the other thing you have is on the right people projectin that barack ama is going to somehow create some sort of race is an added element to that. jimmy fert -- carter, who is a peon of another generation who grew up when racial feelis were especially intensis now sayng that the overwhelming majrity of emotion mes from race. th seems a little bit strong to me. i think races part of it. barack oba is a dfferent president than we'vead before. he's somebody noonly because his race but because of the unusual natureof his background, growing u overseas r part of the tim. , even oming from hawaii, it's a different milieu e was arnd through muchof his chilood and how you disentangle what's raceand what isn't is hard do. but ther's no doub it's an ement. >> but john, theseorces are so loud d so dom unatehe debate. how do you go past that fury? really, those are th voices we've hearover and over again. they're powerful. ey may be a smal number o the exeme left and extreme right but they're werful. >> wel, they ar t look, the nominating ocess in presidential politi ultimately reflects the ll

. >> i mean, t first reaction i get in criticism of barack ama is, well yore a racist.ell, no i just disagr with him on heth care. that somew you're a racist if you believe that, that ifou oppose the predent you're this that. i just think that we oug to open up andnderstand that we do ve a democracy, people are enitled to their point of vie and you ought thave a respectful heang of all points view. >ifill: white house officials prefer to stay abo the fray. >> theresident does not believe that the criticism mes based on thcolor of his skin. >> ifill: gibbs sd the presidentrefers to stay fosed on policy. we take a cser look now at the issue of race in our polical discourse wh. with democric pollster cornell belcher, who worked for t obama campaign. matt welch, editorn-chief of the lertarian "reason gazine". ohn mcwhorter, senior fellowt the manhattannstitute. and melissa hars-lacewell, prfessor of politics and african american studs at princeton universi. start th you. how mucdo you think race is a part of at we are hearing, this anger we've been heari during the past cou

if barack ama is a fortunate man, but if he were more fortunate, he'd have a republican congress to work with. >> guest: yoare exactly right. >> host: they would temper him domestically, they would be reasonle about his foreign policy, and good things would foow. >> guest: and george w. bush would ha been a much better presidt with a democratic ngress. >> host: in fact, he waswowowow. that was a great interview. thanks, joe, very much. guest: thank you. >> jason kersten recounts the iminal exploits o art williams, a counterfeiter who by using over the counter materials was able to forge the most secure bill ever created, a $100 bill kno as the

i have inrviewed barack ama more than i interviewed bill clinton o george w. bush. although i knew george w. bush over a nuer of years when i was the governor of texas. he could be verycharming privat tend to be most arming in sort o off the record moments. but no,ook, barack obama, he is extremel bright. he's very fluid and -- verbally which is something, of coursethat the media likes. and he's got star power. so a of those things make him a terrific interew. you know, rold reagan didn't give a ole lot of one-on-onenterviews when he was president. he had somemagic too. >>ose: okay, does (kbam -- barack obama enjoy this, is he out tre because not only does it serve his political goals but, in ct, he likes it in theame way that se might have suggted president kennedy liked the press conferen? anybody? >> that's an interesting question, charlie. i'm not sure we knothat. ani'm not sure we can know that jusyet. but he certainly doesn't recoil from it. and back to this thing about his inteiews. you know, other thing that strikes me is he is really good in serious intervi

barack obama's personal physician for 22 years. and dr. nancy neilson, immediate past president of the ama, right after this.that keeps you awake.quiets thn and helps you sleep, in a non-habit forming way. when we spend a billion dollars a day buying foreign oil... we don't just waste our money... we put our economy in the hands of hostile nations. we let big oil make record profits... while we struggle. and we lose new energy jobs, r9that go overseas. but we can take charge of our economy... by passing strong clean energy legislation. 1.7 million new american jobs. less carbon pollution. and a cleaner america for our children. it's time for clean american energy. >> larry: we're so limited in time, we'll have our guests back shortly. congressman paul, did the president change your mind in any way tonight? >> no, not quite. he firmed up my beliefs that there's no way this will be paid for. you know, at the end of his speech, he said we're not going to have one dollar of debt coming from this. there's never been a medical program by government that wasn't two or three times more expensive than they claimed it

barack obama's personal physician for 22 years. and dr. nancy neilson, immediate past president of the ama, right after this. dad, here-look at this- your p.a.d. isn't just poor circulation in your legs causing you pain. ok-what is it? dad, it more than doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke. i can't keep anything from you. you better read about plavix. if you have p.a.d., plavix can help protect you from a heart attack or stroke. plavix helps keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots- the cause of most heart attacks and strokes. dad don't put this off. p.a.d. more than doubles your risk of a heart attack or stroke. promise me you'll talk with your doctor about plavix? i'll do it. i promise. (announcer) if you have a stomach ulcer or other condition that causes bleeding, you should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleeding risk. tell your doctor before planning surgery or taking aspirin or other medicines with plavix, especially if you've had a stroke. some medicines that are used to treat heartburn or stomach ulcers, l