what does he think about david vitter? who were told by his office, senator vitter won re-election. that's already been decided. he was re-elected. anthony weiner on the other hand, he must resign. why is that? because it is really only okay if you are a republican. it wasn't just eric cantor calling for anthony wean ear's resignation today. incredibly it was also the chairman of the republican party. he put out a statement today saying quote, congressman weiner's actions and deception are unacceptable and she should resign. he appeared on my colleague martin bashir's show on msnbc and he ended up running headlong into the it's okay if you're a republican problem. watch this. >> the man is a creep and he's a member of the united states congress and he's admitted to flat out lying not only to the american people multiple times but to multiple reporters and even coming back to hallways after he knew -- >> mr. priebus is john ensign a creep as well? >> well, you know, listen -- >> no, sorry, can you just answer that? >> john ensign resigned. i'm not going to get -- >> was he a creep pr

and to the vitter question, from the tweets i'm getting people saying look, david vitter's still in office, why should he -- why should weiner step down? >> you know, cheating on your wife is not the province -- exclusive province of either party. but this is not your -- sadly, in politics we have a template for the beleaguered, suffering, supportive wife comes out and there's lots of contrition and i'm never going to do it again. this is of a different order. a different magnitude. people -- maybe i'm old and square. but sending pornographic photos to young women that you don't know is an exotic behavior for most people, and i would say -- include in that the democratic leadership. i don't think it's in his hands. i think it's very selfish for him to put his party through this, let alone huma, who's a remarkable human being. and i think they gave him the opportunity to do the right thing. he didn't do it today. he made it worse. he's going to make it bad for the party. if i was the chairman of the dnc or however your party works, paul, i'd say hit the high road, baby. >> paul? >> i've got

david vitter cheated on his wife with a prostitute and he's still in the senate.m getting tired of hearing this that somehow the republicans come down so hard on their people. if other people have decided to acquit, after something like this, that's their decision. i think that anthony made, obviously, a very big mistake. but it is a mistake that is between him and his wife. everybody getting up on their soapbox and judging him, i don't think that is our place. his job is to do a good job as a congressman, which he does do. >> greta: you may have heard me i was talking rick klein. i think vitter said he only talked to the prosecutor. i think that's what he said. if indeed there was a little more he didn't fess up to that one totally. but, any thought when these members of congress are gonna learn their lesson that inappropriate behavior is just that, inappropriate? >> look, people -- humans are flawed. there's all sorts of stuff that guess on all the time that is wrong. people have affairs. -- we have presidential candidates who have had affairs. people who -- giu

you have david vitter, phone records but no photos.ave you bill clinton but very, very -- explicit evidence in the special prosecutor's report. i mean, politicians decide which way they are going to go. >> this is why people don't like politicians. rolling disclosure. i want everybody to learn that phrase. rolling disclosure means you release the information when it is convenient to you. in this case, when you had no choice. >> it is all that politicians have, that's why people are disillusioned. you can't trust any of them. you lie, you pretend you have a happy married life. that's why they don't have credibility on this or anything else. >> thank you. up next, republicans in the house of representatives want to cut food aid to school kids thp. that will go over well. >>> academy award winner jeff bridges. why does my favorite actor have to come on a show like this. i can't wait to meet him. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i thi

no one called for david vitter to resign.blican senators gave money to his reelection. i have to say i did some consulting for his democratic opponents, i have a conflict of interest that our viewers should know about. >> why couldn't the democrat get him self-elected? >> well, why couldn't a democrat? because it was louisiana and they're conservative people. >> democrats get elected. >> my point is thinks about hypocrisy. voters have a right to vote for whoever they said to. republicans lined up for call for weiner to resign for what was not a crime, now he has resigned. why won't they hold vitter to the same standards? >> i want to move on, about you go ahead and respond, mary. >> paul is trying to do what he's quite good at and famous for, which is mall lining the entire party for thedec misdecreeians. and that's the end of that story. >>> let's move on to mitt romney. let's play a clip. watch this. >> maybe i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. [ laughter ] >> and i'm networking. >> better than what we've got.

now almost every democrat pointed out that congressman cantor never called for david vitter to resign. so now they have at least some kind of a political foil in cantor. big mistake for cantor. s he should have been quiet. >> david, what do you make of this? is this something they hope will go away in time? often times these ethics investigations go on for a long time and the end result is not quite as satisfactory. >> i think there are a lot of democrats that would like to see him go away, not just this go away. had he come forward when this first broke, i think he would have survived. he showed poor judgment, but a lot of americans show poor judgment. none of us can be totally exempt from that. but it was the lying afterwards and the blatant lying that i think set him up for a downfall. now it's hard for me to see how he survives. you start feeding things back into his most recent press conference, questioning his credibility even yesterday. that's going to question. there are going to be more things come out. transcripts come out with explicit language, that will make a difference

that's what happened in vitter in louisiana. charlie rangel found in violation of house rules by the ethics committee serious rules involving financial transactions gets re-elected with 80% of the vote in his district. why can't anthony wiener stick with it in his district and get 80% of the vote like charlie rangel? >> well, i suppose he can try. in some sense it's not entirely up to him. it's a somewhat different situation from charlie rangel in that anthony wiener's story is one that republicans across the country could attempt to use, hypocrisy notwithstanding, and one they're willing to go to in a way they would never go to charlie rangel for other reasons. reasons of accusation of racism, et cetera, et cetera. the fact that harry reid, the democratic leader in the senate who's exquisitely sensitive to the cultural fault lines of politics as they play in the election season would run in the other direction the way he did is an indication of what is eating at democrats here. what they're worried about an ethics investigation

louisiana senator david vitter republican. his name turns up on the d.c. may dam's phone list in 2007. he apologizes for quote, serious sins. he then runs for re-election and byes. thank you, louisiana. the senator is not dealing with underage people or people subordinate to him in the workplace. but the allegation is prostitution. the allegation is paying for sex. that is relatively high on the prosecutablity scale. then there is congressman -- excuse me, senator larry craig of idaho. you may remember good old mr. wide stance arrested in june 2007 for lewd conduct in a minnesota airport bathroom. i wish we had a special axis here, maybe one that came out this way for kind of pitful. instead we go sort of medium on the creepy scale for the rank hypocrisy of a virulently anti-gay politician tapping away his reputation on a bathroom stall. he did plead guilty to a misdemeanor. he finished out his term. there was new york governor elliot spitser. boeing. a democrat. admits in march 2008 to paying for sex with hookers. he resigns. now he has the same kind of j

gop senator david vitter also got re-elected and is serving today despite his name turned up in the d.c. madam's list. he admitted to a serious sin and asked forgiveness. ironically he succeeded this man in the house, bob livingstone who resigned after committing adultery. he had just been to replace newt gingrich who admitted he was having an affair with a woman who had become his current wife. president clinton survived as well but anthony weiner did not. he lost support of his colleagues, and president obama who said he'd resign when he was -- if he was in his shoes. >> i wish representative weiner and his lovely wife well. obviously it's been a tough incident for him. but i'm confident that they'll refocus and he'll refocus and they'll end up being able to bounce back. >> president obama tonight on abc. so what are the rules? where are the lines if there are any lines at all? joining us now, danna bash and melanie sloan of citizens for ethics and responsibility in washington. danna, was this resignation unavoidable? was there another way he could have handed it that he could have su

>> that's correct. >> good to hear. >> thank you, sherman. >> senator vitter? >> thank you mr.chairman both for your work. mrs. stoner, can you discuss efforts that have been undertaken to rehabilitate seafood and in particular the oyster habitat over the last few months? >> sir, i do know they are doing the work to the habitat but as far as the seafood i would have to get back to you on that. >> what brought lee is being done on the of oyster side? >> i know they look to what needs to be done for restoration and the early restoration projects that have been evaluated and also some of the work is done under the technical working groups on the impact of the big and i would get back to do with a better explanation. >> okay, great if you could do that followed that with the super. in your testimony, to state that the process allows the implementation of emergency restoration projects before assessment is complete what are the limits on this authority and what is the potential to expand and expedite that authorities we are not back loading everything for eight years from now? >> th

>> that's correct. >> good to hear. >> thank you, sherman. >> senator vitter? >> thank you mr. chairman both for your work. mrs. stoner, can you discuss efforts that have been undertaken to rehabilitate seafood and in particular the oyster habitat over the last few months? >> sir, i do know they are doing the work to the habitat but as far as the seafood i would have to get back to you on that. >> what brought lee is being done on the of oyster side? >> i know they look to what needs to be done for restoration and the early restoration projects that have been evaluated and also some of the work is done under the technical working groups on the impact of the big and i would get back to do with a better explanation. >> okay, great if you could do that followed that with the super. in your testimony, to state that the process allows the implementation of emergency restoration projects before assessment is complete what are the limits on this authority and what is the potential to expand and expedite that authorities we are not back loading everything for eight years from now? >> t

david vitter admitted, to quote, a very serious sin and asked forgiveness. he stayed in the senate and was re-elected. ironically he originally succeeded this man in the house bob livingstone who resigned after committing adultery who had been chosen to replace newt gingrich who admits that back then when he was leading the impeachment effort against president clinton he was having an affair with his now wife calista. the house leadership from president obama said he would resign if he were in congressman weiner's shoes and tonight on the evening news the president was urging him out the door >> i wish representative weiner and his lovely wife well. it's obviously been a tough incident for him, but i'm confident that they will refocus and he'll refocus and they will end up to being able to bounce back. >> president obama tonight on abc. so what are the rules? where are the lines, if there are any lines at all? joining us now, dana bash and melanie sloan of citizens for ethics and responsibility in washington. dana, was this resignation unavoidable? i mean, w

vitter, for himself and others proposes an amendment numbered 499. mr. vitter: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to waive reading of the whole. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. vitter: thank you, mr. president. and i also want to thank senators paul and heller and grassley for cosponsoring this amendment, which is about so-called czars. this administration, any administration usurping the appropriate role and authority of the senate in the advise and consent process. mr. president, this is obviously directly relevant to this legislation. as we debate this legislation designed to reduce the number of positions in the government that require senate confirmation, we should also ensure that the senate's role is not eroded by unconfirmed federal czars in very significant positions which should be subject to advice and consent. that's what my amendment is about. that's what my amendment would correct. this amendment would ensure that any administration -- not just this one; any administration -- republican, democrat, other is prevented from using so-call

>> listen, senator vitter, that's a five-year-old story. chris lee? how long did he last, 35 seconds? senator ensign resigned within six weeks of me becoming chairman. look, i'm not defending these guys, but the fact of the matter is, we have big issues here to tackle in this country. we have unemployment that rivals the great depression. we have gas prices that are out of this world. we have crushing debt. we know what's happening to this economy. and here's the problem. it's not so much, as much as "the economy, stupid," as people say, it's, "the policy, stupid," too, and the president's policies in regards to saving this country, getting back on track, are not working. >> we'll get to those. final question on weiner. have you spoken to him in person? >> i did speak to him the other day. >> what's his state of mind? what's he thinking? >> he's incredibly apologetic, devastated that this is conduct that he has been engaged in, and i think that -- >> but it sounds like he's stubborn, too. >> well, i didn't speak to him very long. i just know that he's

ensign, vitter, even when it's a gay scandal, they're not tweeting love letters, they're tearing up an airport passenger until somebody calls the cops on them. i mean-- (cheers and applause) >> stephen: i mean call me old-fashioned. but i long for simpler times and common sense, values. i want to leave our grandchildren and america where congressman bang their secretarieses. sorry, sorry if there's no app for that. nation, if you are's anything like me, first of all, congratulations. (laughter) but-- if you are's like me, if you are's like me you have been captivated by sarah palin's ongoing pac funded vacationesque noncampaign history mobile tour. folks, the entire tour is just to raise awareness about america's great history. so far she's lived up to her promise by visiting getties burg, the liberty bell and the alexander hamilton service area of the new jersey turnpike. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: it's where hamilton famously swore he would never eat at roy rogers again. (laughter) now last friday palin visited the old north church in boston to raise awareness of paul revere's

i'm not relitigating the david vitter situation. >> greta: listen i think everyone gets his turn. there are a lot of members of congress up there. tomorrow a be your turn where you have some errant republican. you see scandals on both sides of the aisle. if i were -- nobody has asked me to runny party. it hurts the democratic party if he -- if he doesn't resign. you have all your arguments again him. do you want him to resign? >> i think he should for the good of our country. he think he should get out of town. i think it is the right thing to do. true leaders of the democratic party should exhibit a little leadership. and ask this guy to resign. i think that it is the appropriate thing to do. i don't think you can have a guy -- this has been high drama for now 10 days. of lying and running around and making up stories, lewd behavior. you just illustrated the first eight minutes of the show -- who knows what else is out there. >> greta: congressman cantor has asked for his resignation. why do you think speaker boehner has not? >> i'm not sure. i think the nrcc has been clear. they

vitter. now, as you know, the underlying bill is the product of a bipartisan gentleman's agreement reached earlier this year that seeks to streamline and otherwise improve the efficiency of the senate's confirmation process. the senator from maine, the senator from tennessee, the senator from connecticut and myself as well as the leaders, leader reid and leader mcconnell have been heavily involved in this process. the amendment offered by mr. vitter runs counter to the spirit of comity behind this important bill. it is a poison bill designed to handcuff the president's ability to aacceptable a top-flight team of advisors and aides. it has been introduced several times in several reiterations and now is the time we're moving forward. it is one of those moments where we can brinl the partisan divide and make the senate a more efficient body. it is not the time or place to rei think debate old and frankly, i believe silly battles about so-called czars. it is our constitutionally mandated duty as

david vitter -- >> republican senator from louisiana. >> caught frequenting a brothel, not a beloved a member of the senate, and he managed to survive. but there were no pictures of it. in this day and age, the evidence is all lined up for everybody to see, and it is so icky -- >> like chris lee. >> like chris lee. and there is almost never just one instance of it. >> this not the end of the story for weiner. he is probably weighing his options and deciding whether to stay in office. he asked about the alternative, what to see if he leaves office? -- he has to think about the alternative, what does he do if he leaves office? he can take comfort in at the example of another new yorker who did even worse, eliot spitzer. never spent a day in jail, never got charge, and now he is hosting a primetime cable show. anthony weiner likes to talk, like stevie, as show business ahead of them -- likes tv, as show business ahead of him. >> he is probably a goner in the sea, but the internet culture is taken for granted -- there may be more public tolerance than we realize. >> he will dependen -- h

mike mentioned david vitter and john ensign and everything.crat does this it makes us all look bad and it really makes me very, very angry. also as a progressive i think anthony weiner was one of my heroes, one of the best fighters we had out there on the cable shows and the floor of the house. for him to let us down like this is, i mean, just ugly. at the same time, ed, you know what? look. bill clinton didn't resign. he did worse. he broke the law. i'm glad he didn't resign. i'd rather have somebody who is going to fight for the things we believe in and has a zipper problem than somebody who's going to be in the pockets of the oil companies and the insurance companies and doesn't have a zipper problem. >> sharon, what do you think? should he resign? >> not yet as well, ed. i think politicians have committed far greater sins in office and they've stuck it out at least through the end of the term. i think it was notable that representative weiner didn't say whether or not he'd run for another term at the press conference today. i think voters

vitter: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i'd like to close on my czar amendment and encourage strong bipartisan support. mr. president, we have a bill before us about the senate advice and consent process, the senate confirmation process. and inked it would be a -- and i think it would be a tragedy to consider any bill on that subject and not address the biggest issue, the biggest problem with that process that exists now. in fact, and certainly also in the eyes of the american people. and that is the abuse by the executive over several administrations, but culminating in this administration, of appointing so-called czars as an end run around the u.s. constitution, as an end run around the powers of the senate, the balance of power of advice and consent and confirmation. so, mr. president, my amendment would fix that. it would defund czars and their offices, and it's carefully crafted, it's carefully defined. and it would say that we're not going to allow these czars to operate when they're essentially taking the

certainly you look around and today you have david vitter in the senate. you obviously have newt gingrich running for president. you had other folks who have weathered similar scandals, but he is without question in a deep, dark, unspinable place right now. i think a lot of the factors that are going to play out are beyond his control at this point. >> you in this "washington post" article, you talk about the novelty and the shock value, that may actually hurt congressman wiener because of the whole twitter and a lot of people didn't even know that quite honestly or how to send a picture via twitter. now it's exposing the audience to a whole new kind of salaciousness that's available. >> you have an interesting synergy behind this story. you have the work press corps, the washington, d.c., press corps sort of ping-ponging off each other. obviously you add in the novelty element of this being at least to the best of our knowledge the first political twitter scandal of this era, a social media scandal and that creates an enormous amount of energy and the sto

the time it almost seems like politicians and sex scandals become synonymous and larry craig david vitter is eliot spitzer as anthony weiner is dominique strauss kahn is of the world too of course everyone's favorite cheater . i want you to listen and i'm going to say this again. i did not have sexual relations with that woman miss lewinsky. i never told anybody to lie another single time never these allegations are false and i need to go back to work for the american. so what is it about men in powerful positions that makes them do such stupid things and why don't we see female politicians doing the same joining me from our studio in new york is vicky ward contributing editor of vanity fair and author of the book the devil's casino friendship a betrayal and a high stakes games played inside lehman brothers thank you thank you so much for joining us tonight like i said i've been there are a railing about this story and making fun of the media for the last few weeks and the way they're obsessed with it and i have to admit i was little obsessed with making fun of them for it because it's fa

in 2007, senator david vitter, a republican from louisiana, was caught up in a prostitution ring investigationas since been reelected and republican john ensign of nevada remained in the senate for more than a year after he was caught allegedly paying off the family of his mistress. ensign only resigned last month, scott, when an ethics investigation report was about to be made public. >> pelley: nancy, help us understand why congressman weiner matters. >> scott, he holds kind of a unique position in the democratic caucus. the president has a lot of critics on the right but wynner is one of his most outspoken critics on the left. wherever liberals feel that the president is straying too far from their principles in the pursuit of compromise. it's unclear how well he's going to be able to perform that role now, a role even the president has said is very important. >> pelley: nancy, thank you. dominique strauss-kahn got quite a reception outside of court in new york today. (chanting "shame on you") >> pelley: the former head of the international monetary fund listened to chants of "shame on you"