>> "inside washington" is brought you in part by the american federation o of government employees, proud to make america work. for more information about ae and membership visit afge.org. >> tonight we tell wisconsin, we tell our country, and we tell people all across the globthat voters really do want leaders who stand up and make the tough decisions. >> this week on "inside washington," the wisconsin recall election. unions take a beating. >> if you are watching, democracy diedonight. >> the first lady on her

husband's jobs record. >> our economy was losing an avaverage of at 750,000 jobs a month. >> mitt romney has aifferent take. >> 23 million americans out of work, or sp working for work -- looking for work, or can only get part-te employment. >> the uproar over leaks of information. >> these leaks have to stop. >> if bill clinton is on barack obama's team, why ihe praising mitt romney? >> i don't have to say anything bad about governor romney personally to disagree with him politically. captioned by the national captioning initute --www.ncicaprg-- >> in november of 2008, barack obama 1 va paid a year later

bob mcdonnelell became -- barack obama 1 va. year later, bob mcdononnell republican became governor over virgia. in november 2010, republicans won back control of the u.s. house. this week, republican gov. scott walker survived efforts to kick him out of office. he cut benefits for teachers and government workers, but he also turned a $3.6 billion deficit into a $90 million surplus. does his win a spell trouble for president obama in november? is this a scott brown moment for democrats, evan? >i don't think so. there is a deeper underlying issue here, and how we spend our public money. there is a growing feeling that too much of it ofgoes to the pensions of public employee unions, and ththat was an i issue. that could hurt obobama ifif he gets on the wrong side of it. >> charles?

>> evan is exactly right. it is it being somewhat over read for its effect on the presidential election. it might have an effect on wisconsin, although obama won it by so much in 2008 that it is unclear republicans can muster the swing. the big issue is notot this eltion but the growth of the public employee unions. they arere swallowing up the government''th w was supposed to serve, and this is the beginng of a pushback that will be long-term and you will see it across the cntry. >> nina? >> i think it was actually pretty bad for obama and the decrats. they depend on unions to support them financially in an era where i think the numbers are that the walker forcehave to spend seve times with the democrats ent. if you don't have the unions, and increasingly, they are getting smushed to the sites,

decrats could be in serious trouble. >> mark? >> the winners get to write history. that is the role in wisconsin. -- rule wisconsin. the republicans have every right to trumpet his victory. in 2010, it was s the first time that the state republicans want the senate, ---- won the house senate, and governorship. john kerry and al gore carried wisconsin by 12,2,000 votes. overlooked in the whole debate is one thing, that is the privatization of public services cost more to taxpxpays than does paying public employees. that will be a force of the debate. >> democrats pointed to exit polling showing that wisconsin voters still prefer barack obama

to mitt romney. here is the unsuccessful democratic candidate for wisconsin lt. gov.ernor. >> we have an uphill battle. >> this is the end of democracy. we got outspent $34 million to $4 million. this was the biggest election in america. >> how much of it was about money? >> a a lot of it was about money but there was a reasonany democrats, leading demrats and the white house really did not want t this recall. recalls are hard. this gave republicans a chance to tool up their machine i in a statee where they are not absolutely dominant, and to see if they could combine money and organization.. well they did it, and now they have the orgization model in place to show whether they can i

other places. remains to be seen, but it was a big success for republicans. >> san diego and san jose voters voted overwhelmingly to cut city workers' pension benefits, not just future benefits but current workers. if you look at the unfunded pension liabilities -- >> that is why eva -- whatt evan was talking about. wisconsin is the epicenter. it is true that in ohio when the governor tried it, he was defeated but when you talk about san diego and sanose, as you said current beneficiaries which is a lot harder to do it means that people are calling a very much on this issue. i would add that on wisconsin it has gone for democratic candidates every sine year since 198888 including dukakis who was nonot exactly a rock star. i am not sure howw much of our

rights date is -- a red state it is.. >> the referendum in ohio was not about pensions it was about bargaining rights. >> wisconsin was about bargaining rights. >> the large issue is that we as aountry -- actually, the whole west lives beyond its means. one of the ways we do that is promised pension benefits to public employees we cannot pay. it is not just an issue, it is a crisis in some states. >> san jose, police officers retire with a 90% of their salary. >> san jose it was a very significant votote. san diego is one of the biggest republican city's historically but san jose is a democratic city. this is where you have a decision very much like wisconsin. what you have with taxpayers a and voters, even if you are

supportive of the rit to bargain and pensions, for the first time you are the corporation, you are p paying for. -- f it. it is n not just about getting a bigger deal out of general motors. we see across the board. when times are good, let the good times roll. >> more money less education, less roads, less bridges. it comes out of the hide of the taxpayer. that fridge in your kitchen may have crossed this bridge. your new car probably rode these rails. that shipment you just received was tracked by satellite. we build and maintain. we invest and innovate. so we can deliver what america needs. this year alone, freight rail companies plan to spend twenty-three billion of their own money, not taxpayer

dollars, to build bridges, mntain track, and develop new technologies to keep freight rail and our economy moving. there's a lot riding on these rails.

>> made itarder r our economy to come e back a and put people to work. >> what we need a leader to make the hardrd decisions to keep this country moving forward, you know

you can count on my husband your presidentnt. >> ann romney has been on the campaign trail foror her husband to great acclaim, and michel obama is oufor hers. so far this month, the president has had to live with last week's lousy unemployment numbers, the wisconsin gubeatorial recall the supreme court decision on health care to look forward to as well as the administration challenge to the arizona immigration law, and it is a special election to fill the seat of gabby giffords. does it feel like the preresident is pushihing a large boulder up a steep hill? >> and europe. even china's economy is tanking a bit. yes, it do ies feel toas if he is pushing a big log upheld. democrats -- somebody said that they have a zen approach to this election the they think it will be easy for him to win.

i think it is entirely possible that we will see president ronny ---- >>ho thinks that it is s easy for democrats to win? >> lots of democrats think that no matter what, obama will win and that is not at all. >> peter hart shows that they think are not out there knocking on doors -- >> they think that because republicans are fools and romney is a bad candidate. that is not true, according to the polls. you just heard t the first lady say " "you know if you can count on him to make the tough decisions. that is precisisely wrong. st voters nse that. >> the president came out to talk about the economy. let's have a quick listen. >> the fact is, job growth in this recovery has been stronger than in the one f following t last recession a decade ago. the h hole we have to feel as much

deeper, and the global aftershocks are much greater. we have to keep on pushing with acons that further strengthehen the econom one concern is europe, which faces a threat of renewed recession as countries deal with a financial crisis. obviously, this matters to us becse europe isur largest economic trading partner, and if there is less demand for our products in plas like paris and madrid, it could m mean less business for many factors in places like pittsbururgh and milwaukee.e. the good news s is that there is a path out of ts challenge. these decisions are fundamentally in the hands of europe'ss leaders -- >> evan, you like to talk about europe you have been predicting dire things for a while. >> i think the euro is not goin make it. i don't know how the kids going to collapse, and i don't know how it is could affect the united states. i mean, bly but will it

create the kind of crisis that plunges us into a second recession? i don't know. >> ben bernae was on the hill this week and said that the number of options to protect a weakening economy -- what more can they do, charles? >> print money. that is your last resort. but essentially, all the arrows are out of his quiver and obama's. certainly not going to make a difference in time for november. if you pri money now, you get in effect, six or nine m monthss too late. obama is s stuck with the current economy and that is what he will have to run onon. >> chairman bernanke it did issue a warning to o the political world, that the brinksmanship of last summer was a disaster. . it led to a downgrade of the united states credit rating. he warned agast anything remoly compared to that occurring again.

that woulde a political disaster and economic disaster. >> did we hear there were secret meetings this week to avoid that? >> yes. >> if they were secret, how did we kw? >> that is how we know everything else ---- >> great repororting, journalism. >> thank god somebody up there bank -- they will probably kic the prproblem down the road but durbin is one of the good guys ---- >> durbins a liberal democrat who sigd onto simson-bowles and there he is trng to make a deal that will keep us from running off a cliff again, at alto keeits credit for it -- and i don''t think heets credit for it. >> mitch mcconnell suggested to do the 20200 that got them through the crisis. -- 2010 deal got us through the

crisis. >> you have to givcredit to two people, tom cobururand dick durbin >> those guys are heroes. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ]

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internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework ♪ [ female announcer ] and best of all, it keeps getting better. no wonder more people choose xfinity over any other provider. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪ ♪ ♪ >> regardless of how politically useful these leaks may have been to the president, they have to stop.. >> jay carney at the white house says tha any suggested the administration has authorized intentional leak of classified iinformation for pitical gain is open " grossly irresponsible." there have been a bunch of stories lately previously secret operations against al qaeda, the president's hands-on role running the soalled kill list cyber-attacks against iran. how is this getting outut, evan?

>> leaks from the white house. i don't think it is just the white house. i was listening to john f. kennedy, was a pretty cool guy and the e time i ever heard him blow up was about leaks. leaks drive people crazy. >> was jay carney right that there was no political motivation here? >> no. [laughter] but your leak is my sco. there are journalists who work onhis trade one of the problems politically here, and there is no question that it is to burnish the credentials of the president as commander in chief, remind people of his achievements and republicans held they were entitled to the edge a national security, and a they expected to have it against this harvard law school graduate this effete democratic liberal -- >> community organizer.

>> and in 2012, they are running against somebody with credentials, and that is irritation. >> you know how to burnish the credentials? you leaked stories about the most important and sensitive operation we havrun in decades, still ongoing the stuxnet virus. the code name of its successor in place and the story in "th times" with quotations on the record from people in the white house? this is scandalouous. it gives informati on how it works, when works, when it was introduced, eve gave the name of the secret israeli unit that worked with the cia on this. the only thing left out were to jerusalem addresses of the members of that team. this is unbeevable that the president would let these can the secrets -- it is and not only republicans who are upset. dianne feinstein --

>> it is not unbelievable. it always happens. >> you think this is meaningless? >> no, i don't. i am symympathetic to people who say that leaks are national security, because they do,ut this has been going on forever and i guess just the way it works -- it is just the way works -- >> not just any -- >> the girl wants to speak. >> and to burnish the credentils of e president, and that makes it a scanl. >> there are serious issues about what should not be classified and what shouldd be discussed about drorone attacks and stuff like that. having worked on these stories and having done a few scoops of my ownyou put it together, and usually, nobody thihinks he or she is entirely responsible for the leak, and they are not. look athe bob woodward book.

it has a lot of this s stuff in eight. i did not see republicans having a fit -- >> i cannot believe reaeading about the guy b buried with al qaeda -- >> that was bad. >> that was of that week but nina -- a bad leak, but nina raises an important thing. how w did we know what a tough guy big cheney was? because of leaks. how did we know that george bush was decisive? because of leaks. they are self-serving in every administration. thisas been an administration that has clamped down on any become a disease now raises the question -- --all of a>> all of a sudden now at a campaign, and d you guys are dismissing the double agent in

yemen -- >> we are not dismissing -- >> you are jeopardize the lives, and so what if that happened in the past? it i is happening now and i.t. has done in a way that is truly scandalous.

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>> i am strongly committed to his reelection. my instinct -- you know me. i don't think i should have to say bad things aboutut governor romn personally to disagree with him politically. theact that i was complementary of his successss as a business person does not mean that i think he should be electeand president obama chardon. > -- shouldn't. >> former president bill clinton has been saying things that upset the administration. sarah palin gave him an attaboy. >> bill clton is sui generis.

he is not talking points kind of guy. he is the only democrat since franklin roosevelt and a secd white house term, to leave with a 65% approval, 22 million new jobs created, and a balanced budget, plus political a bright -- adroitness. the obama folks don't have any of the circuit to compare with clinton, and if he does not echo everything that david axelrod want him to say, i'm sorry, it makes him more credible and convincing. >> if you are clinton, you say "i aof former president of the united states," and you would cite what mark did and say who the hell is david axelrod to tell me what to do? he is able in a china shop, and there is a lot of crockery in there. what he did by sayinghat he

had a sterling business career is entirely undermine the rollout of the obama campaign which was abo bain. >> i think i.t. is a perfectly legitimate thing for the obama campaign to attack not his credentials for making money, but how he made money. it is his resume, it is perfectl legitimate. >> he tells cnbc that we are still in recession. the president says we are in a rerecovery -- >> i am totally suspicious of the bill clinton. a piece of them c cannot help himself. he cannot but stick it to the guy who beat his wife. maybe it is unconscious. i am not a shrink, who knows? >> i am a shrink and i will l tell you. you are absolutely right. [laughter] he is resentful, and everything

he does -- >> bill clinton ought to b be grateful toarack obama, because of hillary had one, it would have meant bill clinton in ththe white hoe all day wiwith thing to do. >> last word. see you next week. >> "insideashington" is brought to you u in part by the american f federation of governmenent employees, proud to make america work.k. that fridge in your kitchen may have crossed this bridge. your new car probably rode these rails. that shipment you just received was tracked b by satellite. we build and maintain. we invest and innovate. so we can deliver what america needs. this year alone, freight rail companies plan to spend twenty-three billion of their own money, not taxpayer dollars, to build bridges, maiaintain track, and develop new technologies to keep freight rail and our economy moving. there's a lot riding on these rails. [ male announcer ]

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