critically injured in the occupy wall street protests. more on this marine and the behind-the-scenes video and is this movement finally gaining political momentum? we'll examine that and this. rosie o'donnell,ç our special guest this hour. we're going to ask her why she decided to take on prime tv. and does she still have a crush on tom cruise? we'll ask all the tough questions. great to have you with me today. i'm thomas roberts. president obama is spending today at the white house after a three-day swing through the west. speaking in denver, president obama repeated his campaign mantra that he can't wait on congress. >> they're still going to have to pass this jobs bill, they've got to create jobs, they've got to grow the economy but these executive actions we're taking can make a difference. and i've told my administration we're going to look everysongle day to figure out what we can do without congress.

the latest cbs/"new york times" poll shows a 3 point boost in the president approval rating in the past month. is his message resonating with voters? the presidenties message is aimed at gaining votes in two voting blocks in particular, correct is it. >> yes, the young and the restless, you might say, the young and the independents. that's no secret. black voters, hispanic voters. there's no evidence of any erosion there, especially among the black community and black voters. it was about a month ago the president went before the congressional black caucus and exhorted them, pleaded with them to take off their bedroom slippers and get out there and work for reelection, work for democrats in congress and across the board next year. the problem that the president faces is apathy among some of these core constituencies, will they turn out, and independents

as well.ç you can see the message being tailored to the young, independents, all of these core constituenci constituencies. the president announcing relief in student loans yesterday. president is breaking out parts of his jobs bill and doing what he can through executive action. earlier in the week it was mortgage. the president focusing on these key constituencies, trying to get them to the polls and rekindle the enthusiasm that brought him to the white house to begin with. >> some are seeing a similar strategy when it comes to the way the president and republican rick perry are attacking mitt romney. basically your enemy's enemy is my friend. >> one thing can you count on here at the white house, when you're talking about presidential poll takes, we saw the president talking on jay leno that he's not going to engage until people are voted off the island.

that's not the case with mitt romney. they always rise when mitt romney says something critical, they will go ahead and attack mitt romney. it's clear they see him as the biggest threat. there's no one running to the left of mitt romney. some of the independents we were just talking about are conceivably susceptible and could go to the romney camp if he were the eventual nominee. that's why you see the perry camp and obama campaign hitting romney on a common theme and that is romney's flip-flop, many core republican and conservative positions about gun control, about abortion in years past that romney has changed over the years. >> mike, thank you very much. >> okay. >> so the dow is soaring this morning on two key pieces of economic news. while they remain high, the number of peopleç filing for unemployment dipped slightly last week and strong spending by consumers and businesses helped almost double the rate of growth in the third quarter. all this comes as european leaders agree to the framework of a deal to keep the greek

economy from collapsing. let see how wall street is reacting to all of this. let's take a peek at the markets. the dow and s & p are green arrows across the board. our senior analyst and commentator for cnbc joins us right now. on the surface, ron, all of this seems very positive as we're in q4, people moving toward the holidays. >> you can add better than expected corporate profits as well. you have three big developments today. the most important of which is this european deal. many people were afraid that europe was so fractured you wouldn't even got what you got today, which is really a $1.4 trillion bailout program like our tarp. you've gotten banks to take a 50% hair cut on greek debt, which is going to resolve their issues so they'll get more aid. the economic numbers were better than expected.

so that's helpful. now the dow, s & p and nasdaq down. this is an astounding turn around. >> is this a wild card that's left hanging out there now? >> the headline risk is assuming europe is out of the way. china is slowing down a little bit but it looks like they may take steps to make sure their growth remains on track. whether or not we can maintain 2.5% economic growth is an oep question. but we're getting through earnings season rather nicely and we'reç in also a seasonabl period where stocks tend to do pretty well. >> ron, great to see you this morning. thank you, sir. we want to show you some gruesome pictures, the aftermath of this violent scuffle with police during an occupy wall street protest during night. an iraq war vet, blood streaming from his head, there after having his skull fractured during that rally. oakland police fired bean bag rounds and tear gas into the

crowd of about a thousand people. the injury add as whole new level of intensity to the nationwide protest over corporate greed and income disparity in this country. if a new report from the u.s. census bureau is any indication, thattin rest isn't likely to die down soon. the report shows the growing gap is widest. mayors in cities where occupy rallies are being held are struggling to find ways to remove demonstrators without intruding on their rights to free speech but their patience is wearing thin. mitt romney, they love him in the early states, at least if you believe the polls. new polling may breathe new life into mitt romney's campaign and show he's not threatened by that of herman cain. romney has seen other candidates come and go at the top of the polls but new data gives him an edge in early states.

romney is ahead in haiia. stro -- new hampshire, south carolina and florida. david, this is good news for the romney camp. is there proof theirç strategys working? do you think he's going to be able to move the dial in these states? he stayed pretty flat, this 40% number across the board. >> that's true but this is icing on the cake for mitt romney, just because of his lead in iowa. he's leading in a bunch of these days but remember iowa is not really part of mitt romney's grand strategy. to be leading there, for not having visited the state and not having put the time and resources into the state is pretty good news for him. now the question his campaign confronts is whether to really go all in in iowa and try to sweep it going into new hampshire. >> let's talk about herman cain. there's also this new polling out today that shows him ahead of romney nationally. but isn't it better to be first in the states that are going to have you voting come january?

>> yeah, absolutely. and remember the refrain from the critics of these polls is rudy giuliani, fred thompson were ahead in the national polls that the time. they never even, you know, won any of the early states, didn't even place high in many of them. so, you know, national polls are going to go up and down and as herman cain gets more and more scrutiny, you're going to see his numbers get wobbly, i think, unless he's able to really provide substantial answers to the questions about foreign policy and economic policy, which is getting, again, a lot more scrutiny these days. >> i want to talk to you about the perry campaign. ray sullivan, the perry campaign communication director, kind of indicated the candidate might not attend every day bait. is that a sound apology, especially when he gets hammered for being a weak debater? >> i think he definitely will be attacked for not participating in debates. you'll have people hitting him

saying he couldn't, you know, he couldn't take the heat and now he'sç running from the kitchen. this harkens back to governor perry's strategy from his gubernatorial campaigns. he was just up for election in 2010 for governor in the state of texas and he refused to participate in any debates with the democratic candidate there. that is sort of perry's m.o. he's now trying to use this nationally to say, hey, we want to spend more time with the voters but he certainly will take heat and it's based on his poor performances in these first few debates this fall. >> david, it's great to see you this morning. >> thank you. >> breaking news to pass along to you. the trial of john edwards will go ahead as planned. a federal jj in north carolina has just denied all five motions to dismiss the indictments against him. he will go to court in january on charges he used campaign money to cover up an appear.

>> herman cain trying to have it both wares dis tansing himself from a controversial member of the tea party who has had controversial words for african-american leaders and at the same time using his race to grb headlines. where is his campaign going? and rosie's here. the outresponsibspoken host joi later. stick around. two. three. one. two. and, three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn more cash back for the things you buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back on groceries. 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. it's as easy as one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. whose non-stop day starts with back pain...

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welcome back, everybody. han may be making headlines at the top of the presidential polls but he may be making waves within his own campaign. a "new york times" report reveals campaign workers say he has barely made an attempt in

iowa and new hampshire. a pastor added this to an introduction in texas. take a listen. >> it's the democratic party that's the racist! the party of the klu klux klan, the party of jim crowe, the party of segregation, the party of the kkk. they're the racists, notç us. we're their friends. we're the emancipateors, the labor rateors. >> cain after dismissed those comments, his spokesman saying their campaign is about, quote, promoting civil dialogue. let's bring in our panel this morning. karen hunt are and robert crane, krachlt bureau chief for the comcast network. herman cain has not played the race card during his campaign -- >> what? >> but he has made remarks that will make your head turn. hold on. listen to this.

>> many african-americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view. >> all right. so he's making a broad johnsonizatijohnso generalization there. do you think those comments will pile up during his campaign? >> by the way, that was the jack of spade card he played there. at the end of the day, many african-americans were offended by things been saying throughout his campaign. he has been playing a race card and race has become a central theme. i also think what's been going on right now might actually lead him to the nomination. wasn't president obama embroiled with a similar problem with a pastor? could be a premonition. >> you neff know. cain has gone after the president specifically. an interviewer asking him a question are you suggesting obama isn't really black? cain a real black man isn't timid about making the right

decisions. interviewer goes on to say but you're saying he's not really a cain goes on not in terms of a black man i can identify with. what do you think the bigger problems are when he's taking on president obama saying he's not a real black man. >> herman cain burst on to the scene because of his 9-9-9 plan. to the extent that mitt romney and rick perry are responding it, that's a good thing from a front-runner's perspective. but herman cain continues to put his foot in his mouth, continues to have to defend himself and run a seat of your pants type of campaign. i think the real problem here is that herman cain never thought he would be the front-runner. he was out there trying to sell

his book. then this blew up on him. i don't think he ever, ever thought the scrutiny he is now under would actually materialize. i think that's his problem. even he is stepping back here and saying, ow, wow, i'm the front-runner, i'm being scrutinized and people are paying attention. >> i disagree. if you read cain's book, he thought he would be president of the united states. he's running to win. >> he even picked out a secret service name. >> corn bread? i think he thinks he's supposed to be where he is right now. i do think he's not used to this scrutiny. isn't this par for the course for the republican party? you guys are none for the foot in the mouth thing and it seems to work well. >> michele bachmann thinks he's going to be the next president. dennis kucinich thinks he's going to beç the next presiden. i really do believe herman cain was doing this because of his book and this kind of blew up. >> so you think he was trying to

sell books and it's caught on he cab presidential contender? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> how do you think he's going to do in iowa is this. >> it interesting. i actually think he's going to do very well in iowa. iowans tend to like to pick the underdog. look at mike huckabee in 2008, he won the iowa caucus. he didn't win the nomination. when you look at barack obama, who was the underdog in 2008, remember barack obama was 30 points hind hillly clinton. she will 45 million cash on hand, he had $3 million cash on hand. iowans are very different in picking the under dog. >> you're absolutely right on that. president corn bread here we go. >> we're going to have to leave it on that note unfortunately. thank you both for joining me this morning. >> on a different note, it hasn't been a really good month for the loaf hans. michael lohan, the father faced charges on domestic violence. not 12 hours from being released from that incident, he was

arrested again, this time for contacting that girl friend. sadly new mug shots for him and lindsay. lindsay performed a pop song about ongoing struggles and strange relationship with her father. daughter and dad are now five for five, five each in their shug shot collections. back after this. ♪ credit and debit purchases, checks, bills, and other financial information. it lets you see the details as well as the big financial picture. so you can do more with your money. see what a complete view of your money can do for you at pncvirtualwallet.com. ♪ pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

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new questions today about whether senator marco rubio would be an asset on the 2012 ticket or a liability? he is making his family's exile from cuba a center part of his nave tiff. he claims his parents fled cuba as exiles after fidel castro

took power. >> my mom went back with my sister and my brother to take care of her father in 1960 and my dad stayed behind working. >> george gonzalez, professor of american politics at the university of miami joins us now to talk more about this. ss), it's good to have you on with us this morning.e you on let's get deeper into this. rubio has been pegged as a potential 2012 vice presidential candidate. how big a deal is this to cuban americans that his timeline is off and how might it hurt his support among the hispanic voting block? >> well, in terms of the cube and american community, i would say that in the broad mindset, there is a different between those cuban americans that came directly as a result of the oppression and policies of the castro regime versus those individuals that came prior to that for, you know, what might be cast as more clearly and more

purely economic reasons. >> in 2009 rubio said nothing against immigrants but my parents are exiles. he seems to know the difference, though, based on that difference. do you believe he simply made a mistake in the telling of his parents story or do you think there was something deeper there for political motivation? >> well, i think -- certainly i would say in my estimation that politically here in terms of south florida politics and florida politician, he benefited or at least he thought he benefited from the idea that, yes, his parents fled castro's cuba, fled oppression, fled, you know, socialist depression and came to the united states and were able to flourish in the land of freedom and opportunity. there is i think some political benefit to being associated with that narrative as opposed to the more mundane explanation, which is simply in the 50s his parents came here looking for jobs and economic opportunity as oppose

to fleeing the oppression of the castro regime. >> it's a huge difference when you're coming to this country trying to live the american dream and then being cast as an exile fleeing aç country for yr own safety. how damaging is the story to rubio's political future, vice presidential aspirations aside? >> time will tell. i don't know how cuban-american voters particularly will respond to this. he is one of their own. it's very possible, not likely that they'll rally around him. the next senate election is a number of years out. in termsch his senate seat and future of politics here in florida, i think it's too early to tell and, it's very likely it's not going to damage him. >> what about vice presidential aspirations, especially when it comes to the larger hispanic voting bloc? >> what i would say about national aspirations, i think it

has been damaged. i think one of the real assets that he had that he could have brought potentially to a republican presidential ticket is this story of somebody's family who was fleeing socialist stalinist oppression coming here looking for freedom, finding it and finding -- and given the opportunity and ability to flourish in every sense. so that's a very compelling story that, you know, as a vice presidential nominee stumping around the country he could have told to some very positive effect. now that story is very muddled. and so i think his stock nationally has diminished as a result of all of these recent revelations. >> george gonzalez, professor of american politics at the university of miami, george, nice to you have on our air this morning. thank you, sir. >> thank you very much and have a good day. >> you, too. >>ç what's next for occupy wal street? clashes with police, arrests?

where are the issues that got them out there in the first place? one would-be politician is working to get the message back on track. she's taking it straight to capitol hill. plus rosie o'donnell is back on the oprah winfrey network. only a few weeks into it and she's already making waves. tracy morgan is on to talk about his homophobic rant. we'll is that and much more coming up.

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five months ago. we are building a website by ourselves. [ woman announcing ] there's an easier way. create your own small-business site... with intuit websites. just choose a style that suits your business, then customize, publish and get found... in three easy steps. [ bell dings ] sweet. [ announcer ] all from just $7.99 a month. get a 30-day free trial... at intuit.com. is the occupy wall street movement finally getting police call muscle? a group of seven democratic candidates running for office in the house next year have delivered a petition to house speakerç john boehner's office, asking him to pass a jobs bill and hold wall street accountable. the petition states, quote, we stand with the 99%. i'm joined by frankie wilmer, democratic congressional candidate from montana. she's one of the seven who delivered these petitions. ms. wilmer, it's nice to have you on with us this morning.

this petition contains over 35,000 signatures from the candidates' home states. tell us more about what you were hoping to accomplish, especially by delivering this straight to john boehner. >> thanks, thomas. i think our political system is broken, our economy is broken and it is undermining the medicalle class, which is the back bone of democracy. we want to take that message straight to the speaker, straight to congress. we need people in congress who will not let par sanship and special interest trump the needs of work being people and vulnerable citizens. so it's time for people with different priorities. >> speaker boehner's office did release a statement, the response to your petition saying the american people are frustrated about the economy, plain and simple. speaker boehner understands they want a government that listens to them, focuses on their priorities and works together. that's exactly what the house is doing. what is your response to this, especially when this has been labeled over and over by the

obama administration as a do-nothing congress is it. >> people are losing their job, their homes and l life savings. it's quite serious. i don't know where the idea that congress is doing something comes from. they need to get that bill to the floor and debate it. the american people deserve it. if there are things to be changed, you debate and amend it. you roll up your sleeves and work for the people, not for partisanship and posturing. >> whenç we talk about the occy wall street movement we've been seeing new headlines and most of them are violent. this show as police officer repeatedly punching a man. nbc news has not corn firmed when this video was taken. when we do see images like this and we just saw what happened with occupy oakland with an iraq war vet fracturing his skull last night after getting injured after a scuffle there with police, what do you think lawmakers should be doing? >> well, they should be getting

back to work. that's why we took the petition to the speaker's office. we need jobs but they need to do their jobs. we need that speaker to get back to work. it's very, very sad. it's heartbreak to watch this become a violent issue. people are frustrated and if they aren't frustrated, they wouldn't be out there making the sacrifice, showing the commitment and the courage to continue the occupy movements. >> how are you able to collect 35,000 signatures? >> we just fanned out in our own networks over the country. they came in so fast and i'm sure they're still coming in. we thought that was a good number to get there. we were here in ton. there were seven of us. as you notice, bold, populist candidate who is want to come to congress and do the work that we think needs to be done. >> frankie willer in, democratic congressional candidate from montana. thanks for your time this morning. appreciate it. >> thank you, thomas. >> topping the news for you this morning, after more than a hundred hours under rubble, a man in turkey has been pulled

out alive after the deadly 7.2 earthquake. the man was whisked away in an ambulance to the cheers of on lookers. >> the wife of the man convicted of running one of the biggest ponzi schemes ever says she and her husband tried to commit suicide on christmas eve ç2008. ruth says she and her husband swallowed sleeping pills but both woke up the next morning. attorneys are refuting a claim by police that the couple refused separate interviews. the attorney says the issue is the police want to interview the parents were no restrictions and without attorneys present. lisa's 8 and 6-year-old half brothers will also be reinterviewed by a specialist. that's coming up at the end of

the week on friday. >> attorneys for dr. conrad murray are calling their final two witnesses today. murray broke down in court yesterday after a series of character witnesses spoke out on his behalf. defense attorneys hope they can convince jurors that michael jackson gave himself a fatal dose of the powerful propofol. closing argument are expected to begin next week. and a horrifying, muddy clean-up in italy after torrential rains triggered flash floods. at least nine are dead, six missing. and thousands in bangkok are fly fleeing their home for higher grounds. record setting floods have killed 370 people in the country. it's the worst flooding tiehand has seen in a century. >> a constitutional amendment is on the november 8 ballot in mississippi which wants to amend the bill of rights to declare a

fertilized human egg as a legal person. if it passes it would make aborti abortion, birth control a crime. joining me isç melissa perry. time magazine says in mississippi that 99% of women in the state do not have access to a planned parenthood or -- what's your reaction? >> look, mississippi has a very long and extremely appalling history of intervening in women's reproductive rights on both sides, both the right to have a child and the right to choose not to go forward with the pregnancy. many people may not know the story of fanny lou hammer, a civil rights and voting rights

activist, part of the mississippi freedom democratic party. she and many, many other poor african-american women during the era of jim crowe were given what came to be called mississippi appendectomies, either going in for child birth and other minor procedures and having their uteruses removed through his recht mis they had not consented to. mississippi is making a choice as a government to intervene in the reproductive lives of women and families in ways that will undoubtedly have dramatic and negative impact on women's health. >> melissa, the issue that get a lot of people is this does go beyond abortion. what kind of impacts would this have in reproductive rights, not just in mississippi but

nationwide. >> this and other nicanç initi are to take this to the supreme court to overturn roe v. wade. they're limiting access to health care and it puts into the constitution something that is scientifically completely false. it declares that a fertilized egg is a person. now, if you know anything about reproduction, you know the vast majority of fertilized eggs never implant and never become persons. they never become either live births or pregnancies that are terminated. so it just asserts something that is medically and scientifically untrue but does so in a way that can mean that everything from a spontaneous miscarriage could, you know, result in like we need to now think about whether or not this was a caused murder because this

was a person, that in vitro fertilization can be impacted because it would be cruelty to freeze embryos to making it impossible to get iuds and other birth control, which actually reduces the number of abortions when women have access to birth control. this is an absolutely appallingly extreme measure meant to take away women's right to reproductive choice on both ends of the spectrum and to take it to the supreme court. >> it nice to see you this morning. always a pleasure to see you. can you remember to read more of melissa's thoughts on this and other topics at thenation.com. tomorrow we have one of five doctors in mississippi who performs invito fertilization. >> and remember this gay soldie by the audience? now he's takesing action against

the government. and rosie o'donnell. she's really here. we're going to be talking to her about her new show and the fight for rights in this country. oter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ or a can of paint... you came together to vote, to share... to volunteer. and now, thanks to you, 10 communities have more to smile about. what's next? tell us on facebook. today i own 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking.

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rick perry is making a campaign pivot. perry distanced himself from birther comments he made in an interview withç cnbc. >> i don't think i was expressing doubts. i was having some fun with donald trump. >> are you comfortable he's an american citizen? >> oh, yeah. lighten up a little bit. >> you have no doubt he's american citizen? >> have i no doubt. but let's late out our income taxes. let's lay out our college transcripts. mine's been on the front page of the paper. >> perry is hoping the focus on job creation will give his came pain the lift it needs. >> michele bachmann filed for

the granite state primary by mail. and stephen hill, the gay soldier whose video question was booed at a recently republican debate is filing a lawsuit against the government. eight service members in all will be named as plaintiffs in the suit challenging whether the defense against marriage act is constitutional. stephen hill's spouse is going to join msnbc live in our next hour. in just a few moments, i'm going to get a chance to speak with rosie o'donnell. she's going to join us to talk about her new talk show. >> and a hair raising flip side is coming your way next. at bayg pain for over 100 years. and today, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief. with new extra-strength bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief right to the site of your tough pain. in fact, it's clinically proven

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you're up there, you try to make people laugh, something comes up, it's an ad lib, it's

not what i feel and think. what i love is after this happened, you won't and spoke to gay kid, right? >> absolutely. i have gay family members and all of that stuff. i felt hurt because the people who were at my show was hurt. >> sure. >> i felt bad for that. i don't pride myself on hurting anyone with the mic. >> i don't speak on behalf of all of the gay community, i only speak on behalf of me. but i forgive you, honey. i knew -- baby, i knew it. >> a great moment there between tracy morgan and the one and only rosie o'donnell. if you want to know more about the topics rosie o'donnell will be bringing to tv talk, she joins me live from chicago right now. it's nice to see you. >> good morning. i just tweeted you back. >> i just got it. i just sawbthat. i'm glad you're ready for us. we have a lot to talk about here. first i want to say to tracy morgan and that interview you had with him, why did you want

to forgive him in such a public space? is it the fact you know what he went through as a comic or you have compassion for the human situation? what was it? >> i've known the guy for a dozen years. he auditioned for snl and i know who he is. for standup comics today, it's a very fine line. you're doing show in a local venue. everyone has an iphone with a video camera. every single sentence is analyzed and you're held up to a politically correct standard. i knew in his heart he is not a guy who hates gay people. i know because he's my friend. if he hated gay people, we would not be friend. i know noou what position he was in. i called him and said, honey, do you want to come on the show and talk? he's he's like i'm afraid. i saved don't be afraid. i understand. i just wanted to talk to him human to human and give him the chance to say what i knew was his truth, that he does not hate

gay people and what he said was a throw away ad lib in the middle of a comedy routine and i guess get it. >> it was on your show on own. how does it feel to be back especially on oprah's network with her blessing? >> well, that's a huge, huge deal to me. i was initially going to sign with nbc and we had the contract and then all of that happened with leno and conan and i'm not sure i want to get back in the water with the sharks. i talked to gloria, what is it you want to do? so few women have internationalç microphones. i would love to do it for oprah winfrey. why don't you call her. i was too intimidated to call her. i knew somebody who knew her. i got a phone call, are you serious? if you are, she's going to fly in to talk to you at your house. we had a four-hour conversation, would you really want to do this for me, why? because you're you and you'll

never understand the effect you have on millions of people including me. it's an honor to be on her network and work with her and the kind of effect she's had on millions of people worldwide. it is really unparallel. >> you've been entertaining and as a stand-up comedian and talk show host as a soloist on the view. you never shied away from using your popularity to address political issues. is there room for that when you do the blend of family entertainment but taking on serious topics like you did with tracey morgan? >> i think you have to. tv has changed so much with the advent of social media and people ak expecting access to celebrities. people want to know one on one right from you, from twitter, what is it you think and feel. i don't think there's any way to address the -- and try to do it in a human way.

instead of saying in general, this is horrible that all of these people are losing their homes, to tell the actual story of a person with a full and successful life and because of the whole banking financial crisis all of a sudden is homeless. to show that person with a college degree and what happened to their life, really i think touches people in a way that rhetoric can't. we'll try to tell theç stories through human experience. >> talking about modern political issues i like to cover on this show so much in the country was taking place about bullying, the process of trying to raise awareness about it, especially over the last year and a half it seems like an epidemic with tyler clementi. what are your thoughts or bullying and how it's being addressed? >> i think bullying in our children's schools really is a reflection of what we're showing them in the media. when i came home from school in the '70s i would put on merv

grif fin and the afternoon special, they wouldn't put on things that hurt people. in the '90s you turn on the tv and you see people who look like mommy and daddy physically beating each other up. there became a national agenda of bullying and some of the news networks, 24-hour news networks seem to take pride in the fact they bully people. the whole thing with donald trump, i was shocked how many stations he was allowed to go on and debase my character and physical experience, every single thing about me, not as a comedian, a joke we talked about. it was -- he was bullying for like seven months. i thought, it is very fascinating, societally to look at it and think, how is it allowed to happen, right? how is it that people don't stand up in a way for each other and intolerance has accepted as the norm. it happens a lot with bullying

in the schools. i think it's been happening with gay and trans gender kids forç decades but we're just now focusing on it. you have to realize, when i was on tv, there was no tmz, nobody was asking if you were gay or not. nobody ever asked me in the entire run of my show if i was gay because it wasn't part of the social zy gift and will and chase changed everything and ellen came out. you have to think in 15 years, so many things have changed and some parts of the country have not caught up. it is a tragedy but gay is okay is as more people can live the truth on tv, in the world, your neighbors and teachers, the easier it's going to be for all of us. >> real quickly, you still have a crush on tom cruise, pla tonic, of course? >> i'll always have a crush on

him. look a him, i'm gay i'm not dead. >> i've got the same name -- >> i don't know how to tell you this, your handsome and got a tom cruise vibe, my new guy is russell brand. >> i can understand that. >> just telling you, thomas. >> katyxts perry may have a problem with that. >> bests of luck with the new show that everybody can check out week nights on own. that will do it for me today. i appreciate it. i'll see you back here tomorrow 11:00 a.m. eastern time every weekday morning. until then follow me on twitter at thomas a roberts. that was a great interview. alex witt will pick things up after this. stick around. i'd like one of those desserts and some coffee.

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good day, finally good news about the u.s. economy. the commerce department says the economy grew at the rate of 2.5% in the third quarter. as the economy picks up steam,

the president brags about steam rolling over congress. >> we can't wait for congress to do its job. so where they won't act, i will. >> president obama flexing his executive muscles. >> we're going to look every single day to figure out what we can do without congress. what can we do without them? >> what he has done without them is announce initiatives that could help millions of ammrhcans pay off student loans and help a million homeowners meet their mortgage payments. and help 8,000 veterans find jobs. white house officials say the president and the administration are on a roll. >> we're going to continue to look at taking actions that make a difference in people's lives. >> reporter: republican congressman paul ryan says the president is sowing social unrest. >> preying on the emotion of fear, envy and resentment. >> the house will vote on a portion of the jobs plan and the super committee continues to work on reducing the deficit. >> the