>> the obama camp wants to nip this in the bud. they see what the romney camp is doing. see, folks, it's august, and mitt romney figured out he cannot win on a platform of cutting taxes for the rich, deregulating industry, and just getting rid of health care reform because all three of those are losiers in the polls with the people. instead, romney has to make things up to scare people about welfare queens coming to take their money. in this instance, the romney camp is completely ignoring the fact about the waiver policy. how many of you out there across america know what the waiver policy is? hasn't been much detail about it. the department of health and human services, basically, what they're doing is giving states more latitude to meet the work goals of the federal welfare program. this is what the states have wanted for a long time, for example, the state of nevada wrote to the hhs department in 2011, nevada is very interested in working with your staff to explore program waivers that

have the potential to encourage more cooperative relationships among the state agencies. meaning, let's get more people to work. the nevada director suggested installing a six-month work exemption. the federal government has worked drktly with states on this for more than three years to meet many of these requests by the governors. oh, by the way, one of those governors was mitt romney of massachusetts. these waivers, they have not been granted yet, but it's in the process. but republicans like newt gingrich have come out and said, you should really be worried about this waiver rule because you really don't know what president obama might do with it. >> the ad sets up what i think has not yet happened, but you have to ask yourself the question, why would they waive -- why would they put in place a waiver if they don't tent to waive it? i am happy to say it hasn't happened. the clue, it's going to happen if he gets re-elected. otherwise, why would you set it up. >> republicans are relying on dishonest attacks like this

because mitt romney can't get any traction. he is plagued by the one big unsolvable problem, and that is his tax returns. today, romney's former finance chairman, jon huntsman, sr., became the latest republican to ask for more information on romney's tax returns. he says, i feel very badly that mitt won't release his taxes and won't be fair with the american people. i have supported mitt all along, i wish him well, but i do think he should release his income taxes. there is more. moubting public pressure for romney to come clean. a new cnn poll shows 63% of the voting public, what do they want? they want to see more returns. nearly 7 of 10 independent voters say the exact same thing. the gop, you know what they are? they are struggling with how to deal with this, and it really shows. this is what rnc chairman reince priebus said today when asked a question about the birther movement. >> just as much of a distraction as it is for people to ask for

more and more tax returns. and all of these other issues. >> really? so he's now comparing 67% of independent voters to birthers. their logic is flawed. how is he going to win swing states talking like that? that's their problem. mitt romney would do anything to make this whole issue go away. in fact, he told nbc's chuck todd he hopes the obama campaign would stop talking about it. >> our campaign would be helped immensely if we had an agreement between both campaigns we were only going to talk about issues and that attacks based upon business or family or taxes or things of that nature, this is just -- >> so are you going to throw out something, a pledge or something? >> i would love to have -- only talk about issues. we could talk about the differences between our positions and our opponents' positions. >> are you going to offer something like this? >> our heads haven't gone after the president.

>> mitt romney has said his business experience is central to his campaign because you see, president obama doesn't know how the economy works. he only knows how the economy works. he knows the private sector. now he says it's off limits to talk ability his business and his finances. the republican party, you know what they've got? they've got an identity crisis, and mitt romney is a big part of it. when they panic, they go back to the old attacks about welfare queens and free loaders taking your money. it's another reminder of how weak a candidate mitt romney is and why he's had such a bad summer, and it continues. get your cell phones out. tonight's question, will mitt romn romney's welfare lie backfire? text a for yes, text b for no, to 622639. go to our blog and leave a comment at ed.msnbc.com. i'm joined by georgetown university professor michael eric dyson and also with us, paul waldman, contributor editor

for the "american prospect" magazine. paul, good to have you with us along with you, doctor. paul, you have said that this is one of the most dishonest campaigns you have ever seen. what about this latest ad about welfare that the romney camp has put out? >> well, you know, usually when a candidate misleads about his opponent or about a policy, there's some kind of tether to the truth. either, they said the words or they were taken out of context or something is exaggerated. in this case, they really do appear to have lost any concern about whether or not what they're saying is true. you know, in the ad, after they get through talking about the part about bill clinton, pretty much every sentence in there is false with the exception of i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. but it really -- this issue is an old story for republicans. it goes back to the 1960s. it really exists at the nexus of class and race. you know, mitt romney's biggest political problem is the perception he's a candidate of,

by, and for the 1%. so he's doing, i think, what republicans have done for a long time. which is to send a message to middle class voters that your resentments shouldn't be aimed up at the wealthy. they should be aimed down at the poor. and even though they're not making explicit racial argument, you can't ignore the fact there's always a racial element to this in the minds of voters. that's something that the romney campaign is not naive about. they understand the kinds of reactions people have when you start talking about welfare and those free loading welfare recipients taking your hard working money and using it so they can goof off. >> there is a big difference between a pac ad and mitt romney saying i approve this ad. the i approve this ad portion is backing up a falsehood about welfare and the waiver program which is totally out to lunch. michael, why do republicans always run back to issues like welfare and as paul mentioned, the racial end of it? >> well, ed, both you and

brother waldman have been talking the nexus between wealth and middle class. when you get weak as the romney campaign is, it has no arguments to make substantively against the president, it creates out of thin air all of these kinds of allegations that appeal to the racial subtextt that can be effectively appealed to without explicitly taking responsibility for it. it's plausibility deniability. here they're trying to suggest again as newt gingrich himself said, the president was the food stamp president, even the food stamp president accuser is saying that this is going too far. mitt romney is doing what he has always done, denying his own history here, the obama campaign is brilliantly shown when he was governor, he was for the same kind of waivers. not only that, ed, he put forth legislation that would pay for free cars for welfare recipients and their insurance. let's have that old mitt romney who can acknowledge he was much

more humane and compassionate. now he's employing the race card in subtle fashion, that is a strategy that the republicans fall upon. >> i think romney has run this campaign so far into the ground and alienated so many people and put out so many falsehoods, i don't think it matters who he picks as a vp. i don't think there's a game changer out there. i don't think there's anybody out there who can turn this around in 88 days. i want to get back to the waiver thing. i want the audience to understand how there's a lot of governors out there who want the waiver because they don't want to have federal control when it comes to welfare. how hard is it for a state to get a waiver? >> well, it can be difficult. you need to be within the letter of the original statute, then you need to get permission from the department of health and human services. and you know, all that the obama administration is saying to governors is if you have some innovative programs that will move more people into jobs, we'll listen and we'll look at them, and as long as they're carefully constructed and they

have measures to make sure that they're producing what we want them to produce, then we'll consider granting you the waivers. >> isn't this what the -- >> and woending work requires i absurd. this is nothing of the sort. >> they're always crying for state's rights, for keeping the federal intervention in their local autonomy clear, and here is an knmp where they're arguing knens their own principles. why? because they hate obama so badly they would rather subverttheir own principles rather than tell the truth. >> the romney camp is spending the majority of their money on this falsehood. paul, do you think this is going to go through all the way to november? >> i don't think so. this is -- this does have sort of a whiff of desprration about it. keep in mind, republicans won the policy argument about welfare all the way back in 1996. this kind of comes out of nowhere. and as i said, i really think that his biggest problem is this perception that he's only going to do what's in the best

interest of the elite. so they're kind of pulling out this argument that goes all the way back to richard nixon and to ronald reagan talking about welfare queens and newt gingrich in the '90s talking about midnight basketball. this idea that your tax dollars are being taken to give to undeserving poor people and black people. it's an old song, but it doesn't have quite the sameing anymore, and it's hard to imagine it's going to be all that effective. >> michael eric dyson and paul waldman, great to have you with us. >> remember to answer tonight's question. share your thoughts on twitter and facebook. coming up, the romney campaign is hitting back at the president, but has the damage already been done. bill burton of priorities usa weighs in to talk about the big commercial this week. okay, here's the plan.

you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. this is no plan. really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with special perks on united. get it and you're in. [ dramatic soundtrack plays ] whether it's showing competitors' rates

or striving to be number one, we're always up for a little competition. zap! [ sparking ] now, that's progressive. [ feedback ] attention, well, everyone. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today.

bill burton on the right-wing response. that's coming up next. and more and more republicans are hoping paul ryan will be on the romney ticket this fall, but not all conserve tchbs are onboard. i'll ask richard vigary who he would choose. and more amazing shots coming in from mars curiosity rover. derrick pitts on how the project is -- it's really just reigniting the country's interest in the space program. we'll talk about that later. share your thoughts on facebook and on twitter. we'll be right back. we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com.

show." good to have you with us

tonight. mitt romney is fighting back against a pro obama super pac ad featuring the story of former steel worker joe soptik. yesterday, they called the ad inaccurate. today, his campaign is hitting back at the president with an ad of his own. >> what does it say about a president's character when his campaign tries to use the tragedy of a woman's death for political gain? >> the romthy camp can try to attack the president, but it can't deny the fact. the decision by bain capital to lay off folks like joe soptik had consequences, in soptik's case, he lost his health insurance and his cancer-stricken wife didn't have a fighting chance. joe soptik is not alone. when you don't have health insurance, you're playing russian roulette with your future. no question about it. you don't have to take my word for it. just ask romney campaign spokeswoman andrea saul. >> to that point, you know, if people had been in massachusetts

under governor romney's health care plan, they would have had health care. >> so republicans need to ask themselves a very fundamental question, does obama care save lives? last night on the program, msnbc contributor jonathan alter made the case, yes, it does. >> the pressure should be focused on what are the consequences of repeal of obama care. the consequences as mike just indicated are death. repeal equals death. people will die in the united states if obama care is repealed. if you have pre-existing conditions and you're thrown off of health insurance, you're not going to go to the doctor as soon. your cancer or whatever disease is not going to be caught as quickly, and your odds of dying are much, much increased. >> i'm joined tonight by bill burton, senior strategist for priorities usa action. bill, good to have you with us tonight. you, of course, are responsible for the ad that has caused so much conversation this week. speaking of that, is this the

conversation that was really the mission of this ad? an outbreak of conversation about health care and priorities in this country? >> well, the whole point here was to talk about what mitt romney himself has said he wanted to talk about, which was his business record. and when you look at the individual stories of people who are effected by the decisions that mitt romney made, you see that his business record isn't all that great for middle class americans. >> they say the ad is inaccurate. is the ad inaccurate? >> it absolutely is not. there's not a thing in the ad that is not accurate. and you know, today, i noticed that in an interview with chuck todd, mitt romney's begging and pleading that people stop attacking his business record and taxes and that should be off limits. we shouldn't even talk about that. i understand that mitt romney is kind of a glass straw, but to say he doesn't want to talk about things that ought to be central in the campaign was kind of stunning. >> the response by the spokesperson, andrea saul, to this ad, has created quite a

firestorm this week in the conservative camp. did you anticipate that? >> no. they really fumbled the ball on that one. i mean, to have a romney campaign spokesperson basically saying that if mitt romney was there, he would have been able to save folks from people like mitt romney. i mean, it's so incohirant, but to watch the ann coulters of the world and the rest of the republican establishment freak out about it was really surprising. but it just speaks to the abject incohere nls you get from the romney campaign on a day to day basis. >> erai eric fehrnstrom said th president has lost his credibility over this ad. your reaction to that. >> i think it's typically overstated and hyperbolic. you know, we made this ad independently of anyone else. we're fully responsible for it. and the fact that they can't take a conversation about mitt

romney's business experience says much more about mitt romney's business experience than it does about the ad. this is about having a conversation about the thing mitt romney says is his central qualification to be predwrrblsh and he can't have this conversation. >> when you went to interview mr. soptic about his experience and being outsourced, did you know about the situation with his wife, did you know about the situation of losing health care, or did he offer that up to you? >> he offered that up. we talked to a lot of folks around the country in places where they were effected by the layoffs. and you know, we sat down with them and just let them tell their stories. the truth is, a lot of it is sad. a lot of it is tragic. some of it we won't even use, to be honest, because it's so emotional and devastating. >> your response to the accusation by first of all, romney, saying it's inaccurate but that the ad should be pulled. >> well, i mean, i don't see why

we would pull an ad that is fully accurate, that tells an important story. the impact that mitt romney had on a community. people lost their jobs, they lost their health care. the communities are still recovering in many cases. i think this is an important part of the discussion to be having. >> is this -- well, about that, is this the discussion that the obama camp wants? >> i can't speak to what those guys are doing, but as people who want to see the president re-elected, i think it's a very important discussion that we're helping to have on a national level, to make sure that people are taking a hard look at what were the decisions mitt romney was making? what is he responsible for? >> good to jow with us tonight. coming up, more and more republicans are pushing for paul ryan. but not everybody thinks he's the right choice for the far right wing. a longtime republican makes the case next. and new evidence that republicans have been out to

sabotage the president since day one. the source, joe biden. our panel will weigh in. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550

ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you can't create a retirement plan based on ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a predetermined script. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we actually take the time to listen - ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to understand you and your goals... ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...so together we can find real-life answers for your ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 real-life retirement. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and let's write a script based on your life story. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 hgotta start the day off right. wardrobe. cute. then new activia breakfast blend. a great way to help start the day.

mmm... creamy lowfat yogurt with grains in yummy breakfast flavors, like apple cinnamon. its hearty, with twice the protein of regular lowfat yogurt and helps regulate your digestive system. our morning routines are important, aren't they? new activia breakfast blend. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete.

show." thanks for watching tonight. mitt romney is getting more and more pressure from the right wing to put wisconsin congressman paul ryan on the ticket. >> the smartest strategic thinker in republican elected office today is paul ryan. >> paul ryan would be a great

selection. a great selection in part because he has done such tremendous work, shown such kurjs. >> i worship the ground that paul ryan walks on. i think he's a talented individual. >> karl rove has said ryan would be a good choins. even grover norquist put in a good word for ryan at c-pac. >> we know what tredirection we want to go. we want the paul ryan budget. pick a republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the united states. >> paul ryan has become a top contender in the mitt romney viep stakes. he's in the running with rob portman and tim pawlenty. in the last 24 hours, ryan's stock has doubled over intrade. it's a site based in ireland that takes political bets. so far, traders have reportedly bet almost $18 million on romney's pick for vice

president. paul ryan's gained almost 10 points in the trading so far. but not all conservatives think ryan would be the best pick and the best bet. a republican stalwart is calling for a much more conservative vice president. and joining me tonight is richard bigary, the chairman of hq.com. good to have you with us on the program. you have been -- >> always good to be with you, ed. >> you bet, sir. you have been quoted in the "new york times" that you're not a real fan, so to speak, of paul ryan as the choice of mitt romney if it turns out that way, saying he's too close to washington, d.c. does this disqualify him? >> i think most conservatives are fond of paul ryan. he's done yeoman's work for our cause, but i think governor romney needs something that's going to bring more energy, quite frankly, than a washington

insider. he's got an image that he's trying to overcome now of being a big government type from governor of massachusetts. fortune 500 capitalist, and there are millions of people, ed, who became disaffected with the republican party. during the bush years. they left the republican party in 2006, 2008, they came back in 2010. when the face of the republican party was not mitch mcconnell and john boehner, karl rove, george bush, but the tea party, mike lee, rand paul, rush limbaugh. >> paul ryan doesn't fit in that category? >> not at all. he's a good man. you know, his budget is not as bad as obama, but it's bad. he's going to increase spending $4 trillion in the next five years. he doesn't balance the budget for 28 years. america is looking for something more serious than that. we know we have serious

problems. and anybody that proposes that congress, this congress, commits the next 28 years to balance a budget, that's just not serious. >> who would be the best pick for mitt romney? who would be the best pick? >> well, i knew you were going to go there, ed. i don't -- i'm very uncomfortable with giving anybody the kiss of death and saying the conservatives really want this one. we have fortunately a very deep bench. we have senator mike lee of utah, senator marco rubio of florida, senator pat tumi of pennsylvania. former senator from pennsylvania, rick santorum. >> any of those are better than paul ryan? >> bobby jindal of louisiana -- >> any better than paul ryan? >> i think so. they don't bring the inside washington culture that paul does. paul is a good man. he's a caring yeoman work in terms of reforming the entitlement program, but he's not going to bring the excitement that is needed at the

grassroots level to bring the millions of disaffected right of center voters back into the republican party like the tea party did in 2010. >> well, is romney doing enough to support the tea party movement? and some suggest that his campaign is really in trouble. your friend laura ingram who is a conservative talker, says she doesn't want to be the skunk at the garden party, but romney is losing. do you believe that? >> his campaign does seem to be running like a dry creek, ed. this is a very vulnerable president. he should be able to be beaten and beaten fairly easily. but romney, he seems to be surrounded by washington insiders, business as usual republicans. and people don't like those. they don't like being the bush wing of the party. they want something new, something fresh, somebody who is going to come in and excite them and say, we're not going to continue crony capitalism, we're not going to continue business as usual here. we're not going to grow the

government massively as democrats and republicans have done for far too long. you want somebody from out in the grassroots that's going to be convincing that they can bring change to washington. and i don't think these washington insiders, rob portman, tim pawlenty, paul ryan, chris christie, they're established republicans and they're going to continue business as usual. nobody believes they're going to come in with an ax to the root of government. >> good to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. ♪ oh, my god it's a barrage i'm telling y'all it's sabotage ♪ >> there's shocking new proof that republicans want to sabotage president obama before day one. >> the panel weighs in on the number one goals of the republican party. >> i think the science we're going to get out of it is amazi amazing. the pictures are beautiful.

>> the mars rover curiosity sends back its first color images of the red planet. astronomer derrick pitts will update us on curiosity's progress. with my friends. i have a great fit with my dentures. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. super poligrip free made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. made the kiwi an enjoyable experience. ari'm fine.y, babe? ♪ ♪ ♪

with a subaru you can always find a way. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. [ male announcer ] 6 years old. then 7. going on 11. in the blink of an eye, they're all grown up. marie callender's homemade tastes are another great reason to sit down and savor every last moment. ♪ because time flies...

right before your eyes. marie callender's. it's time to savor.

our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny president obama a second term. >> well, he means it. that's no secret. mitch mcconnell wants president obama to fail. over the past three years, we have watched republicans put partisan politics ahead of people. no jobs plan, and a tax proposal that helps millionaires at the expense of the middle class. there's a new book out, "the new new deal" confirms what we have known all along. mcconnell is leading the charge against president obama. vice president joe biden tells the author that early on, several republican senators told biden not to expect any cooperation on major votes.

the way it was characterized to me was, for the next two years, we can't let you succeed in anything. that's our ticket to coming back. former senators bob bennett of utah and arlen specter of pennsylvania, both retired, have both confirmed they had these conversations with senator biden, vice president biden at the time. former senator george vein vich said they told them to oppose anything. if he was for it, we had to be against it. explains a lot. ari melber, nation magazine, also keli goff, and republican strategist michael maslanski, michael, welcome to the program. good to vuio here for the first time. what do we make of this? there's an author out there that has gone out and spoken with some former senators that said they were told directly by mcconnell, we're not doing business. how do you defend that? >> i'm not going to defend that,

any more than democrats should come out and defend harry reid for getting up and talking about how mitt romney hasn't paid any taxes without any proof. i think it's another example of the political debate in the country getting to the point where there's no accountability for certain things. if it's true, it's not something we should defend. but i do think we can know back to the end of 2008, 2009, and remember where we were. obama was a new president. he had big majorities in both houses. he promised a bipartisan approach to the world. he came in with a liberal agenda. whether mcconnell set out to do this or not, he was going to protect the republican policies and principles. the outcome was going to be the same whether he set out to do it for political purposes or for policy reasons. >> you're defending the record number of filibusters. if it's for policy purposes, but the point is this journalist is pointing out through two sflor s senators there was a stop obama at all cost. this is how we're going to come back. ari? >> michael says if it's true and

you're in the school of communication so you have a neat trick there, we know it's true because as you said, ed, we have a record number of filibusters. there was about an average of one filibuster a year through most of the history of the senate when that was on the table. and under the first two years of obama's administration, there was a record 132 filibuster votes. thousands more that never even reached a cloture vote. we know from the fact this has been the most recalcitrant congress in history. what that means is you have things like the jobs act that got a majority of votes, but because it was blocked by a filibuster, you never had that majority pass the thing. that's the problem. >> and with all due respect, there's a false equivalency in harry reid potentially quoting a rumor about a campaign and members of the senate in congress actively saying we're going to stop getting anything done in the name of politics. people whose salaries we are paying. and let it be clear, this book,

while what they did is actually very bad news for the president in terms of getting some of the things accomplished as he wanted to, it's good news for the re-election campaign. every poll the gallup poll has taken since obama was sworn into congress has shown one thing, a lack of trust in congress. an all-time low where american blames congress for the jobs act not being passed, congress for the economy. meanwhile, obama hasn't faced the same scrutiny. >> there's two things i would challenge there. first of all, everybody puts politics over policy. happens on the left and happens on the right. to suggest it's not happening on both sides is to be ignorant of what is happening. >> what they're saying is we don't want to get anything done. then we can talk about that. >> it shouldn't be defended. >> that was their marcher order. >> at the end of the day, republicans followed the policy, they filibustered.

certain things didn't get passed. why? the american people didn't support it. in 2010, there was a massive shift to the right. two years after those policies happened. so the american people had the opportunity to speak. to either say they want more of what the republicans are doing or they want more of what obama is doing. guess what they chose? >> president obama wasn't up for re-election. you can say -- >> i mean, there was nothing. there was only a couple republicans that voted with the stimulus package to start with. they were all against health care.reconciliation for the health care package. but their strategy was to stop everything. where does it leave the republican party right now in this campaign season, keli? >> i would challenge that they spoke loudly that it was a referendum on the administration. you're conceding a point that things weren't getting done because congress was actively working against them to make sure things weren't getting done. it's not fair to say it's his administration --

>> they wanted more -- apparently, because they wanted to support it. if they didn't want it to happen, they had every opportunity, come on, they had every opportunities to shift congress in favor of the democrats. did that happen? it didn't happen because the american people basically spoke and said they weren't upset with the lack of things getting done. and the bottom line is the policies that they stopped, they were liberal policies that were out of step with the american public. they were about green jobs instead of good energy. it was about health care reform and a very liberal approach to health care reform. it was about education. >> can i get a quick turn? you're talking about the agenda. let's talk about the agenda. filibustered, jobs act, 9/11 act, the pair check fairness act, several of those have super majority support among public opinion. you're voting for the theory, our democracy works really well

and represents the public. i have a different theory, you have items that are very important from supporting the troops to supporting jobs to campaign disclosure and spending and they're being blocked because democracy isn't working. >> let's turn to this campaign right now. we have 88 days to go. the president running against the do-nothing congress. how does it work? >> well, it works well for him because a lot of -- especially hearing this, this book is like handing the obama campaign a gift. >> what should romney do with this? is this acceptable for the republicans to run on? >> he should denounce it and say everybody should work together. but the reality is, i mean, this is -- >> i think we just had a whole series of ads on talking about working together. that ship has sailed. obama, i think largely thanks to obama, the american public doesn't believe that. whether it comes from democrats or republicans anymore. i think on both sides, there's been a lack of desire to reach across the aisle. i also think the strategy from

romney's perspective, if i'm in his camp, i think from the obama perspective, running against congress is a great idea. for romney's perspective, this is a clash between government and governing. his campaign has to be about the strategy. >> tax cuts for the rich? that doesn't poll well at all. >> when it's conveyed that way. >> it's fact. >> then why isn't obama polling at over 50%? consistently. >> there's also a clash between the philosophy of universal health care which was romney's philosophy six years ago and the philosophy of romney now. >> great discussion. ari, keli, and michael grade to have you on here. >> republican lies ran rampant on the state level. karl rove's dark money group is busted running a false ad where? in the middle of the country, in north dakota. we're calling him out next. stay with us. including the gs

and is. [ engines revving ] because control is the ultimate expression of power. [ revving continues ] ♪ during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. up next, the romney campaign

isn't the only one spreading the lies when it comes to campaign ads. we'll show you the lie karl rove's super pac is pushing in north dakota. and the mars curiosity rover is sending back stunning images of the red planet. whau what else can we expect from the project? i'll ask derrick pitts. you can listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio monday through friday, noon to 3:00. follow me on twitter at ed show and like the ed show on facebook. we're right back on this friday night. e, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my mother was so wrong about you. next, we get priority boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. this is no plan. really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with special perks on united. get it and you're in.

introducing share everything. unlimited talk. unlimited text. tap into a single pool of shareable data and add up to 10 different devices, including smartphones and tablets. the first plan of its kind. share everything. only from verizon. now add a tablet for only $10 monthly access.

show." now, this week on the program, we have been documenting the lies from the romney campaign on the presidential race. but guess what, they're lying all over the place. and house and senate races all over the country. let's go to fly-over country, north dakota. karl rove's gps has been busted running a false ad in the prairie state. rove's dark money group put out

a tv ad hammering north dakota democrat heidi hicamp who is running for the united states senate. the commercial claimed when she was north dakota attorney general, that she used taxpayer dollars to buy private planes. the claim is a flat-out lie, and the ad is no longer running. the planes were given to highcamp for free by the federal government and used for drug trafficking surveillance. no money was ever spent and the planes weren't for private use at all. she responded to the bogus commercial on my radio show earlier today. >> they accused me of securing a private plane with public money, which was completely false. absolutely untrue, and we were able to push back and get them to pull the ad. so that's the good news, but the bad news is they're going to continue to lie. they're going to continue to distort. they're going to continue to say things like she raised energy taxes when that's absolutely not

true. and you know, we just have to get people to understand you can't believe a word out of these folks' mouths. >> rove's group had intended to spend over $190,000 running the false commercial in north dakota. she said she spends rove to spend $1.5 million attacking her. this is definitely a very tight senate race to watch. tonight, our survey, i asked, will mitt romney's welfare lie backfire? 97% of you said yes, 3% said no. coming up, the mars rover curiosity sends back its first color images of the red planet. astronomer derrick pitts will update us on the mission's progress next. copd makes it hard to breathe,

but with advair, i'm breathing better.

so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. the u.s. hadn't won gold in over 100 years.

but thanks to them... and her... and especially this guy, all those years were just a prologue to this. ♪ it's amazing how far you can go with a little help along the way. td ameritrade. proud sponsor of the 2012 u.s. olympic team. before the gold, silver and bronze... ♪ it's the red. it's the green and yellow. it's the red, white and blue. because at the olympic games, it's not the color you go home with that matters. it's the colors you came in

and when colors mean this much, you can only trust them to tide. so help keep your country's colors true, with tide. and liftoff of the atlas five with curiosity. s seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on mars. welcome back to "the ed show." the big finish, eight months and 350 million miles. the rover curiosity touched down on mars. five days since the rover made its dramatic landing and nasa engineers say everything is going as planned. curiosity is sending back stunning 360 degree pictures of mars. they show the gale crater, scientists plan on taking the

rover to mt. sharp to study rock samples in the future. curiosity has captured the american public's attention and its imagination in recent days. in fact, i think nasa hasn't seen this kind of positive attention since the "apollo" space program in the '60. the rover curiosity created a media frenzy for the space program it hasn'seen in a long time. >> at 1:30 a.m., america standard time, nasa's curiosity rover touched down on the surface of mars. >> nasa just hit a galactic hole in one. >> touchdown confirmed. >> going from 13,000 miles an hour to zero. >>o on. >> a successful touchdown on mars. the incredible images that nasa's rover is beaming back from the red planet. >> the rover curiosity is great news for nasa, but even better news for the american public. let's turn to derrick pitts,

chief astronomer at the franklin institute in philadelphia. he's been designated by nasa as an astrobiology ambassador. thanks for coming back again. these pictures, high definition pictures are absolutely fantastic and stunning. what can we learn from these pictures that we're getting back? >> well, ed, the pictures are going to tell us a tremendous amount about the area where the rover is now. we can look around and identify on the surface that there are lots of pebbles around on the surface. that tells us something about some mechanism of erosion for the rocks that are there. we can also see that from the blast from the landing rockets that underneath some of that dust that's right on the surface there, there's bedrock right there, so that gives us another hint about the geology pretty easily. we can also look at the color of the material and that tells us there are both different textures and different materials. that all goes toward the hunt for the environment that might have been conducive to life on mars. >> what else are scientists

going to learn from the rock samples? this is going to be pretty fascinating stuff. >> they're also going to learn from the rock samples, how variable the environments have been in this particular area. for example, things like if water was part of the environment that was here near gale crater, as the rover makes its way up toward mt. sharp, how much water was there in the past. how long did that water stay there? how did it get around on the surface? did it have an affect on the geology? what kind of minerals are there? what might we expect to find in other places like this, as well as helping to identify the kinds of places we should think about as targets for the very next mission that goes there. and ultimately, a place to send astronauts in the future. >> they're expecting dust storms pretty soon. what does this mean for the mission? >> in previous missions, having dust storms come along were -- that was a big concern because dust distributed on the upper solar panels would decrease the

amount of sunlight coming in and thereby decrease the batteries. for the rover, it's not as much of a chlg krrb this one has its own power supply, certainly good for thenix two years and smatded to live for probably another eight years after that. we'll be able to see what happens with the dust storm as it goes by but nowhere near as big a concern as for the previous rovers. not only are we going to dig down into the surface, but we're going to drill into rock as well. so in doing both of these, either if we get the sample from a rock face or if we get the sample from on the ground, the material will be scooped up and dropped into internal laboratories, if you will, that will examine the material to see what its composition is. this is a great step forward because all kinds of really wonderful and complete analyses can be done. >> when are we going to put an

american on mars, do you think? >> not soon enough is the answer to that when it looks like it's not going to be until 2030 or so. if it could happen sooner, that would bring us that much closer to figuring out the question, the age-old question about life somewhere else out there. >> all right, derrick pitts, great to have you with us on "the ed show" tonight. that's "the ed show," i'm ed schultz. the "rachel maddow show" starts right now. good evening, rachel. i want to tell you that someone suggested that you and i should have a two-person beach volleyball team. i said i don't know if we would qualify for olympic competition, but i do know one thing. you would have to cover a lot of ground. >> you know, eld, i will do that if you and i can come to an agreement that we're both going to wear the same outfit while doing that. >> i'm easy. i'll wear whatever you want. >> excellent. thanks, ed. >> have a good weekend. >> you, too. thank you at home for staying with us for the next hour. happy friday. if you want to buy a political ad on tv, legally speaking, the station you want to buy the ad

on, they have to give you their lowest advertising rate for airing your ad. advertising rates on good stations on big tv markets are still not cheap, but by law, you have to get the lowest rate for airing a political ad. that's because there's a public interest in making sure political speech can compete with commercial speech. and we can all learn about the issues and the candidates before the election. because there's a public interest at stake, because political advertising is regulated in a different way than commercial advertising, information about political ad buys on tv is public information. you have a right to know. you have a right to know who is spending how much money to put what ads on your local tv station. until recently, though, if you wanted to get that information, you had to physically go down to the office of your local tv station and ask them to see the physical papers from something called the public file. you could then copy that

information down and then presumably, you could go to all of the other tv stations in your tv market to get the same information. you could aggregate that information as home, and then try to understand what was going on in your media market in terms of political advertising for that day. >> technically, the information is publicly available and you have a right to know it, but realistically, there was no real way to get your hands on it in a useful way. after some very effective prodding on this issue from the investigative news outlet pro propublica decided they were going to fix this. now, in the top 50 u.s. media markets, all of the affiliates of all of the major networks have to post online basic information about who is paying how much money to put political ads on those stations. so for example, now we know without having to drive to wsyx in columbus, ohio, and talk to the receptionist there and have