domestic front. the hourglass has been turned. with only four days to go until a possible government shutdown, the senate voted today, 54-44, to fund the government. while stripping the provision to defund obamacare. harry reid did exactly what he said he was going to do. if the two chambers cannot agree by monday, the government will shut down. the president spoke with a sense of urgency on this issue we have not yet seen. >> the good news is, within the past couple hours, the united states senate, democrats and republicans, acted responsibly, by voting to keep our government open and delivering the services the american people expect. now it's up to the republicans in the house of representatives to do the same. i say that, because obviously, democrats have a great interest in making sure that these vital

services continue to help the american people. so far, republicans in the house of representatives have refused to move forward. i will not negotiate over congress' responsibility to pay the bills that have already been racked up. voting for the treasury to pay america's bills is not a concession to me. i don't know how i can be more clear about this. nobody gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the united states just to extract political concessions. no one gets to hurt our economy and millions of innocent people just because there are a couple laws you do not like. it has not been done in the past. we're not going to start doing it now. i'm not going to start setting a precedent, not just for me, but for future presidents, where one chamber in congress can

basically say each time there needs to be a vote to make sure treasury pays its bills, we're not going to sign it unless our particular hobby horse gets advanced. >> americans, are you fed up with this? are you absolutely fed up with the way washington is doing business? we are talking about the full faith and credit of the united states of america. what about your credit at home? does it mean anything to you? we have a totally disconnected government. what if everybody in this country decided we're not going to make our house payment? we're going oh to make wall street pay this month. what if we did that? what if every american said, you know what, we're going to act just like congress. gosh, it would be so great to organize people across america to say, you know what, this month, wells fargo is not going to get paid. i'm going act just like the congress. you know, there's an old saying in business. the boss might not like the way

things are going. but he can't fire all of us. you know what, i think the american people need to stand up and do something about this. i really believe that a populist statement must be made somewhere. now, we can't wait for the next election. it's too bad that we just don't have an advocate out there across america that will say this month, no one pay their house bill. nobody pay their rent. see what that does to america. now, of course, we're dreaming. that isn't going to happen. but you know what? that's our real world. we have to pay our bills. congress doesn't have to pay theirs. what is wrong with our government? it's almost as if we're on the verge of a total collapse. it's almost to the point where the president of the united states is now preparing the people for a government shutdown and who knows how long this tea party crowd is totally different from the crowd back in the '90s. he called out republicans and reminded them, what is at risk.

the american people. >> so any republican in congress who is currently watching, i encourage you to think about who you are hurting. there are probably young people in your office right now who came to work for you, without much pay because they believe that public service was noble. you're preparing to send them home without a paycheck. you've got families with kids back in your districts who serve their country in the federal government. and now they might have to plan how they're going to get by if you shut the government down. past shutdowns have disrupted the economy. and this shutdown would as well. it would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction. and that's why many republican senators and many republican governors have urged republicans to knock it off, pass a budget and move on. let's get this done.

>> so let's put all the bs aside. make no mistake. this is not about the deficit. the republicans never went after the deficit the way this president has. this is not about the budget. this is -- this is all about one thing. obstructing this president. to come to the conclusion and to have a big summary to the american people that this president is not legitimate. he is other. we're not going to let him succeed. with the backdrop of a record number of filibusters, the backdrop of hate groups that are growing in this country because is there a black man in the white house with the backdrop of they're afraid that universal health care may take a real grip in this country, they are going to do everything they possibly can to disrupt our government. and this is all about the republicans. and it is our duty as americans to make sure that nobody comes along later on and rewrites the history books. this is hate. and now this hate is coming to your doorstep. and this is going to be a lot of

hardship on the american people if the tea partiers do this. boehner has no clue, he has no control of his caucus. we'll get you his statement in just a moment about what he released today, did not come out and talk about it. he put it out in a release statement. and it's all tea party garbage. so where are we? we're just the taxpayers. we're just the american people that just have to put up with this obstruction. liberals, we have the facts on our side. we have the president who we have elected and re-elected. this is about hate and it's now at your doorstep. this is about trying to make this president be viewed in the history of this country as a man who couldn't succeed. there is an element of serious racism here. this isn't about the deficit. this isn't about the budget. this is about power and control. and the wrong guy at the wrong place at the wrong time in their mind. for more, let's bring in congressman john gare men deof

california. good to have you with us tonight. your thoughts on the way -- your thoughts on the way the president handled in this afternoon. we're in the 11th hour. we're going into the final weekend before the republicans are going to force this shutdown. i want your reaction tonight. >> well, i think the president is right on. he couldn't be more correct about what is going on here. look, ed, 11 months ago, there was an election all across this nation. and the issues are precisely the ones that the republicans are pushing forward today. they're pushing forward the question of repealing the affordable health care act. no, the american people said clearly, no, we're not going to repeal. we want it. we re-elected the president of the united states, who ran on that issue. we turned away the fellow that ran to repeal it. his name was romney. and similarly, across this nation, if it had not been for the gerrymandering by republican governors, we would have a democratic house. in fact, more people voted for democrats for congress than they did for republicans.

it was the only gerrymander. let's be very, very clear about this. and, ed, please, next time you go off on this, make sure you talk about the republicans in congress, not the congress. the democrats in congress stand firmly on funding this government. >> oh, i totally agree, congressman. look, this is a -- republican obstruction. the american people know this. they have gone rogue on the american people. it's as if elections don't matter when they get in their caucus, they're only there to obstruct. and their number-one reason is that they want to see this president fail on all levels. and i find it very ironic that as we have the hourglass turn headed to a government shutdown, lo and behold, we have barack obama not invading iran, he's actually talking to him on the telephone, and i'm sure the conservatives hate that too. president obama said today that if the tables were turned, if the tables were turned, and i want your reaction to this. if the tables were turned -- if there was a republican in the white house, things would be different.

here it is. >> imagine if you had a republican president, and a democratic speaker and the democratic speaker said, well, we're not going to pass the debt ceiling unless we raise corporate taxes by 40%. or unless we pass background checks on guns. or whatever other list of agenda items democrats were interested in. does anybody actually think that we would be hearing from republicans and that was acceptable behavior? that's not how our constitutional system is designed. we are not going to do it. >> congressman gare mandy, your reaction to that. >> the president is right, once again. if the tables were turned, it would be exactly the opposite way. no, this is all about the tea party agenda. and, frankly, it's a very small group within the republican caucus that is driving this particular train off the cliff. by maybe 40 to 60 of them. and those are the tea party

republicans. boehner cannot gain control of his caucus. and it is running out of control. and about to run america over the cliff. >> well, i wonder, does john boehner have any spine at all? this is the house speaker. his office released a statement today. he hasn't come out in front of the cameras. he's probably having a couple cool ones right now. he says the house will take action that reflects the fundamental fact that americans don't want a government shutdown, and they don't want the train wreck that is obamacare. grandstanding from the president, who refuses to even be a part of the process won't bring congress any closer to a resolution. the tea party must have written that statement for him, congressman. >> well, no doubt about it. that's been the statement of the tea party this afternoon for a whole hour. michele bachmann and the tea party crew took to the floor of the house and went on and on with the very same message. and frankly, i took the floor thereafter and said, wait a minute, just exactly what are you repealing? are you repealing all of those drug benefits that the seniors

had? are you repealing the billion dollars in rebates that people have? are you repealing the fact that children are able to get insurance now up to the age of 26 and reexisting conditions don't exist anymore? is that what you're repealing? apparently that's what they want to do. they just -- don't understand that they lost the election. and we need to move on. we need to build the jobs. we need to get this economy going. transportation, infrastructure. but right now all of this -- >> not with this crowd. >> no, not with this crowd. but they're hurting the economy now, ed. if you shut the government down, it's going to hurt the economy. people are going to lose their jobs. >> congressman, great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. now let's bring in kelly o'donnell, capitol hill correspondent for nbc news. kelly, thanks for your time tonight. i know you're busy up on capitol hill. what is the mood of republicans in the wake of what president obama had to say this afternoon? >> reporter: well, ed, there really is a deep amount of stress and uncertainty that's playing out here.

because those republicans who have been in office for a long time have seen how this played out back in the '90s, and they really argue forcefully that it doesn't go well for their party. john mccain being one of those who came out today and said, if this were to go to a shutdown, the american people will blame congress. so even though among republicans there is a united voice that they don't like the health care law, the tactical fight has been particularly raw. it has been alienating with some of the republicans who are more aligneded with the tea party side. we saw 19 senators from the republican party today joining with crews that includes him to take those steps to try to block any action that would allow the government to stay in business next week. but also making certain that health care law funding would be out of there. now, you know what has happened. that failed. but 19 -- that's almost half of the number of republicans in the senate. in some ways, that's a big number. but it also shows how deeply divided the republican party is

on the senate side. now, i also watched some of the fallout after that vote today, prior to the president speaking. because house members sort of wrapped up their day prior to the president's remarks. there was among some of the tea party's most ardent supporters and advocates a real sense of they're not backing down. so the tone here, i think, is one of worry, about the impact on their party, worry about the impact on the country. and also a sense of what do you do with those who simply will not back down. principle versus pragmatism in some ways. it's a tense time. and we don't know how this will play out. house republicans expect to meet tomorrow. we think there are some conversations that are going on behind the scenes. but there is an eerie quiet around here, ed, which gives us that sense of what's going to happen next. there aren't many good options. a shutdown seems like a possibility. we'll just have to see how it plays out. ed? >> all right. kelly o'donnell, thank you for joining us from capitol hill tonight. i appreciate it so much.

>> any time. folks -- >> you bet. >> let's call this what it is. this is a political revolution. i think that these tea partiers are so determined, they don't care. they don't care if the government is shut down. they don't care if they hurt people. they don't care who they leave in their wake. they are determined to destroy this presidency, they are determined to get their way. that's called a revolution. up next, ted cruz used a new jersey college student's story to lie. to flat-out lie about obamacare. you know what? that student joins us next on "the ed show." stay with us.

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♪ we trap ourselves by telling lies. expanding medicaid will worsen the health care options for the most vulnerable among us. >> we trap ourselves by telling lies. >> obamacare is the biggest job-killer in this country. it is hurting the economy. >> we trap ourselves by telling lies. >> if you're a young person right now coming out of school, with obamacare beginning to be implemented, the odds are higher that you're going to have a hard time finding a job. we trap ourselves by telling lies. >> when you see the lies, the deception, the distraction, that means mischief is going on. ♪ blurred lines ♪ i know you want it >> what do you say we talk about those lies right here on "the ed show." this has been one of the craziest and one of the most unusual weeks washington has seen in a long time. this week was filled with lies, put out there by republican

members of congress on obamacare. the king of the lies, well, he wins it. canadian senator, ted cruz, from texas. he's the star. now keep in mind, all of these lies purported by this senator, you know, they weren't -- they weren't said over lunch. they weren't -- this wasn't over a cup of coffee. this wasn't at some town hall meeting with some crazies that were rabid fans of the senator. no. no, no, no. this was on the senate floor. this is now in the senate record. and will be in the history books forever. but this is a very important moment for us, the taxpayers, the american people. the people that vote, that send these people to washington. and i don't care if you're a texan or alabama or minnesota or

whatever. we're all americans, right. we all want the truth. not only did cruz lay out typical republican bullet point lies on obamacare, he totally distorted the stories of average americans. one of these americans is my next guest. john conley is 22 years old. he's a student who is finishing his last semester at rutgers university. hey, he's had hardships. recently, he's been dealing with student debt. he's trying to find a job. ted cruz used john conley's story to lie about obamacare. now, i want to it play part of this clip of senator cruz distorting john's story on the senate floor during his nonfilibuster filibuster yesterday. here it is. >> john conley thought he was on right track in life. the son of a new jersey auto mechanic. he was the first in his family to go to college. four years later, the 22-year-old found himself $21,000 in debt. without a permanent job and

sleeping on friends' couches. but he still doesn't know what he'll do when he graduates at the end of the semester. the costs of a lost generation. >> let's bring in john conley. john, good to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. for time, we didn't get the whole statement in there, but i want to ask you. what did ted cruz lie about on the senate floor with -- about your situation? >> well, right. specifically, it seems kind of bizarre that he's blaming a law that was passed in 2010 on trends that go back, you know, well past 2007. only about -- only a little over half of people my age, people 25 and under, are actually employed full time. and of those people, we've seen our wages decrease 5% since 2007. we're not getting the kinds of jobs we were promised we would get out of college. we're facing stalled careers. and at the same time, we're

straddling huge debt loads, mortgage-size payments on houses we can't afford. >> so how did he make you feel when you found out that the senator from texas, who i understand you've never met, and never had a conversation with, is that correct? >> absolutely. >> and how does it make you feel that he used your story in an effort to defund obamacare and distorted totally your situation? >> i feel like it was -- it was almost as if he told his office to go out and find the worst example of the point he was trying to pull. you know, i -- first off, only found out that i was mentioned in his speech as i was on my way to an optometrist appointment that i could only go to because i'm still covered under my father's union-provided insurance, thanks to obamacare. my little sister has preexisting conditions, would be unable to have health insurance under, you know, the kind of free market dystopia that ted cruz would like to push for. but she can have insurance under

obamacare. i am not only an example of someone who isn't being hurt by obamacare being passed, i'm someone whose family is directly benefitting. and at the same time, i'm watching a lot of my friends really are facing this kind of disastrous job market that cruz is describing. but he has the reasoning behind it entirely wrong. i mean, if you look at a household where you have two people who together have $53,000 in debt, that household will lose over $200,000 in those members' lifetime. it's clear that what's holding us back has nothing to do with whether or not the affordable care act is funded. it's everything to do with student debt that's increased over the course of my lifetime between 1999 and 2011 has increased 511%. that's the issue. >> john, senator cruz is an evangelical christian. he knows that lying is wrong. are you willing to reach out to ted cruz's office and ask for an

apology, or at least a clarification as to how in the heck that happened? >> yeah, this is clearly a misrepresentation of the article he pulled my name from. it's a misrepresentation of the factors that my generation is facing. if you go back and you read the "wall street journal" article he's quoting from, the phrase student debt is mentioned 13 times. the phrase health care is mentioned once by someone who is saying they are happy they have health insurance, because most of their peers do not. i think this is a gross distortion of the factors that young people really are facing, and it's kind of shameful that he is acting as if he is acting in the interest of young folks. while pushing for his own agenda. >> okay. are you going to seek an apology, or some reaction from the senator? i mean, heck, you know, i have been in conversation on the senate floor before when tom harkin and john warner were going back and forth about liberal talk radio on armed forces radio network. and when i heard my name on the

senate floor, i went what the heck is this all about? i mean, you had to be -- there had to be a level of you being stunned when you knew your name was on the senate floor, especially in this venue of ted cruz. >> yep. i definitely would love to speak to the senator to his people. i would love to understand why i was the best example they could find of everyone in america of someone who is hurt by obamacare. because if i'm the example of someone who is suffering under obamacare, obamacare is a pretty sweet deal. >> yes, it is. john conley, thanks for your time tonight. appreciate you coming on. next i'm taking your questions, "ask ed live." but i do want to say this. ronald reagan used to say, "we must trust but verify." do we have to verify now what ted cruz says on the senate floor? because he will distort things, he will distort the facts. he will tell lies on the senate floor.

he will go out and talk about people as if he knows them when he's never met them. this is how they operate. this is who they are. this is the republican party being guided by these nut job tea partiers. and i think ted it cruz should go on the senate floor and issue a correction. this is about character. does he have the character to do that? probably not. "ask ed live" is just ahead. stay tuned.

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when i just saw this question about a minute ago, i thought of the movie "crimson tide." when denzel washington and jeanne hackman were on a united states submarine and denzel washington said," god help us if it we're wrong". he said, actually, "god help us all if we're wrong." i kind of feel that way right now. if these people were to ever get power, god help us all. stick around. "rapid response panel" is next. i'm kayla tausche with your cnbc market wrap. the dow falling 70 points, the s&p dropping 6 and the nasdaq losing 5. consumer sentiment fell to 77.5, that's the lowest reading in five months, thanks to higher interest rates and slower economic growth. americans, meanwhile, increased their spending in august by .3%, as income grew at its fastest pace in six months. and blackberry is reporting

a loss of nearly $1 billion in their second quarter. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. clay.

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welcome back to "the ed show." in an effort to educate the public about the affordable care act, president obama has been forced to expose the blatant lies and misinformation spread by republicans and special interest groups. and president obama wasn't afraid to call out the right-wing propaganda machine by name. during his speech in maryland thursday morning. >> you don't have to take my word for it. if you've talked to somebody who said i don't know, i was watching fox news and they said this was horrible. >> you know, the folks over at fox news couldn't let that one go. >> mr. president, we at fox news are not the problem. i hate to break it to you, sir.

you are. your very promises are. you think we're the skunk at your picnic. but that does not mean we are the ones that stink. because that smell isn't coming from the folks reporting on your law. mr. president, that smell is your law. >> really? are you sure? really? because fox news has never lied about obamacare. >> death panels who are supposed to have died before the passage. democrats' health care bill, alive and kicking. >> obama care death panels. >> don't you know, she was right. sarah palin's death panels are back. >> just imagine, okay, so you go in and you're trying to get a doctor's appointment, right? and they go, well, we see from your tax records -- how would that possibly be possible -- we see from your tax records that you support the tea party or conservative groups. you want a doctor's visit? three weeks. you want a hip replacement? four years. >> obamacare takes a disproportionate hit on cancer

patients. obamacare has panels and task forces which have changed the very recommendations. >> i've got an obamacare bombshell for you. under the law, doctors will be required to ask their patients very personal questions about their sex lives, or if they don't ask the questions, they face a fine. >> either you have obamacare, or you don't. because obamacare literally may kill you. >> joining me now is our rapid response panel tonight, liz winsted, radio talk show consultant, cook and occupy wall street protester jesse le greka. liz, this just in, breaking news. fox news does not lie. >> that is breaking news, ed. that is also breaking fantasy, i think, is what you mentality to say. you know, i think that we need journalistic death panels for fox where anybody on fox news has to be judged and if they keep lying they are cut off from

ever being able to be allowed to speak on tv. i think it's a great idea. and covered under obamacare for the mental health safety of americans. >> holland, the republican party clearly fractured over a number of different issues. how much are they following the lead of these right wing zealots on the radio across america? how influential have they come -- become, and also played a role in some of the fear of primaries? >> i can reduce the whole thing to a simple mathematical calculation. 80/20. the per eto principle. anybody in business has heard of this. where you get 80% of your business from 20% of your best customers, so you dote on them. the frequent flyers get upgraded. you heard ted cruz and rush limbaugh congratulating each other last week. they need each other, because no minds are being changed. ditto heads believe el rushbo.

everybody else must think he's a buffoon. no minds are being changed. so he's not going to win any new listeners. the game is to get people who are already listening to listen more consecutive days per week. so it's co dependence. ted cruz and rush limbaugh validate each other. >> and the lies are out there. unfortunately, the right wing noise machine has been pretty successful in confusing the american public, jesse. 62% of americans are still confused about the health care law. as a activist, as a protester, how do you combat this, jesse? >> well, i think a big part is you have to tell the truth. that's a necessity. but you also have to call out the liars for who they are. remember the movie "inception" about a dream inside a dream? fox news is a lie inside a lie wrapped in a riddle that only sarah palin can understand. and that's why -- the gop is a flaming dumpster fire for just that reason. the nonsense you have to tell

these people you have to keep them at pitch fever makes it impossible to communicate at a decibel at anything only white people can can understand. >> how comical is ted cruz, liz? >> well, it's pretty -- it's pretty unbelievable to watch somebody who is grabbing at fear straws the way that ted cruz was. and it's like i kind of feel at this point that the gop when they're writing their laws, they should just cut letters out of magazines, like old-timy kidnap hostage notes. because that's what it feels like they're doing, insane demands they're making. i think they're going to ask democrats to pretty much just register into neighborhoods when they move in. because they think we're such poison pills. but ted cruz is showing what we have all said about where this republican party was heading. and it is people who are not at all intellectuals. they don't care about anything other than getting elected again. >> holland cook, 62% of americans, as i pointed out, are

confused about the law. now, obviously, there has been a lot of fear merchants out there. how would you turn that around? i mean, there's been -- the president is up against millions of dollars, progressive groups have not gone out and been on, quote, the sell job. no one has ever thought they had to resell it, because it's a law. and so -- >> yeah, and it's complicated. >> yeah. go ahead. >> there's a lot to -- there's a lot to explain. maybe they could be explaining it better. it will obviously get more familiar as we do it. clearly the resistance is not because the opposition to the affordable health care act is afraid it will fail. they're afraid people are going to love it, because once you give the american people something, you don't get to take it back. you and i were just teenagers when medicare came about. and that got a lot of flack. our parents were teenagers back when social security was born. and they thought the sun would stop coming up every morning then. so there's a lot to synthesize

here. and frankly, maybe they could do a better job explaining it. >> yeah. earlier this week at the clinton global initiative, the former president made the comment about the role young people play in this, jesse. almost to the point where if young people in this country, the 19 to the 29-year-olds, the 20-somethings, if they don't engage, it may be a tough sell. your thoughts. will people go along knowing that president obama has been terribly vilified? will this motivate young people to get involved in this, and also by the fact they need it and it's a hell of an opportunity? >> i think young people are going to see the benefits of obamacare the moment their parents get their health insurance bill once it's been fully instituted. and it goes back to what other people have said. once people realize this is going to save them hundreds of dollars, it's going to keep them from going into bankruptcy. it's going to save lives. the bill sells itself. that's why you have this utter panic on the right before the

bill kicks in to muddy the waters, to just straight troll it before people realize, you know what, this was a bfd. this was really big, and it's going to show on your paycheck, your premiums. when people get checks back for the money -- 85% of insurance premiums, the companies don't spend that much, you get the money back, yeah, let's just see how the tea party reacts to that. i can't wait to hear the nonsense lies that are going to come out. >> liz winsted -- jesse owe go ahead, liz. what do you have? >> i was just going to say, they have just become the party who has proven they hate joy. they don't want people to get married who are happy. they don't want people to have sex who are happy. they don't want people top healthy. they are just anti joy. >> cheer up! >> liz winsted, holland cook, jesse le greka, thanks for joining us on a friday. appreciate it so much. coming up. glenn beck gets blazed by the power of you, the viewers in "the ed show" social media

nation. stay with us. a writer and a performer. ther, i'm also a survivor of ovarian and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick... and then i got better.

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and in "pretenders" tonight, holy smokes, it's the beckster. glenn beck and his crack staff over at the blaze posted a montage of our tex questions produced by some fish rap named the washington free beacon. i admit, sometimes our questions are simple, so beckster's flock won't be left behind. we kind of take everybody into consideration. conservative fringe media is obsessed with the questions we ask you every night. they just did a crappy job of editing. so tonight, we, the "ed show" team, put together some of our favorites. here you go. >> tonight's question. is ted cruz the new poster boy for the republican party? >> do you trust syria to give up their chemical weapons? >> do republicans have any idea how average american lives?

will republicans ever stop trying to repeal obamacare? are you sick of republicans wrapping themselves up in religion? does president obama -- does he get enough credit for saving the economy? text a for yes, text b for no. >> if conservative heads explode because we expose them every night, i have only one word. good. if glenn beck and his minions think "ed show" viewer opinions are a joke, they can just keep on pretending. [ man ] on december 17, 1903,

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breaking news this evening. president obama revealing he had a phone conversation with iranian president hassan rowhani. this is the first time united states leaders and leaders in iran have talked since the iranian revolution. the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders caused major speculation earlier this week. >> just now i spoke on the phone with president rowhani of the islamic republic of iran. the two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over iran's nuclear program. i reiterated to president rowhani what i said in new york. while there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, i believe we can reach a comprehensive

solution. >> president obama and the united states has been on record saying that it will not allow iran to develop the means to make nuclear weapons. iran said its nuclear program is designed for peaceful energy programs. rowhani confirmed the phone conversation saying quote, in regards to nuclear issue with political will, there is a way to rapidly solve this matter. joe serincioni joins me tonight on the program. joe, good to have you with us. >> thank you, ed. >> what -- how big is this conversation, this move forward between the two leaders of countries that haven't spoken in 30 years? >> they made history today. most americans were not alive the last time an iranian leader

met with the president of the united states. that was jimmy carter who met with the shah of iran. the median age is 36. half the population wasn't even born then. so obama is breaking that ice. breaking that barrier between the two countries. a small step, but a very significant step. it not only establishes a direct connection between the two presidents, it empowers the national security apparatus. with both presidents say they want a deal. >> joe, who's responsible for the connection? who picked up the phone? who arranged it? how did this come about? do you know anything? >> i do. both siends were close to a meeting up in new york. they had agreed to meet, and then they realized they didn't have enough time to actually ensure a tangible result of the meeting. it was more important to show results than to have a hand

shake. behind the scenes the two were conferring and it became clear that president rowhani would be receptive to a phone call. then made the phone call, caught the president as he was on the car, in his car driving to the airport to return to iran. it's quite a moment in a quite remarkable week. >> well, joe, correct me if i'm wrong, the united states has been solid in its position on the nuclear potential of the iranians. there really has been no shift at all in our policy when it comes to iran. so this is movement on their part or is that an overreach? >> the election of president rowhani, he was elected in june of this year, was a clear mandate from the iranian people to fix the economy, to do something about the economy, a clear break with the failed

policies. eight miserable years drove though economy to a ditch. u.s. sanctions are crippling the iranian economy. the only way rowhani can fix this is to ease the sanctions. the only way he can do that is to limit the nuclear ram. it's a matter of negotiating a contract. you accept real limits on your nuclear program, verifiable limits and we will start relaxing the tensions. then that opens the way for what you heard the president talk about. a comprehensive arrangement. we have overlapping strategic interests in the region. afghanistan, iraq, syria, the fight against al qaeda. u.s./iranian cooperation on a nuclear deal could pave the way for strategic cooperation that could benefit the entire region. >> joe, how does this play into the chemical weapon issue with the syrians? seeing the two allies of assad

obviously are the iranians and the russians. this is a rough day at the office for the syrians, isn't it? >> syria has been iran's only ally in the region. but it's crumbling. and you can see their interest in assad making a deal for two reasons. one, they want him to give up the weapons. so they're against having those chemical weapons. they're glad to see them go. they think this might give a life line to assad. we want to get rid of the chemical weapons and see if we can negotiate a ceasefire in the region. so now you have the u.s. negotiating with russia with iran's backing over syria. again, these overlapping strategic interests. not identical, neither side is doing the other favors, but for their own strategic national security interest, they're willing to negotiate a deal. you can do it in syria that gives you confidence that you can do it in your bigger issue.

you see the diplomatic wheels in motion. >> that's the diplomatic semantics of it all. what's the politics of all of this? how is this going to be received on capitol hill? >> both presidents are being very careful here. both have conservative opponents at home waiting to accuse them of appeasement, of being weak, of being naive. so they're taking small steps. so they couldn't do the hand shake. they did the phone call. you can -- you know that the president's critics on capitol hill are going to use this to fit into their meme of the president. he's weak, he's dangerous, he doesn't know what he's doing, he might not even be american. you know, so you know that attack is coming. but the american people are very clear. they don't want any more wars in the middle east. they want us to disengage from these wars, not start them. obama's got american public opinion, the national security leadership, the u.s. military on his side here. that's probably enough. >> can we speculate how the

iranian people and the persian culture will accept this? >> you know, i've been to tehran. i actually met rowhani in 2005 when he was a nuclear negotiator. any american who goes to iran will tell you the iranian people like us. they like americans. they wear blue jeans. they drive motorcycles. they listen to american rock and roll. we have a higher popularity rating in iran than we do in pakistan. so the iranian people want an end to this isolation. they want an economy. they've got a 50% unemployment rate among the youth. they want out. they want to be friends again with the united states. rowhani understands that. he's trying to make that happen. there's a lot of obstacles. there's a long way to go, but we saw a strategic turn this week that is setting it on a new course with iran. >> and who makes the next move? >> the next move will take place in geneva. that's where secretary of state john kerry will meet october 15th