks. and i've got pictures to prove that she's exploiting people for media attention. plus, a bush-appointed judge rules against president obama's health care law and the beckster is freaking out over global warming. you're watching "the ed show."

coming up, we've got the news today that this year will be the second best ever on wall street. the fat cats are raking in at a huge amount of cash but they're still refusing to invest to create jobs. such great folks, huh? i've got a chance to ask former president bill clinton on friday about all of this and he got into it. we'll talk about that. somewhere, is

welcome back to "the ed show" and thanks for watching tonight. the fat cats on wall street are raking in massive products, as 15 million americans who are just struggling to survive.

bloomberg reports this year will be the second best ever for wall street and last year the financial industry shattered records, thanks to the bailout. which was paid for by the taxpayers. but here's what really gets me going on this story. they're hoorpding the money away for themselves right now. in september of this year, they were sitting on $1.9 trillion in and assets. cash accounted for 7.4% of the company's total assets. the largest share since 1959. why? meanwhile, main street is still hurting. where's the money, small businesses are desperate for loans to expand to hire, but cash just isn't there. on friday, i was standing in the back of the room of the white house briefing room when president clinton came in and i asked him about the tight credit markets. i think this is the story. >> mr. president, is there anything else that can be done in your opinion to loosen up the private credit markets that have been so tight? i mean if people can't get their

hands on capital, how can they be the entrepreneurs that they want to be and this is something that the republicans have fought all along. what's the next step? >> what i believe is going on first all the business is not coming aggressively enough the small business community and this bill did preserve all of that small business incentives that were enacted by the congress in the previous two years. there's like 16 measures you know that give incentives to small businesses to take in loans and loan guarantees and that kind of thing. it appears to me that the community banks, at least, are somewhat uncertain about how the financial reform bill, which i supported applies to them and what the cost of compliance might be. >> he is spot on. president clinton is exactly knew what he was talking about. but the banks still are tight

with the dollar. the problem may be a lack of information on both sides. president clinton thinks that there should be a nationwide education effort targeted at small banks to show them how to use what the government is offering. >> i think it is really, really important just to do an aggressive 100% information drench. i mean i would go so far as to do it bank by bank by bank so that everybody knows exactly what they have to do, exactly what it costs and how quickly this can all be resolved and then i think it's important to make sure that all of these community banks and the people who might borrow from them understand where the small businesses of america are and where the manufacturers are with the various loan guarantees and credits and deductions that are available under these laws. >> white house officials that i

talked to want the next two years to be about the message. president clinton knows that knowledge is power and if they can get a clear message to the small banks, it could be a big boost to the economy and a much-needed shot in the arm. >> we too often in the senate met when a law passes people knew what passed and they know what's in it and they know how it applies to them, that may not be true in this case because there's been so much activity and so much debate about it that was a debate that occurred in the context of a campaign rather than in the context of, let me tell you how this works. come here, let's figure out how to get you a loan. >> president clinton knows a lot about this stuff, but to set the dynamic perfectly, back in the '90s when clinton was on a run with the economy, 22 million jobs, you know it was a heck of a lot different to go into a bank and got a loan. loans were a heck of a lot easier to get than today and the economy was a lot different it was 15 years ago and president obama has to deal with the load of a lot of different problems

including the republicans blocking him every step of the way. and i'm not so against the thought that there is this intangible out there that the financial sector wants this president to fail. that's what i'm afraid of. i'm afraid that the bankers in this country, the community bankers in this country aren't sitting there saying, hey, you know we really like this president obama guy. he came in and did something on wall street and gave some regulation. they don't like that. and they're afraid of the future and i think they're going to be sitting on it. i don't think the president can do any more than what he's done in this $900 billion package. the conservatives have gotten everything they wanted on this deal. it's up to loosening up the money so what's the president going do? he's going to meet with ceos, big timers later this week and ask them, now what do you want me to do? more on this tomorrow. coming up, the beckster's using a massive midwest snowstorm to mock global warming. hey, i'm going to crank up the

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and in "psycho talk" tonight, all of the wintry weather across the middle of the country is giving the righties their yearly excuse to rail against global warming, here we go again, and as usual they're ignoring all of the facts like a nasa study saying that 2010 will likely be the hottest year on

record. well, the fox news family, they're all wound up about the minneapolis metrodome collapsing under 17 inches of snow. fox website jumped right into it. mocking global warming with its headline "paging gore, metrodome collapses under snowstorm." and then of course glenn beck and the stooges on the radio tackled the winter storms with a dose of their trademark sarcasm. >> you know what i was going to do i was just going to hang out at the beaches there you know right there on the great lakes and just kind of hang out and then maybe go catch a football game in minnesota. by the way, could i just ask for maybe the name of the person in checking the structure out in -- >> in minneapolis? >> in minneapolis. you know the guy's checking the stadiums and the bridges. shouldn't they both hold up? i mean you didn't than there would be snow. >> yeah they do but the most snow that they've had, which is interesting from a global

warming perspective, but most snow in what, 50 years? >> well it's only proof that global warming is happening. >> right of course it. >> first of all, laughing about the tragic minneapolis bridge collapse is unacceptable. 13 people died. it isn't funny, and let me tell you something about the metrodome, i've covered dozens of games in that stadium in the last 30 years it's not global warming. the metrodome has been a dump, always has been, always will be. it has caved in four other times. so for the beckster and his fox friends to use the metro collapse as their push, their annual push bogus right-wing talking point about global warming is just warmed over "psycho talk." coming up, does the tan man, does he have some emotional issues that we really need to talk about? he lost control on tv again over the american dream? how come he always cries about himself? congresswoman donna edwards

sounds off about what it's going to be like working with the incoming speaker. the pressure on the drugster's getting cranked up. reverend sharpton's crusade against his hate speech is heading to the fcc. we'll get rapid-fire response. plus, the righties are going gaga over president obama's health care law, and michael steele, well, he just might hang around. financial independence?

welcome back to "the ed nce? show." the "battleground" story tonight, don't cry for him, folks, don't do it. too many questions need to be answered. interesting how john boehner always seems to cry when the subject turns to him. as he did multiple times during his "60 minutes" profile last night. >> i used to go to a lot of schools. i used to see all of these little kids running around, kooent talk about it. >> why? >> making sure that these kids have a shot at the american

dream like i did, it's important. >> now, let's talk about this. was he crying when federal funding didn't go to local school districts across america for no child left behind? how many tears were shed on that one, johnny? boehner got so worked up that he had to stop the tape and then came back for a sit-down at his family bar with mrs. boehner. and then he started to cry again. >> what set you off that time? because she's proud of you. he cries all the time? >> no. no but he's going through an emotional period, too. >> boehner's crying over his new job. let me ask you, folks, do you think that he cries for the unemployed in this country or the people in america who saw their jobs shipped overseas? is that the american dream that he's crying about? how about the american dream of owning a home or the millions of americans that have been forced to leave because of foreclosure? after losing their job, couldn't keep up with the payments, do

you think that he's crying about that. it doesn't have to be with his dream. it's a reality of what he and his party stand for and what they have done to this country over the last eight years. i think boehner seems almost guilt-ridden over his rise to power. it'sing how his parents were kennedy democrats. i wonder how they would feel about the income disparity in this country. would his parents be proud that he is willing to throw working families under the bus, to stand up for the tax cuts for the rich, or that he advocates repealing the health care reform bill and allow insurance companies to once and for all just kick sick people off the roles. is that the plan that he wants for america? any tears for that one? i mean is boehner crying because he's a ruthless politician and that he's really not the personal his parents raised? i mean, here's what mrs. boehner says. >> this is not any ordinary job. whoever would would have ever

thought that he'd be in this position. >> somebody who's gone from mopping this floor to being speaker of the house. >> yeah. doesn't happen every zpie welcome to america. >> yeah, gosh, what do you think they would have don nancy pelosi if she had gotten all worked up? they would said that she's unstable, couldn't do the job. ooh, yes, welcome to america where the republicans are using the unemployed to extort tax cut for the rich and john bane serabout to be rewarded for it. joining me now is congresswoman donna edwards. congresswoman, good to have you with us tonight. >> it's great to be with you, ed. >> do you think that john boehner might have some emotional issues? >> you know what i'm not going to begrudge john boehner his tears over sending to the house

leadership but the question is what are we going to do for the unemployed whose benefits expire on december 1st, what are we going to do for homeowners who are losing their homes, what are we going to do for middle tax cut payors. >> you're spot on but doesn't the question beg, doesn't the question beg you know is he going to feel this way about 15 million people? i mean this is the worst economy since the depression. any tears for these folks? no it's tax cuts for the top 2%. i mean i think that's a very valid point. and does that give you any indication of what it's going to be like to work with the republicans now that they're going to have the majority in the house. >> well, this is where i think the problem is with the current tax deal proposal because on the democratic side of the ledger the president site the ledger where protected middle income families are looking out for the unemployed and then tacking on half a trillion dollars worth of debt to our children and grandchildren and come next year

when republicans are in control under mr. boehner's leadership they're going to say you know what the deficit's going skyrocketing. we've got to start cutting and they're going to go after social security, medicare, earned income tax credit and all of these things that we really care about and so there's a disconnect between mr. boehner's tears which i really appreciate and value the emotion of going into this -- heading new job but there's a disconnect that and the experience of working families. >> what is your response as a lawmaker when he says, he rejects the word compromise and says we need to find common ground. what's your interception of that? >> well, my immediate response is, i understand that hee rejects the word compromise because whether it was health care or energy or saving teacher's jobs or a stimulus package to get the economy jump started, the republicans including mr. boehner didn't compromise a bit because they didn't give one single vote to anything on the agenda over this last two years and the next two years under their leadership it's not going to be any different. >> congresswoman, thanks for joining us tonight. i appreciate it so much. >> thank you. >> i think smokey robinson had a

song that was out "tears of a clown" this fits. now let's get some rapid-fire response from our panel on these stories. i want to know, where are the tea party outrages about the tax cuts? the tax cuts for the rich could explode the deficit by $900 billion over the next decade if the gop gets its way so where's the outrage? where's the march? where are the protests? i thought that the tea party folks were against all of this? the gop orchestrated a scheme on health care reform, a right-wing attorney general in virginia has successfully convinced a bush judge in virginia that health care, this bill is unconstitutional. now all of the righties are coming out to celebrate.

and the -- will the fcc pull the plough rush limbaugh's racist tirade tirades? with us tonight nationally syndicated talk show host bill press and also nationally syndicated radio talk show host michael medved. the vote today, gentlemen, $900 billion, bill press, are you a 30 percenter or are you with the polls that say this is the right thing to do? >> look, i don't care whether it's 2%. i'm with the people who think this is a bad deal, ed. and it's going through the senate, but you're right about the tea party. if they really -- this just proves how phony the tea party is and i think this is a problem for them. because they've become own lock stock and barrel by the republican party. you know if they really cared about federal spending and the deficit they would have protested the bush tax cuts in the first place, they would have protested the expansion of the war in afghanistan, the war in iraq, they didn't, and now they're silent when the republicans have made this deal. this is bigger than the stimulus package. >> michael medved, what happens if this doesn't work and what is

your measurement, what's the conservative measurement of success on this $900 billion package? >> well measurement of the success is going to be seen with the unemployment rate, the general state of the economy, but point about this is, there is a difference between the government taking money out of the private sector. and spending it on government programs. and the government allowing more money to stay in the private sector. the tea party has always been about the size of government. when you leave tax rates low and then cut tax rates further, like this wonderful payroll tax that republicans and democrats can agree on, that tax reduction is going to stimulate the economy and it's going to allow people to keep more of their own money and shrink government. >> michael, that is double talk. this is $900 billion added to the deficit. >> it's not spending. >> we can't afford it, that's exactly what it is. >> no it's not spending. >> and if the tea party believe in anything they ought to be marked massed tonight in front capitol protesting this. >> what tea parents believe in is smaller government. the best way to shrink government is to shrink the amount of money that government

takes out of the private sector and that's exactly what's happening with in deal. >> $900 billion, michael. $900 billion. you know as well as i do, they were really squawking about the government spending. >> exactly. >> they said that government was running away with it. if this doesn't work, mike, we may have to fault. i mean this is -- if this doesn't work, this is a bad deal for america. >> it's wonderful to hear you taking the deficit seriously. see, this is the point. >> oh get out of here. >> you have both sides of the democratic party, both sides of the democratic party, each one is taking a republican -- >> gentlemen, quickly, i have to get on this right-wing judge. >> go for it. >> they are saying that right-wing judge ruled today in virginia, upheld the ruling by the attorney general, saying he was successful in convincing this judge that the health care bill is unconstitutional. bill press, is this trouble for the prez sident's package? >> i don't really think so. look the third ruling. 2 out of 3 judges have said the law is constitutional. the other thing is, ed, you mention about this judge, he not only was appointed by george bush, he owns stock in a company

called campaign solutions which ran the campaigns of john boehner, michele bachmann and john mccain, all of which were about saying the health care law was unconstitutional. he made over $100,000 in the stock on that company. >> okay, it's -- >> he should have recused himself. >> it's very, very tough for anybody to find a provision in the constitution whereby you can require people to actually get a service from a private company. and that's what's wrong with the obama plan. >> this is the first step. >> and by the way, ed, you attacked him for it, you wanted a public option. >> i did want a public option. and i also think that the pre-existing condition and 30 million more people getting coverage is a great thing. >> no impact on that, it just has an impact on the individual mandate. >> gentlemen, we've got run. michael medved, bill press, great to have you with us. we'll be right back with racist extremism in south carolina.

the reverend al sharpton is our guest. do they really want to succeed and have a big party about it? [ male announcer ] 100 potato chips or 100 pringles. both cost the same, but only the pringles superstack can makes everything pop!

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and in my "playbook" tonight, conservatives in south carolina are celebrating the destruction of the united states. one week from today a south carolina group called the confederate heritage trust will hold a succession gala to honor confederate leaders who launched a civil war in this country, for $100 a ticket, partygoers can enjoy a stage, play enacting the signing of the ordinance of succession succession. that'll be followed by a three-course dinner featuring carolina crab dip and shrink and

grits and dancing with a live band. the dress code is modern black tie, period formal or prewar militia. so next monday shipping julips in the uniforms of army that fought against the united states, southern conservatives will honor people who shed blood to protect slavery. they will honor people who would rather die than see a black man become free. i'm disgusted that this is 2010 and we're still here doing this stuff. americans actually gathering to toast those values? of course a representative for one of the groups sponsoring the events says that it's not about slavery. a commander for the sons of confederate veterans says, quote, it's part of our nature and our culture and our heritage.

i don't really get upset about it or pay attention to the naysayers. i wonder how they would feel if anyone else was hosting a party on american soil to cheer a war on america. joining me now is reverend al sharpton, president of the national action network. reverend, great to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. >> i'm somewhat shocked by this story. i don't know if this is the first one or if they've always done this before. your thoughts on it. >> well there's been other types of celebrations, but i think it is horrendous. first of all on two levels. one, they're celebrating treason. these people actually fought and killed and died, some of them, to troy and overthrow the united states government. and then when that didn't succeed, they succeeded and tried to form a separate government on american soil. secondly, it was based on slavery and slavery based on race. so you have one level, how can any patriot not condemn this and at another level anyone who

believes that racism and bigotry is wrong. so i think that all people that are real patriots as well as those who don't believe in racism in south carolina ought to not only not attend but they ought to condemn that. can you imagine anywhere in the world that people would sit around and celebrate people that declared war and actually killed people against their country. >> what do you think about joseph riley, his reaction to this is, to me it's not a celebratory event it's a rather solemnly observed moment in our history that i think most americans if they could rewrite it they would write it differently. it wouldn't have the south carolina leaving in the separation and of the united

states of america. what do you make of that? >> i mean, i think that he could had been stronger, but i think that clearly it should be denounced and repudiated. we're not talking about people who had a political debate in the south carolina legislature. we're talking about people that succeeded and that fired guns and people died. we're talking about a deadly war, the most deadly war, and we're talking about it based on the fact they wanted the right to own human beings as property. there's nothing more horrendous and outrageous than that. >> to your knowledge, will anybody protest this event? >> i think that are there some conversations i'd been getting from some of our people on the action network in south carolina and also the naacp chapters and others. the question is not, who's going to protest, the question is why all of us should be outraged at this same type of feeling could even be alive in the 21st century where people would even think this is something to celebrate. >> reverend sharpton, always a pleasure. >> thank you. coming up, caribou barbie spent the weekend getting photo-ops in haiti with greta van susteran of fox. she thinks that we're dumb enough to fall for this dog and pony show? and finally tonight, sarah

and finally tonight, sarah palin breezed through her grandstanding tour of haiti this weekend. she choppered in with greta van susteren and her fox news cameras. and stayed for less than 48 hours. now some people don't like that i'm criticizing the palin trip to haiti but her trip wasn't about the people of haiti, it was all about sarah palin and

her presidential ambitions documented exclusively by fox news. for more let's bring in jonathan alter, national affairs columnist for "newsweek" andmsnbc political analyst. no matter how you look at it, it's another controversial trip and a conversation piece for sarah palin. good or bad? what do you think? >> well, look, it's great anytime anybody shows compassion and keeps haiti on the map and she did do that, but what really surprised me here, ed, was that she wasn't more pr savvy. because what we've come to expect from her in the last couple of years is a real shrewdness about how to use the media, and if she had really wanted to have an impact and really want to do -- improve her image she would have gone down there for about two weeks with no cameras at all until maybe the end of her time there. and then she would have looked like she was you know there for all of the right reasons. so she really didn't handle this in the best way from her own perspective.

>> well, speaking of the media, why only one network? why not more? >> well that's a pattern with her now. we'll be seeing more of that if she decides to run for president, it's going to be fascinating. she's breaking a lot of new ground here. and she's kind of developing this idea that, you know, all she needs is fox and we'll see whether it works. we'll see whether she can get the republican nomination, just by talking to the network that is most closely associated with the republican party. it could work for her in the primaries. i don't see it work for her in a general election but we're on unchartered territory here and who knows. >> what would be the measure of success on a trip like this other than the media talking about it and bringing attention there but she's there for 48 hours. she doesn't have the power to bring in on an official capacity any kind of moral relief to haiti and then you've got millions of americans here in

america who are home unemployed, going through a tough time, the worst economy since the great depression and she shows very little compassion. in fact she has criticized unemployment benefit extensions. what about that? >> she has but look i don't fault her for going to haiti and she did say on television that she encouraged good samaritans to come down there and use their time, contribute their money. that's all positive. this country has -- has terrible problems. and the cholera epidemic there is something that is very deserving of our attention and she helped to shine a light on that even in 48 hours so that's fine. give her that but it's just not a very convincing display on her part and you know what bill clinton has done, for instance, going down there repeatedly operating under the radar most of the time, most of the time, no press coverage at all.