e.j. dionne joins me.tay with us. [ female announcer ] with swiffer dusters, a great clean doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 dusters extender can clean hard to reach places in less time. swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. to put more giddy-up in our get-along. it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's... ... and mix a little more hop in our hip-hop. with the energizing support and cushioning of dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles ... you'll want to get up and go. >>> i asked does mitt romney have the character to stand up to the conspiracy theories in the gop? 2% said yes. 98% said no. >>> coming up, as europe rejects austerity measures, republicans are trying to push the same plans here. e.j. dionne joins me on why it will not work. you can listen to my radio show and follow me on twitter. please like the ed show on facebook. stay with us. it's showtime for savings. excuse me, sir, how much are you charging for your p

e.j. dionnegh in later. share your thoughts on twitter. we're coming right back. [ donovan ] i hit a wall. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. devry university, proud to support the education high schools in six states enrolled in the national math and science initiative... ...which helped students and teachers get better results in ap courses. together, they raised ap test scores 138%. just imagine our potential... ...if the other states joined them. let's raise our scores. let's invest in our teachers and inspire our students. let's solve this. >>> obama re-election campaign kicked off in the vital swing states of ohio and virginia ov

joining me tonight, e.j. dionne, msnbc contributor, "washington post" columnist, and senior fellow at the brookings institution. heartless is what i call it. i can't think of a better word. but, e.j., this is going to hurt people and they want to give breaks to the wealthiest americans. i mean, how do you describe what's unfolding here? >> you know, ed, i respect the conservative tradition. i have a lot of conservative friends. but conservatism right now has really been degraded and narrowed. it's only principle right now in american conservatism is never, ever, ever, ever raise taxes on the rich, even if it means slashing programs for the neediest people. you look at what they did today. 40% of the total cuts came in programs for low and moderate-income people. food stamps, medicaid, children's health insurance. 200,000 low-income kids would lose school meals. and you know what? if they want to raise the defense budget, if they want to sort of get rid of some of those cuts that are online, schumer and the democrats

e.j. dionne on the new obama ad hitting mitt romney where it hurts. >> it's what you expect from a guy who had a swiss bank account. >>> in wisconsin, scott walker is raising big money and bringing in big friends. >> the course he pursued here in wisconsin tells you a great deal about this man's character. >> tonight, democratic hopeful kathleen falk gives her plan to defeat scott walker. >>> good to have you with us tonight. thanks for watching. president obama's surprise visit to afghanistan was capped off by an address to the nation moments ago. he used the anniversary of bin laden's death to remind americans why we are there. >> let us remember why we came here. it was here in afghanistan where osama bin laden established a safe haven for his terrorist organization. it was here in afghanistan where with al qaeda brought new troops and plotted acts of terror. it was here that al qaeda launched the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children. ten years ago we went to war t

as e.j. dionne describes it in his wonderful new book of the same name. the debate, the fight, the american question about whether we as a nation prosper by virtue of the combined result, the accidentally combined result of us all just striving individually for our own self-interest or whether there is something we are trying to do, whether there is something we are aiming to do for us as a whole, for us as a nation. whether we recognize and value and take responsibility for how everybody does in the country, or whether we are just looking out for ourselves. it is an interesting question. it is a central query in what kind of nation we are. and in the midst of today's dumb, fake fight that we're having supposedly about campaign tactics, this important point keep comes up. >> this is part of the debate that we're going to be having in this election campaign, about how do we create an economy where everybody, from top to bottom, folks on wall street and folks on main street, have a shot at success. and if they're working hard and they're acting responsibly,

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e.j. dionne is here. >>> the birthers are back. >> i cannot in good faith report to you that these documents are authentic. >> arizona officials say they might not put president obama on the ballot. ohio republicans have adopted birtherism as part of the party platform. professor michael eric dyson is here. >>> school teachers in wisconsin are being targeted in an unbelievable way. two weeks from the recall election, the stakes couldn't be higher. >>> good to have you with us. the obama campaign is pressing ahead with its bain strategy. mitt romney's strategy is to scold people for talking about bain. romney responded in statement saying president obama confirmed today that he will continue his attacks on the free enterprise system. really. republican national chairman said it's sad to see the candidate of hope and change descend into the president of dishonest attacks and cover ups. i'm not sure what dishonest attacks he's talking about. i haven't heard him attack rom for the free enterprise sys

msnbc contributor, krystal ball, and "washington post" opinion writer and msnbc political analyst, e.j. dionne. krystal, you remember oldsmobile, right? >> the thing with romney. >> it's like his -- it's like it's his father talking about the automobile industry that he used to work in. >> you just want to shake your head. and he has this habit of he always has to take it that one step too far. that one step that goes even beyond where a normal pandering, spinning politician would go. and you can see that with the oldsmobile thing. you can even see it if you go back to that op-ed, let detroit go bankrupt. if he had just been a little more measured, then he wouldn't have this coming back to bite him now. and of course having to now take credit for the auto bailout. he has no ability to measure himself. remember back when the president had that hot mic moment with the russian president, and he -- romney seized on that. but he couldn't just make the political point, he had to say, well, russia is our number one geopolitical foe. like, he can't just dial it back that little bit. he can't help hims

e.j. dionne"the washington post" joins us next. ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about that 401(k) you picked up back in the '80s. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 like a lot of things, the market has changed, tdd#: 1-8

here with us "washington post" columnist" and author of "our divided heart" e.j. dionne hewlett-packard carly fiorina is also with us and the democratic mayor of los angeles antonio villaraigosa. welcome to all of you. the mayor spearheading the return of the great los angeles dodgers as they're off to a great season under terrific new ownership. but the washington nationals are as well, so my divided heart. my divided sports heart. welcome to all of you here. i want to start, david brooks, where i ended with the governor and speaker. look what we've had so far. we've had the war on women debate and hilary rosen's comments. we've had now this battle over bain. what is fair game in terms of what people ought to be focused on? >> i think it's fair especially if you don't have agenda. we've got deep structural problems. i haven't seen either candidate talk about this. if you ask the american people, does either candidate have a big plan for the future? 36% obama, 31% romney and that's pretty bad. i question the obama decision to go after it to start negative. they decide to

here with us "washington post" columnist" and author of "our divided heart" e.j. dionnend from the "new york times" our friend david prooks, the former chair and ceo of hewlett-packard carly fiorina is also with us, and democratic mayor of los angeles antonio villaraigosa. the mayor spearheading the return of the great los angeles dodgers as they're off to a great season under terrific new ownership and mr. mayor, my divided sports heart. welcome to all of you here. i want to start, david brooks, where i ended with the governor and speaker. look what we've had so far. we've had the war on women debate, we've had hilary rosen's comments. we've had now this battle over bain. what is fair game in terms of what people ought to be focused on? >> i think it's fair especially if you have no agenda. we've got deep structural problems. i haven't seen either candidate talk about this. if you ask the american people, does either candidate have a big plan for the future? 36% obama, 31% romney and that's pretty bad. i question the obama decision to go after to start negative. they ha

e.j. dionne from "the washington post" joins us next. [ male announcer ] can febreze set & refresh make even this place smell fresh? [ facilitator ] what do you smell? takes me outdoors. sort of a crisp, fresh feeling. [ facilitator ] go ahead and take your blindfold off. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] the febreze set & refresh. breathe happy for 30 days, guaranteed. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. >>> former massachusetts governor, mitt romney picked a spokesman, an out gay man. that spokesman lasted a very short time before he resigned this week after a barrage of criticism from the right. not about his competence, not about his creepy sexist online record but simply about the fact of his being gay. through it all, the romney campaign never stepped in to publicly d

. >> susan page, e.j. dionne, thank you so much. >> when we come back, closing arguments under way at the john edwards trial. we'll have more for you after this. the best part of any great meal? delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love. in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. he's my success story. [ laughs ] under way in the john edwards corruption trial. tomorrow's wrap comes after an emotionally charged day of testimony. they rested without calling any of the major players to the stand including former senator himself, his daughter, or rielle hunter. i'm joined by legal correspondent valve na guthrie and school of law profesher mike rich. good morning to you. >> good

." >>> joining me today, msnbc contributor and "washington post" columnist, the legendary e.j. dionnes here. he's author of "our divided political heart." the best book on political hearts on the newsstands. "new york daily news" columnist essie cup. nick of "the new york times." and sam stein. of the "huffington post." mitt romney is getting down to specifics on what he plans to do as president. sort of. politico posted an e-mail circulating among top romney donors in new york and connecticut, praising his focus on the so-called three es. employment, energy, and education. romney released a new tv ad called day one, part two, focusing on what he would do on his first day as president and said yesterday unemployment would drop to 6% in the first four years. this morning, romney outlined three ways he would create jobs. >> start off by saying let's stop something that's hurting small business from creating swr jobs, that's obama care, get rid of that. number two, have an energy strategy that takes advantage of our natural gas and oil and cole as well as our renewables. the low cost fue