with the reverend jeremiar wright is an important campaign issue. >> they think it's fair to tie president obama to reverend wright and explain how it influenced the word view. >> how could he have not been in his church for 20 years and not assimilated some of the things he's talking about. that's your stimulus dollars at work. a bridge that goes nowhere. mitt romney is still stirring up fears about the stimulus. >> former labor secretary joins me. rich people don't create jobs. calling ourselves job creators isn't inaccurate, it's disingenious. a venture capitalist says lowering taxes won't create any

jobs. he'll prove it's not the 1% that creates jobs but you the con sierm. arsenio hall joins us tonight to weigh in on the hottest political news. conservatives are still debating the plan to attack president obama with reverend jeremiah wright. they say it's fair game to examine if there's a direct line between faith and policy. they say we need to no whether president obama's former pastor affected his politics and his policy. here is former presidential candidate herman cain jumping in. >> how could he have been in his church for 20 years and not assimilated some of the thing he's talking about. it's not racist. the liberals want to place the race card when it's convenient. >> president obama has no fear of this kind of examination. candidate obama answered it with a speech on race.

>> did i know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of american, domestic and foreign policy? of course. did i hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while i sat in the church? yes. did i strongly disagree with many of his political views? absolutely. >> candidate obama not only answered nagging questions, he delivered a speech on race in america. here is sean hannity. >> 20 years, fort fied. he's like family to me but don't bring it up. if this was him, they would go after him with a vengeance. >> he acts like this was never brought up by anybody, but it created such a fire storm it threatened to sink president obama's candidacy. in the four years since then reverend jeremiah wright has had

zero influence on president obama. >> mr. wright has not been in the news for the past three and a half years. how much contact has he had with the president of the united states since he took the oath of office? >> they haven't had any. the president was clear that reverend wright's views that were played again and again didn't reflect the president's views. >> critics want to know if barack obama assimilated sinister view s of jeremiah wright. they try to create a direct line. the attack dog exposed by the new york city created story boards to show how barack obama undermined the united states of america because he was influenced by jeremiah wright. they say he's apologized for america. >> president obama's foreign policy is one that america is another nation with flag. president obama apologizes for america. it's time for us to be strong as

a nation. >> it's not true. president obama has never apologized for america and he sure hasn't been shy in taking out its enemies. if president obama answered questioned about jeremiah wright four years ago and he hasn't had contact with him since, why bring him up now. here is sean hannity. >> i think he's far more in view than he let ons. i think he hides his true believes because i think he agrees with wright. >> they say president obama is trying to hide his black liberation theology. the new attack would have per trayed wrights black liberation theology, the strategy was to hire an extreme whether i literal conservative african-american as a spokesman. it's not really about creating a direct line between a pastor's views and a president's policy. it's about stoking racial fear in america. let's take them at their word

for a moment. should we look at the leaders of mitt romney religion and examine whether they affected his politics. fair question? has his views on african-american and poverty and the social safety net been basiced by the fact that his church didn't open the priesthood to african-americans until 1978. according to some conservatives it's fair question. are republicans fully prepared for this examination of mitt romney? i don't think they are. is mitt romney going to give a speech on race? should he? i think she should. before 1978 mitt romney with a missionary in the mormon church. just what was he saying about black people in this country? get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. is it fair game to discuss a candidate's religious believes? text a for yes. text b for no or go to our blog president we'll bring you the

results later on in the show. i'm joined tonight by armstrong williams, radio and television talk show host and michael eric dyson. gentlemen, great to have both you have with us tonight for the discussion. armstrong, you first. what's fair game here in your opinion. why are the conservatives so bent on connecting president obama to jeremiah wright after being president for almost years. >> hello, ed and hello michael. i think you have to separate the candidates from the super pacs which can spin anymore way they like. sometimes they spin and when they spin it seems to favor one candidate or the other. either the president or romney. the candidate will be blamed whether they like it or not. >> sean hannity is not a super pac. >> may i finish. he's not a candidate for president.

mitt romney has reputiated these attacks. america's stain is human slavery. it created an environment you can perpetuate in things you had coming out of the mormon church at that time. are we going to say just because mitt romney embraced that faith, that's what he grew up in. those are his views. >> you're asking the very key question. this is about concern of influence. it seems the conservatives are concerned about what kind of influence that jeremiah wright had on barack obama. maybe there are some people that are concerned about what kind of influence the mormon faith has had on mitt romney. >> if i can continue. i'm not even assure in the 20 years that president obama was a member of reverend wright's church how often he was in his presence. just because you're in someone's congregation and professor dyson knows that the black church s a church of activism. that's the place they can go

during the hiefgt of the zichl rights mission. >> being a missionary is pretty much an activist. >> the bottom line just because president obama was in that church, does not necessarily mean he embraced everything about jeremiah wright. he can separate his feelings where he denounced the things that he stood for and separated himself from it. >> fair enough. what's fair game here michael eric dyson. is an examination of mitt romney's faith? >> absolutely. it's consequent impact upon one's own political views. the reality is it's a double standard here. wright was evoked as the big bad bully who was going to force barack obama to bow down at the knees of black liberation theology. it's not a hateful theological position. it's an argument about the

fundamental nature of white supremacy in the area. on the other hand, the reality is if we're going to play what's good for the loose is good for the slander. if we're going to suggest that barack obama was influenced by wright then what are the views on the church that mitt romney put forth. and couldn't afford to be priests in the religious affairs of that church until 1978. when the ncaa put restrictions upon those institutions which would deny legitimate standings. i think there's a relationship between on the one hand of the politics of the culture and the church decision itself. we shouldn't gloss over that as well. >> we also shouldn't forget that hannity makes this idea of reporting there's some terrible influence coming from wright to the president of the united states. here is more of hannity. >> i want romney to treat obama

the way he did gingrich and the way he attacked santorum. i thought it got a little too mean. how all these things are off limits. >> armstrong he said romney is going too easy on president obama. do you agree? >> romney is a gentleman. there's a certain respect that's understood in this campaign. obviously, sean hannity have their issues with this president in the white house whether it's fair or not. this is no reflection of candidate romney. romney has distanced himself from this rhetoric. i believe in free speech. sean hannity can say anything he chooses like you can. romney has reputuated this with the super pac. we should do the same and address the real issues. >> look at this. ted nugent goes forward and has plausible deny blt. now we're talking about the super pacs. either you're going to outright

distance yourself from them and say as a matter of both strategy and protocol that we will not engage in this blister assaults upon each other's viewpoint s or else all things are fair. there's one thing to have plausible deny blt o. we have to be across the board and open. when wright was assaulted there was no such kind of justification put forth to suggest that barack obama would not be unduly influenced by him. we have asterisks and exceptions and that's fundamentally unfair. >> mitt romney on february 7th invoked the name of what we're talking about right now. he said his name. you can't run away from that. >> ed, that is different. he was asked a question about whether or not he felt that

wright had some kind of influence. he said yes. he's influenced by some of the things that goes on in his church. this is different from what the superer pacs are trying to do. >> i want to correct you. respectfully, that's not true. he brought it up in the interview on his own. that's what he did. >> it's not in the context of what we're discussing now. >> he's ready to play this card through the entire campaign. he's planted the seed. it's almost coded messaging. >> he's not ready for that, ed. if he does he's going to be subject to the vicious assault that has prejudice against mormonism as a cult. evangelical christians view it very suspiciously. he's inviting the kind of assault upon his religion that he's willing to deliver to wright but doesn't want it for himself. >> mitt romney, yesterday, stood up for what he said.

he said he didn't know what he said but whatever he said, he stood by it. i'll give you the last word. >> the bottom line is we have two people of character. we may not agree with the positions that they take, but look, they reputuated this. we should put it behind us. we have no control over the super pac. >> i agree with that. let's have the exact same vetting process take place. let's make sure these super pacs are fair when it comes to the facts. great to have you with us. thanks for your time tonight. remember to answer the question at the bottom of the screen and their your thoughts on twitter. should it be equal vetting for both candidates when it comes to faith. mitt romney says president obama helped fund a bridge to nowhere. labor secretary says the only thing going nowhere is romney's job package. one billionaire says stop

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republican cuts have affected our nation's infrastructure in big ways. we see why now is the time to invest in intrastructure projects. president obama is cracking down on china's unfair labor practices. later, arsenio hall joins me to discuss the week's biggest stories including the gop's plan to resurrect the reverend wright controversy. we're coming right back. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7,

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romney's attack on government spending have no sbeg what so ever. the candidate held an event in new hampshire in front of a 200-year-old bridge. >> this is part of the president's stimulus plan. they say we put in place a whole series of elements that are critical to the future of america. you get one behind us right there. that's what they are saying. this is the absolute bridge to nowhere if there ever was one. >> hold the phone. here is everything you need to know. in 2004 the new hampshire legislature approved 128,000 dollars in repairs to turn it into a park. the funding was approved by 28

lawmakers who have gone onto endorse mitt romney. mitt romney needs to do a better job of search for his photo ops. in august of 2007, the i-35 bridge in minneapolis collapsed killing 13 people and injuring 145. a study last year showed 12% of all u.s. bridges are deficient. 69,000 are in need of major repair. infrastructure spending not only creates jobs and stimulates the economy, it's necessary to save lives. republicans still have blocked any attempted infrastructure spending bills even while they benefit from stimulus funded programs. 110 gop lawmakers who pose the stimulus but love to claim credit for its success. they are a lot like mitt romney who said in 2002 i want to go

after every grant and project to assure we're taking advantage of economic development opportunities. once again, will the real mitt romney please stand up. let's turn to robert reich. author of the book beyond outrage. i agree. great to have you with us tonight. thank you for your time. this is rather astonishing that mitt romney has no plan whatsoever for spending any dollars on infrastructure when we are crumbling in this country. your thoughts. >> it's illogical. we have an infrastructure crisis. our bridges, highways and our plumbing in sense of our sewer systems and piping systems. all of them are sub standard. we had years of deferred maintenance. we have to invest. if we want to stay competitive,

if we've got to make sure our businesses are competitive. on to of that we have 13 million of americans that have been out of work for more than six months. why not put some of them to work. this makes no sense. the republicans war on infrastructure. when republicans use to be the champions of infrastructure. dwight eisenhower was the one that sponsor and funded the entire interstate system. what planet is he on? >> i think he was in new hampshire today around that bridge that republicans supported. does he really believe what he is saying about infrastructure spending? >> i don't think he could believe it, ed. he did support the paul ryan budget. that budget would, if it ever

found its way into law, and mitt romney says it's marvelous and terrific and parallels what he wants to do, that budget more detailed than anything mitt romney has put forward would cause the biggest cut in infrastructure spending as a percentage of the economy in 60 years. >> president obama continues to say these infrastructure programs are things that republicans and democrats can agree on. here he is. >> everything in this jobs bill has been supported in the past by republicans and democrats. everything in this jobs bill is paid for. the idea for a big boost in construction is supported by the afl-cio but it's also supported by the chamber of commerce. those two don't get along on much. they agree we should rebuild america. >> and so, it seems to me that the only way we're going to get this done is if the democrats

get both chambers. >> apparently that's the case. republicans are moving more and more to the right. they are get spendi ining even it's to hire contractors in the private sector. they still don't want to do it. let me remind you that if we're ever going to borrow money to put all of these millions of americans to work, no is the time. we haven't seen the borrowing costs for the united states this low in many, many years. they yield on a ten year treasury is down to below 2%. you can't get lower than that. a big move on the government on solar energy means a lot for manufacturing jobs in this country. later, i'll show you why arizonanas might not get the chance to vote for president

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welcome back. you care about american jobs. check this out. united states government made a very gutsy call on behalf of the united states workers. the commerce department announced a trade tariff on more than 31% on solar panels from

china. since 2001, 2.8 million jobs have been lost to china. the latest move could be the tip of the iceberg in getting china to operate on an even playing field. mitt romney has talked tough. >> i'm going to make sure that china is recognized for the current manipulator and property theft that they are and go after them for those practices. >> lots of talk, but it's been president obama who has worked to stop china from unfair trade practices. the bush administration would have never done this be p the obama administration imposed tariffs on chinese tires in 2009 and saved a lot of jobs. >> if china would let the market work on its own, we'd ve no objections. >> they go against the rules

that china agreed follow. >> president obama signed an order to create a trade enforcement aimed at cracking down on china's trade violations. this latest tariff on solar panels, this is basic deal. manufacturing is one of the bright spots in the u.s. economy. we're slowly coming back. we added a half a million jobs since january of 2010, but unfair trade practices are a big hurdle. china dominates, and i mean they dominate. they own 46% of the world's market. mostly because china is not playing fair. the united states has 3% of the market. this latest trade tariff gives a real boost to american made solar energy equipment in the energy sector. joining me is senator brown of ohio where they make solar po panels. good to have you with us tonight. >> good to be back. >> this is a bold move, is it

not? >> this is the most aggressive agreement we've seen. he enforced trade laws against the chinese on steel and on tires. now they are doing it on solar panels. we had a trade surplus with china a year ago with solar panels. now china makes half the solar panels in the world and exports something like 90 plus percent of what they make the it's clear the commerce department, the u.s. energy department has shown that china's cheating on their production, how they do it and how they sell it. >> there is some corporate concern in america. this is a quote from the ceo of da dow corner. he said we are concerned about serious unintended con kwenss such as local job loss. what do you think the reaction of the chinese will be on this deal? >> of course they're going to be

upset. they play us for suckers over and over. china practices trade according to their natural interest. we practice trade according to to some economic textbook that's 20 years out of print. thai subsidi they subsidize capital. it's stuck in the house. governor romney if he really cares about china and jobs in the u.s. should tell speaker boehner to pass this bill. come to my website, sign up and sign our letter saying move on our china bill. there's a lot of things to do here. i'm working on legislation. we can do this and do china currency. there's all kind of opportunity to play fair.

>> china subsidizes their solar panel industry. they have the government saying go beat the united states. go beat them at the game. go take the market from them. we're going to give you the money to do this. you go ahead and make it. in the meantime you have american companies who are prmping these goods from china and it depresses the labor market in this country and also opportunities for american businesses. what does it mean to your state of ohio? >> well, we have three good solar companies in northwest ohio to start with. toledo is one of the solar cap pals of the united states. thoesz companies are hurting. we're seeing is up blie in t ii supply chain that's been hurt by china cheating on this and the obama administration standing up on these tariffs will make a difference. it's time that the u.s. government forced our trading partners to play fair. we're not asking for advantage. we just want a level playing

field on currency. >> unemployment is dropping below the national average in the state of ohio. manufacturing is clearly the key. this trade ruling and tariff put in. the fact is this is going to force the chinese to play fair with the american markets. great to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time. just consume this. this is something that the bush administration would have never done. it's been tires the, steels and now it's solar panels. we'll see what mitt romney's reaction is to this. there's a lot more coming up. stay with us. we're right back. hiring more people is a course of last resort for capitalists. >> a venture capitalist says lowering taxes won't lead to more jobs. >> mitt romney's new commercial says the opposite. >> president romney introduces tax cuts and reform that reward job creators, not punish.

>> he's here on why mitt has it wrong. the arizona secretary of state is demanding to see barack obama's birth certificate before he lets him on the ballot. race rears its ugly head in the gop yet again. median arsenio hall joins us. we're armed, and inexperienced. people call me an over-waterer. [ female announcer ] with miracle-gro, you don't have to be a great gardener to have a green thumb. every miracle-gro product helps your garden grow bigger, more beautiful flowers and bountiful vegetables. guaranteed. so even if... i have all these tools, and i have no idea how to use them. [ female announcer ] everyone grows with miracle-gro. [ female announcer ] everyone grows you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains.

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rule. lower tax frs the wees for the doesn't lead to growth for jobs. it shows the dismal job rate under the tax rate. job rate soars when the top tax rates were higher. the gop is stilli clinging to this myth at the expense of the middle class. one says while he's helped launch dozens of companies, he's never been a job creator. nick wrote in a bloom berg view, it's impossible to invest enough in our economy and our country to sustain the middle class, our customers, without taxing the top 1% at reasonable levels again. i kre lentsly gave a lecture ripping into the republican argument on job creators. take a look. >> if there was no one around who could afford to buy what we had to sell all those companies and all those jobs would have

evaporated. that's wlihy i can say that ric people don't create jobs. jobs are a consequence of a circle of life feedback loop between customers and businesses. an ordinary consumer is more of a job creator than a capitalist like me. that's why when business people take credit for creating jobs it's like squirrels taking credit for creatie ining evolut. it's the other way around. anyone that knows a business knows that hiring more people is a course of last resort for capitalists. it's what we do if and only if rising consumer demand requires it. in this sense, calling ourselves job creators isn't just inaccurate, it's disingenuous. if it were true that lower taxes led to job creation, today we would be drowning in jobs.

[ applause ] >> thank you. >> let's bring in nick. a technology entrepreneur and billionaire venture capitalist. he's also the author of garden of democracy. i appreciate your time. it seems like you have the philosophy of henry ford. he wanted to pay his workers enough so they could buy his ables. do i have that right? >> exactly. we call it middle out economics as opposed to this ridiculous notion of trickle down economics. the idea that if you pour money into rich people like an ingredient, jobs will squirt out of them like donuts. it hasn't happened and it won't happen. jobs are a consequence of a feedback loop of customers and

businesses. when customers thrive, so do businesses. in that sense middle class customers are the drive creators. >> if people aren't making money, they aren't going to be spending it because they don't have it. >> right. >> you bring up an interesting point as far as the wealthy. we've seen a lot of outsourcing of jobs from a way from our american soil so the wealthy can get wealthier. what the remedy for that? >> i think global trade is a fine thing. we have to acknowledge that it comes with trade offs. obviously, globalization has worked well for the shareholders of walmart and the shareholders of apple and companies that i own too. it's been a disaster for ordinary americans as we ship these jobs overseas. i think you quite rightly

pointed out that china has been super predatory in the way they approach this and we've let them walk all over us and in my opinion, that's been a terrible mistake. we need to appropriately tax wealthy people again so we can invest in the middle class. we need to defend our industries with appropriate trade agreements like we did in the past. frankly, we need to give workers more power too so they can have fair wages. >> you're a very unselfish man to speak the way you're speaking. most people that have a lot of money want to have a lot more. >> no. i disagree. i think you misunderstand me. i'm not saying this because i'm generous. all these things are good for me. the more customers there are, the more opportunity there is for capitalist like me. >> why don't republicans see it that way? why don't republicans see it

that way? >> because i think it's both republicans and democrats, if we're honest with ourselves, have been enthralled with this trickle down notion. republicans may defend big businesses as job creators, but we democrats ascribe job creation to small businesses. small businesses don't create jobs either. it's their customers. if we re-do our tax system and trade agreements it's going to be great for small business and big business. this argument isn't a pity argument. it's more for prosperity. >> thank you. the state of arizona has really hit a new low. the state's do law enforcement

official is trying to keep president obama off the ballot. that's next. [ lopez ] the red white and blue means so much to me.

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now i'm just out here saving fortunes forward. i want you to look into this ball right here. tell me what you see. savings. that's absolutely right. and it's in your future. close your eyes. man: all right. go to progressive.com. i see flo. that's a good sign. that's a good sign. it's your portal to the realm of savings. this is your heart line. this is your savings line. you see how they intertwine? yes. savings equals love, honey. yes. welcome back. it's been over a year since the white house made a copy of president obama's long form birth certificate public. even jan brewer called it a distraction. >> i believe most people have reached out and did their investigations and it's become a huge distraction. >> evidently ken bennett didn't

get that memo. bennett said that if he doesn't receive personal confirmation from the state of hawaii and the officials there after an authentic birth scertificate its possible he could keep president obama's name off the ballot. bennett said he got over 1200 e-mails asking him to do an investigation of his own. when he was pressed about playing to the birthers, this is what he had to say. >> i'm not bplaying to the birthers. i believe the president was born in hawaii or i hope he was. >> did you catch that? i hope he was. he's eyeing a gubernatorial run. that's right. it happens that ken bennett has an exploratory committee and started raising money. bowing to the birthers to snag

conservative voters. where have i heard that before? >> i'm going to look at it and many other people are going to look at it. you're going to have many people looking at it and they will have to make a decision. i hope it's the right deal. i'm sure, i hope it's the right al. we have to look at it. experts will look at it. i am really happy. honestly, i'm proud i was able to bring this to a point. >> you're in good company. let us now how it works out. tonight, i asked is it fair game to discuss a candidate religious believes? 63% say yes. 37% say no. next, it changes the landscape of late night tv in presidential politics. bill clinton's appearance on the arsenio hall know. up next, arsenio hall joins me

to talk politics, pop culture and celebrity apprentice. stay tuned. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

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♪ and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. back in the day he wore cheap sun glass and said he wanted to inhale, but didn't know how. that was how the new york times described then presidential

candidate bill clinton on the arsenio hall show in 1992. 20 years later we know that appearance not only changed the landscape but presidential politics. it was a risky move at the time. the clinton campaign needed some priding. consultant argued in favor of booking clinton on pop culture venues like the arsenio hall show. i understand that many people will say these kinds of things are unpresidential. bull. this is how people get information. words that ring true two decades later. here is the experience that changed modern campaigning.

♪ >> big man. >> almost 20 years ago. joining me now is arsenio hall, former talk show host and one of the two finalists on nbc's celebrity apprentice. you were standing right next to clinton at that time. did you know how big a moment that was? >> not at all. remember, we didn't know if he would become a president. he was the governor of a small state. >> arkansas. >> we didn't know if that would happen. i remember the first joke out of my mouth. i looked at him and said it's good to see a democrat blowing something other than an election. go on. >> it was pretty historic. you had to know you were probably the first talk show host to have a presidential candidate on like that that would perform and show the

people i'm like you. i can play an instrument. >> the only video i had seen of anything like it i think was johnny carson with ronald reagan, maybe. possibly. we'll have to google that when we get finished. i just knew it was a great booking. he was going to allow his wife to come out. i didn't know 20 years later we would see presidents dancing and playing base or presidential candidates doing things like this. the sunglasses, it's always weird. cheap sunglasses because those were mine. >> you think it's important for candidates to do this. >> absolutely. whether it's you or the other guy, whether it's sunday morning s , but it's no one thing. it should be also letterman and fallon. that way you get different

people delivering to their demographic in their way. >> how influential is it when a late night talk show host goes after a candidate? >> that's what we do. the best jokes are about the people we most recognize or know. >> serious stuff out there. reverend wright's back in the news. what the righties are trying the president on that. your thoughts on that. i'm on a game. i do the same thing. that's what politics is all about. it's up to us as intelligent americans to di cipher what's true and what's important. >> pretty gutsy move for president obama to come about marriage equality.

>> i'm in the finals only celebrity apprentice. i talked to him. that's what i know about the issue. he's very happy. he feels there are gay teenagers dying in this country because their lifestyle isn't being accepted. i don't want anybody to die. i don't believe god makes garbage. i think everybody deserves to right to be who they are. >> reagan was on johnny carson in 1975. you win the big prize on the ed show. you had it right. the celebrity apprentice coming up here sunday night. 9:00 eastern time here on nbc. you're up against clay aiken. who is going to win this? >> i have to have it. my son is older than clay's son. my son will remember this and cry. his son will never know this

happen. i need it ed. i got to have it. >> i didn't realize you were a yankees fan. >> my friend bought this team and i am very proud of him. there was a time when a black man couldn't play for the dodgers. then, i come full circle to this. my friend, magic johnson owns the dodgers. god is good, ed. >> i think he like the dodgers. great to have you with us tonight. >> that's "the ed show." "the rachel maddow show" starts now. ezra cline filling in. thank you for staying for the next hour. everything old is new again. they claim the candidate mitt romney flew from jacksonville to palm beach in florida yesterday.