tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a consersation with with xavier becerra on his role as part of the super committee. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> at toyota, we celebrate differences and the people who make them. toyota, supporter of the martin luther king national project foundation. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] kcet public television]

i will go on the tavis smiley show. i tried to be helpful. tavis: a great actor and a better man. an upcoming showtime series and a new deal with showtime to produce other projects. whenever he wants to do. good to have the wind. i appreciate you. up next, a preview of our week devoted to china. it starts monday. we will explain it for you in just a moment. stay with us. i hope you will join us for an entire week devoted to china. i traveled there with a camera crew and a group of colleagues including cornell west. over the first of four nights we will look at the issues and the challenges facing china and the ideas and people who will shape china for the rest of the century and beyond. on friday, we will have a high- profile panel of chinese americans for a conversation about china and its place in the world. our guests include john chan. we met and spoke with some extraordinary people but probably the most moving encounter was when we got a chance to meet my your workers and their kids. we hear a lot about the economic boom. everywhere you look you see evidence of that. china is

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first up tonight, a look at what the fall of muammar qaddafi means for libya, the middle east and the united states. mansour el-kikhia has been in contact with rebel leaders who have assumed leadership role in the north african nation. also tonight we mark the passing of two music legends, jerry leiber and nick ash ford. tonight we'll bring you leiber and stoller from their visit here in 2009. nick ashford and his wife valerie simpson co-wrote some of the biggest songs in motown history. next tuesday night we'll bring you a memorable hour with ashford and simpson also recorded on this very same stage in 2009. remembering two songwriting giants coming up right now. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis improve financial lit

tavis smiley? tavis: i am happy to have you here. there was a rumor, may be some truth to it, all over the internet that bill moyers was thinking about coming back to pbs, un-retiring. >> like rumors of my death, which happen occasionally, this was exaggerated. we have been exploring some things to do, including specials, miniseries, potentially an interview show of the smaller mold than the one we did, but we have not decided anything yet. i am still enjoying the reflection and deliberation. we're working on a four part series and we're hoping to finish by the end of the year, the time between the civil war and the election of 1912 when corporate power became dominant in the american economy and workers and people in the south had to fight back to try to win their place and dignity. but there is no weekly series in the planning right now. tavis: to your point, i know and i thought of you when this happened many months ago, but that citizens united decision must rub you raw. >> i have long had this concern about how money is in polit

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first a look at the alarming new numbers out about children in poverty. since 2000, the number of children living in poverty in the u.s. has climbed by nearly 20% telling more than 14 million u.s. kids. first up, a conversation about the growing links between children and policy -- party with the ceo of the annie e. casey foundation, patrick mccarthy. and harry markopolos and his 10- year battle to bring down bernie madoff is the subject of a documentary. the film is based on "no one would listen". we are glad you joined us. patrick mccarthy and harry markopolos coming up now. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide

tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. for a look at what post-gadhafi's libya means for the middle east plus an actress vera farmiga. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> at toyota, we celebrate and differences and the people who make them. toyota, prague supporters of the washington, d.c., who -- crowds of supporters of the martin luther king, jr., foundation. >> and by contributions to your thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] kcet public television] belonged to your grandmother, right. yes, it was her ashtray, actually. - her ashtray. - her ashtray, yes. it was on her bedside cabinet. goodness me. wha

tavis: good evening from los angeles, i'm tavis smiley. tonight conversation with economist, author and the president of bennett college for women women, dr. julianne malveaux. the book is called "surviving and thriving." also tonight we'll remember actor peter falk, the man who became one of tv's most iconic figures as colombo passed away last week at the age of 83. back in 2005, peter falk joined paul riser on this program for a memorable conversation. difference -- >> thank you. >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer. nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: dr. julianne malveaux is a noted economist, author and columnist who also serves as the president of bennett college for women

i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with barry manilow. next week he is out with his first album of original music in a decade. later on, a special performance from the new project and some great music >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all lived better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. nationwide insurance is proud to join have this in working to improve financial literacy and working to remove obstacles one at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> what an honor to have barry manilow and his piano on the set to night. it is hard to believe we have not seen a project of new music in 10 years, but that is about to change. it is an honor to have you in this program. >> i have been looking forward to doing tavis:: 20 years i have been in the broadcast business, and i have never had the honor of sitting with an artist for an entire conversation at th

tavis: good evening from china, i am tavis smiley. we are here talking to everyday chinese about the issues that matter most to them, the environment, the economy, education, the future, the family, real issues, real people, every night from the people's republic of china. our conversation begins tonight right now. >> every community has a martin luther king street. this is a place for wal-mart standing together with your community to make everyday better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, ing provided by -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: this is the view of beijing from the roof of the microsoft campus. this is second only to their headquarters. the big cities are already jammed and in the next 10 years, they expect the largest internal migration in history there is a downside to all of this gallup and growth and you can see it, a thicket ago, bikes dominated the streets. today, every

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. an exclusive conversation with one of the members of the new super committee, xavier becerra. they will present a plan for significant budget cuts by the end of november. also, the legendary jazz artist, herbie hancock. he will be joined by a famed conductor for the annual opening nights here in los angeles. we are glad that you have joined us. xavier becerra and herbie hancock, coming up right now. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: next month, the 12- membe

it is a place to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. question and every answer, nationwide is proud to join tavis in removing by -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more.

i am tavis smiley. i have had the pleasure of sharing my unique experience with some of my personal staff and my friend and colleague, dr. cornel west. the people have impressed us with their candor and friendliness. it would be a mistake to underestimate the authoritarian government and their grip on modern china and even for us. minor flareups emerged at some surprising moments. i will share two of those experiences. this all begins in just a moment. >> every community has a marvelous the king boulevard. this is the cornerstone we all known. this is not just the street or a boulevard where wal-mart stands to get there with your community to make everyday better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is happy to help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made

host: tavis smiley?: as a member of the media, we, like everyone else have a standing request for the president. every so often, my staff on the radio, which are custom inviting the president to be on our show. since u.s., have known the press -- since you ask, i've known the president for many years, and prior to his being elected, and he came on my programs with regularity. once he was elected, and my critique, holding them accountable, it did not sit so well with him. he has not, at this point, come on my television or radio program one time since he has been in the white house. this is the first president does not invited me to the white house for anything in my career. host: media events? guest: bill o'reilly, right wing brothers. i think the president has done that. he seems to be reluctant. when he moves in to campaign- mode, it will be different because i'm not crying about that. i only answered it because you asked about it. at the end of the day my commitment is to justice for all, service for

i am tavis smiley. as more nato and non-u.s. take the lead in libya, there is concern about the mission and its chances of success. a view from inside europe with doug saunders, european bureau chief for "the globe and mail" and a book about migration. also michael connelly is here. his book, "the fiftyou help us . >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in improving financial literacy. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: doug saunders is the author of the new text, "arrival city: how the largest migration in history is reshaping our world". he is based in london. we're honored to have him in los angeles. good to meet you. >> pleasure to be here. tavis: let me start with libya. we're backing down our engagement, backing down our involvement. the u.n. has to step up and because of that, their questions about the success of this mission. your thoughts? >> unlike iraq, this

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. proud to improve financial literacy. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: we continue our look at the work being done to deal with those who have been falsely accused and wrongly convicted. the human toll on the innocent people behind bars is only part of the story. the debate over using taxpayer money is front and center. consider what these cases are costing us all. 85 cults convictions over a 35- year period have cost taxpayers $240 million. that figure will rise to $300 million or more after lawsuits are settled. in 81 of the cases, the study found misconduct or error on the part of state officials. we will hear more about the part -- about the work being done at northwestern university. the story of ken berry, falsely accused of a crime while on duty as a police officer. you know something about patience. after all that you have been doing. thank you for your patience. let me give you the microphone. give me the

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley.ith every question and every answer,we're proud to join him in improving financial literacy. and remove obstacl -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: i first came to china one year ago and wanted to return as soon as possible. now i have come back with doctor cornell west and more than 30 members of my staff. some of the footage you'll see struck this week was shot by my young staffers. china's front-page news back in the state so we know little about the people in this country. we came to china with questions about the economic boom, who is benefiting. about human rights and government crackdowns. the people we talk with told us -- surprise does with their candor. no topic was off-limits. we knew that we could only scratch the surface. we were eager to find out as much as we could about the people behind the second largest economy in the world as a morris from communism and consumeri

. >> nationwide supports tavis smiley. we are proud to join him in working to improve the plans to literacy and of removing the obstacles to economic empowerment one at a time. >> and from contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> we are pleased to welcome kenneth brannagh to this program. out this weekend with what promises to be one of the biggest films so far this year. natalie portman and chr hens worth, now here seen in "thor." >> through your arrogance and stupidity you have brought these peaceful realms and innocent lives the horror and desolation of war. you are unworthy of these powers, unworthy of this title. you are unworthy. i take it from you in the name of my father and his father of four -- and his father before. i cast you out. >> we know you and celebrate she was a wonderful celebration shakespearean actor. how does that and formed this? >> you have anthony hopkins, a fantastic shakespearean actor remain -- bringing tremendous brought the cost of the role of the open. -- of odi

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley with every question and every answer, nationwide is proud to join tavis to improve literacy and empower one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: pleased to welcome robert kennedy junior to our program. he has dealt his life to environmental issues including the fight over coal. he has featured a new documentary about coal which is called "the last mountain" playing in theaters in select theaters. >> we are cutting down the ap lashian mountains literally. >> absolutely gigantic. >> blowing the tops off the mountain to get at the coal. >> coal is sort of a layer of cake, layer of coal, lake of rock, layer of coal, lack of rock and keep this process up until they reduce the mountain to rubble. >> they detonated explosives every day. and explosive power the size of a hiroshima bomb once a week. tavis: this documentary is about coal, but at the center of this documentary, sits an uncomfortable conversation in this country that we have to have about

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. we're plant -- proud to join him and improving literacy and removing obstacles to economic empowerment. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ tavis: scott carney is a journalist whose eye opening new text is called "the red market." nice to have the on the program. >> thank you for having me. >> i want to start with a question. your body, you have calculated it on the underground market. it would be worth about a quarter of a million dollars. would my body and be worth? >> you have to be look at the above ground marquette first. we have blood, skeletons, ligaments. for my -- man, maybe the sperm. you are famous and so may be worth a little more. every market is completely different. when you are selling on the black market, it is about how much you can bargain for. it is like selling a used car. when i am selling a kidney, that broker who is doing the transaction is going to want to buy it for as cheap as possible.

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. we're happy to join him in helping to improve literacy and empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and the contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: the human toll on those who have been wrongly accused and falsely imprisoned is staggering. as you will hear from the four men from illinois that you are about meet. 85 people wrongfully convicted in illinois has spent a total of 556 years in prison. but that is only part of the story. consider what it means for all of us as taxpayers. in the same city, it was revealed that those wrongful 85 convictions cost taxpayers in illinois $214 million. that figure will likely grow to $300 million when all is said and then could 81 of the 85 cases were found with misconduct or error from state officials. in the meantime, the actual perpetrators continued to their crime sprees which included 14 murders and assaults. what can we do to about it? that is why we traveled to chicago for an i

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from the viewers like you. thank you. ♪ tavis: i am pleased to be joined by a terrific and distinguished panel. first up is john chan, former chair of the c-100. cindy fan is the dean of social sciences dominic king is the ceo of east west bank here in california. and the ambassador who serve as liaison to china for director steven spielberg. let me start with you. we were talking a moment ago about my own feelings -- i talked about this earlier this week on a special, about a sense of hopefulness that one feels moving through china as contrasted by a sense of hopelessness that americans are feeling now given the economy, the recession, etc., etc. there was a poll we started earlier this week. just over half of all america

host: tavis smiley? guest: as a member of the media, we, like everyone else have a standing request for the president. every so often, my staff on the radio, which are custom inviting the president to be on ourhow. since u.s., have known the press -- since you ask, i've known the president for many years, and prior to his being elected, and he came on my programs with regularity. once he was elected, and my critique, holding them accountable, it did not sito well with him. he has not, at this point, come on my television or radio program one time since he has been in the white house. this is the first president does not invited me to the white house for anything in my career. host: media events? guest: bill o'reilly, right wing brothers. i think the president h done that. he seems to be reluctant. wh he moves in to campaign- mode, it will be different because i'm not crying about that. i only answered it because you asked about it. at the end of the day my commitment is to justice for all, service for ot

if you listen to tavis smiley and cornell west, nobody cares. the poor have become invisible. west are traveling across the country to give the poor a voice. they call its poverty tour. today, they are in the city of detroit and they join us now. tavis smiley and cornell west host of "the smily and west radio show" thank you for coming on. >> thanks, carol. >> thank you. >> we do this thing called talk back every morning on "american morning." this is the question we asked our viewers this morning. do the poor share responsibility for our economic woes. i got to tell you, i'm going to read you a response and tavis, maybe you can respond to this. from stacy, she says welfare in theory was a good thing. but it -- but it is now -- but it's become a way of life for generations. the poor actually have it better than the middle class. tavis, do you think there's any real understanding about who the poor are in this country? >> i think first of all, with respect to the person who wrote that, that's complete lunacy number one and that's as charitable and kind i can be about a comment l

tavis smiley and dr. cornell west.en senator obama. >> enough with the speeches. now it's time to focus on jobs. now, we're going to focus on jobs. >> reporter: today, they do not sound so friendly. they say t ty have a message to the president from america's urnds class. >> they want to know that he's going to fight for them. >> reporter: their poverty tour pulled into the president's backyard today with a stop at d.c.'s central kitchen. here, formerly unemployed locals learn culinary skills. the goal of the tour is to highlight rampant unemployment and income inequality. and their view that the president is not doing enough. what is the white house view of this criticism? >> the president is focused on every american who is suffering. during these turbulent economic times. >> i know what the president is up against. i think too often he compromises. too often he capitulates. i think the republicans know that. i think they laugh when he's not around. >> he's got martin luther king's bust in the oval office. he weeps w

cornel west and tavis smiley. >> by the way, when you guys come in studio, it's going to be west and very much. >> thanks for having us on morning mika. >> thank you so much. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is

my conversation with cornell west and tavis smiley.xas town that's bone dry from drought turns its desperate eye to what some call a disgusting water source. >>> later, your answer to today's talk back question is congressman peter king right to call for an investigation into a movie on the hundred for osama bin laden? these are tough financial times for many of us. especially important the millions of americans who are living in poverty. almost 44 million people were living below the poverty line in 2009. that's according to the most recent figures from the census bureau. talk show host tavis smiley and they have been critical of president obama, accusing him of neglecting the poor and are with us in the studio this morning. thank you very much for joining us. >> very blessed to be here. >> i'm going to start with you, tavis. what have you seen on the road when you talk to people and talk to families, what are they dealing with? what's poverty look like? >> the new poor in this country are the former middle class. it has been so easy

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis: smiley.wide insurance is happy to join in working with the literacy and remove obstacles to empowerment. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ñdat's a very interesting way of bringing things in-- in a pram. can you tell me a little about what you've got here? this is my father's collection. he was the therapist for the australian cricket team for many many years. and he was in the beginning of world series cricket. - oh really? - so he realized there would be - some valuable things to hand down to his grandchildren... - right. ...and great-grandchildren, et cetera, et cetera. - would you mind if i have a quick rummage around? - no, i'd love you to. everything's signed. right. okay. - ah, this looks like world series cricket. - definitely. there's three teams. this is the australian team. - okay, open it up. - and in here is the west indies... - right. - ...and possibly the international or english team. that is the english t

also, professor west announced he and talk-show host tavis smiley will begin a national poverty tour next month to sharpen the nation's awareness on what they call the failings of the president. african-americans at large agree with west and smiley. the president has dropped by more an 20 points with african- americans, from 77% last year to just over 50% this year. why? jobs. by the way, in 2008, the black volt for president obama was history making. 96% of blacks voted in favor of the obama-biden ticket, , over the mccain-palin ticket. question, what explains the disparity between net wealth for whites and net wealth for blacks? clarence? >> first let's distinguish between wealth and income. wealth includes income, property you own, your entire estates. the biggest fact or is real estate the last 25 years, from the mid-80s when we saw the real fruits of the 60s, with the doubling of the growth of black middle-class, we just began to acquire some wealth. how and other properties in a sense. then the 90s and the lasts decade of the housing bubble -- yeah, and also about a third of th

with tavis smiley also a well known black thinker.bama's team reached out to cornell west and invited him to meet with the president. cornell west declined. went on to say a beer summit won't help our issues. he had very strong words to say about his long time friend and he is president obama. and he is none to happy about it. is cornel west wrong? there needs to be more time for the president to germinate? >> it's jobs and the economy. at the end of the day the president or anyone else in elective office is going to be judged in terms of a paycheck in my pocket. in terms of my welfare and my well-being. it's going to be the same with the president and it's going to be the same with congress and it's going to be the same with the candidates running against him. that's not an unrealistic expectation from anyone when you are coming into these communities asking for their support. >> i think it's important to point out. 80% is nothing to sneeze in the african-american community. and there is no republican candidate. >> laura: they should

tavis smiley can't get president obama to sit for an interview. sitting well with cornell west. >> a brother like bill o'reilly can get interviews or tavis or rowan martin can't. it is not a personal attack, just a question of a pattern here in the white house. we want accountability. >> bill: interesting. we've been trying to get him on the factor for a machine. you have to walk the walk professor. or risk being labeled a pinhead. that is it for us tonight. check out the fox news factor website. spout off about the factor from anywhere in the world. oreilly@foxnews.com. name and town if you wish to opine. word of the day, do not be a nebbish when writing to the factor or doing anything else. we go the big debate coming up. should be a lot of fun this is

tavis smiley has said the president has forgotten about the poor. cornell west has called the president of black mascot of will -- wellst. wall street oligarchs. and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats. what is the white house view of this criticism? >> i would say this president is focused on the economy every day and he is focused on those who are struggling. every economic measure he has proposed and every one that has become law because of his leadership has geared-been geared toward helping those folks who were in the greatest stress because of the recession that we were in, the great recession, worst since the great depression and those who are struggling as we emerge from a. his focus on the most vulnerable communities was evidenced when he negotiated with congressional leaders last year on the tax cut extension deal by insisting that, in addition to the payroll tax cut that he insisted be in it so that every american family -- working american family would have on average an extra $1,000 this year, he insisted on an extension of the earne

. >> wednesday, tavis smiley and cornell west discuss their recently launched poverty tool ur, then jules droll on the role of credit rating ages. then the relationship between the private sector and government in creating job growth. plus emails, phone calls, and s >> next, a discussion on whether there should be a financial transaction tax on trades of stocks, derivatives and other financial instruments. it's hosted by the center for study of responsive law and it's close to two hours. >> right now it's ok. all right. welcome. my name is ralph nader. today the center for the study of responsive law presents the second in a series of debates on generally taboo subjects in both political, legislative and mass-media arenas. the topic today is variously called "the wall street trading tax," the securities transactions excise tax or the financial transaction tax. tabuse exist in all cultures, and our society is rife with them. it is remarkable that with all the current pre-occupation of the major political parties and their governmental representatives, with deficits and debts, spending and

cornell west and tavis smiley, with a speech on jobs. >> enough with the speeches about now it's time to focus on jobs. now, we'll focus on jobs. they want the president to focus on jobs. >> reporter: just 41% of americans approve of the job the president's doing. in another poll, 73% think the country is on the wrong track, as the president prepares for some r&r. >> i know everybody deserves a vacation. but this is a time of crisis. the president should be in washington. >> reporter: is there any concern about the impression that the president going to martha's vineyard for nine or ten days might leave with the american people? >> i don't think americans out there would begrudge that notion that the president would spend some time with his family. >> reporter: and that house the first family rents, it suffered a small kitchen fire this week. when it rains, it pours. the second republican presidential debate will be tonight. and then, of course, on saturday, george, the straw poll. >> and you'll cover it all for "this week" on sunday. jake, thanks very much. >>> joining us now, matthe

specifically, tavis smiley called -- said the president have forgotten about the poor.alled a black mascot of wall street. what is the president's view of the criticism? >> i would say that this president, again, is focused on the economy every day and is focused on those who are struggling in this economy. every economic measure that he has proposed and every one that has become law because of his leadership has been geared towards helping those folks who are in the greatest distress because of the great recession we were in and those who are struggling as we emerge from it. his focus on the most abominable communities was evident when he negotiated with congressional leaders late last year on the tax cut extension deal by insisting that in addition to the payroll tax cuts, that he insisted be in a so that every american family -- working american family would have on average an extra $1,000 this year. he is the -- insisted on an extension of the earned income tax credit, an extension of the child tax credit, which disproportionately help those in need. it is why he in

. >> on "washington journal," tomorrow morning, we will be joined by tavis smiley and cornel west to their poverty toward traveling to more than one dozen poor communities over the next week. we will focus on the role of the credit rating agencies with jason stein, head of -- and jules kroll. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> and a few moments, john koskinen on standard and poors downgraded the u.s. credit rating. and of little more than an hour, an event depicting a simulated disruption of the global oil supply. after that, from "washington journal," a discussion of the downgraded u.s. credit and we will be aired a forum on what can be learned about the debt reduction from the french and american revolutions. >> freddie mac chairman john koskinen says that standard and poor's met in "sound decision" to downgrade the credit ratings of the u.s. and the krajina and freddie mac. he was informed before making a speech pretty also talked but the overall economy and housing market. it is a little more than an hour. minutes. >> thank you very much. i'