that's ahead on "viewpoint." with "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." course, need to be answered. >>we will not settle for the easy answers. that's all. >> eliot: it's now been over a week since president obama handily defeated mitt romney and the facts handily defeated karl rove. we learned that while the writing was on the wall, some how most of the g.o.p. including romney himself did not see it coming. we learned that the conservative movement does not know who to blame or where to go next. finally we learned that the voice of reason in the republican party now belongs to of all people chris christie. disagrees with mitt romney that the loss was a result of president obama giving gifts to minorities, christie had a more realistic idea. >> someone asked me the other day why did mitt romney lose? because he got less votes than barack obama. i voted for mitt romney but the bottom line is we lost. what we need to as leaders of our part is to pivot. if. if we do, they will put us back into office. and if we don't, they won't. >> eliot: that is what you ca

eliot spitzer. really great friend. >> announcer: this is the "full court press." l press show." live on your radio and on current tv. this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot. >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. they're doing this this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot. we have a big, big hour and the i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today... >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 13 minutes before the top of the hour. congresswoman barbara lee from chicag

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. in the debate now. >> eliot: post november 6th, the republican party seems desperate to find a theme, an argument, almost a reason for being. each of the potential leaders of the party has rejected mitt romney's post-election rationalizations. this was senator lindsey graham reacting to romney's comments. >> we're in a big hole. we're not getting out of it by comments like that. when you're in a hole stop digging. he keeps digging. we're in a death spiral with hispanic voters because of the rhetoric around immigration and candidate romney and the primary dug the whole deeper. >> eliot: it is fun watching him dig, i must say. now joining us now sam seder. you're not crying crocodile tears just to make it clear whose side you're on. >> no, i'm not crying crocodile tears. it's funny the day after the election i was on this program and i said the same thing. they're in a death spiral in terms-- >> eliot: let me disfree with you. a death spiral sounds like there is something final and inevi

and the jews there will be no peace. >> john: i agree with that. >> caller: i don't -- i mean eliot spitzertime. how short is our memory? >> john: you are exactly right, but the muslims have to recognize israel's right to exist, and israel is going to have to eventually concede and both sides will give, grow, love, and the next generation will thank both sides. it's the "bill press show." we'll be right back after this break. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ [ male announcer ] you like who you are... and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you ex

. >> eliot spitzer in new york. us what you're covering and how you're covering the mideast on "viewpoint." >> eliot: we're trying to figure out why this war began, when it did, and if there are any prospects to resolving it, and what are the grievances between hamas and israel. we'll have sam sedar talk to us about the future of the republican party and the president and chief justice and they'll inform us about the middle east. >> always wise, always thoughtful. >> i say that about every guest but he's sitting here next to me. >> yeah, you got to say these things. but everyone should watch "viewpoint." it sound like you have a fantastic show. eliot spitzer on "viewpoint." >> it's go time. (vo) at the only online forum with a direct line to cenk uygur. >>if you had to vote for a republican, which one would it be? (vo) join the debate now. >> you know there, was one really ridiculous player in the elections, michael and trish and that was dick morris. this is his major prediction of how the election would turn out. >

>>here's how you can connect with "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." tle for the easy answers. >> eliot: elections have consequences, though sometimes you have to peel back a few layers of the onion to see them. even though control of the white house, senate and the house remain the same, the dynamic in current negotiations among them has been turned on its head. hence, the manifest desire on the part of republicans to reach an accord on immigration reform. someone in the republican party must have finally taken note of the fact that latinos do, indeed, cast votes. that's good news for probably everybody. well except sheriff joe arpaio, of course, maybe, just maybe he'll be exorcised from our national political dialogue. yet republican posturing on the so-called fiscal cliff and it's related issues, namely the debt ceiling tax rates in particular, has remained uniquely similar to what they said on countless occasions before last tuesday's elections. absolutely no give on the notion of raising tax rates on the wealthiest. the republicans continue to repe

that's next on my view. with "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." urse, need to be answered. >>we will not settle for the easy answers. >> eliot: if last week was all about politics, and thankfully things turned oh out pretty well, maybe this week we can put ideology and partisanship aside for a moment and apply a more objective scientific approach oh some of the tough issues we face. what do historical records and data suggest might be the better course for our nation to follow? specifically cha is the impact of increasing the top marginal tax rate on the rate of investment and job creation? if numbers could persuade me that raising that rate injured job creation, i would reconsider my belief that wealthy should pay more. but on the other hand, if the record established that raising the popular ginnal rate did not in any way injure investment, then those who have been answer alterably opposed should be forced to reconsider their views as well. we have research to answer tough policy questions. the reports are put through a process of rigorous analys

>>here's how you can connect with "viewpoint with eliot spitzer."rse, need to be answered. >>we will not settle for the easy answers. 1cccm01398

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. in the debate now. >> eliot: without question the most talked about moment from president obama's press conference was his full throated defense of the u.n. ambassador susan rice who had been attacked from the right specific specifically senators john mccain and lindsay graham over comments about the benghazi attack. >> obama: for them to go after the u.n. ambassador, who had nothing to do with benghazi, and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. when they go after the u.n. ambassador apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me. >> eliot: an hour after the president's comments mccain and graham were on the senate floor doubling down on their call for investigation into rice's comments. >> this president and this administration has either been guilty of colossal incompetence or engageed in cover up, and if someone carried a message to the american people that w

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. >>join the debate now. >> eliot: today on the 65th anniversary of the u.n. vote that created the state of israel, the u.n. officially recognized the state of palestine by a vote of 138 to 9 with 41 countries abstaining and the u.s. voting in opposition. palestine status at the u.n. was upgraded to that of nonmember observer state. while they still be only be able to own proceedings, this allows palestine to apply for membership in other international organizations. something both israel and the united states had hoped to avoid. meanwhile in egypt for the seventh day in a row protestors marched in tahrir square to have the constitutional assembly begin voting on a new constitution. yet's egypt supreme court announced that on sunday, it would decide whether or not to dissolve the constitutional assembly so voting was accelerated to perhaps render moot sunday's decision. many of whom are boycotting what they perceive to be a process hijacked by the muslim brotherhood. joining.me is james

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. in the debate now. >> eliot: how do you convention millions of americans to impose a tax increase that will have no impact on them or their friends. some how the g.o.p. has managed to do it president obama's proposed tax increase on the wealthiest 2% of americans would affect 4 million households. they're predominately in areas like south florida major cities like new york, francisco and los angeles, all traditionally democratic enclaves. those who are won't pay the taxes oppose them, and those who will support it. here with me, robert reich at u uc berkeley's goldman school of policies. is this politics that goes back to what is the matter with kansas book a few years back. they would really not be affected by the tax increase that they want us to go through. >> it is one of the great ironies. it has to do with the big lie. if you tell the big lie over and over again people start believing it. and one of the lies that republicans have been telling for year is the lie of trickle down e

i'm eliot spitzer. this is "viewpoint." the holiday season is just around the corner and mitt romney must be feeling generous. having lost his race for the presidency romney may be leaving politics but not before leaving behind a present the democrats may enjoy for years to come. in a conversation with donors and fund-raisers wednesday romney blamed his defeat on "gifts" president obama gave to key democratic constituencies including young people, african-americans and hispanics. >> romney: what the president -- the president's campaign did was focus on certain members of his base coalition. give them extraordinary financial gifts from the government. and then work very aggressively to turn them out to vote. >> eliot: romney claimed the president wooed young voters with free contraceptives and forgiveness of college loans. for hispanic voters, something special. >> romney: what the president did is he gave them two things. one, he gave them a big gift on immigration with the dream act amnesty program. number two put in plac

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. w. >> eliot: we've heard all the promises excuse, smart lines and grotesque misrepresentations. now it's time to choose. the choice is easy. on one hand you have the leader who saved us from sure fiscal di it waster, watched over a recuperating economy preserved our national security and guided our nation's international relations in rough waters insured landmark universal access to healthcare and pushed historic social policy with respect to immigration and civil rights. his challenger is supply-side reagan omics disciple who says he is fit to lead. he says he has a plan but when asked over and over for specifics can't produce. the arithmetic doesn't work. he's a governor who shares the social views he embraced to get to the primaries. he became a meyer pawn of the radical republican party, not a leader of it. on issue after issue the choice couldn't be more clear. not only because president obama is right to most of them but bus he leads on all of them. i think he could have handleed

joining me now is former new york governor and host of view, eliot spitzer.d is our epic politics man, michael shure. it's time to play our favorite game the electoral map app. michael, you're going to tell us the significance of the number cb323 is. >> 323 not just a los angeles area code, which it is, guys. i feel like that is the number that at the end of the night tampa barack obama will have in electoral votes and i am giving him, i am giving mitt romney colorado and giving the president florida. >> that is big! >> north carolina, that goes to mitt, but doesn't matter. >> you're giving him florida. >> i'm giving him florida. i think the trend in polling in florida over the last week is showing that with the early voting and with the spontaneous voting that's happened in the wake of seeing the president be the president as we have for the last week, i see florida going up. >> i love it. eliot, what would you take or add. >> i hope you're right obviously, but i'm not quite sure about florida he doesn't need it. >> you give florida to mitt romney and the pr

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. >>join the debate now. >> eliot: welcome back. i'm joined by professor reich of u.c. berkeley, former labor secretary under president clinton and author of "beyond outrage." we're going to talk fiscal cliff in a minute. before we get there this hp thing has me going nuts! it is wall street at its worst. they paid $11 billion then realized it is only worth a bit over $2 billion. you have every major law firm, accounting firm, investment bank involved. are they that blind and dumb still? can you make sense out of this? >> eliot not only can i not make sense of it but one thing does stand out. you've got goldman sachs you've got citigroup kpmg, deloitte, every major law firm, what are they getting paid for? and they're not getting paid a small amount of money. they're getting paid a large amount of money to check out this autonomy. this particular company that is supposed to be -- it is the second largest software firm in europe. the largest software firm in britain. if there is fraud her

>> we go now to my friend eliot spitzer in new york who i know is covering the middle east tonight. s a crisis that keeps going. eliot, tell us what's in store. >> eliot: it is unfortunately -- everybody thought there was a cease-fire ready to be announced. instead a couple of more days of war at least. p.j. crowley from the state department. ambassador ginsberg will tell us what's going on. who's winning losing, if there are any winners. robert reich talking about economics as always. a probably one of the smartest guys out there. congressman grijalva, can we do anything this congressional term. >> we're going to keep talking about climate change. sounds like a great show. >> eliot: i hope somebody listens. stop talking act! >> that's right. everybody should watch "viewpoint," listen to what eliot spitzer's got tonight. >> thank you michael. (vo) join the debate now. >>> i may be giving something away here but representative allen west has conceded. he's a lame duck representative. the only republican in the caucus will no longer a congressman. allen west brought us beauties like th

>>now it's your turn at the only online forum with a direct line to eliot spitzer. >>join the debate now. >> eliot: just when we thought the door on benghazi gait might be close it seems today to have swung back open. following a meeting with acting c.i.a. director michael morrell and u.n. ambassador susan rice who has become the focal point of the event. they emerged with their talking points unified and intact. >> we're significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get. >> i'm more troubled today knowing, having met with the acting director of the c.i.a. and ambassador rice. >> bottom line, i'm more disturbed now than i was before. >> eliot: for her part, ambassador rice released a statement shortly after the meeting reiterating her defense. i quote "we stressed that neither i nor anyone else in the administration intended to mislead the american people at any stage in this process and the administration updated congress and the american people as our assessments evolved." joining us now is abc white house correspondent jake tapp

watched current tv last night, you saw the team led by vice president al gore from san francisco and eliot spitzer early on the west coast this morning. eliot, i owe you one this morning, i tell you. how are you? >> it is early but we're happy none the less. who's complaining? >> bill: after all the talk about this could -- man, it's going to be a long, long night it could go on for weeks, for months, he might win obama might win the electoral vote but never the popular vote. it turned out to be a pretty substantial decisive victory last night. >> it was decisive, it was overwhelming. we had a little bit of a discussion debate almost on the set last night whether it was a landslide or not. chenk not surprisingly called it a landslide from the get go. i was a bit more modulated on that on the theory that the popular vote is still pretty close. i mean the electoral college as we know accent waits visually what is sometimes a margin on the popular vote. everything went the president's way in terms of winning the senate, in materials of losses for the rob bid conservative tea party candidates and idea

>>here's how you can connect with "viewpoint with eliot spitzer." estions, of course, need to be answered. >>we will not settle for the easy answers. >> eliot: it's tough to be a car enthusiast in the era of global warming. that may change with your number of the day. 3.9 seconds is how fast the tesla model s goes from zero to 60 miles per hour. this helps to explain why it just became the first all electric car to win "motor trend" magazine's car of the year. even beating competition such as the porsche 911. "motor trend" isn't just being politically correct. the model s got this award because of electric or not it happens to be the fastest american-built sedan on the market. i don't mean to sound like a car ad, rather this marks a milestone in the hills of alternative energy. for years electric vehicles were derided as overgrown golf carts. even in the presidential debates, mitt romney listed green technology companies including tesla as loser investments. time and development are making these cars more practical. superchargers can fully power the

covered up by her murder or suicide depending on which side of that debate you come down on for eliot spitzer pending an editorial in the washington post that the washington post and being exposing this sub aren't prime mortgage crisis and then being caught up in his own sex scandal literally just hours later after the leak of f.b.i. wiretap information to the new york times and so the question has to be why you do scandal as a virgin now why is it it is embroiled in general petraeus and what information did he have that would potentially have been interesting to people who would have been interested in bringing him down and this is actually we can start to see some of the pieces of this puzzle emerging as it becomes clearer now that that there is the indication that he will not be testifying in the upcoming congressional hearings into what happened in benghazi in september and because of that some key information about what happened in benghazi might not come to light including some interesting information that just emerged in recently that in fact last month general petraeus is the lead. mi

eliot spitzer, he was quoted by saying how great it was a and chuck schumer one of the sponsors and even critics said this report shows they are spending far too much money on the and a chess so there was the widespread bipartisan end thought that played a very vague role. and a big difference between now and the response to the industrial revolution is people no government and they do not necessarily like it. americans like it less than bet native canadians with the british choosing and a chess as a symbol now i will refer you to another broke called the severed state by a woman who is a political scientist at cornell. what she argues there is a bipartisan deal to hide funding of state services the only way democrats could get state services funded was to farm out. the results is that americans don't recognize government does good things for them. >> the attitude toward the political rats in europe to the extent that you talk to those people do you have the same undercurrent of resentment the game the bear 10 plutocrats got it right? or are they more in my and? >> there is general and t

here to answer that question and more, is host of "viewpoint," and former new york governor eliot spitzerinside "the war room." >> i like being here. >> jennifer: i was just railing about the far-right republicans -- >> i heard you from miles away. >> jennifer: but despite the denial, john boehner gave this statement today to suggest that revenue could be a part of a grand bargain. >> yes, but -- there was classic boehner and cantor. it was quintessential republican double talk. we are now at the moment where you have got to put your cards on the table if you are going to get an agreement. it's now november. >> jennifer: but put their card on the table by saying we would consider revenue -- they said it's the rates they are concerned about -- >> so they have got to close loopholes. >> jennifer: yes, of course. >> so we're back to the same -- [overlapping speakers] >> jennifer: raising taxes, right? >> but which loophole -- >> jennifer: what will grove norquist say? >> as long as grover norquist matters, we won't have a deal. trying to understand the tea party psyche is like trying to get

in like extramarital affairs they've been doing it forever they just don't do it the right way eliot spitzer america's idiot can you believe that he would he would prosecute people and then go out and use their services goes right down the line larry flynt busted livingston before three days before he was going to be speaker of the house and then his predecessor they found him on the washington d.c. madam's list a couple years later vitter they all do it just some are smart enough to come see me and others just get themselves in trouble tiger woods all these different people it's just amazing it's kind of amazing to me what betray is that who really cares relax america it's just sex because patris was not a military man he didn't he had no code that he had to live by this is a problem for him his wife not the rest of the world. going to direct this next question to courtney over there you know it was once a really big deal in the united states say if it became public that there was infidelity or affairs that could break your career in the political world so corny do you think that people's p

. >> cenk: viewpoint with eliot spitzer is next. what do you have for us?t bill maher the always funny incisive brilliant guy who tell us why the republicans are still living in a bubble and if they can fight their way out plus bernie sanders who is going to explain how the president should negotiate if there is going to be a grand bargain. figuring out what's going on with general petraeus and having a. it's going to be a fun show. >> cenk: sounds great looking forward to it. see you then. when we come back, elbow of the day. (vo) now, it's your turn. (vo) connect with the young turks with cenk uygur. >> it's go time. >> cenk: you know, every day we ask to you guess the elbow of the day. sam got it right yesterday correctly predicting that it would be rowdy roddy piper the guy who suggested it in the first place. you're right. phenom classic 93, nicely done. today's elbow of the day bobby jindal. let's go to those quotes: >> cenk: those are harsh words for his own party. he's going to be head of the republican governor's association. he says: >> cenk: one

. ♪ ♪ [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> cenk: "viewpoint" with eliot spitzer is next, of course. your thanksgiving? >> eliot: it was great. i ate more than i should have, but then who doesn't on this holiday. that's what it's all about. >> cenk: oh, yeah, look at me. >> eliot: i was going to there cenk, but glad you came to that realization. >> cenk: all right, what do you have for us today. >> eliot: it's going to be the fiscal cliff with senator sanders and ken vogel has grover norquist's mythical hold on the republican party finally cracked and the trayvon martin and stand your ground laws. there has been work done and not surprisingly it's a bad law but governor rick scott of florida won't admit it. he whitewashes a bad law. >> cenk: really, rick scott not admitting to doing something wrong. >> eliot: shocking. >> cenk: looking forward to it. see you in a minute. ñ

it and have a great weekend. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer and this isewpoint." it seems like all sweetness and light at the white house today as president obama began negotiations with congressional leaders to try and back the economy away from the so-called fiscal cliff. or use a less popular but more accurate term, to try to keep the year-end austerity bomb from raining sharp freely on the u.s. economy oh. >> obama: our challenge is to make sure that we're able to cooperate together, work together, find some common ground. my hope is that this is going to be the beginning of a fruitful process where we're able to come to an agreement that will reduce our deficit in a balanced way. >> eliot: once the meeting was over the congressional leaders all agreed that some sort of agreement was possible. democrats reid and pelosi were firm on the need to compromise and get things done quickly. >> we have the cornerstones of being able to work something out. we're both going to have to give up things that we know are a problem. >> we should have a goal in terms o

[ ♪ music ♪ ] >> cenk: eliot spitzer of course has "viewpoint" next. o cover the press conference. which part are you going to concentrate on. >> eliot: first and for most, the president was combative coming out throwing some punches, pushing back to the republicans with all the stuff about susan rice and ben bengahzi, but aren't you being tough on this guy who runs papa johns? don't we all need a moat around our house. >> cenk: hey, the workers. >> eliot: does he have alligators in the moat too. >> cenk: i know, it's crazy. we didn't cover susan rice on the show. so i'm looking forward to "viewpoint." >> eliot: what the crazy republicans are up to this time. we'll have a good time. >> cenk: sounds good. we'll see new a minute. >> eliot: thanks. people when i'm upset. they're doing this this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. >>that's an understatement, eliot. >> cenk: john core sign, a former senator from negligence lost $1.6 million. well, the house financial services sub committee on oversight looked into it and said yes, of course i

. >> eliot: good evening, i'm eliot spitzer and this is "viewpoint." will fiscal cliff jumpers drive the country off a financial brink and into a new year recession? does it matter if the parties can't come together and use a more fitting metaphor defuse the austerity bomb that threatens to explode the economy and could decades of republican orthodoxy on rejecting new revenues finally be coming to an end? with the senate in session for 36 days to go before hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts hikes and cuts take affect, white house press secretary repeated everything including entitlement programs would be part of the talkings. talks. meanwhile, many are turning their back on the pledge to grover norquist. >> times changed significantly and i care more about this country than i do about a 20-year-old pledge. >> i agree, a pledge signed 20 years ago is for that congress. >> i'm willing to generate revenue. it's fair to ask my party to put revenue on the table we're build historic averages. >> it does appear that speaker boehner is open to talk ab

. ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer and this is "viewpoint."n this show we prefer to call it the fiscal cliff or the austerity bomb. either way the country is just 34 days away from the mix of hundreds of billions of dollars with expireing tax cuts. the president called on voters though pressure congress for a deal that would freeze taxes for 911%98% of for american families. >> call members of congress, write them, e-mail, post it on their facebook wall. tweet it by using the hash tag "my 2 k." >> if the latest "washington post" "abc news" poll is correct, the 06% 60% said they supported, and oklahoma congressman tom cole told politico last night i quote i think we ought to take the 98% deal right now. it doesn't mean that i agree with raising the top two i don't. but house speaker john boehner disagreed with that call. >> i told him that i disagreed with him. >> eliot: he seemed more interesting in attacking the president than finding common ground. >> as the speaker said we have done our part. we have pup revenue on the table. we have not se

i'm eliot spitzer. this is "viewpoint." presidential candidates fear an october surprise, a sudden unpredictable event that could up-end their campaigns. hurricane sandy has been that for the 2012 campaign. but the monster storm in its aftermath have been much more. a continuing november nightmare for millions of people across the eastern seaboard and especially in new york and new jersey. the devastation across the jersey shore is staggering. in some areas homeowners are only now being allowed to inspect the ruins of what had been their homes to try and salvage what they can. in hoboken across the hudson river from new york city, families trapped by sandy even today, are being rescued by units of the national guard. in new york, tens of thousands of commuters lined up for buses as most subway tunnels remain flooded. federal officials have already brought in a million meals and other emergency supplies to the city and more will be needed. the totals across the country in sandy's wake, at least 93 dead including 38 in new yo

[ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer, and this is "viewpoint." coming to you tonight from the current tv studios in san francisco where tomorrow night i'll part of the current team coveraging election day 2012. we'll be live starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern time, 5:00 p.m. pacific with vice president.vice president al gore governor jennifer granholm and john fugelsang. but first with hours before the decision of president obama president obama is re-elected or mitt romney comes the president of the united states. >> rome campaigned in florida and ohio and new hampshire and announced plans for ohio tomorrow. presidential candidate rarely campaign on election day. maybe he's feeling a little anxious. nate silver gives obama an 88% chance for re-election leaving a meager 13% for election for mitt romney. 307 electoral college votes for obama leaving 230 for romney. and looking at the national and swing state polls as aggregated for real clear politics if the election were held today president obama would win the popular vote by a mere seven-tenths of a

. >> cenk: turns out it's viewpoint with eliot spitzer.going on on the program today. >> we've got a great program today. i'm glad i was listening to the last segment you did. feeding cenk is important. you don't want a hungry cenk out there. i'll remember that next time i'm near you, bring you something to feed you. we've got newly elected senator from north dakota, making history. it's great. we'll talk about immigration mitt romney's 50 theory about how the give away gift for barack obama, do you believe that, is that insane? >> cenk: i saw those romney quotes and i thought he was actually a worse guy than i thought. it was definitely tinged with racism, too. >> it's the 47% all the way back. we're talking about what's going on in the middle east, a lot of stuff to cover tonight. >> cenk: sounds great. we'll be right back with elbow of the day. >> i'll send you some food. >> cenk: all right, elbow today goes to one of my favorite people in the country. louis gohmert is one of the dumbest people let alone in congress, the whole nation. h

i'm eliot spitzer. this is "viewpoint." bill maher will join me later in the program to discuss the absurdity that is politics and the way it's covered. many people are saying nothing is quite as absurd as the pandora's box opened by the fbi investigation into subsequent resignation of retired four star general david petraeus and it may have claimed another high-ranking military official, commander of the forces in afghanistan, john allen. florida socialite jill kelley complained about harassing e-mails and contacted a friend at the fbi. the account was found to have belonged to paula broadwell. she was given access to david petraeus. locate the was evidence of an affair between petraeus and miss broadwell. the information was leak and petraeus resigned. as more information trickled out, the story got crazier. the harassing e-mails revealed to be not so threatening. the investigation moved forward because of kel little's friendship with the fbi agent she contacted to complain about the e-mails. a friendship that involved th

[ ♪ music ♪ ] [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer, and this is "viewpoint."u bet on a horse race you wouldn't want the racing form to misrepresent how the horses have run in the last few races. the process is supposed to be data driven and free of bias. so why then were so many polls this election year so wrong about the outcome? before november 6th most polls gave president obama clear edge over mitt romney but some polls that seemed to lean republican throughout the race favored the g.o.p. candidate. so much so that romney and his campaign staff many national republicans and fox news s" predicted the rates correctly said too many polls made too many assumption abouts the people they were attempting to poll. >> just going with what the data said instead of making assumptions is usually best practice when doing scientific survey. >> eliot: i'm joining with mark, senior editor of the "huffington post." thanks for joining us. >> thank you formation me un. >> eliot: polling is more than picking up the phone, calling 12 random people and adding up who said what?

eliot spitzer famous for reinvigorating that you 1930s law to use it against wall street banks. new york attorney general saying basically they deceived equity buyers and mortgage-backed securities buyers to the tune of $11 billion. credit swisse, the news just crossing. g >>> we have fear of the fiscal cliff over here versus hopium on housing over here. what is likely to matter more? joining us, john lynn happen, director of u.s. equity at t rowe price. before we get macroon the stuff, i want to ask about hp. mandy and i talked about it in a previous block, you probably heard something. another huge blow to investor confidence? a dow component writing off 90% of the value of a deal it made last year. >> it is a blow to investor confidence and a blow to hp. in hp's case, they tried get out of a box by going ahead and making a transformative ac sichlgs i think we have seen the rules of that decision. you will see, at some point, resolution of the fiscal cliff, we can debate it all we want. over time you c, the necessity prevail. both have -- >> then what? resolve the fiscal cliff

. ♪ [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening, i'm eliot spitzer, and this is a special two-hour additionon of "viewpoint." hurricane sandy may be heading to pennsylvania but the damage left in its wake has been devastating. devastating snowstorms in west virginia and high waves that brought shipments to a shop in lake michigan. the damage felt at the seaside communities and jersey shore and coastal areas in and around new york city. after two days of suspended animation, wall street was up and operating on generator power, but the rest of lower manhattan remains dark, and the city subways and commuter rails which bring millions to work etch day have just barely begun to return to service. with some tunnels still full of seawater the damage will not be repaired overnight. two after sandy made landfall emergency officials report at least 63 dead, including as many as 30 in new york, and eight in new jersey. 6 million homes and businesses in 17 states without power. including around 650,000 in new york city alone. and costs to the country's economy estimated between $10 billion and $20 bill

. ♪ [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> eliot: good evening i'm eliot spitzer, and san francisco, california, andis "viewpoint." this is a scene we've witnessed before and one we'll watch for four more years after a tumultuous campaign and one long night, the president along with his wife and daughter returned home to the white house this evening. the power of the presidency is making itself felt in other parts of dc where a fear of possible economic collapse is a recurring theme. speaker of the house john boehner seem interested in a compromise with democrats that could keep the country from plunging off the so-called fiscal cliff. while florida is still official officially too close to call even without its 29 collect 29 electoral college votes mr. obama won with a hefty 303 electoral votes but a mere 53% of the popular votes begging the question, was it a mandate or a draw. the president promised to reach out to leaders of both parties. speaker boehner appeared to be ready to take him up on his offer with hundreds of billions in tax hikes that could tank the economy, boehner staked out this po

i'm eliot spitzer. this is "viewpoint." the pressure is on for president obama and congress to get together on a deal to keep the country from plunging off the so-called fiscal cliff and back into an economic recession. and the president is now scheduled to deliver a statement on those issues and comments from the east room of the white house tomorrow. without a deal on the fiscal cliff on the first day of the new year, the bush era tax cuts will expire, payroll tax cuts will expire. the alternative minimum tax will return for many taxpayers. $109 billion in spending cuts will take effect in the coming year and as a result of this according to a new study from the congressional budget office, unemployment could rise to more than 9% by the end of 2013. however, if all of the tax cuts were extended, gross domestic product would prize 3% while the economy added 3.4 million new jobs, all of which sounds great but a federal deficit would rise by $503 billion in 2013 and another $67682 billion. is the emerging choice jobs versus

picking a fight would be like picking eliot spitzer for attorney general. picking a fight would be moving camp david to hawaii so the president could get in more beach time. picking susan rice for secretary of state if the president decides he wants to do that would not be picking a fight. it would be more, drawing a line in the sand. it would say starting now, starting day one of this second term, that i just won in a big national election that you lost, starting now we will fight about policy, we will fight about differences of opinion, we will fight about priorities, but we will not have anymore fights based on nonsense that the right made up to entertain itself. if we have a real beef, we will fight it out. but if it's made-up, that made-up stuff will no longer be entertained at the level of national policy. joining us now is bill bergman, a senior strategist for a pro-obama super pac. he previously served as the deputy press secretary for this president and for national press secretary for mr. obama's campaign in 2008. mr. burton, congratulations. >> t

>> eliot spitzer would come to mind. >> that wasn't exactly an affair. that was a business arrangement, right? a little different, i think. but you are right. i think the public cuts a lot of soft core for those they love. >> "capturing camelot," a guy called stanley, an official photographer for the kennedys. >> he really wasn't, piers, he was a real old-time photojournalist who had immense access to the kennedys. >> but wasn't official? >> no. no. >> they just let him in. >> they let him in and they let him in for the reasons we were just talking about. they -- he had a very symbiotic relationship with the kennedys. he made them look good and they gave him access. >> they understood the power of this kind of image. i mean, some beautiful picture, a stunning book. some of these pictures are really so touching, haven't been seen before of him with his little son and very, very moving but also sends the right image of this great family man when, of course you can the rate was pretty different. he was a family man but he had lots of time for other families