well, now, thanks in part to senator james inhofe, there is something new to consider about c street and the family -- why are they sending members of congress on foreign trips? here's senator inhofe speaking about the family dispatching him to africa. the person doug, who he mentioned in this clip here is doug coe, who's been the longtime leader of the family. >> doug has always been kind of behind the scenes and very quiet. he talked me into going to africa. i had no interest in going to africa. at the same day after ten years of saying no to him, i said, all right, i will. i never will understood whyand said that but i did. i felt the philosophy was something put together by doug and this is my interpretation. >> and the national prayer movement and other things. >> oh, yeah. and it's all spiritually based. acts 9:15, what did jesus say to paul in damascus? take my name jesus to the kings. and, of course, if you're a member of the united states senate in africa, they think you're important so you always get in to see their kings. >> you always get in to see the kings. well, in dece

. >>> if you look likeenor james inhofe, should you make a joke about what al franken looks like. >>> and how old is the eart and why that would even matter when you're talking aboining uranium omhe earth. next on countdn. midd of traffic d just starting and stopping having to go in the middle of a ballgame and thenenot being able to go o i got there. and going atat nig.. i thought i had a a gog g prlem. my doctor r idid iad a growing problem.m. it w wast t myladder. my prostate wawas owing. i had an enlarging prtate that was cauausingyy urinary symptomsms. my dococto prescribed avodart.. (announcer) over time, avodart actctlllly riris the prostate and imimpreses urinary sympmpto.. so i i c g gmore easily whwhen n neeto go and go lesess ofn. (announcer) avodart is for n on. men should not take or handle avodart due to risk of a specific birirth defect. do not donate blood untitil momont after stopopngng avort. tell your dodoctorf f u have liver dissese rely sexual side eects, swelling or tenderness o the b. only yououhealthare provideranan tl if symptoms are fromom an enlarged prostat

meanwhile, senator james inhofe , who has been criticized for his denial of global warming, is calling al franken a clown. he says, he does not mean to be disrespectful, but al franken is a clown. that is what he does for a living. finally, representative henry waxman, chairman of the house energy and commerce commission is in the hospital after fainting tuesday in his los angeles office. today, he is in good spirits and is turning his attention to turning on -- to working on health care reform. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. host: here is our last half-hour in our final test of the morning. we're pleased to welcome edward montgomery, the director of monk -- the director of recovery at the office of autoworkers. what is your job mission? >> my job is to try and bring together people from the communities that have been impacted by the significant decline in the auto industry that has occurred over the coast -- the course of the last eight years, to work with community leaders, work with state governments, figure out what they need in terms of how to move forward

. >> t repuicans, if y listeno jim dent and james half -- james inhofe, are saying that belong to the stak, the better it is for 2010. >> charsrassley anmax baucus have established relationship butart of the relationship is that max baucus fold like a house of cards. at someoint, i do think, and i've said this before, tt obama hato get the key plers in,including se of hiown guys, and say, "re are some ings we have to d we will sit around a table, i will be back in half an hour." it will be li theiddle east netiations. >> i don't think ty are at thatoint yet. righnow it is very iortant for x bcus and charles grassley t come to terms on me issues that they can agree on. rockefeller has a righto fe piqued cassie is a member of the committee and not involvedin that. they will have to brin h in as wel but this is part of e legislate process. yohave to be able to establish what is going to be the critica mass around this ll. a lot of a ve difficult issu are going to have to be reconciled. you havto sign off on cost controls. you ve to -- >> you gohints ofhis in the obama press conference wh

>>he reblicans, ifou listen to jim mint and james in half -- james inhofe, are saying that belong to the stes, the better it is for 2010. >> chles grassley d max baucus have establish a relationsh. but part of the relationship i that max baucus fold like a house of cards at some point, i do think, and i've said this before,hat obama s to get the key ayers in, includingome of s own guys, and say,here are some things we have too, we will sit around a table, i will be back i half an hour." it will be ke t middle east gotiations. >> i don' think they e at that poi yet. right noit is very impornt for max baucuand charles grassley to come to terms on somessues that they c agree on. rockefeller has a right to feel piqued cassies a member of the committee andnot involved in that. they will haveto bring him i as well. but this is part of the legislative ocess. you ha to be able to establish what is going to be the critical massround this bill a lot of a very dficult issues a going to have to be reconciled. you have toign off on cost controls. yohave to - >> you t hints of this in the obama pr

leaving senator james inhofe telling politico, quote, they have a point and congressman pete hoekstracus on bigger issues but adding, quote, not that this isn't important. how important? mike stark of fire dog leg and the huffington post surveyed republicans to see just how far and powerfully this little story has spread. >> if barack obama was a natural born citizen of the united states and constitutionally permitted to serve as president? >> the courts have said so. >> thanks very much. what do you believe personally? >> we're all going to find out. >> it's certainly being looked at. >> i'd like to see the documents. >> what do you personally believe? do you think there is a question here? >> i think there are questions. we'll have to wait and see. >> you do believe there are questions. thanks very much. we're asking republicans if they believe barack obama was born in the united states. it doesn't matter to you? you swore an oath to uphold the constitution. you can tell me what you think. do you think he was? >> he said he was. >> we're in america. i think we are free. we allow peo

the nner-up, senator james inhofe ooklaho told the newspape"the tulsa world," quote, i'll tell you whaa lot of peoe e thinking, and that is it looks like thin are going be ov and we're going to get the clown from minnesota. i n'know the guy, but for a ving he is a clown. he was criticized for callinal franken a clown. his late defen, he said when he saw franken, they embd, d quote, believe me, he knew, he kind of looked like a clown when i was talking to m. we'rgoing to judge it on looks, senator inhofe? let's see it. we, there goes the joke. oh, sureouon't want to raise that b a little bit, kind of oking like a clown left. buour winner, state senator sylvia allen of arizona. another local litico up from the ranks to instant nional stardom tonight. we join setor allen at the retirement and world developnt mmittee hearing into possisibl uranium mining in ariziza.a. >> i can't say enonoughohoit's ti t thawe get beyond and start focusing o on e e chnology we havave d d mo forward into thfuture so that our andchildren can have t theamame lifestyle we have and thisis earth's beenen he e 6,0

oklahoma more conservative than texas, "the tulsa world" is editorializing against republican senator james inhofe who said he thinks the birthers ought to keep looking into their crazed fantasies about the president's citizenship. senator inhofe's hometown paper is having none of it. they say, "oh, senator, you could have done the right thing and dismissed this goofiness for what it is." the paper goes on to compare the birthers to, "alien abduction believers, kennedy conspiracy adherents, big foot hunters and those who believe in the bogeyman." in florida, even as the author of the legislation bill posey says he only introduced that legislation because his constituents wanted him to the "orlando sentinel" is calling on senator posey to with draw history his ridiculous bill. roy blount who wants to be the next u.s. senator from the state of missouri is now refusing to bat this conspiracy down. telling mike star of firedog lake this week that questions of the president's citizenship are legitimate. a viewer just forwarded us a spectacularly kooky letter from tim murphy of pennsylvania. this was nu

. >> senator james inhofe of oklahoma today was interviewed for a piece in politico about the birthers and about there now difficult situation that the republican party is in with this very loud, active, crazy group of people who maintain this despite all the evidence. inhope in response to politico's question said the birthers have a point. he then backtracked and said later in the day that the only reason they have a point is because the white house has screwed up this issue somehow. can you give me a take on where inhofe is coming from on this initial response and the backtracking? >> i think he's coming from oklahoma which contains no county that voted for barack obama. look, the -- congressmen and senators don't get where they are by alienating voters. i think a mistake they make sometimes is not alienating anyone. i don't think there's a great political downside to taking the buzz aldrin approach to a conspiracy theorist and, well maybe not hauling off and whacking them like he did but saying, no, you're wrong. bill clinton is actually a ma master at knocking outs a heckler. taki

now they're getting support from some republicans in congress like, well, senator james inhofe of oklahoma who says he won't discourage the birthers and they may have a point. why are elected officials in this country playing to the sleaze bags? that's coming up next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. i never thought i would have a heart attack, but i did. you need to talk to your doctor about aspirin. you need to be your own advocate. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. you take care of your kids, now it's time to take care of yourself. chocolatey taste in 60 calories? ♪ ♪ oh, so delicious who cares? jell-o sugar free pudding. every diet needs a little wiggle room. has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who's faster... on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can browse the web faster, email business plans faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than floyd mayweather. (announcer) switch to the nation's fastest 3g network and get the at&t laptopconnect card for f

now they're getting support from some republicans in congress like, well, senator james inhofe of oklahoma who says he won't discourage the birthers and they may have a point. why are elected officials in this country playing to the sleaze bags? that's coming up next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. perfect 10 -- the 10 minute phenomenon from nice 'n easy. rich color, stunning high gloss, and flawless gray coverage all in just 10 minutes. a breakthrough so big, it won the most awards from beauty editors they even say... "perfect 10 has forever changed our opinion of at-home color." has it changed yours yet? perfect 10. the 10 minute, high gloss color that changes everything. from clairol. for your retirement makes sense, just stay on track. what is...? that's the guidance you get from fidelity. thanks. stay on the line! whatever your destination, fidelity has the people, guidance, and investments to help you find your way. >>> i'm melissa with breaking news. sources tell nbc news that michael jackson's doctor administered a powerful drug that authorities believe may have killed h

. >> i think james inhofe is the one who said he's probably planning to vote against her.han that, you're right. it will still be open for debate. it's great to get your perspective. ed gillespie, former counselor to george w. bush. >> thanks for having me on. >>> here's your chance to join the conversation. do you support sotomayor's confirmation to the supreme court? do you know enough about her yet? >>> we all know that a moderate amount of alcohol, particularly red wine, can be beneficial for your heart. protective for your heart, right? here's something that would seem to be counterintuitive. alcohol could actually be good for your brain? >> there's a catch. there's always a catch. >> weave got that story coming up. elizabeth cohen will join us for that. you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated? nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping is easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a l

senators pat rober and sam brownback of kansas and james infe of oklahoma have pledged to vote against sotomayor. inhofeh her. as the republicans prepared f the confirmation hearings their sttegic decisions about h to seem to be lining up in the sa direion. the big, blinking, familr, erican directiol arrow marked race. thus far republicans hav attackeder latina comments, called her an affirmative action nomie, singled out r ruling in an affiative action discrination case, and have called the lead white plaf from that case to testify against her. now in the final da leading up to the hearings they have chosen to invade against her work for the erto rican legal dense and educatiofund. the republicans have decide to have senator jeff essions lead this battle for them. when arlen specter dfected to the democratic party the republicans ha choice of who shld be their top senator on the judiciary committee and ertly chose jeff sessions of alabama to b thatop republican. he h his own chce at a federal judgeship blocked in 1986 by the senat judiciary mmittee by both democrats and republicans aftetestimony that s