mccain: mr. president, i'd like to say to the distinguished manager that i have the following speakers: senator coburn for 10 minutes, senator demint for 10 minutes, senator thune for 10 minutes, senator shelby -- i have not been able to nail down how much time he's going to take; and i would like to sum up for five minutes. sno more -- there will be no more speakers on my side on that. mr. dodd: okay, mr. president, i can't do the math that fast. i don't know what that amounted to. but if you'd add 15 minutes on that for myself and i'll ask -- why don't i ask for 20 and then i'll yield back. i'll take maybe 10. i don't have any requests from speakers at this time. i want to leave a little space if others want to be heard. we'll lock down a time on the two amendments. i don't need any additional time for our side-by-side. i'll speak about that during our 10-15 minutes. so as soon as we get a number on that, we'd let our colleagues noavment i thank my colleague from arizona. the presiding officer:

so, the john mccain offered such an amendment. i was a primary co-sponsoring a my part was that we disclose to the american people how much they owed here by bringing fannie and freddie on budget. it was rejected. to me it shows that the bill is probably less about substantially improving the financial system than about making a populist political statement attacking wall street. >> but senator dodd's point on the floor was that the mccain and and did not include any alternative as to what to do for fannie and freddie. if it were passed, it would cause the economy to a tank searcy's that is hard to say when the bill says nothing about fannie and freddie. at least senator mccain was putting out ideas about how to in mind. it would take a few years, producing abilities to make the loans and selling of the ones that exist. that is a legitimate approach. if senator dodd had a better idea, he should have offered. it should have at least been in the bill. this is the biggest issue that is unresolved. we have of $500 billion liability to

guest: well mccain says, no. some people say it's certainly a flip flop and emphasis more than substance of the policy. he has been for counteracttive immigration reform. his campaign isn't the border security comnents of comprehensive reform. you'll recall that included, you know several, multiple miles of fencing and vehicle barriers and that thing and benefits like a guest worker pgrams and a pathway to citizenship. there's always been fencing in the mix. i think not enough maybe for some of the border hard liners. like,jd hey worth. now he's definitely focused on the fence and on border security and on the guest worker program and other reforms. he says he still supports them and wants the border secured first and really he isn't eager to talk about them. host: is ate closed primary? guest: it's an open >> up next is "q&a" with author joyce appleby. then david cameron and nick clegg. then a press conference with hillary clinton and william hague. the senate returns tomorrow to continue work on the financial r

senator mccain offered such an amendment. i was a co-sponsor. i suggested that we disclose to the american people how much they sell by bringing in fannie and freddie on. and is an actual obligation of the american taxpayer. -- it is an actual obligation. it was rejected which again shows to me how this is about -- not about improving the financial system than making a populist political statement attacking wall street to get some political points. >> senator dodd's point on the floor was that the mccain amendment did not include alternative -- an alternative about what to do with fannie and freddie. it may have brought the economy back into a recession. >> that is a hard argument when senator dodd's bill said nothing. at least mccain stepped up and put forward an idea which would be that it would be on wound over a few years by reducing its ability -- it would be unwound over a few years. that is a legitimate approach to unwinding fannie and freddie. if senator dodd had a better idea, he should have offered it. it to have been in the bill. this

senator john mccain. member of the homelands security and government affairs committee and he's in a battle to be renominated for his position as senior senator from the great state of arizona. what does this bombing attempt in new york say, if anything, to you about the level of terrorist threat in this country, john? >> well, larry, i think that and the underwear bomber and other attempts that have been made and other plots that have been uncovered indicate that terrorist threat is out there, that there is a radical islamic extremist element that is bound and determined to train, equip terrorists to come to our country and try to do terrible things. by the way, i would like to, at the beginning of our conversation, say that our law enforcement agencies and agencies of government at all levels did a great job and we're very proud of them. >> larry: yesterday, you said it would be -- this is your quote, "a serious mistake to give the accused, faisal shahzad his marinada rights to find out what it was all

the mccain amendment falls short in several respects. first of all, mr. president, it poses significant risks to our economic recovery. some 95%, 97% of mortgage originations are currently backed by the federal governme government. 95% to 97%. a have a majority of this coming through fannie and freddie. the mccain -- a vast majority of this coming through fannie and freddie. the mccain amendment would cause significant uncertainty in fannie and fredy and mortgage credit that we have -- fannie and freddie and mortgage credit that we have at this point. this offers no other alternative sources of liquidity. such a precipitous drop in mortgage liquidity could severely threaten the prospects of this fragile recovery we're presently feeling. secondly, the mccain amendment fails to ensure sufficient mortgage credit will be available in the future. private securitization of the g.s.e.'s account for, as i said, some $9 trillion of the $14 trillion in total outstanding mortgages in the united states today. with the future of private securitization highly uncertai

we have mccain and grant. they are not going to go to the republican party any time in the near future. they are the biggest gronal factor. if rpewublicans don't find a wa to bring them in to the party, they are done. in late august, we are talking about the republican primary on not goesdacto our last cault from pittsburgh, good morning. people in ari rana are scared. when we need is a complete audit of every government agency we dourt have the monect agency we dourt have the monect this doesn't make sense if we get millions of illegals allowed to stay here. i lived in washington state for 14 years. i've been upset since 2000. i'm glad republicans are the psh rty of now. host: let me ask you a question. primary day on tuesday. a lot of attention on the district. also the senate race. what is g atng to happen? guest: i didn't like inspector as a republican or a democrat. and i hope these pmiple up there, the democrats in pennsylvania are not the democrats in califor froa. if you talk to them, my congressman is

and bush said to mccain something like, that's politics. and mccain said to bush, is everything politics? and suddenly the guy says, on stage. and i knew we were going to have a hum dinger. tonight a crucial debate for the three remaining presidential candidates. >> remember who called who untrust worthy. remember who called who untrust worthy. this is a pro-life party. may i finish, please? may i finish, please? >> larry: moderating is easy. all i have to do is ask good questions and keep it going. i can't let it get out of hands. you want it to be strife-ridden. >> you should be ashamed. >> is he responsible for what someone else says? >> this same man who stood next to him. this same man attacked his father. >> this is an attack piece. >> it is not my campaign. >> it says paid for by john mccain. >> it is not my campaign. >> john? when somebody is putting stuff out -- >> larry: that was dirty on both sides. it got really nasty. if bush had lost that, mccain would have been president, i think. >> it was an amazing moment. i remember it ve

hay whort is running for the senate against john mccain in a very hot race out there. okay, look. nbc poll says 66% of americans support the law in arizona. however, the left is targeting the state and they are trying to punish the state. there is no question about it how does the state of arizona fight that? >> well, let's put it in perspective. first of all, bill. understand you mentioned some cities with leftist city councils, some school districts but understand well over a dozen states are moving forward to pass legislation modeled on arizona's. i think that's a good thing and it's worth noting that arizona's new law is really modeled on the enforcement force act that i wrote during my days in congress. but more specifically, what does arizona do to battle it? a couple of things. number one, i think this summer you are going to see a buicott here. men's from across the country will decide to visit the grand canyon, come to our desert. actually support arizona. so i think you are going to see that the other thing i would suggest to austin texas and san francisco and l.a. if th

mccain. [laughter] >> and it was just devastating in a major way. [laughter] >> but you understood this is now being driven totally by forces outside of the control of the campaign. and one of the impacts of this as we go forward into the future -- if the campaigns and the candidates themselves will control an increasingly smaller and smaller and smaller territory of their message. and more and more area of the campaign, more and more of the campaign's message is going to be shaped by outside forces in this social media and all of these social media in the next twitter, in the next facebook that comes along. its next iterations are going to be a profoundly important -- a profoundly important part of that. >> steve, i have this wonderful image in my head of all the mccain -- not tv sets, computer monitors of what's in the obama gish video. -- girl video. i haven't thought about this before and you just mentioned it. would it be fair to say that it's possible that consumers of traditional paper

even john mccain who supported comprehensive immigration reform the mccain kennedy bill switched to the position in arizona. it flip flopped. >> my hero. broke my heart. >> geraldo, what he has been -- what he is talking about all he is talking about a amnesty. >> you are an attorney takes 8 years it makes you pay a fine makes you go through every kind of hoop in the world it's hardly immigration. i am out of time. we will have you back. we will have you both back. got to take a break. >> be glad to come back. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i work a lot, and so i wasn't sure that i should actually come tonight. biden talked me into it. he leaned over and he said, mr. president, this is no ordinary dinner. this is a big (bleep) deal.xlxlz

once again, thanks. >>> special comment on senator mccain's reports and senator mccain, next. whether you're trying to sell of hoping to buy. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. that's my choice. because with national, i roll past the counter... and choose any car in the aisle. oh, buck chooses the blue one! [ male announcer ] go national. go like a pro. choosing your own car? now, that's a good call. >>> as promised the briefest of special comments on the statements by the senior senator from arizona after the arrest of faisal shahzad. the suspected times square terrorist. don't give this guy his miranda rights until we find out what it is all about said john mccain. that would be a serious mistake at least until we find out as much information as we have. mr. mccain, following your advice could mean that because of you shahzad could walk free on technicalities. your utter lack of faith in the system of justice that has kept this country free and safe for 234 years the laws are not there to be switched on and off at your discretion, senator. they

we have mccain and grant. they are not going to go to the republican party any time in the near future. they are the biggest gronal factor. if rpewublicans don't find a wa to bring them in to the party, they are done. in late august, we are talking about the republican primary on not goesdacto our last cault from pittsburgh, good morning. people in ari rana are scared. when we need is a complete audit of every government agency we dourt have the monect agency we dourt have the monect this doesn't make sense if we get millions of illegals allowed to stay here. i lived in washington state for 14 years. i've been upset since 2000. i'm glad republicans are the psh rty of now. host: let me ask you a question. primary day on tuesday. a lot of attention on the district. also the senate race. what is g atng to happen? gues i didn't like inspector as a republican or a democrat. and i hope these pmiple up there, the democrats in pennsylvania are not the democrats in califor froa. if you talk to them, my congressman is a

mccain next. for strong bones, i take calcium. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. that's for oreo cookies only. dad, there are no rules when it comes to dunking. i shoot from the hip. i'm hip. [ cellphone rings ] what up, dawg! it's your mother. [ male announcer ] dunk or don't dunk. choose your side. >>> as promised the briefest of special comments on the statements by the senior senator from arizona after the arrest of faisal shahzad. the suspected times square terrorist. don't give this guy his miranda rights until we find out what it is all about said john mccain. that would be a serious mistake at least until we find out as much information as we have. mr. mccain, following your advice could mean that because of you shahzad could walk free on technicalities. it is clear that your comments reveal your utter l

mccain to sit down and debate and think about it thus far, he has not accepted the invitation. so why don't you come on out, let's go ahead and set it up and one of the big theaters and maybe john mccain will finally engage in the debate. it's been mind boggling. >> bill: i would love to get back to eampletz thanks for coming on tonight. directly ahead, attorney general holder says he doesn't like the arizona law but apparently he has never even read it could that be possible. glenn beck and i shoot it out over how to question captured terrorist suspects. that's coming up. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir? boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico.

mccain to sit down and debate and think about it thus far, he has not accepted the invitation. so why don't you come on out, let's go ahead and set it up and one of the big theaters and maybe john mccain will finally engage in the debate. it's been mind boggling. >> bill: i would love to get back to eampletz thanks for coming on tonight. directly ahead, attorney general holder says he doesn't like the arizona law but apparently he has never even read it could that be possible. glenn beck and i shoot it out over how to question captured terrorist suspects. that's coming up. >> bill: impact segment tonight, the latest nbc poll says 64% of americans support the new arizona illegal alien law as i stated. but as we just heard, those who don't like it are very passionate about it joining us now from detroit, nancy skinner and from washington, leslie marshall, both are radio talk show stars or so they tell me. all right. leslie, now, i know you are a fair woman, leslie. even though you are a liberal woman, you are fair. you know the state of arizona just wants to protect its citizens.

and we can do it. >> larry: we interviewed senator mccain earlier this evening. since then he reached out wanting to correct the number of national guard troops he's requesting on the arizona mexican border. he used the figure 15,000. he said he misspoke and meant 3,000. >>> a former islamic extremist tells us how some are being radicalized against america. plus support for heart health. ( crowd roars ) that's a great call. one a day men's. [ female announcer ] it's red lobster's festival of shrimp... a chance to get everyone together for a night where everyone gets just what they want. combine two or three favorites, from new creations like crab-stuffed shrimp and pecan-crusted shrimp to classics like decadent shrimp scampi. it's everything you want in a night out. starting at just $11.99, during the festival of shrimp. [ indistinct talking on television ] [ laughs ] what's that? [ inhales deeply ] that's last night's dinner. [ male announcer ] hate lingering odors? [ baby cries ] ♪ [ male announcer ] febreze air effects actually eliminates odors caused by bac

even senator mccain. senator mccain gave you grief about the new helicopters you didn't order. i think mr. mccain was bitter because he wanted to be in the new helicopters. mr. mccain, i'm sure if you ask nicely your wife will buy you a helicopter. rush limbaugh, one of your big critics. boy, rush limbaugh says he hopes this administration fails. so you're saying i hope america fails. i don't care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in iraq. he just wants the country to fail. that is treason. he is not saying anything differently than osama bin laden is saying. you might want to look into this, sir, i think rush limbaugh was the 20th hijacker but he was so strung out on oxycontin he missed his flight. come on. too much? okay. >> larry: next, leno and letterman get in on the act. this. lives. how ? by bringing together... information. ... people ... ... machines ... ... systems ... ideas... verizon helps businesses worldwide... including fortune 500 companies... find and achieve... better. better. better. better. hi, i need to start saving on car insurance.

when the mccain campaign collapsed in july, 2007, and it was bankrupt, and john mccain was flying to-hampshire -- to new hampshire on a southwest flight. the issue in the campaign was about -- who has a gas credit card we can fill the tank up with? as opposed -- when he won the primary, there were 38 people working in the headquarters. it was $2 million. -- it was $2 million in debt. as someone who is a protection -- as someone who is a practitioner of " strategic communication, -- who is a practitioner of strategic communication, you just knew you did not have the resources to try to scale it up. there was a general lack of enthusiasm. for republicans, 2008 just was not ur year for a lot of reasons. you watch all of this developing in 2008. you see in 2010,,the political cycle, there is some catch-up on the republican side, because the incense and the -- the intensity has risen and there is more activity on the social media side. the point that david made is very important. whether you are a corporation or a nonprofit institution, whether you are a political candidate, you cannot hide. there

when the mccain campaign collapsed in july, 2007, and it was bankrupt, and john mccain was flying to-hampshire -- to new hampshire on a southst flight. the issue in the campaign was about -- who has a gas credit card we can fill the tank up with? as opposed -- when he won the primary, there were 38 people working in the headquarters. it was $2 million. -- it was $2 million in debt. as someone whos a protection -- as someone who is a practitioner of " strategic communication, -- who is a practitioner of strategic communication, you just knew you did not have the resources to try to scale it up. there was a general lack of enthusiasm. for republicans, 2008 just was not ur year for a lot of reasons. you watch all of this developing in 2008. you see in 2010,,the political cycl there is some catch-up on the republican side, because the incense and the -- the intensity has risen and there is more activity on the social media side. the point that david made is very important. whether you are a corporation or a nonprofit institution, whether you are a political candidate, you cannot hide. there cannot

what part of america does john mccain actually love? >>> republicans push for more offshore drilling even as the cataclysm from the destroyed gulf rig gets worse and closer. >>> nashville, fema arrives. 19 dead in tennessee alone. we go live. >> mother nature can be cruel and certainly she's dealt us a bad hand. >> "worsts" the latest lie from charles krauthammer. no successful attacks under bush after 9/11.

mccain: madam president, i want to discuss amendment 3839. this amendment is designed to end the taxpayer-backed conservatorship of fannie mae and freddie mac by putting in place an orderly transition period and eventually requiring them to operate without government subsidies on a level playing field with their private-sector competitors. the events of the last two years have made it clear that never again can we allow the taxpayer to be responsible for poorly managed financial entities who gambled away billions of dollars. fannie mae and freddie mac are synonymous with mismanagement and waste and have become the face of too big to fail. the time has come to end fannie mae and freddie mac's taxpayer-backed free ride and require them to operate on a level playing field. i'd like to mention, an a.p. story entitled "freddie mac asked for $10.6 billion more in federal aid after posting $8 billion loss in first quarter. freddie mac is asking for $10.6 billion in addition federal aid after posting a big loss in the first three months of the year.

chris: john mccain was on a roll in september of 2008 and then the economy collapsed and mccain had this to say. >> the fundamentals of our economy is strong. chris: number one talking about self-emulation. and this is mondale in 194e. >> mr. reagan, -- mr.ea rgan will raise staxes -- taxes and so will i. he won't tell you, i just did. chris: mondale carried one state that november. anyway, and when we come back, one of the tea party heroes, rand paul. did he really say the government shouldn't banlacia discrimination by private businesses. we'll be right back. chris: on tuesday, republicans in kentucky gave number support to rand paul. he whipped the hand picked candidate. then things got stormy for him. he had problems with the civil rights act. it started with this in louisville during the campaign. >> i liked the civil rights act in the sense that it ended discrimination in all public domains. i'm all in favor of that. but -- you had to ask me that. i don't like the idea of telling private business owners -- i abhor racism, i think it is a bad business decision to exclude anybody but

even john mccain who supported comprehensive immigration reform the mccain kennedy bill switched to the position in arizona. it flip flopped. >> my hero. broke my heart. >> geraldo, what he has been -- what he is talking about all he is talking about a amnesty. >> you are an attorney takes 8 years it makes you pay a fine makes you go through every kind of hoop in the world it's hardly immigration. i am out of time. we will have you back. we will have you both back. got to take a break. >> be glad to come back. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i work a lot, and so i wasn't sure that i should actually come tonight. biden talked me into it. he leaned over and he said, mr. president, this is no ordinary dinner. when you have diabetes like me, you have questions. like, why are my numbers too low? are you looking for answers? the accu-chek aviva system now has new tools to help you discover what your numbers mean and how the things you do are connected to your blood sugar patterns. [ sarah ] with this tool i can see how food affects my numbers. i discovered what i can eat and how much. [ male a

even john mccain who supported comprehensive immigration reform the mccain kennedy bill switched to the position in arizona. it flip flopped. >> my hero. broke my heart. >> geraldo, what he has been -- what he is talking about all he is talking about a amnesty. >> you are an attorney takes 8 years it makes you pay a fine makes you go through every kind of hoop in the world it's hardly immigration. i am out of time. we will have you back. we will have you both back. got to take a break. >> be glad to come back. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i work a lot, and so i wasn't sure that i should actually come tonight. biden talked me into it. he leaned over and he said, mr. president, this is no ordinary dinner. this is a big (bleep) deal. ún ♪ [ male announcer ] try fixodent with the time-released formula. use just once per day for dawn-to-dark hold. it is important to use the product as directed. fixodent and forget it. [ male announcer ] we call it the american renewal. because we believe in the strength of american businesses. ♪ ge capital understands what small businesses need to gro

let's pass the mccain amendment. let's pass the mccain amendment with a tweak or two if that's necessary. but let's show the american people that we know it's a problem and that we have the ability to work across party lines to be able to do so. mr. president, i yield the floor. i tha all of you for listening. ms. klobuchar: mr. president? -- mrs. mccaskill: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mrs. mccaskill: mr. president, i rise this morning in the cause of common sense in how the senate works. we have had so many delays on nominations this year, just as a quick review of where we stand, we've had over 51 roll call votes on president obama's nominations to serve in government under his presidency. of those 51 votes, over 80% of them were by overwhelming margins, yet they sat on the calendar for more than three months on average. overwhelming support, sitting on the calendar for three months on average. for comparison here, at the similar point in the bush administration, there were eigh

mccain said it's an important first step. so there wasn't any real effort to involve the other party in the way i always did as governor. and i guess they won't pay any attention to us until we have more senators and they have to. >> but why is that? is that the president, is that his staff? where do you point the blame? >> steve, i don't know. i just find it very strange. i've got kind of a long history on this. i worked in the senate in the 60's. i was on the congressional liaison staff in the 70s. and i can't imagine the white house not having a better relationship with the leadership of the other party. president reagan did with tip o'neal. george bush did with teddy kennedy on education. as i mentioned, dirkson and linden johnson. president johnson understood what the civil rights bill that he needed dirkson's visible support not just the pass the bill but to gain public support for a controversial piece of legislation. so you see with the health care bill, we pass it and ram it through as a partisan bill and there's a m

yesterday on the hill religious leaders met with senator mccain and he repeated his talking point about border security first. although later he also said that he would be willing to participate in a white house summit on immigration. so i was wondering, mayor gordon, if you would press for such a summit, number one. and the second question, if you could tell us what's going on with the investigation on the rancher's murder because groups on the right are using that as, you know, yet another talking point for border security. and i don't know if there's a question on whether or not this was possibly linked to drug trafficking because apparently his ranched some marijuana storage areas there. i was wondering if you could address that part of the equation as well. thank you. >> well, number one, i definitely have asked and pushed for a white house summit. and there have been meetings behind the scenes. and there is a lot of discussion on this with senators. with several republican senators that are publicly not supportive. but have been working on it. i know that firsthand. number two wit

which mccain later said, he later clarified in a different article. i do think that perhaps we do need to look at stripping citizenship. we would have to change the law. it can't be applied retroactively here. we could look into that. people who are openly working -- we'd have to prove they're working -- they're aligning themselves with terrorist overseas, with the taliban. i mean, president obama has already authorized the assassination of an al qaeda cleric anwr alahi in yemen. >> i would have to agree with jon. i think senator lieberman is on to something here. it's already against the law for an american who fights with a foreign force could be stripped of his or her citizenship. so i think an american citizen who's involved in a terror plot should also face the same consequenc consequences. >> jonathan and john, appreciate you coming on. we're out of time. it's a lot to think about. as you both make excellent examples and points, i know people will be talking about. >>> we'll continue to follow the arrest of the times square bomber here on msnbc.

senator mccain's legislation will deal with it. he made a speech thursday, i believe it was, in which he delineated the history of what -- how this all occurred. i thought it was a very valuable insight. americans should know about th this. and when the government comes in and allows politics and governmental policy on everon ride financial reality, then -- policy to override financial reality, then we can get in trouble. if you order agencies or agencies are willing to make bad loans because they think it's somehow good policy, do people think nobody's going to have to pick up the tab someday in the future? well, i'm afraid they are. so, mr. president, the unreality of the situation that we're in i think arose from the fact that the -- the richly paid g.s.e. executives and their political supporters had no skin in the game really on the loans they were making. they were getting their salaries, they kept getting their salaries even when it became clear that they were mismanaged and heading for disaster and going to have to be baile

. >> reporter: this is the naval station at norfolk where the cart marshal for matthew mccain begins -- mccabe begins today. we're going to have pre-- pretrial motions, and they're pretty interesting, one is whether to allow the admississippiility of the photos after the victim was allegedly beaten. the the prosecution is going to try to keep the pictures out. behind me and around me you'll see protestors, about 200 people will turn out at the main gate at the naval station. as you know there's an huge outpouring of support across the country for matthew mccabe and the two other navy seals who have been acquitted. about two weeks away they were acquitted. here's what one former navy seal told us what he thinks about the charges against mccabe. let's listen. >> you have a terrorist who accused these guys of punching them and you have three of more most elite warriors off the battlefield and it's in the al-qaeda play book to cry foul, cry abuse or cry torture and they'll get attention and that's exactly what happened. you have a horrible message to our troops who are serving there ever

what part of america does john mccain actually love? republicans push for more offshore drilling even as the cataclysm from the destroyed gulf rig gets worse and closer. nashville, fema arrives. 19 dead in tennessee alone. we go live. >> mother nature can be cruel and certainly she's dealt us a bad hand. >> "worsts" the latest lie from charles krauthammer. no successful attacks under bush. what were the anthrax letters, junk mail? and stuff my dad says. a parents is only as good as their dumbest kid. if one wins a nobel prize and the other gets robbed by a ok

john mccain -- >> charlie: george bush 41 looking at his watch. "i'm bored here." >> michael dukakis showing absolute coldness when asked about -- >> charlie: somebody raped his wife. >> a debate i moderated with obama where i tried to get mccain to look and talk directly to obama and he wouldn't do it. >> charlie: wouldn't do it? >> wouldn't do it. it was not a hostile thing, he wouldn't do it but it hurt him. it wasn't about the words, it was just their body language in all these cases. >> charlie: of all these people -- this is such a locker am-room question, of all these people, who was the very best that you saw? >> just as a debater? >> charlie: yeah. >> bill clinton, probably. he was -- he was -- perot was a very good debater in the presidential debates, interestingly enough. not against al gore. but -- but -- >> charlie: why was clinton so good? >> because he could go with the flow. he was able to -- his instincts about when to go light, when to be heavy, how to pick up on something, how to turn something around, and pick up on a complimen

and that election showed very clearly in a district that john mccain won, in a district that is far more conservative, where republicans went after barack obama and nancy pelosi and our candidate talked about jobs and. and i think you're going to see that same race, type of race, played across the country. >> is president obama, who declined to come in for senator specter at the very end because the view was he was going to lose, is he an asset or a liability for democratic candidates this fall? >> i think the single biggest thing that president obama can do to help democrats, and particularly the country as we move into midterm elections, is what he has been doing -- righting this country from huge job losses to job gains, going from negative domestic growth to positive domestic growth, tackling some of the fundamental things that my colleagues on the republican side, you know, let fester for eight years. i mean, the reason we had double-digit increases in health care, republicans did nothing. the reason that we had excesses on wall street is because they didn't permit -- >> let's stay

. >> introduced by john mccain and the montana government -- montana democrat. changes include allowing concealed weapons in d.c. and repealing the ban on assault weapons. parents of victims of deadly shootings in march involving an ak-47 were also there. >> you cannot have a law like this pass. >> i don't think an ak-47 should be anywhere. we have seen what it has done. >> [inaudible] we can get an ak-47. >> the parents and opponents took their protest to capitol hill, first talking to eleanor holmes norton and trying to get hearings would senator mccain, no luck. they ran into the montana and lieutenant governor who is visiting. >> [inaudible] >> they eventually had a briefing with one of his aides. one of the ironies is that d.c. abandon a bill that would have given the city a vote in congress because of amendments that would also weaken the gun laws. it turns out now the vote bill is dead, but the gun amendments are still very much alive. this afternoon the nra issued a statement saying it remains committed to restoring self defense rights of district reside

both barack obama and john mccain channeled t.r. in 2008. in fact i describe barack obama in the last chapter of my book as the apotheosis of progressive democracy. i am not exactly sure what that means that we can talk about it. [laughter] it seemed to make sense. in fact of course neither mccain or obama would have won the nomination. word of mouth for the primaries and caucuses. for the rank-and-file activists choose the candidate not elected officials and party veterans who dominated the political process prior to 1912. but roosevelt's campaign as the progressive party candidate went beyond reforming the political process. it was rooted in the belief that the constitutional structure of american government was limited federal power and the judiciary striking down economic regulations as violations of natural rights that simply could not cope with the realities of the 20th century industrial order. only federal power in the form of regulatory bodies there was t.r. and his purpose of allies could match the power of corporations and trust.

and see where john mccain is today. can you believe it? that john mccain doesn't appear to be conservative enough to be the republican nominee for re-election in arizona? so who can stay in a party-- it's not far right, its far out! ( laughter ) ( applause ) >> woodruff: many political observers say specter made a mistake by waiting, and letting sestak go up with the first round of television spots, mocking specter's party switch. >> i can count on this man, that's important. he's a firm ally. >> woodruff: but now... >> my change in party will enable me to be re-elected. >> ... arlen specter switched parties to save one job-- his, not yours. >> woodruff: these and a few other sestak spots have helped propel him from 20 points behind in most polls last month to even with or slightly ahead of specter today. specter has come back with his own tough tv spots. >> joe sestak-- relieved of duty in the navy for creating a "poor command climate." >> woodruff: but one of them has backfired-- this one has prompted mdecrater of below-thet tactics, and

. >> he became mascot for the mccain as guy, but now joe the plumber testing the political landscape. he was elected to serve on the republican committee in ohio. it meets a few times a year to set the agenda. >> what a dead. -- what a day. >> how lucky can we be? >> we have been very lucky. no major storms coming this way, but there will be some changes by the weekend. let's go to the rooftop to check things out. a beautiful picture. if you are going to be outside it will be delightful. let's check some individual temperatures for you. 82 degrees. their high was 83. the dew point temperatures are the true measure of moisture. any time is in the 50's or lower, it is comfortable. that is what we have here. 82 degrees in alexander right now. they peaked at 88 in alexandria. 83 at reagan national airport. 72 and 53 are at the averages. we are seeing extremes in the temperatures. the record high was 94. the pollen count was higher again today. that was in the high range for trees and grasses. it looks like it will be much the same tomorrow around here. rainshowers friday night will wash t

we'll then turn to the mccain amendment -- or go to the mccain amendment u i'm hoping we get a time agreement on that amendment as well. about 140 minutes equally divided between us here. i want to accommodate everybody as much as i can. if some people take too much time, it will mean others never get a chance to offer their amendments. so i make a request of my good friend, senator shelby, to inquire before we get to the mccain amendment what sort of a time agreement we could have on john's amendment. then my intention would be to go to a democratic amendment and possibly a republican amendment tonight. and there'll be votes tomorrow. i will let me colleagues know that we're going to have votes tomorrow. we've got, i gather, monday and friday next week that are nonvote days. so we'll have a limited week next week. and we've got 140 amendments with members who want to be heard. obviously we can't go on forever, too. reid will my friend yield? mr. dodd: i will be happy to. mr. reid: mr. president, for all the senators here, we may have 141 amendments, but it isn't the first time we've had 141

it involved about the mccain- fine gold finance campaigns. it prevented such ads over the broadcast media 30 days before the general election. the supreme court declared this provision unconstitutional. kennedy writing for the court, and the court split along now-familiar ideological lines. i thought i would talk about the significance because it is such an important case in terms of the police system, in terms of the doctrine of the first amendment. in terms of the political system, i think it is going to be a long time before we can fully assess what it means when corporations and unions can spend as much as they want for the candidates they want to get elected or defeated. there are some who say it might not have that much of an affect. they point to the states that have allowed such spending and said it hasn't seemed to have a dramatic consequence. on the other hand there are those who believe the ability of corporate wealth has a tremendous distorting effect of the american political system. my own concern will be what will it mean in ju

a district that john mccain won in 2008. a former head of the nrcc, tom davis, a virginia congressman said, look, if they can't win this seat, where is the wave that's coming? the democrats were energized. like in kentucky, all the focus on the rand paul race. the democratic candidates in the primary in kentucky both got more votes than rand paul did. our voters are energized. with the economy improving, the passage of health care, the gdp growing. we're going pass the mark where we created more jobs in 2010 than the entire bush administration years. >> i only have a couple minutes. i want to ask you about an interview that congressman sestak gave in february to larry kane where he said the white house tried to offer him something for not running against arlen specter in the primary. here's the interview. >> were you offered a federal job to get out of this race? >> yes. >> was it the navy secretary? >> no comment. i would never get out for a deal. i'm in it. for the democratic principles. >> was there a job offered to you b