and liz moynihan, the wife of... >> that was my next one the list. >> okay. senator moynihan... has taken a very active role in her husband's campaigns. she raises the money, she handles a lot of the day-to-day politil activities to sort of spare him for the big thoughts. and shortly after the clintons came to washington, hillary clinton invited liz moynihan to the white house for lunch, trying to enlist her in the health care fight and saying ther th "i admire the relationship you have with your husband. you are a potical partnership, the same way that bill and i are." and liz moynihan left that lunch saying, "nobody ever called me a co-senator." and she really did not approve of the way that mrs. clinton had taken power unto herself in such an obvious way in the white house. >> incidentally, nancy reagan, who has become somewhat of a friend of eleanor's because eleanor has written a couple of pieces about her and nancy thought that they were fair and showed her first ladyship in a different light than was generally thought, has bn reading the book. and she came to us and said

brian moynihan, but 6,000 people dialed into to hear him defend his business strategy. moynihan reassured investors there's no need for the firm to raise additional capital, because conditions are improving. >> the fundamentals are so much better in our country, and in our company, and in our industry, than they were four years ago, when the financial crisis hit. >> reporter: moynihan also tried to bolster confidence by pointing to the positives during his 18-month leadership. they include an increase in market share, cost-cutting, lowering risk and selling non- essential assets. >> reporter: but investors remain skeptical. b. of a.'s stock gained all of 16 cents from the start of the call to its finish. the shares are down nearly 50% from where they started the year. n.y.u. finance professor viral acharya says bank of america will continue to face big challenges beyond the weak economy. bank of america's somewhat greater mortgage exposure and it's higher leverage make it vulnerable. in a sense, what i read the market as saying is that if there's a problem, bank of amer

one of these women was my grandmother, merced moynihan. in la dominica, one of the best cafes in the world, located on oreilly street, where my grandparents met. ticket to ride, i talk about my family history but after they marry -- i am reading a little from the book -- my grandparents were at the center of many fascinating things. i found myself at el centro, the literary and musical gatherings. their house on calle mercades became a cultural cross roads with the traffic of foreigners created a new inspired geography. they travel everywhere. my grandmother, merced, nina played the piano and read poems, while edward read the poems besides playing the fiddle and violin, behaved like an avant garde composer, moving around furniture. according to the journalist were a dynamic duo that rescued the famous hotel sevilla from dereliction in 1919. they also constructed the biltmore neighborhood where many irish american families have homes. when i said irish americans, i go back to the americas, irish-spanish americans and french-irish, et cetera

i spoke with the bank's ceo, brian moynihan about his plans to help stop this slide. >> we're going to keep doing what we've been doing for the last 18 months. if you look at where we started in january 2010, we raised our capital level significantly from then. and also built reserves. so we have $128 billion of common equity. and we have tremendous ability to continue to retain earnings, manage our balance sheet and continue to drive the company forward, like we have done the last six quarters. in the last quarter alone, we took a $20 billion charge and put more of the mortgage stuff behind us and we still have more cap than we had in the third quarter of 2010. >> brian, can you really go forward and say we're going to do the same thing that we've been doing? because what we're doing is obviously not working. the market is not believing you. your credibility is obviously on the line right now. how you going to get it back? what is your plan? >> it's the safe. we're going to get it back by continuing to do what we're doing. we have a customer-driven business. if you think in the second

senator pat moynihan of new york said you're entitled to your on opinion, not your own facts. the tea party disagrees. up in the air, 200 construction 70,000 construction workers out of work, why? because of another quibble in congress. an effort by republicans to make it harder for airline employees to unionize. it was solved today and we'll hear from transportation secretary ray lahood. the "hardball" strategists are with us tonight. let me finish with the economic fear which is in the land. a big drop on wall street. maria bartiromo joins us from the new york stock exchange. thank you, maria. what happened? >> well, today we saw europe really set the tone, chris. you have a debt situation in europe that is spiraling downward. the peripheral countries are getting in involved whether italy will be able to pay its bill, same with portugal. a spiral going on in europe. that is one issue that set the tone. a new focus happened on the u.s. economy. remember, we're just coming off of a two-month stalemate where virtually, people aren't doing much of anything. whether it's companie

>> pat moynihan had a great line about how men are entitled to their own opinions and not their own fax r people -- but not their own facts. people have always believed the things that are not true. that is creeping more into our system, where people believing in climate change have steadily gone down. for the first time, it truly is a worrisome thing. there is bogus science out there that is dangerous. >> about three months ago, mitt romney said he believes there is getting warmer, and that siemens contribute, but on wednesday he says he is not too sure -- and that humans contribute, and on wednesday he says he's not too sure and we should not spend billions of dollars on things we're not sure about. >> he is right about that, and there are environmentalists in denmark who have looked at this. it is a fact that we are pumping more co2 into the air than ever before, much higher than a natural right, and it is having an effect on the atmosphere. the other part, however, is a problematic one, which is not a fact. the models that predict how the earth and climate will react. our models are

brian moynihan sent a letter to bank employees saying, "our company remains financially strong, much stronger than we were either during or coming out of the economic downturn in 2008-2009." the other financial stocks in the dow were also the biggest gainers. american express and j.p. morgan were up about 7% each. travelers insurance bounced up by almost 6.5%. the financial sector was the strongest in the broad market after yesterday's rout. material stocks did well, and so did consumer discretionary names. among those consumer names was disney. shares were up 5%; back in march, shares hit an all-time high. this is what the past quarter looked like at the house of the mouse. earnings were a nickel better than estimates. while movie income was down, business was better at its theme parks and television units. meantime, cable tv company cablevision is losing subscribers, and that's costing shareholders. the stock was the worst performer in the s&p 500 index, losing almost 13%. its price has been cut in half since early july. one bright spot the federal reserve mentioned in its statemen

brian moynihan has had to hand out more than 6,000 pink slips so far. he's sold off the bank's canadian credit card business and he's looking to cut billions more in expenses, but analyst paul miller isn't satisfied. >> we don't have a liquidity problem at bank of america, what we have is a confidence problem in the management team. >> reporter: b. of a. is in no danger of needing a bailout, but losses and cutbacks at america's biggest bank and its biggest lender are another drag on an already anemic economy. >> banks are going to be quite reluctant to extend more credit, to make loans to businesspeople and to consumers and, of course, credit is key to economic activity and without flee- flowing credit, the economy is going to have more difficulty to really get going. >> reporter: already this year, the world's 50 largest banks have announced nearly 60,000 jobs cuts. and scott, that's the fastest rate since 2008. >> pelley: anthony, does this mean american banks are in financial trouble again? >> reporter: no, scott, this is not a systemic problem. this

>> pat moynihan wrote of book charlie before he died called secrecy and it was about the history of secrecy in america. he would go back to the first world war as the event which started a chain of increasing reticence in the united states to share information with its people. i think that my description of this as being non-national security but rather covering embarrassing political events is substantiated because my republican colleague shelby made exactly the same statement that i am, which is that there is very little if any of those censured pages that represented national security disclosures. >> senator what about -- there's a lot of information that came out and some people say was harmful and others say it was a good thing. what is your feeling about that? >> well, i am a believer in the proposition that america is best served when americans know what their government is doing. and, so, there may be, probably were, some wikileaks leaks that were adverse to our interests, particularly when people who were engaged as our assets collecting intelligence were named, but my sense is tha

bleeding in bank of america as warren buffett steps in and says he believes in the company, he called moynihan if he could invest and this. ly flipped markets. we saw futures turn positive. we saw the financials trade higher, so this is really going to set the tone on wall street. you were talking about the steve jobs' story. that stock was trading down about 2.5% on the jobs' news, but it obliterates that news and puts the focus on financials in the market. we'll watch apple stock as well which was trading lower on that news but could turn positive with the rest of it. this b of a story really in focus today. back to you. >> the power of the oracle of omaha. >> there you go, you're right. >>> hurricane irene is now battering the bahamas as a major category 3 storm when will it hit the east coast? the we'll have the latest on irene's path and what you should do to prepare, next. >>> plus, in an exclusive interview with nbc news, former vice president dick cheney jumps back into the waterboarding controversy and explains why he kept a secret resignation letter in his office throughout the bush

moynihan has more cash. will that be enough. now. >> and so those that sold the stock short, big losers? >> yes, ultimately they have been, but it depends the point at which they covered that. i think for many people the warren buffett intervention was really interesting. he got a really good deal on the investment that he put forward. a lot of people are like shareholders, doctor are we giving buffett such a good deal, but the name carries the cache. and don't forget that lehman refused the buffett offer and look what happened there. >> and then look w45hat happene with goldman sachs. how much money did warren butch at the time make with his investment in goldman sachs in the fall of 2008. they gave him a sweet deal, but the stock also exploded. that man, he doesn't have enough money to pay his taxes. this man is doing pretty darn well just on that gold man deal. >> what do you mean he didn't have must have money to pay his taxes some he wants to pay more tax. he thinks rich should pay more. >> it would be very easy for him to

so, i think it is time to dust off a copy of daniel patrick moynihan called the report from moynihan'seport from 1996-1997. the government does have secrets to keep, and should focus on those, but at the same time it should be regulated a great deal of stuff that is now almost like a system that is out of control. you know, the lesson of bradley manning is when that many people have access to classified information, all it takes is one person. the weakest link, if you will. who, maybe for reasons of conscience, maybe he was having emotional problems, whatever it is, the weakest link is the place where you have to worry about a failure happening. so, the right answer is focus first on the things that are truly important to keep secret, and strengthen your procedures for protecting that kind of information. at the same time, the rest of the government -- i think we need to move into a philosophy that what government does should be published by default, and secret only when necessary, and not the opposite. this is the 21st century. it is going to happen either because of enlightened actio

according to brian moynihan, he faces a crucial conference call today after stocks fell.ysts see the bank as like sleepwalkers host: here is "the wall street journal," this morning, with a story about the calm in the storm. both banks emphasizing that they are healthier than they were before the 2008 meltdown. host: fairlong, new jersey. alex, independent caller. go ahead. caller: [unintelligible] he real inflation is much higher than what people say. that is also why you see, even though europe is in much bigger trouble than the united states, europe is above 140 for the dollar. the second comment, if they cannot come to a decision, i guarantee there will not be a deadlock there. host: florida, waltz. caller: i would like to point out of the fact that the fed is doing the right thing. going in the right direction. host: ok. caller: they are trying to get the money circulating again. host: "the new york times," editorial today calls on the government to tax the money that these banks are holding in reserve as a way to spur them to lend it it. what do you think? caller: po

pat moynihan said culture trumps.fference in culture. >> if you go back to the patterns, there's a polarization now. you have to go back to 1930s to see it. then it was lower. something changed inside. >> our contenders always have polarization. joe wrote a piece earlier in the week. the difference today, two differences is one, there's a leadership vacuum in washington. the president has done a tremendous job on cars, finding bin laden. there's a lack of a leadership, more of a leadership you need. look no further than new york. look what cuomo did in new york. look what chris christie has been able to accomplish there. scott walker has taken on tough, tough issues. washington now, leadership comes in the form of raising money, talking about how you are going to position yourself. we need more courage out of that place, which you are not seeing now. this was slightly contrary. the gang of six. look at the gang of six. what is it we worried about under the last administration? concentration of executive power. it's wh

and be pat moynihan knew a great deal about government as well as a great deal about families. so there's one area which maybe we can learn to do a few things, but we certainly do not know very much about how to improve human relations. and there are others. one thing that clearly has an effect on happiness are big wars. if you just think of, say, the vietnam war and you try to tote up how much unhappiness that caused to us, to the vietnamese and how little positive result we got out of it, that's, you realize that war is one significant contributing factor to overall happiness. and yet we don't seem to be able to have a very good battle average on which wars to get into and which do not. i'm not going to get into the thick of the iraq and afghanistan, but you can ask yourselves are we likely to get enough positive results on people's well being to offset the obvious unhappiness caused by all the death and destruction and the expenditure of money and the displacement to people in the other countries that wars of that kind bring about. even unemployment, something we do know a f

we know as of 1995 thanks to daniel patrick moynihan declassifying the winona papers, in the soviet archives, he is in this decrypted telegram but liberals were denying it the way they denied bill clinton was fooling around with the insurance. it was a very similar battle. after all this you get the jury conviction and you have a prominent democrat saying i won't turn my back on alger hiss. joe mccarthy was one of the americans who eat erupted in rage and would not let democrats get away with sheltering spies and associates for a regime as evil as the nazis. that is the democratic party and they have been doing it for years and years with prominent democrat officials being soviet spies. looking for the democratic ad didn't -- administration of fdr -- mccarthy would not let americans forget it and so they blacken his name. >> host: two quotes from treason about joe mccarthy. here's a story you won't read in history books. this version will be unfamiliar to most americans in as much as include facts. joe mccarthy was an extraordinarily bright irish farm boy who rose from humble origins in wisc

now we know as of 1995 -- thank you, daniel patrick moynihan -- for declassifying the papers. we know hiss is in the soviet archives, he's in the decrypted telegrams. but at the time liberals were denying it the same way they denied that bill clinton was fooling around with the interns. it was a very similar battle. and after all this finally you get the jury conviction, and you have this prominent democrat saying i will not turn my back on hiss. the country erupted in rage, and joe mccarthy was one of those americans who erupted in rage and would not let democrats get away with having sheltering spies, associates for a regime as evil at the nazis. and that is the democratic party. and they had been doing it for years and years with prominent, with prominent democrat officials being soviet spies. working for the democratic administrations of fdr and truman. and mccarthy would not let americans forget it, and that's why they had to blacken his name. >> host: again from "treason," two quotes from your book about joe mccarthy. here's a story of joe mccarthy you won't read in hist

trying to dust off a copy of daniel patrick moynihan's report that he did on this issue of overclassificationthe government does have secret it needs to keep. it should focus on those. it should deregulate much of the stuff it has now. it is a system out of control. the lesson of bradley manning is that when that many people have access to classified information, all it takes is one person. the weakest link who, for reasons of conscience -- maybe he was having emotional problems -- the weakest link is the place you have to worry about a failure happening. the right answer is focus on the things that are truly important to keep secret. strength in your procedures for protecting that kind of information. at the same time -- we need to move into a philosophy that government -- what government does should be public by default and secret only when necessary and not the opposite. this is the 21st century. it is going to happen either because of an allied action on the part of government because we will do it to government. i will give an example of how this could work in a less charged area than na