remember, doesn't have a lot of experience like sarah palin. and they are going to go after him hard. you know that? >> they are. but i think that sometimes we talk about him as a darling of the tea party but, in fact, is he more part of the establishment than we let on. i think is he particularly politically savvy more than someone like sarah palin was also, let's not forget he may have marginal impact with hispanic voters. >> now getting back to paul ryan. 42 years old well respected in republic circles. he got the charts and the folks, you know. i'm not -- i'm not sure what that brings mitt romney. wisconsin, you know, it's not like ohio and florida or virginia where you have got to have those. romney doesn't have to have wisconsin. so, i don't know if ryan is in the right place. i think he is a smart guy. i think he could do the job. >> yep. >> bill: but i don't know if he is in the right place. >> bush didn't pick dick cheney for wisconsin's one electoral vote either. there is more to choosing the vice president than that marco rubio would

>> it's not going to be another sarah palin. most people think that romney will go with a safe pick. everybody also fights the last war in politics. so that would argue for a rob portman or tim pawlenty, bob mcconnell, the governor of virginia, somebody safe like that. there could be something unusual that happens. you could get maybe bobby jindal who's got some experience now that he's been governor of louisiana for a while, trying to go for an out of the box choice, who also would pass that test of getting over the threshold of being a plausible president, which palin's two years as governor did not get her. also, she just wasn't as smart as jindal. so they could go that direction. oftentimes it is not the person that the press most speculates about. there's a long history of this in both parties. so folks that in trade should get pretty skeptical of anybody who thinks they know exactly how this is going to go. you would have to give an edge right now to a conservative choice in both meanings of that word. a political conserva

so sarah palin is not very popular in this country. especially with certain constituencies that they're trying to woo. mitt romney is in israel right now trying to get jewish votes in the united states. obama got 78% of jews the last time. in large part because sarah palin was on the ticket. so if he wants those jewish votes in ohio and florida, mitt romney wants to move away from sarah palin. on the other hand, if he moves too far away, he alienates the palin supporters in states like iowa he's going to need for his base. he's in a tough spot on palin. >> very, very difficult spot there. does liz cheney do damage to her credibility saying sarah palin is more qualified than barack obama and joe biden combined? i don't know many republicans who are honestly going to say that? >> that was a little over the top. she was trying to clean up for the old man and she had to show her loyalty to sarah palin and the tea party folks. they should not be underestimated. you know, the most vivid demonstration of the power of the tea party was at the

he told "politico" because sarah palin was a better candidate. why did we not take the other people? why didn't i? because we had a better candidate. we have chris and john with us this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> john, we have this long list of high profile republicans who are saying romney should release taxes and get it behind him. there are reports that people in his camp are divided about this. do you think the national review is right as his position is now unsustainab unsustainable? >> i think they should have addressed this a week ago or two weeks ago. every day that they are talking about this is a day they are not framing the race. >> it is the drip, drip, drip, right? >> it is, but it takes them off the game showing this president has been a failure and mitt romney has a vision of where to take this country. that is where they are have to return the campaign to. not tax returns and not bain. it is important that they make a mark in the sand today and look at camera and say i'm not playing that obama game anymore. we're m

do you say what is the risk if we don't give sarah palin a role? it is not like tea party members will vote for barack obama. are they going to stay home because palin did not speak at the convention? >> i'm not sure they will stay home. they might not stay at home, but they will not knock on a lot of doors. maybe they will. maybe that day comes up and they intend on voting. it's raining. whatever. we are talking about slim mar n margins. >> bill collier, thank you for coming on. it is not just sarah palin, it is newt gingrich and ron paul. they are waiting for invitations. how does the romney campaign navigate this? >> there are many hours to speak at the convention. there are two hours of prime time. i can tell you sarah palin will not speak in prime time. there are other hours. my guess is the romney campaign will get gingrich and palin. some less popular candidates time to speak. >> maybe 11:00 on wednesday. then it is the opposite. they are really dissing us. i would not want that job of picking who goes where. >> right. as you said, when you

and if sarah palin -- when sarah palin was doing that, pretty much everyone called her on that. mitt romney seems to be getting away with exactly the same thing. it seems to me there's some kind of double standard going on here because he's a well-dressed man. >> well, i'm going to dpe fend romney slightly on that one. i don't think you can compare -- i mean, romney is fairly sophisticated guy who has significant amount of accomplishment in his life. i don't think he can be compared with sarah palin. but his performance is pretty appalling. when you -- i don't know anybody who goes to meet the leader of the opposition and can't remember his name. i have no yet seen a candidate for the united states and goes in and insults probably our closest ally in the world. it's not a big deal because this is about olympics and it's not about, you know, plotting to invade iraq, but it's not very reassuring. i think romney's problem is not that he's not well informed. i think -- and he's certainly not -- doesn't lack substance. his problem is he wants to be president so badly that all he does

sarah palin is a bit polarizing. what they're doing is they don't want to be associated with her. >> bill: is that really smart, though, michelle? you can give the governor of alaska a platform on a day that mitt romney isn't speaking. you can have her rally as jeanine pointed out, the tea party folks who adore her, and what's the down side of that? they don't even have to see each other really. >> yeah. i completely agree. but i'm saying from romney's point of view, is that they're already going to get conservatives because they dislike obamacare -- >> bill: some might stay on. >> they think obama is so polarizing that conservatives will come out no matter what. >> bill: jeanine, if michelle is correct and it's anybody but obama, which is one of the things that sarah palin actually says, why bother bringing in somebody who is really not very nice to you in the run up to the nomination? >> well, i think it's very, very, very important and actually i think the conservatives, republicans, tea partiers, a bit pack husba

i want sarah palin there. i want scott walker there. i want the conservative heros to say, you know what -- >> conservative heros and divisive figures -- [overlapping dialogue] >> sean:. >> sean, you have an inclusive message. i am trying to get to you run yourself. i think that would be good. i would love to see you speak -- [overlapping dialogue] -- >> i would vote for you. >> sean: here we g. i am voting -- >> liberty is an inclusive message. >> she has been divisive. >> sean: you need to be on the road with you, as i have. i have been around a lot of politicians. i have been to presidential events. i am telling you, she has it. it's a very interesting -- >> she excites the base and turns off the middle. >> sean: this race is not going to hinge on who speaks at this convention. this race is going to be about -- it will be a referendum on the failed record of barack obama -- >> that's why obama is trying to make this a referendum on george bush-- >>> it's not working. >> she is not on the ticket. >> 6 points ahead in the wall street j

and let's see, sarah palin, how do you solve a problem like sarah? and you remember the controversy over the cover they put there. and then we've got michele bachmann, the queen of rage. pat, no wonder they are about to go bankrupt and maybe, quote, become an online service. >> sean, i think in 2010 news week was sold for one dollar to sidney harmon, the billionaire. >> not worth it. >> i think he got cheated. but let's take meet romney. whatever you say about the guy he goes up there and he's at bain and company, breaks free of that and forms brain capital. it's a huge success. then he challenges teddy kennedy in massachusetts. that is a wimp? then he goes and takes over the olympics? gets whipped in his first run for the presidency, comes back and goes through a rough primary and now he's the nominee. where do they come off with that? it's the tendency to seek some sort of sensational headline which is the reason "news ""is on their way out. >> you are a decent guy, you are i don't wrong on anything, but you have a decency about you. when they do t

plus, does willard mitt romney have a sarah palin problem? she has been a thorn in his side since day one. we are learn being a possible convention snub. [ groans ] [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. >>> we are back with a big homecoming on capitol hill. congress has a record low approval. and they needed a little guidance. so today they called in their white knight, their savior, their hero. a man to fire up the base with big

there's a lot of sarah palin supporters. ron paul. are we going to go for a big tent or strategy to appeal to the base? >> you've seen the romney campaign sort of carefully negotiate this over the course of the past few months. even with the ron paul folks, they made sure they don't say too much to aggrevate that particular section, but you've seen him be careful about some of the others. he did a fund-raiser with dick cheney. >> i'd say bring them all in the tent because you're going to need them come september and october. someone like a sarah palin, rick santorum, those folks are going to help bring that energy to the level you're going to need it to roll out of that convention and into these states like ohio and virginia and places like that where they can really be helpful. i get the whole balancing act, saying do we want sarah palin to give a speech and does that offend voters beyond the base cht i don't think sarah palin's going to give that kind of speech. she's not known for that kind of speech. she can deliver the meat that

and now did john mccain really call sarah palin a bet we candidate than romney? the senator tells us himself. do any of you remember this? >> can you get me one of those cow jackets like your previous guest? every guest gets one. >> if you get me one i will wear it. >>neil: done. done. done. i will hold you to that because it is on tape. he offered. we delivered. and now, will the judge deliver on his promise? ou got no reason♪ ♪ you got no right ♪ ♪ i find myself at the wrong place ♪ [ male announcer ] the ram 1500 express. ♪ it says a lot about you. ♪ in a deep, hemi-rumble sort of way. guts. glory. ram. holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] mayhem is everywhere. so get an allstate agent. are you

and cheney also talked about his heart transplant and took on sarah palin. tonight, jon has more of his abc news exclusive. >> reporter: we met up with the former vice president in jackson hole, wyoming, where what he said about sarah palin -- that john mccain should not have picked her for vice president because she wasn't qualified -- was the shot heard round the world of conservative politics. >> i like governor palin. i've met her. i know her. attractive candidate. but based on her background, she'd only been governor for, what, two years? i don't think she passed that test, and i think -- >> reporter: of being ready? >> of being ready to take over. and i think that was a mistake. >> reporter: cheney's own daughter tweeted, rarely do i disagree with the best vp ever but, sarah palin more qualified than obama and biden combined. and mccain fired back on fox news. >> the fact is i'm proud of sarah palin. >> reporter: the dust-up is a sign cheney is back. 12 years ago, he became the most prominent republican to endorse gay marriage. last month, his daughter

i love you but i want sarah palin there. i adore you. >>neil: you are bored with me? >>guest: bored with what you are saying. not bored with you, you should be present and center at the convention. >>neil: i love her to death but i am just saying do you think that she brings some baggage to the convention and people, fairly or not, are going to exploit that? >>guest: fabulous baggage, whatever, but fun stuff. my point is, i've been to a few conventions and they are very boring. >>neil: how many could you be you are like ten? >>guest: i have observed and been there enough to know we need to have a fabulous convention. look, you are soft an enigma, very famous and fabulous and smart but having a sarah palin there, a hottie republican woman, smart --. >>neil: so, this is a women thing to you? >>guest: well, can we have a woman or two, neil? that is alegitimate. >>neil: the whole issue of senator john mccain, the tax issue made you turn to sarah palin? >>guest: i love her. she is great. >>neil: he went on to say that some in the media chose to took my effort in response w

>> governor sarah palin of the great state of alaska. >> he chose sarah palin. >> cenk: the president will not relent. he keeps counting mitt romney. here is the conversation we're going to have tonight. might it get so bad that they pull mitt romney as a candidate before the convention? is it possible? we will discuss that in just a little bit. and then later in the program well, anthony weiner, a bit of a scandal. but can he make a comeback? >> newly-released photos from tmz.com show anthony weiner taking pictures of himself in various stages of undress. >> cenk: now how long do you have to stay in political purgatory after a scandal like that? is it time for redemption? we'll talk about that as well. are you ready for this? you want to see the guy who might be funding george zimmerman's defense? >> i was contacted by an individual that we, in fact, believe was george zimmerman. he reached out to me. we spoke on the phone about his case and i agreed not to report on the contents of that conversation. >> cenk: a story that sean hannity might be involved in that

let's move onto the former vp pick, governor sarah palin. is she in or is she out when it comes to the convention or would she just be a huge distraction. >> no one knows what the speaking lineup is now. that's not only for a lot of the principles and people you think would be the keynote speaker and sarah palin. we do know this about sarah palin, the political action committee rented space where she will potentially be having another type of counter-programming event in tampa, florida right around the republican convention. all the body language that you get from the romney campaign, i don't think they are locked in arms with sarah palin. if this were 2010, you might see the republican nominee, presidential nominee have to do something for sarah palin. for the most part she dropped off the lit cal radar screen. she popped up on tv from time to time but isn't the force she was for the republican party with the conservative base she was in 2009 and 2010. >> who would have predicted that, falling off the face of the earth? come on. people real

palin." his answer was, "i look at them and there was nothing in them." either he is lying and you think he is a dishonorable man, or he is not. second, you release these returns for 10 years, you imagine that there are hundreds of pages long, all the complications because of our insane tax code. there will be endless stuff in there and we will be talking about nothing else for a month. romney is right, he should be talking about the economy. yes, he will be hit on this. people will imply darkly that he will be fighting stopped trade but the issues are the economy, obama's gaffe, and other issues. >> a " new york times" poll say is that a majority of people disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy. are these guys going to talk about anything real? a real debate about the direction of the country is the subject of charles' column this week. >> when obama got off prompter and said that if you are successful in business, if you think it is because of your intelligence, well, a

i saw sarah palin go over there one time. all she did was one side to the wall, did the appropriate thing there. with no interest in the greater -- old city. >> don't forget about the warmongering comments about iran. that gets people nervous here. you have a war weary public and you think he's going to step back. >> that's what he said. he did walk that back. one last thing. here he is today walking that back. this is very important. he walked back what his tops spokesman said. he said i think i'll use my own terms in that regard. he didn't say i'm just going to respect whatever they want to do. even he was being measured there. he pulled back, made sure he didn't go too far. even on the movement of the embassy. well, my guess here is however many votes of jews and other supporters of hard line and israel he may have picked up with this kind of performance, he will more than lose of people evaluating him as potential leader of the free world and frf. as i keep saying, he just kind of looks in over his head. that he just sees

no sarah palin. is it smart? "scoops and predictions," right from the notebooks of this top reporters. we'll be right back. >> welcome back. as mitt romney picks a running mate, he hopes for this kind of rollout. >> a city that this trust has been given to me, 88 years to the day after the women of america first gained the right to vote. [cheers and applause] >> forget, it was mccain's best 48 hours. the palin effect was short-lived, the lesson learned by romney reportedly is to sacrifice pizazz for safety. 47% said that the veep choice may matter to their vote. i'm sure that's the politically correct thing to say. romney is focusing on a few. the short list, jindal, plenty and ohio senator rob portman. steven colbert is trying to pour a little cold water on senator portman. >> he is better served with someone who is not as exciting. >> put portman on the ticket. >> yes, nothing fires up the base like boring because romney doesn't want somebody who is going to upstage him and just look at these two together. it's

. >> very famous person, sarah palin, she's a dead ringer look-alike. >> cenk: fun for everybody especially the republicans apparently. according to the association of club executives, now that's the people representing the industry well, when republicanners come to town they spend on average $150. democrats are cheapskates and only spend $50 a per. republicans are much better for business and there is the famous study by the harvard school about the top ten states for porn adult side membership. eight of them were red says. utah oklahoma, arrest arrest, louisiana, alabama, west virginia north dakota and alaska. one of the people who run the strip clubs in atlanta is joining us. he is don great to have you here. >> hey, cenk, how are you great to be here. >> i met tampa. >> yeah, we're actually in tampa, not atlanta. >> cenk: there are republicans in atlanta and i'm sure they love strip clubs too. don, talk to me about this. what are your expectations for business when the republicans come into town and what is it based on? >> the best thing we can go by is the adult club associations and t

we await sarah palin's latest tweet. thank you, steve. stephen hayes in washington. >> you got it. >> 20 past. heather. heather: a shocking new report claiming u.s. diplomats wasted 1 hundreds of million of dollars in iraq. we'll tell you where your tax dollars went. bill: they were looking for a thrill. latest on a roller coaster ride who got a bit more than they bargained for. heather: scary stuff. ♪ . bill: at 23 minutes past the hour now. a government official saying 47 people have died from a fire on a train in southern india. 28 others were hospitalized with burns. officials say aing a short-circuit in the coach might be to blame. >>> from uganda a health official says six more patients suspected having ebola have been hospitalized. a warning to prevent it from spreading to more villages in the country. >>> powerful storms hitting close to home hitting in pennsylvania. strong winds and help rains knocking down trees and electrical lines across the state. thousands without power in the philadelphia area. that was a big, big storm,