Transcripts For MSNBC Morning Joe 20110426

>> "morning joe" starts right now. this segment with meredith vieira really has it all. obscure british tradition, revolting food, and the biggest twig in england. >> back in the old days the molds were made of wood or copper. you have obviously modernized that now with plastic? >> we find all our jelly molds on the computer. >> yes. did you hear that, john? he used all of his skills of design and computer. he took all those years of schooling, and a decade of sell bacy to get a jell-o mold to look like a giant red [ bleep ]. >> oh, my lord. good morning. it is tuesday, april 26. we're live again from london's tra fall ga square. welcome to "morning joe." we have once again espn soccer champion bennett. and also katty kay. >> katty is going to be talking in a few minutes about the decline of the united states of america. i will, of course, be defending the red, white, and blue. >> katty is my patient planner and travel agent. >> i sent her to london. >> how exciting. i asked her to do the same. she sent me to topeka, which i love topeka, so it worked very well. >> that's perfect actually. topeka is lovely. how are you liking london? >> oh, i've always loved london. i always loved coming here. >> i love it. there's really good rum in here. have you made it out to the football stadium? real football? >> it's going be an absolute blast. >> mika may be coming. i told her not to come because she may get a little too attached to the game. >> oh, i'll be fine. >> katty, let me ask you about this. this is the front page of "the daily telegraptelegraph." and wikileaks reveals london may be the hub of al qaeda here. talk about the struggle. a vrg open society, a very liberal -- i mean that in the positive sense. >> right. >> i spoke with a man from france who moved here and told me yesterday he moved here because london was so accepting. but with that comes some very serious concerns regarding al qaeda and terrorists. >> we've had a much already more radicalized muslim population than you have in america for a long time look at the attacks of 7/7. it was home-grown muslim terrorists. that's much more worrying to people here. one of the amazing things about america is how moderate the muslim population has been. >> why is -- is there a class system in britain that is harder for muslims to crack than say america? why is that? >> i think it's the -- muslims come to america and th identify themselves as americans before they identify themselves as muslims, and that's a real tribute to the country. whereas here there has long been a sense that you have a muslim population that felt excluded from mainstream society that stayed in groups where there were large population groups that came from pakistan, stayed together, and often went back. some those involved in the 7/7 went back. the links were kept and they were much stronger, whereas themuslim population came to america whereas many come, they felt part of the population. they felt proud to be american. that's starting to change. you're starting to get a more radicalized muslim population in the country, but it's still less here. >> i've heard them say it's ironic, america's attacked by al qaeda, but for many muss limits, they're more free and have more rights in the united states of america than any country on the face of the earth. >> that's applying the laws of rationial to terrorism which don't apply. so logic system not what -- >> let's look right now at the front of the times. this is a story that's really unraveling, roger. there was a grand coalition obviously between the liberal democrats and the conservatives. it was a wonderful marriage much like diana and charles for a while but it seems to be coming apart at the seams. the liberal democrats have come out in the past few days accu accusing cameron, quote, of lying. if this fall ace part, the british government is up for grasps. >> i would be a little too hasty to compare the government to diana and charles. there's no third party in that marriage. what they're trying to do is posture because both sides have been criticized for being too consensual and being too happy, clappy. once they go by, they may expect business to carry on as usual. >> i get the sense, katty, yesterday frrks ni yesterday, from nick ferguson that he's doing what he has to do, roll up his sleeves, punch cameron a couple of times, but he has nowhere to go. >> this is the best chance of power that they've ever had, being part of this coalition government. remember, they're basically a party that was in many ways to the left of the labor party, and yet they have signed on for these huge counts. hundreds are going to loose their jobs in britain this year. of course, the base of the liberal democratic party is saying what are you doing, implementing these draconian deficit-cutting measures when we are a much more party. why aren't you protecting the poorest and the most vulnerable in society, and they have a very disgruntled face. >> and, mika, this is the first time in well over 50 years that the democrats have had this much power, so they've made a political deal with what they would consider or their base would consider the devil, but it's working out for them because they are empowered. >> it's great to get a sense of the political situation here. there's also a lot growing back home. the white house republican and democratic leaders are butting their heads. yesterday, speaker john boehner attacked president obama for not embracing the ideas from the bipartisan panel that he created. >> what did the president do? he took exactly nonele of his own deficit reduction ideas. not one. it's time to grow up and face the country. i can't tell you how disappointed i was with the president in not being honest with the american people about the big problems that we face and fact that it's time to own up, fess up, and quit whistling past the radio. >> come on, man. >> that's what you say all the time. boehner went on to say, along with, k with, come on, that he and o'connell have said they would not get behind any plan that would raise taxes. in an interview with politico boehner said in part, quote, if the president doesn't get serious about the need to address our fiscal nightmare, yeah, there's a chance the debt limit vote dmoultd happen, fwhau's not my goal. however, the obama administration continues to quote the catastrophic dangers of not raising the limit. would just say simply that those members of congress who have suggested that are dead wrong. there are severe potential consequences to not raising the debt ceiling. it's an assessment shared by independent economists across the board both here in america and around the board. it would be a terrible folly to play games with this. >> so, willie, thoerks we've cede it before the republicans are very serious about not moving on raising the debt ceiling. by the way, you're smirking. mika's here. nightmare. >> it took her 24 hours. >> you're speaking in british now. >> sorry. >> i'm so -- we're talking about it for a couple of weeks. the republicans are very serious. come at us with serious cuts or we're not going to raise the debt ceiling. >> there were some indications the white house would be open on this to get the debt ceiling raised pchlt but the question is what does it mean to give a little? i wonder if the republicans wanted to come to this. are they really going to allow us -- >> i'm sorry. someone's got to convince me? >> and perhaps convince me? >> why are you saying that? do you really thinking they want to be responsible for the ramifications of that because you know it will be on them. >> no, it won't. you know why? they even seen katty with this president. this president is so concerned about turning the economy around. i'm not saying it's good or bad on the debt ceiling pafrmt i'm just saying this president is a lot more concerned about the debt ceiling not being raised than are the republicans in the house. the republicans in the house will go back home and brag to their constituents. it's just like government shutdown. democrats to shut down the government, that is the worst thing in the world for the conservatives. that's a week well spent. >> i wonder. i wonder if really they want to get the sage of not raising the debt ceiling, the markets panicking, the prospects of interest going up. >> what happens though -- katty, war game it though. what happens when the markets start to panic and the republicans are sitting there? suddenly the republicans are in a position saying we've got a $15 trillion national debt. the markets are panicking. what are you going to cut? what are you going to cut? england has cut, greece has cut, portugal has cut, ireland has cut. come on, mr. president, what are you going to cut? >> i think in theory that's what they could say. but if they actually get to a state where they don't raise the ceiling, the markets panic, interest rates go up, they could say you americans are feeling the pain of what's going to happen. you'll feel it because your mortgage payments will go up, car payments will go up, college payments will go up because the interest rates go up. i think around the kitchen table where people are not necessarily talking about debt ceilings, th that's -- is that what americans are talking about? if the interest rates go up, their bills are going to go up. know, mika, you're skeptical. i tell you if i were government speaker -- forget the government shutdown. this, the debt ceiling, this is an argument i could win every day. >> you think the government drama was a real drama? you don't think people are getting a little tired of this and see this as a political game on both sides? and you don't think the scenario that katty described, with the republicans basically letting their reality crumble for politics? >> i'm telling you what, baby. roger bennett? when you go there, you're desperate. come on, please. >> come on, man. >> i'm telling you -- >> when i go there, what i'm telling you is this is a winning hand for the republican party. don't see it. >> it is real, but republicans can say -- you know, i can say -- i voted against raising the debt ceiling when they wanted to raise it to $5 trillion about ten years ago. thain said it was a responsible thing to raise the debt ceiling to $7 trillion. then they said the responsible thing was to raise it to 9 trillion and then $14 trillion. the responsible thing, barack obama, the responsible thing is to stop spending. even under paul ryan, we raised the debt $5 trillion. under obama's, $5.5 trillion. the debt crisis is global now. >> let me ask you. you've been here since saturday, you've been following david cameron. what do you think his initiat e initiatives have set for america because the consumer is city lying, gdp has dropped. we'll find out whether this quarter is actually growing. how do you see that playing? >> you know, actually i wrote an article in politico today saying that cameron and whoever the republican -- let's say paul ryan -- they're in a position that thatcher and reagan were in back in '79 and '80, but they should not expect a flowering of the same movement. they're going to behave like exterminators and get the rats out. i think the conservatives, if they do the responsible thing, they're going to be punished. cameron is not going the survive for ten years. >> you know, the trouble with the decisions that are being made now and i'm not an economist, is the toreys of bank in the median term or long term will benefit the economy. in the short term they're hurting the economy. >> i don't think these cuts help grow the economy. i just think they -- they help in the long term stop england and the united states from collapsing. can i ask a very important question of willie? >> because it's willie and he's so cute. >> who won? the red sox lost. >> all right. much more ahead. much more straight ahead from london. coming up, we're going to talk to congressman barney frarngs foreign policy expert mark brzezinski and eugene robinson and billy bush. >> billy's my man. >> after the break, political's top stories. >> how about billy bush? >> i can't wait to meet him. >> have yu met him before? >> i've never met him. >> he's a great guy. he did this thing on trump a couple of years ago. >> what was his show? >> i think he's "access hollywood." is that an abc thing? >> oh, my gosh. i can't wait to meet him. >> we don't know. seriously, we don't know where we are. she's speaking like british now. >> i'm sorry. we'll speak with bill karins on a check of the forecast. bill, don't lie to me. please don't lie. >> not today, mika. here's your royal wedding forecast. yes, rain is in the forecast on friday for the big wedding day. it looks like some light rain shouldn't really ruin too much. it's not going to be a sunny day unfortunately. back here in the state, a warm day for you. look at this. 80s in new york city with thunderstorms up through areas of new england and cooler near boston. as far as yesterday, tornado outbreak. we've got two more days of this to go. we're going to see severe storms today in areas of arkansas, possible tornados. and tomorrow we'll have more tornados too in areas of tennessee. we'll have historic flooding on the mississippi and ohio river. it will be that way until the weekend. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] want to achieve more with your money? pnc virtual wallet gathers your spending and saving in one place. credit and debit purchases, checks, bills, and other financial information. it lets you see the details as well as the big financial picture. so you can do more with your money. see what a complete view of your money can do for you at pncvirtualwallet.com. ♪ pnc bank. for the achiever in you. it's got a calculator. thanks, dad. this is the neighborhood. you get elm street and you get main street. thank you. and that's just the first quarter. so you want a slide in your office ? or monkey bars, either one. more small businesses choose verizon wireless than any other wireless carrier. where's susie ? is she expecting you ? because they know the small business with the best technology rules. i have a great relationship with the blacks. i've always had a great relationship with the blacks. >> he must. how else could he get away with called them "the blacks," and trump's special relationship with them goes back decades. we all remember his historic visit to the traditionally black community of bel air. jim? >> it is my esteemed pleasure to introduce mr.and mrs. donald trump. >> it's the donald. oh, my god. >> interesting fact. carlton went on to become chairman of the rnc. >> that's just wrong on so many levels. big ben. welcome back to "morning joe" live from london. tyke to take a look at the morning papers. we'll start with the morning times. it shows a tunnel dug into afghanistan. >> this is a problem. no one make any jokes because it's almost painful. >> let me break this down. so these are the people who next year or the next couple of years, we're going to turn over their own security. they're watching the taliban. these guys dug a 1,000-foot tunnel. they saw-shanked their way with. complete with lighting and air conditioning in the tunnel and the guards didn't know it. >> and they used jacks to break open cars to make the hole. >> way to go. washington times, two years after running for governor of varks terrance mcauliffe. chris-crossing virginia, promising to create thousands of jobs for green energy pictures, his itinerary includes jurisdictions in which he lost heavily in the preliminary pry mafrmt terry mcauliffe back again. david beckham says he will attend the ceremony despite having a match with the los angeles galaxy the same weekend. beckett plans to travel some 10,000 miles over the weekend in order to return and meet the team for their match in dallas. and the mississippi "sun herald" haley barbour will play his match and go to the royal wedding. in the latest news he's not going to run for president this year saying he lacks the, quote, fire in the belly. he slipped into the second tier of candidates, romney and huckabee. which brings us to our top story in politico's playbook. >> for that we turn to patrick gavin. good morning dwrouchlt it sounds like haley just said i don't want this ten-year investment. as joe said, i don't have fire in the belly. >> he has those reasons. hee looked at the process as a ten-year investment. a couple of the members of his family, including his wife, expressing reservation, that they weren't totally excited about if he won, moving to the white house and having to go through all that. he said he could be most powerful by being a power broker. he's obviously well connected in washington. there are people who have said if they can get him to be their campaign chairman years. what's really going on? >> he didn't jump into the polls the way he wanted and he was afraid of the optics. the optics are not good. >> elderly white guy, young black african-american president. i think -- from the south. >> it looks tricky. i think, you know, some of the things he said in the past, he was always going to have a writ f little bit of tricky issue with race. i think age is something. >> whether it's fair or not. >> whether it's fair or not, he was always going to look like a different generation. >> as i explained to some people close to haley, they had to be extraordinarily careful with the optics because the obama campaign and the media whole wereling turned bill clinton into a racist. here's the man who was called, willie, the first black president by people close to bill clinton. >> and by himself. >> and by himself. and yet even bill clinton was called a racist in the middle of that campaign against barack obama. >> yeah. and haley barbour, again, if you want to take the context or not had some things in his past that they could use. bill clinton they sort of had to manufacture a little bit. >> that's the point. haley bar dour did some things that were tone deaf even over the past several months that would have caused grave concerns for candidates. you take a guy like bill clinton who was focused race his entire life, the and yet he was turned immediately into a racist when the media and the obama campaign thought it suited their promises in south carolina. it got very ugly. >> they pulled that card out of the deck when they that needed to use it. patrick, who do you think helps the most when they get haley barbour out of the way? >> i think are a couple of potentials. one, mitt romney. with haley out of the way, there's nobody who can match him, his prowesprowess. it could gravitate toward mitch daniel's run. what this means is there'sing are not a prominent southern candidate in the gop race making some gop folks wondering if the south has got a big question mark on it. >> by the way, great news, great news, willie. they got another cat. isn't that exciting? this is their 12th cat. so excited. >> patrick, we buried the lead. congratulations to the new baby, a human baby, we should point out. >> that's good. i'm very shocked i'm in charge of another human life. so far, two weeks in, we're surviving. >> what does that mean for your cat population? some babies are allergic. >> scout, our daughter, has been sneezing a lot, the second we brought her home, good news for joe, the kitties might have to go. aisle keep you posted. >> there's a way to get writ of the cat. i'll tell you later. cat heaven. coming up -- >> seriously -- >> i'll take cats. i love cats. >> coming up, why napping on the job might turn out to be a good thing for air traffic controllers. actually i knew this. also do, you recognize this man? he's a former u.s. diplomat. his brother host as sunday morning political show, and now he's running the shop over at the los angeles dodgers. sports is next. we'll be right back. who shows up with a brake looking like this? have you ever been next to that car that pulls up to a stop light and it sounds like it's metal to metal? so these are your pads... and this pad... that is definitely destroyed, beyond worn out. right. it's a sad face pad. well, it could also be a happy face pad. it could be. but it's not. because it wasn't changed. get a free brake inspection and a $40 rebate on motorcraft complete brake service. any questions? change your brakes. that's why northern trust offers a full team of experts who work to understand your goals and help you achieve them. as one of the nation's largest wealth managers, northern trust's goals-based investment strategies are tailored to your needs. ♪ and overseen by experts who seek to maximize opportunities while minimizing risk. ♪ expertise matters. find it at northern trust. welcome back to london. >> i love cats. >> can i give the news now because we're in london and we're now on the air. >> oh, are we really? all right. >> is that all right? >> all right. >> don't make fun of me. i'll speak in a british accent for the whole show if you're not cared. the faa reports that the controller assigned to boeing field in seattle fell asleep on two occasions in january and april. the latest announcement comes amid alarming numbers of similar incidents that led to firings in tennessee and miami. a safety board member said on the job maps should be considered part of a plan to address fatigue to address air traffic controllers, airline pilots and others who work overnight shifts. i couldn't agree with this more. >> the real danger is not just him falling asleep. there's so much stuff going at new york airports or london airports, wherever, that you want them to be alert at all times. obviously you're making them work too long consecutively and you want them to have a clear mind. >> no matter what the shift is, you're driving the truck or working at an airport, the overnight shift is not natural for the human body. you never get used to it. you can't make fun of these people. you can't do it. >> i will say, making fun -- >> i actually work and overnight shift for three years and ended up having a very bad accident from exhaustion and my job wasn't half as difficult or important. an overnight shift shouldn't be allowed more than three days a week in my opinion. somebody needs to address it. >> this is exciting. 2. >> her husband, nasa astronaut, mark kelly confirmed that giffords will be able to attend his shuttle launch of friday. that's because the doctor said the bullet that wept through her head went into the left hemisphere of her brain. walking may take some work, but that his wife is acting like she used to. >> her personality is there. it's difficult to walk but her kmun skags skills are still there. >> but she is still gabby. >> yes, absolutely 100%. >> did i urchs the president is going to be there at the launch as well? >> yes. >> as well as the family. >> time for sports. >> stateside, the top seeded team in the west, the san antonio spurs now on the brink of elimination at the hands of the memphis grizzlies. >> are you kidding me? >> watch this. second quarter. spurs doing okay in the first han. mani ginobili in the back. they're up two at the half. but second havgs blowout times. tony allen, a 14-0 run by memphis nchl the fourth quarter, darrell arthur stretches it. the grizzlies dominate the spurs in the second half. 104-86. tim duncan, not getting any younger. spurs, six away. >> wa's going on? >> they're young guys. you'll know them eventually. tim duncan is a little old, manu ginobili is a little hurt. also last night dallas beat portland. they're up 3-2. derrick rose sprained his ankle. >> how's dallas? >> they're up, 3-2. i think it's going go seven. >> why does the major league baseball let mark cuban buy the mets if the will upons want to get out? >> i heard he's working on it. >> that will be exciting. >> so you think the will upons are looking to get rid of the whole mess? >> that's a shachlt wilpons, great people. you've heard of this guy before. phil humbert. >> he was draft fwid yankees, as a matter of fact, a decade ago out of high school. what does he do against one of the best lineups in baseball? she shuts them down. gets a little help from paul konerko. an rbi sing toll put the icing on the cake. humber gets the win. red sox now three games out. >> willie, i've got four words for you. four words for you. little nej that could. i think i can sfloo it's amazi g amazing. >> i think i can, i think i can. >> spend $340 million in a couple of hours, you're going to get a couple of wins. >> these kids, you know, it's -- i mean rags-to-riches story. >> on the street somewhere. >> seriously, these kids grew up playing stick ball. they're all southies. i think they're all actually from boston. >> and frankly they'd play for free, wouldn't they forecast you just let them. >> compared to the yankees, they practically do. we have a great story out of l.a. and i'm so happy for dodger fans. they'll got a really good guy. >> bud selig took over the team last week now naming tom schieffer, a former dip employee market past owner of a team, fwroer bob schieffer. he'll be responsible for its finances and operations. sheafer seen spraying a little champagne. also served three terms in the texas ledge lay tore and was ambassador to australia and japan under george bush. we've got a sheafer in charge of the dodgers. >> we do. it's good for that fran schies. they've just been knocked around. >> the fans deserve better. they love their team. attendance is down. >> of course, there are a lot of people in the red state america, we talk about the yankees and red sox. a lot of people want to know about man city. they want to no what happens. >> they, like the red sox, are so impoverished and down on their luck financially. they kept taking the glad from manchester united. they play tonight against shell ka of germany in the championship league semifinal. it's a kryptonite for that man. he gets sent off but the team goats blown out. >> all right. >> there won't be an orgie. >> it won't be tomorrow night. you'll be the first tomorrow morning. >> i don't know what that meant. still ahead, barney frank will join the conversation and up next i'll give you a hint. a relative of someone on this set. mark brzezinski. you're watching "morning joe" live from london. ♪ sun in the sky ♪ you know how i feel i'm loving weight watchers new pointsplus program and the edge it's giving me. ♪ freedom is mine ♪ and i know how i feel i never feel deprived. you know how freeing that is? 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>> i do think it is and i don't thinking we're going to be able to shake the foundation of the regime. they certainly took lessons of what happened in tunisia and elsewhere and said he does flat want that for him. you see tremendous outrage on the part of the people to the crackdown on human rights, the poverty, the corruption in syria, but i don't think they'll be able to shake this regime from its foundation at this point. >> so you think that serious will end up like the iranian protests in 2009 instead of egypt in 2011? >> highly likely because i think assad does gnat want to engage in the kind of dialogue and concessions with reformers that you've seen elsewhere because he doesn't want to leave power because it's not in his self-interest to do so. >> talk about corruption not only in syria but across the middle east and how this is a thread that runs through all of these protests. >> well, outrage and corruption is a common denominator of the upheavals throughout the middle east. it was outrage and corruption that sparked the revolution there. the protesters in tahrir square were university students, sick of having to pay bribes to their professors to grauchlt throughout the middle easting you see outrage at unemployment, poverty, and also corruption. this is actually an opportunity for the obama administration because it's a place where the obama administration even before the upheavals in the middle east began an unprecedented crackdown against international bribery. it's something that is not lost on the business community in the u stagts. it's a place that's oh then tick to what the obama administration has been pursuing around the world and it can connect particularly with the young people in the middle east as we seek to connect with that. >> we're live, of course, from london, and obviously with all the commotion behind us, the police helicopters and everything else, kattie kay, maybe beckham and posh are getting ready for the wedding. let's talk about corruption in the middle east. again, the threat runs from libya over to egypt, through iran, up to syria. it is a -- it is the way that so many governments function in that region and it seems that the young people especially have just had enough. thing it's one of the untold stories certainly of what was happening in egypt. you have this almost kind of futile societies and nepotism wrrks people are giving jobs to their family members, often in the gulf states as well. and people feel scluted from that. if i can ask mark, when you look at the middle east and you look at other areas of the world that have corruption, russia, you look at china, eastern europe, what is it? other areas seem to manage to be fairly stable and survive with corruption. >> well, katty, you see outrage at corruption elsewhere as well wlrks it's in bolivia or china, in a small way you see particularly young people using the internet to express route rage to what's happening. but in the middle east it was especially so. take egypt, you have a family living a very lavish -- publicly lavish life in a country where two-thirds of the society lives on $2 a day, and the people were just sick of it. that's why it's important for us to think of ways to connect with that vein in egypt, for example. that's a pivotal country, and the young people want reform and want their money back. the transitional government has sent a message to the united states saying work with us to get some of these assets that have been sent abroad back to where it belongs. we need to be responsible. and in this day and age with forensic investigations, we can be. >> all right. mark brzezinski. thank you so much. >> everyone should check out his piece in politico, which is really good. say hi to everyone back at home. i'll see you soon. >> what's next. >> up next willie has the guy's guide to the royal wedding. we'll be right back. 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[music playing] confidence available in color. depend® colors for women. looks and fits like underwear. protects like nothing else. depend®. good morning. great day. communities are built by everyone doing their part. this year jpmorgan chase increased its lending commitment to small businesses to twelve billion dollars. and we're raising billions more for local services to help hospitals expand and schools grow. investing in the places we all call home. this is the way forward. . after reading to dids, this turned out to be hilarious. >> a told b and b told c i'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree. >> no, you skipped a page. >> chick ka chick kaboom boom will there be enough room. >> and i and jay and tag a long kate all up their way up the coconut tree. >> chick ka, chick kaboom boom. >> i would pick one where the president of the united states doesn't have to say the words chick ka chick kaboom boom over and over but that's just me. >> adorable. welcome back to "morning joe" live from london. roger bennett and katty kay are with us. willie is across the street. >> let ee's hop on and happen u any british i kons. wait, who is this? it's mark brashear. >> we're doing a story later today which is going to look at william's life from where he was born at st. mary's hospital to where he lived. >> come on in. >> by the way, i was going to say -- >> where's the light switch. >> are you leading this tour? what's going on? >> i'm not leading the tour. we have waffle guy named perry who's been telling us various stories about the whole of london and we've gone on a tour of william's life. >> we've seen some polling that shows they're kind of wishy washy on the whole thing. what's the one thing you can tell them to get them pumped for friday. >> americans love celebrity. they love the lives of the rich and famous. and that's where they can become obsessed with this story because nobody lives in a better place than buckingham palace, nobody gets married in a better church than westminster abe by. going to be gilded and on lent and americans love the drench of wealth, the stench. >> it's to tap into the innate shallowness of the americans. >> i didn't say that. you put words in my mouth. that's not fair. i'm not saying that. i'm saying americans are aspirational people and here's a couple who are ace pier ragsal. look at kate middleton. >> i'm taking a ride with martin. >> you have fun. >> martin brashear has an elegant way of laer thissing in it all zmoo he is. i think somehow, mika, in the age of austerity, celebrating -- >> excess. >> wretched excess and wealth. >> and celebrity for a reason. >> i don't know if now is the time for that. >> i'm not feeling that. >> i don't know that i'm either. >> do i have to pretend i'm into it? >> no. >> good. >> to come back as a royal, you don't that, can you? >> come back as a royal? >> martin said we could watch as americans, this is aexpirational. no, we can't. no. we are blocked out of this. >> i can't think of anything worse, to be honest, to be. it's like a deal with the devil. you can't use it for pleasure or the internet will bring you down? even then you have no real role in life. prince charles' brother, prynne andrew, what do you do? >> 26, never had a career. never did a day's work in life. >> i have to say listening to martin brashear, it was kind entrenching. it might be his voice it. >> was kind of like robin leech, the lifestyles of the rich and famous. >> in america we have our own royalty. >> yes, go. like charlie sheen, right? >> no. the robinsons. >> eugene, yes. >> pulitzer prize winner eugene robinson, he is american royalty. >> look at him. >> and gene, we have so much to talk about. >> yeah, we do. >> of course, i want to talk to -- there is a connection between obviously -- we've been talking about austerity here in brittain. we're also -- we're coming up only the united states where the republicans run the country, the democrats run the country over the next four or five years and tough choices are going to have to be made and we're really coming up to a big showdown over raising the debt limit. how is that breaking down. and as a former london bureau chief over here, how does it compare with what's going on here with cameron as to what's going on in the united states? >> it's very fascinating. first of all, i'm feeling really aspirational. after hearing martin, i'm aspiring left and right. it's just amazing. you know, yes, we're going to have this fight over the debt ceiling here, and i -- i have always resisted when i was bureau chief over there trying to, you know, drawing parallels between or trying to make a direct relationship between politics in britain and politics here simply because, you know, they're different. i mean you zbries a royal family over there and a conservative party that's actually to the left of our democratic party in some was. so it's a somewhat different context, what they call astairty over there ininvolves for example strengthening the national health service. over here it involves the republican party repealing health care. so slightly different. but it sure looks like you guys are having fun over there. >> yes, exactly. >> we are. beautiful city. >> dramatic cuts, katty. david cameron has had to make dramatic cuts because the situation over here is a little worse than it is in the united states rargd the gdp. >> it's not that dissimilar, but you are going to have hundreds of thousands of public sector workers losing their jobs and everyone is talking about it. another big difference, you know, eugene was saying there are differences in the wait's being handled by the conservative government. we have a top tax rate 15d% that's not being touched by david cameron. interesting if you look at the polls of the states. one of the misnomers the allergy to raising taxes, right? actually two-thirds of americans say tackling the deficits should include cuts and revenue, something to do with taxes. less than a third of americans say you should never raise taxes. thing that's really interesting and sometimes a misconception about the states. >> you can see the grand compromise coming on tack. you see paul ryan talking about reducing the rates but shutting down the loop can -- the tax loopholes. it seems to me that the president, the conservatives are going to come together and they're going to start shutting down a lot of these tax loopholes even if they don't raise the top rates. wealthier americans and corporations, they're going to be paying more taxes in the coming years, aren't they? >> yeah, i think they are. as you know, there's some very popular loop holes in the individual income tax, corporate tax scheme that are going be shut down. and so, yes, people are going to pay more taxes. that seems a given. you know what i thought fascinating though, there were a couple of polls last week, one thing they both show very clearly is that people want to protect medicare, people want to protect medicaid, people don't even want to talk about social security. and what people want to hear are politicians talking about is jobs. they want to talk about -- they think the economy is getting worse and they want to talk about jobs and i'm wondering when washington is going to get that message and which politicians are going to get the message that if you could come up with something aspirational to say about jobs, you are -- you're going do very well. >> well, we have the perfect person to ask that question to, eugene. joining us now, democratic representative from south carolina and assistant democratic leader congressman jim clyburn. is it going to be a battle to come to some sort of compromise about debt spending and get the focus back on jobs. >> well, mika, joe, thank you so much for having me this morning. first of all i do believe this debate, both the debt vealing, it frames a question for us. we know that in order for us to maintain the full faith and credit of the united states, we need to increase the debt limit so that we can maintain our standard around the world. but within that frame, we have also got to come to grips with both spending as well as revenue and cuts. and i believe that the president has done well in laying down the notion to everybody that he's not going to allow these internets to be shredded, and i'm very pleased to see speaker boehner now saying that all subsidies ought to be on the table. you may recall the last time i was on your show, i talked about us and getting $40 billion to $50 billion into our coffers to get rid of this. i think we can do that to get wrus we need to be. >> let me ask -- and i'd like to throw this to gene. if we don't go after middle kla middle-class entitlements, if we don't slow down that growth, that's what the polls are all showing, you know what that means. that means medicaid tr the poor take a hit. that means subsidies for the poor take a hit. that means both sides go after parts of the budget that impact the truly disadvantaged. jim, what do we do if we're not going to slow down the rate? this is going to be balanced on the backs of the poor begin, isn't it? >> yes, if that's what we're going do. i do believe there's a lot of compassion to be brought to this discussi discussion. i talked to a zints group yesterday and we had a couple of hundred people there. these people know that they are expected to make it. they want to see us to get another $200 million per year tax cut, continuing all of this. asking them on their medicare, medicate and health care and so i don't think that they are upset about us doing what needs to be done. they want us to shred our safety nets while they give the well to do another tax break or given all these substances to -- subsidies to oil companies. >> that's a fair argument. in terms of the folks that jim clyburn is talking about who expect elderly folks and nursing homes, expect to give a little. expect to feel the pain. why shouldn't and are the republicans ready to give a little on taxes. >> they are. here's the bottom line though, okay? the oil companies are going back. we'll have to shut down those lup holes. >> they don't want to touch social security and medicare, of course. middle class and upper middle class are members of aarp. that mean politicians like barack obama, baracking about cutting home oil heating. that mean -- so if politicians don't show nerve and go after middle-class entitlements, then the poor get hammers, don't they? >> yowl're absolutely right. polling has shown what to me was a kind of surprising and heartening support for medicaid, for example. but that's a theoretical support. and when the rubber actually hits the road, you know, will we throw the cover under the bus again? i think's a real danger over that. here's what i think is important. i think it's very important what order you do things in and how you get to sharing some of the middle class which they really do have to do. i think you have to start, for example, with raising -- putting the tax rating where they have to be for those making over $250,000 a year or for the wealthy and for millionaires, however you want to slice it. i think you have to start there. three quarters of the americans say do that now. i think you don't have credibility unless you look carefully at the defense budget and our defense posture and see what you can cut out of that. and then, yes, you do have to tiptoe up to the reperformance in these entitlements that are ultimately going to have to be made. >> yeah. spending needs to be cut. these tax loop hopes have to be tightened up. you know, before we leave, america wants to know and even got say people we meade on the street and people of great britain want know where jim clyburn is going to be a watching the royal wedding on friday. is he going to be at lizard's thicket in columbia, south carolina. jim? >> i'm going to be -- >> let's prognosticate. where are you going to be, jim? >> i'm going to be up in ju jean's home town of south carolina. i don't know. they do have satellite there now but i'm not going to spend any time looking at that. i'm going to be trying to figure out how we can get oush tax rates back to 2008 levels, get ready to cut these deficits and get rid of this debt. and i'll go look at the story books later on. >> always working. always working. >> i guess william and kate don't make jim clyburn aspirational. >> i don't think they make many americans feel aspirational. our next guest was a former senior official in the british government, economist michael green. >> oh, my gosh, the billy bush, "access hollywood." >> you're watching "morning joe." we're live from london. ♪ it's a new day i'm loving weight watchers new pointsplus program and the edge it's giving me. ♪ and i'm feeling good go on, join for free. weight watchers new pointsplus. because it works. [ male announcer ] life happens pretty fast, and the best way to keep up is to be just as fast. and now you can get the speed you need with the cut you want. the all-new john deere eztrak z600 series -- nine miles per hour, a four-year limited warranty and an expert cut in expert time. what will you create? learn more about getting an expert cut in expert time at john deere.com/eztrak. looking for a simple way tog an expert cut in expert time help lower your cholesterol? try benecol spread - a heart healthy alternative to butter. benecol contains an ingredient that helps block cholesterol absorption and has a delicious, buttery taste. make benecol part of your healthy lifestyle. are you or are you not ready to declare you're dropping out of the 2000 presidential race. e-mail on my way. >> is that an official declaration. >> i'm on my way to make an important decision within a year or two. >> great. lock the door. we're not letting him out for a year or two. >> your son may have another chance. >> he will. >> i love it. looking up live in london. is that the bus martin brashear was on? >> i don't know. they look very depressed. >> they don't look very happy. joining us, former senior official and former british government and co-author "how to revive capitalism and put america back on top," michael green joins us once again. good to have you back. >> welcome to london. >> thank you. katty kay is saying she's happy to not be outnumbered. >> when mika does her fake british accent, i feel like it's only joe. >> like nail on a chalkboard, i'm sure. >> so how tough -- we're talking about cameron's cuts. somebody said earlier the conservative party in england, in great britain, is more liberal than some americans in america. but how tough are the cuts that cameron's party has been making over the past year? >> these are incredibly serious cuts. they're the biggest cuts in 70, 80 years. we've seen some departments do 30% cuts in budgets. it's quite extraordinary. this is tough, tough. >> let's underline this. cameron's cuts are more extreme than thatchers in the early '80s. >> absolutely. >> despite the fact that you get the sense that cameron is not an ideologue, why is he doing it? >> if the debt kept on growing, then we'd have a real economic crisis on our hands. what's interesting about what he's doing, i would say as an economist he's cut a bit too deeply, it's the politics that are driving him. he says, i've got to go early now or i'll never do it. it's a political moment of opportunity that has made him go so quickly. >> the other big difference between cameron and thatcher, of course, is greece. you've got a lot of brits says, look, we've seen what has happened on the island. we don't want to be greece or portugal -- >> just across the channel, really not very far. my question to you, mike, you suggested the labor slogan here is too far too fast with cameron making these cuts. what's the evidence on whether these cutting are working. when will we know because, you know, there's a story in "the new york times" a while ago that the white house is loving, saying that the austerity measures are producing negative growth, they're not helping with recov recovery. >> you know, if it stays negative or is very low again as he was in the last quarter of 2010, then we've got some real worries. so this is a really difficult blangs act. they've do got to cut the long term effect. >> the former london bureau chief for "the washington post" is with us in washington. gene robinson, do you have a question for michael? >> i do have a question and it's about the public reaction to the cuts. there have been demonstrations, people who are angry about what's going on. and i'm wondering about that. how cameron is weathering that storm and weather indeed he'll be able to tough it out. >> yeah, i mean we've had enormous anger, particularly around increases of fees for students and think we're going to see more and more demonstrations next year as public expenditure is cut and public servants lose their jobs. he's got to see he is committed to justice. and he's got this idea he calls the big society. which is that we're all in together and have to work together. this is his big political idea. it's not really working as a political message. he's got to get that working next year to deal with that idea that he's thatcher. >> let me put it in perspective. things aren't that much worse. draw a comparison for us. how much are things worse here than in the united states? >> i think things are petr. the big uk problem was we had a very big deficit in 2009, 2010, but our debt level is a little lower than the u.s. is and also our debt was alonger. so britain wasn't having to go back and borrow more money. so i think some of the comparison to the u k to greece is misplaced. it was the case that something had to be done, and thing the danger is the u.s. drifts for another 18 months. 100% of national income. how long will the markets really stand that? >> we don't have 18 months to drift, katty, do we? >> if you were crazy enough to get involved in the political debate over whether to adopt something like the republicans' debt-cutting plan, where would you fall? >> i think you've got to put taxes up. the i think if we sacrifice the poor for the failing as of wall street and the city of london, then i think we'll see real public anger. i and i think if this hasn't blown over, if we feel the consequences of this crisis, that anger's going to keep going. >> so you're talking about the impact on society or perhaps the reaction if they don't raise taxes or just cut the taxes. why do you have to feel it thoos go up. >> there's only so much you can do. there are creative things you can do that may not be so popular that are probably worth battling. it's changing that as part of it. >> gene robinson, do you agree with michael that we don't have 18 months to drift into the united states and the markets won't allow us to continue as we are with our spending? >> i think it's pretty clear that the markets are nervous about our -- not only our spending but our lack of focus and a path and agreement on how to move forward. and i also agree with michael that you've got to deal with the tax sight as well as the expenditure side and i thing, you know, maybe they're got to get there. it's still going to be a big fight but people like tom coburn and others, i think, are starting to realize that there has to be a grand bargain of some sort if we we're going to get out of this. >> michael green and jgene robinson. coming up -- >> michael was concerned when we came on set. >> you're not. why prince charles sunday fire for inviting certain foreign leaders. it's actually a very interesting story. also ahead congressman barney frank will be on the show. you're watching "morning joe" live from london. 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[ male announcer ] surprisingly priced at $15,995, the 2011 jetta has arrived. discover german engineering and premium style on the jetta s with best-in-class rear legroom, as well as no-charge scheduled carefree maintenance, all standard. that's great for the price of good. hurry in, and for a limited time while they last get a 2011 jetta for $179 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. we're supposed to be studying. >> i'm studying you. i love you. >> you do. oi love you too. i love the private you. i love the public you. i love the you that nobody gets to see but me. don't want to spend noanother moment without you. when i ficht tried to kiss you, you push med away. >> i l remember. >> then i pushed you bayaway. >> how can i be sure. >> given me some time. i love you kate middleton. >> welcome back to moj live from london. the guest plans for the royal weds is causing a bit of a stair. prince charles and the foreign office are under fire this morning for invitations they extended to foreign figureheads from autocratic regimes from countries including bahrain, saudi arabia. human rights groups are planning protests nearby westminster abe by. last night the crowned prince of bahrain pulled out from attending the wedding due to threats to protest the stay. activists are cracking down because of protests in his country. for more on this, with us across the street from westminster abbey, nbc new's lee. >> give us a sense of how big this wedding is going to be in terms of the guest list and what have you learned about the controversy a because actually it sounds fairly legitimate. >> it does. there's about 1,900 people invited to the wedding, almost 2,000. it's not officially a state occasion. this is considered by the palace as a private occasion, but still there are certain protocols that have to be followed and in some sense tradition. and among the guest list obviously are going to be members of royal families from all around the country from 40 different countries. one of them as you lengs mentioned was the prince i think the crown prince of bahrain. as you said, he's decliepd his invitation, but that alone sparked the kroers because he's seen as the architect of the crackdown and the pro-democracy leaders. he said he didn't think it was appropriate. perhaps behind the scenes there was a little bit of pressure to ask him to quietly decline. but that's not really the end of it. there were some other folks on the list who have human rights groups. zimbab zimbabwes, ambassadors, king of swa city land. not only do you have the foreign dignitaries but there are also the ones that are here in the country that some are wondering why they're on the guest list. take for example, the foreign prime ministers. john mayor and margaret thatcher, they were on the guest lit but tony blair and gordon brown were not. the reason they mere not is they're not members of the knights. since they weren't at this point, that's the reason the palace is saying they weren't invited. you can imagine with 1,900 people, it's like any other. i think of the seating charts. thing of where they're going to sit. >> you're making me tired. lee cowan. thank you is much. we'll talk to you soon. thanks for being on. up next, best selling biographies w biographies w biographies who. you're watching "morning joe" live from london. hi, this other store has these for 20 cents less. what?! -match it! -match it! -match it! match it! -match it! -match it! 20 cents less. what?! just match it... -match it! -match it! -match it! -match it! -match it! -match it! -[ horn honks ] -match it! -match it! -match it! thank you, got it. i'll match that price right here. oh! cool. 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[ laughs ] [ female announcer ] hurry, join for free today. weight watchers online. finally, losing weight clicks. they came for fun in the jersey sun, but they transformed into super stars. >> let's party. >> martin short is -- >> oh, yeah, hair spray. >> holly d. the situation. k-wow. >> [ bleep ]. >> i'm going to need toe to put on a fresh t-shirt. it's me, vj. >> vinny. >> we never totally hugged up, just hand stuff. >> what's going on. >> and snooki. >> jersey short coming soon to theaters everywhere. welcome back to "morning joe" live in london. joining us now here in london, contributing editor sally smith. among her subjects are princess die a narc john and jacqueline kennedy, bill and hillary clinton and the new biography, elizabeth the queen, inside the life of a modern monarch that. will be out this january. thank you for being on the show this morning. >> thank you. it's my pleasure. >> i take it this time around this wedding is being received by london and the country overall a little differently. fair enough to say? >> a little bit. but i think there's enthusiasm for any royal wedding. you go back to the current queen and prince phillip and it was actually a wonderful -- winston churchill said a flash of color across a hard road that we're going to have to follow and a time of austerity. we've just come out of an economic recession. and i think, you know, people are incredibly enthusiastic about this wedding. >> what about the attitudes toward the monarchy. has that evolved or how is it's involving? >> the attitude toward the monarchy in terms of the queen's popularity has been remarkably stable really since the late '60s. it dipped a bit after the death of princess diana when the family was up in val morrow. but some of the recent surveys show the popularity has actually increased. >> let's talk about -- you talk about a modern monarchy. but it is stunning to see the sweep of time that this one woman has been sitting on the throne. stunning. >> it's unbelievable. >> you break through the changes of the '50s, '60s, '70s some of many things have happened. our culture has been turned you up side down time and time again. there have been no constants. i'm not being mel oh dramatics. there have been no constants not only in britain but the western woman except for the one woman. >> she's the most famous person in the world for one thing and she's a rock of stability. she represent tras diggs, she represents continuity. and she has behaved impeccably over the decades. >> she's been queen since she was 25. >> since 25. my book is coming out on the eve of her diamond jubilee, which is february 6th next year, 60 years on the throne. there's been only one other sovereign that has hit that milestone and that was queen victoria. she served as monarch past her 63 years on the throne and the queen seems to be on track, given her hardy constitution to surpass that. >> roger? >> all that time and she's barely changed her hairstyle once. >> that's part of the beauty of it. she's been utterly constant. >> the question i have for you is kate and william, she is from the middle class, entrepreneurial. this family, we've talked about them ending the nation. they have shattered it. this new kind of relationship, the commoner mairing the royal. what do you see where anything is possible in the classes? i think they're absolutely perfect examples because her parents started out in fairly humble jobs. they decide they'd were going to become entrepreneurs. they built a fortune. they put their children in the best schools. they are the very model of nobility and the fact that the royal family is willing to embrace them and bring them into the modern iization. the way they modernize is sometimes not that visible but that's been one of the secrets of this monarchy. they have done it over the centuries. >> i was going to ask. we talked about the way the world changed since queen elizabeth became -- took to the throne when she was 25. how has she changed and is the movie "the queen,". >> now you're encroaching on my book. a code of silence. >> talk about it. >> i was wondering how did the death of diana impact her? did it have a dramatic impact? >> probably not dramatic but it certainly had an impact in terms of lessons learned. all you have to look at is the way the press was managed, before the engagement of william and kate everything they've done since then has been -- you know, they're a sophisticated operation and diana was left to fend for herself. at one point she burst into tears when 34 people have stepped on her door stoep. they've been very careful. they've done lots of things to protect her, and they also -- you noerks they -- obviously the media can be adversarial but at the same time they've worked with them very closely. >> you talk about the enthusiastic levels. actually when i talk to friends here, i sense there's actually lateal less. le they like them and that's helping the enthusiasm levels. there was a poll ott last week that says less than a third of brits are planning to watch the royal wedding. that's pretty astonishing. >> but that has happened. >> they have take an long holiday. they get to take three official days off. a lot of people have left town. there are an awful lot of people. there are even regional divisions. i was down in the south of the country this past weekend. they're having street parties and sandwich. they're all going to be celebrating not so much in the north of england where, you know, there's slightly diminished support for the monarchy. >> you know, liverpool. >> they're projecting 100 million points of beer will be drunk. >> these all that matters. >> by the way, wait till the television ratings come in. they'll be turning on the television. >> thank you very much. >> when is your book on queen elizabeth coming out? >> january. it comes out in the second week of january just a few weeks before the die monday jubilee begins. >> i of silence. >> all right. >> very well. discipline queen elizabeth. >> there you go. i've learned a lesson. >> willie, what's coming up next? >> mika, they've got hawks out here in trafalgar square to check out some of the more obnoxious tourists for the wedding. we'll tell you what they're doing when we come back. ♪ too much on your plate? no matter when you get around to booking, hotels.com will have a great last minute deal waiting for you. like at the hotels.com 48 hour sale. this tuesday and wednesday only. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. and here's what we did today in homes all across america: we created the electricity that powered the alarm clocks and brewed the coffee. we heated the bathwater and gave kelly a cleaner ride to school. cooked the cube steaks and steamed the veggies. entertained dad, and mom, and a neighbor or two. kept watch on the house when they slept. and tomorrow we could do even more. we're cleaner, domestic, abundant and ready now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power today. learn more at anga.us. not all calcium soft chews are the same. try viactiv soft chews. viactiv has more bone building nutrients than any other branded soft chew. and two great tasting chews give you 100% of your daily value of calcium. choose viactiv today. ♪ all right. welcome back to "morning joe." we're down here in trafalgar square. they've had a long history of problems with pigeons. this square was so overrun by pigeons over the years, it was scaring off tourists, they were losing business, it was a terrible thing. so what did they do, they brought in lizzie the hawk or falcon. how bad was the pigeon problem? >> it was quite bad at one stage. the pigeons have been here for over 100 years, and it was just making a complete mess of the place, and the pigeons were nesting on the buildings, and just making a total mess. so the mayor at the time, he decided to bring hawks in to disperse the pigeons to keep it nice and clean. that's what happens on the square. >> what does the hawk do exactly? sits and threatens the pigeons, or what's the deal? >> well, yeah, they don't actually kill the pigeons. there's a balance. they return to me rather than chase after the pigeons. a little chase now and then, to move them on their way, but it's not very nice if they do decide to kill the pigeons. >> that's not very nice at all. i haven't seen a pigeon in the square since i got here. tell me what you're feeding lizzie. >> we normally feed her day-old chicks or a rat. we give her a little tidbit. >> can you show us what's in there or is it unsightly? actually -- i just caught a glimpse. on second thought. >> if the pigeons come into the middle of the square, i walk so the pigeons are in the middle and i call the hawks across and then the pigeons disperse. >> okay. we're going to watch you at work here, wayne. we've got joe, mika, caddy kay and others sitting up on the set there. we'll see if old lizzie will take a run at them. go ahead. [ bells jingling ] >> lizzie had other plans apparently. is there a way to direct her over the stage? how does she decide where to go? do you direct her? >> no, not really. she just finds a comfortable place. we'll have to toss her back with the food in the bag. so as soon as the hand goes in the bag, she's coming back like she is now. >> let's try this one more time, wayne. okay, there comes lizzie. little rat piece. go get 'em. >> i'll direct her. >> oh. there she is! there she is. lizzie, up on top of our set. wayne parsons, thank you so much, sir. >> thank you very much. >> all right. we'll be right back on "morning joe." ♪ ♪ because people there will hurt you ♪ jennifer shined a new light on everything. she really inspired me. i said to myself, "if she can do it, i can do it." weight watchers pointsplus makes you slow down and think about the things that you put in your body. on weight watchers, our family and friends have lost over a thousand pounds. i still can't believe it. ♪ and i'm feeling good ♪ and i'm feeling good go on, join for free. weight watchers new pointsplus. because it works. pnc virtual wallet gathers your spending and saving in one place. credit and debit purchases, checks, bills, and other financial information. it lets you see the details as well as the big financial picture. so you can do more with your money. see what a complete view of your money can do for you at pncvirtualwallet.com. ♪ pnc bank. for the achiever in you. 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he took exactly none of his own deficit reduction commission's ideas. not one. come on! it's time to grow up and get serious about the problems that face our country. i can't tell you how disappointed i was in the president in not being honest with the american people about the big problems that we face. and the fact that it's time to own up, fess up, and quit whistling past the graveyard. >> his newest republican talking point. come on, man! come on! >> i don't think that's a talking point. >> welcome back to "morning joe" live from trafalgar square in london. roger bennett and patty kay still with us. joe and willie, you thought i would be afraid of the falcon. i was ready for it. it was lizzie who was afraid of me. >> lizzie was scared of you. she saw you -- >> yeah. anyhow. a lot going on. let's dive into news. republican leaders using strong new rhetoric in the battle over the country's growing deficit problem. as you just heard, john boehner is attacking the president for not embracing the ideas from his bipartisan debt panel. boehner also says he and mitch mcconnell will not back plans that raise taxes. he also warned that the gop may not vote to raise the debt ceiling. in an interview with politico, boehner said in part, quote, if the president doesn't get serious about the need to address our fiscal nightmare, yeah, there's a chance that the debt limit vote could not happen, but that's not my goal. however, the white house continues to stress the dangers of not raising the limit. >> i would just say simply that those members of congress who have suggested that are dead wrong. there are severe potential consequences to not raising the debt ceiling. it's an assessment shared by economists, independent economists across the board, both here in america and around the world. it would be terrible folly to play games with this. >> you know, you still haven't convinced me that there is game for the republicans to actually stand firm on this. while paul ryan, i think has started a conversation that this country needs, there is no way that this is going to be held hostage as the democrats put it, is there? and is there a way that the republicans win doing that? >> i think there is. we disagree, obviously, on this. a good bit. but washington just keeps spending money. you have a republican president and a republican congress and the national debt goes from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. you have a democratic president and a democratic congress, and the debt goes from 5 -- from $10 trillion to $14 trillion, and the president's first budget, there were projections by the end of the second term, he would double the national debt from 10 to $20 trillion. and we hear that paul ryan's budget plan, catty kay, slashes spending so much. and yet even under paul ryan's plan $5 trillion is added into the national debt. those numbers don't add up, and it's stunning to me that europe has gotten the message before america. supposedly those rugged individualists in america that believe in jeffersonian democracy, but it's the europea europeans actually taking the debt crisis more seriously than the americans. >> the europeans have a real crisis on their doorstep. part of the reason that david cameron has been able to enact the kind of spending cuts he has done, where hundreds of thousands of public sector workers will lose their job in this year in great britain, that's huge, a real blow to families across the country. the reason he has been able to do that, we are just a few miles away from greece, ireland and portugal, and we have those models right on our doorstep. you know, i do kind of agree with mika. we had eugene roberts on earlier saying our americans around their kitchen tables really talking about debts and deficit, or are they talking about jobs and their own economic concerns? because i think, you know -- the jury is still out, joe, on how the deficit spending measures that cameron has enacted are going to play out in the british economy. we are about to get growth figures out, we had negative growth here in the u.k., and we had michael green on earlier saying, yeah, you do have to cut deficits. but you have to be careful about the way do you it. because you don't want to hamper economic growth, because that's where the jobs come from. >> it's such an unclear -- we will find out tomorrow, they're going to announce the gdp figures. they blamed the last ones on the snow, god knows what they're going to blame tomorrow's on. but the people are starting to -- the issue of stagflation, and not just the austerity, but unemployment coming back also, which is going to be an absolute killer. >> i have a question for you. i'll first ask to our next guest. joining from us boston, democratic congressman from massachusetts and ranking member of the house financial services committee, representative barney frank. congressman frank, thanks for being on the show. >> glad to. >> do we need a battle and a countdown to the debt ceiling, whether it will be raised or not, to deal with debts and spending, and come to a fair compromise on this between democrats and republicans? >> no, we do not. in fact, it would be counterproductive. the debt ceiling is not a decision about the future. it's an acceptance of past responsibilities. and i think this debate has gotten framed oddly. as if i'm asking people to do me a favor by raising the debt limit. any vote for the iraq war. i didn't vote for the bush tax cuts for the upper income people. i didn't vote for the prescription drug bill. both parties are responsible for much of that debt. the debt is a payment for things we've already done. not paying the debt, even temporarily having a default for a few days, will add to our interest rates. it will destabilize us. yes, we need to come together on reducing the deficit. and that means constraints on spending across the board. it means substantial reductions, in my judgment, in military spending. i have to say, i heard earlier as i was listening, getting ready for the show, someone say, look at how europe has done so much better in cutting america. yeah, that's partly because they've outsourced to us their military budgets. i was watching your show yesterday, and there was a guy -- >> that helps. >> -- there was a guy talking, the wihite-haired guy, i forget his name, saying nato wants america to do more. in other words, they tried to do libya without us, and they can't do it, so it's our responsibility. so, in fact, in the domestic spending areas, almost all of the european nations are much more lavish than we are. we have triple a percentage of gdp as the military budget. so, yeah, we need a long-term compromise. i'm ready to see restrictions on spending. i would like in the domestic area. but there are two major things i think we have to do. we have to come up with a new model of medical care delivery. not just for medicare, because if you only do medicare and not the rest of medical care, then you've got disparities there that will hurt all of the people. we need to have a new system of delivering medical care, which is going to be very hard, and substantially reduce the subsidy we're paying the europeans, so they can look good while we're defending them. >> yeah, barney, you've actually been talking about that for some time. i remember when i was in congress you going to the house floor and talking about how the united states' military budget is not just protecting america, it's protecting our allies. and the question is, when will we have members in washington, d.c. of congress, the senate, presidents, that don't feel the natural default is to go to libya, to run the operations there. afghanistan, over $2 billion a week. we talk about it all of the time here. we can't afford the type of military spending that we -- that we've had for the past 50, 60 years. when is washington going to get that message? >> well, that i think is finally coming across. if it's a question of military spending or not, and there don't seem to be a lot of hard choices, people say, well, let's beering on the safe side. we're in a tough situation. i spoke to the bristol county massachusetts medical society yesterday, doctors, et cetera. and said, look, if we do not substantially cut back on the milita military subsidy we give the rest of the world, then your ability to practice medicine is going to be strained. something has got to give. i do think, though, joe -- and you're right, as you remember, we were kind of not getting a lot of traction. we are now. people understand this. and they understand the disparity. and libya helps. in this sense. i'm glad that people are going after that thug. but the united states is, what, 3500 -- 3800 miles away from libya? there were countries across the mediterranean that can spit and hit libya if the wind was with them, and they're telling us that we have to do it, because they can't do it. we have -- and it's -- you know, let me say something fairly radical here. i think the time has come to reexamine nato. nato is a brilliant move by harry truman in $1949, because you had devastated nations in western and central europe and a brutal, aggressive dictate orship under stalin and only american military force could stop him. two of those things are no longer the case. we have no longer have poor central european nations, we no longer have an aggressive dictatorship in the soviet union. the only thing that hasn't changed is america is still there defending them, except there is no reason for it. as your show yesterday, frankly, mika and joe, helped clarify for me, nato has become an excuse for other people to get america to do things. i was very interested to hear these guys saying, well, nato really needs america to do more. in their own backyard? >> well, and, you know, that happened, willie, back in the 1990s with bosnia and kosovo. >> yes. >> we would have people come to the armed services committee, and we kept asking, what is the pressing u.s. interest in kosovo, after we had already been to bosnia, and barney will remember this. they said the reputation of nato is at stake. i said, really? you are going to call in the middle of the night and say so sorry your son or daughter is dead, but rest assured, the reputation of nato has been upheld. as barney said, this is not 1948, we don't need nato. and i think, willie, americans are starting to get this. barney has been talking about this for 20 years now. >> congressman, i want to ask you to follow up on that point you made. you're suggesting that not only nato has become obsolete, but that the united states perhaps should not participate in nato operations anymore? >> i think we should make it clear that nato is a -- a shell of what it used to be, and we shouldn't pretend that nato is this entity that is going to help us. so, yes, i think we ought to be very clear -- look, and i heard people saying again yesterday, i give mika and joe credit. you guys had a good discussion about this yesterday. they said, well, nato works inside europe, but it doesn't work outside europe. well, we don't need a nato inside europe. we're spending money to build missile defense systems in poland to protect them against iran. it's like finding an excuse to spend money. i don't -- look, i'm glad my parents -- my grandparents left russia, notify desire to move back, but they're not like stalin was. we don't need to protect france from belarus. and i think we should say that nato's original function is gone, and that we expect our allies to be genuine allies, and participate where they have an intere interest, not just us. the other thing is, you say what was our interest in kosovo? i've studied go strategy in self defense, and what often happens, they say country x is not necessarily important itself, but it's got a strategic location, i.e., next to other countries, so the world appears to some extent to be composed of countries to be not important in and of themselves but they are next to other countries that are not important in and of themselves? >> and, of course, caddy kay, that is exactly what we have been hearing about afghanistan. we have been hammering people the last two years. why are we in afghanistan in i have yet to have a foreign policy expert or a foreign policy leader saying because of afghanistan. they say because it's -- >> pakistan. >> pakistan. which is what we heard about kosovo. >> which is where the al qaeda threat has drifted to. >> exactly. >> congressman, i agree. europe has to stop calling 911 america whenever it has a problem, particularly when it then spends the rest of the year putting american foreign policy down. but to get back to the debt, because pentagon spending is only going to be part of that, you talked about the need to rationalize, i think you said, access to medical services. of i mean, that -- that's the big problem, and how are you proposing doing that? >> all right. let me say first of all, i would differ with you if you are suggesting that's a bigger problem than the military. i think you could save well over $150 billion -- look, afghanistan and iraq alone, of course, has $150 billion, as we just said, several billion a week just for afghanistan. the president, astonishly to me, is pressuring the iraqis to ask us to stay in iraq when george bush wanted us to get out. that's my single biggest problem. so i think you can get a big chunk out of that. as to the medical care, the first thing i want to say is, i do not want there to be a medicare-only solution. because i think you then have access problems for people as to whether they can get medicare or not. then we look at the whole service delivery issue. i am prepared in the health insurance area to say that we should increase co-pays along with income. i do think some kind of deterrent excessive use is there. now, there are experiments going on, it's not an area of my expertise, of changing the delivery model so it's no longer a fee for each service, but an amount that's given to take care of people. i think that's something that needs to be experimented with. also, one other one. i think it's time for us to say that if people at the end of their lives want to simply say, okay, this is it, this is not a meaningful existence, i'm not talking about assisted suicide, i'm talking about the shif owe case sort of situation where you don't force care on people who don't want it, and guardians don't want them to have it. we spend an awful lot of medicaid on the end of life. and this is not death panels, this is not the government telling you don't get anymore. this is the government not telling you, you have to get this medical care whether you want it or not. i also am ready, as a liberal, the whole question of malpractice and liability reform. people who are injured ought to be compensated. but i do think that that is something i would throw in if we had an otherwise overall compromise. because i recognize, everybody has got to give something to get this. >> you know, barney, it looks like the republicans and the democrats and -- you've been there long enough to sense it. i'm curious if your read is my read. it seems like everybody is positioning themselves, the president is pointing fingers at republicans who are pointing fingers back. and that's -- that's how they have to start. but if you hear somebody like tom coburn talking about tax reform, taking on grover nor quist, you hear about even paul ryan talking about closing down tax loopholes, it's not hard to see, there's even a compromise in the future, possibly, on taxes. john boehner talking about closing tax loopholes for oil companies. doesn't it look, barney, like perhaps -- perhaps we could have a grand bargain that even includes bringing in more tax revenue to the government? >> yes, it does. it would mean more tax revenue, it would mean restrictions in spending in other areas. i talked about changes in medical care. the key question here, joe, you have written about it, very persuasively, frankly, if this was ten years ago, i would have been more confident. i do question whether or not the influence of the tea party types is too strong for that to happen. because i will tell you, i know, look, you have a lot of former colleagues, you talk to them. the fear of losing to a michele bachmann follower in a primary has unfortunately become a major determinant of congressional action. we have republicans who i've talked to who say, yeah, but i'm worried about my primary. i think one of the most significant things that we're dealing with right now is the defeat of robert bennett, a very responsible, mainstream, pretty conservative guy. the defeat mike cassel, admittedly a liberal, but lease losing to a very implausible candidate. in general, i hope you're right. i worry about that tea party influence on the republicans, restraining them from joining in. >> well, all right, congressman, barney frank. >> yeah, barney, thank you so much. >> fascinating. >> we appreciate it. and we hope the debate that you again started 20, 25 years ago on the united states being the world's 9/11 will continue to be taken up in washington. >> keep me playing that segment from -- keep replaying that segment from yesterday morning, because it was very important. >> all right. thank you very much, congressman frank. >> you know, talking about the tea party, though, one of the things that concerns me about the tea party -- and i'm a small government guy. like a lot of the tea party activists right now. but one of the things that kind of concerns me is that polls that show that 70% of tea partiers say don't touch medicare. medicare's growth exploits more than any other government program. i agree with barney. we've got to go after the military, we've got to close down the loopholes, we've got to stop the corporate subsidies. but at the same time, the growth in these middle class entitlement programs also have to be slowed down. and even the tea partiers say don't touch it. that's a real problem. >> yeah. although really saw him looking to compromise there on a number of levels. fascinating. when we come back, live from london, u.k. adviser lord leon britain will join us on the set. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. ♪ so right now volkswagen has deals on all of these? 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[ female announcer ] hurry, join for free today. weight watchers online. finally, losing weight clicks. and here's what we did today in homes all across america: we created the electricity that powered the alarm clocks and brewed the coffee. we heated the bathwater and gave kelly a cleaner ride to school. cooked the cube steaks and steamed the veggies. entertained dad, and mom, and a neighbor or two. kept watch on the house when they slept. and tomorrow we could do even more. we're cleaner, domestic, abundant and ready now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power today. learn more at anga.us. ♪ everybody wants to go after the oil companies, and frankly, they've got some part of this to blame. >> so would you be in favor of seeing some of these subsidies going to big oil at times at record profits -- >> certainly something we ought to be looking at. >> doing away with subsidies? >> we're at a time where the federal government is short on revenues, and we need to control spending, but we need to have revenues to keep the government moving, and they ought to be paying their fair share. >> welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now here in london, we have the vice chairman, lord leon britain, also a former conservative member of parliament, former vice president of the european commission, where he was primarily responsible for trade and competition policy. so he knows a thing or two about the economy here. >> lord britain, big numbers coming out tomorrow. big gdp numbers. at least politically. even if they're going to be revised later. obviously, they'll be splashed across the papers here. and the cameron government obviously wants those numbers to be high. what do you expect we'll see? >> i don't think anybody knows. i would expect generally, if it you talk about a particular number coming out tomorrow, a trend, what we're going to be seeing this year is slow growth. moderate growth, slow growth. not big numbers, but positive numbers. that's, i believe, what's going to happen. what we're going to be seeing. >> is that without politically necessary for prime minister cameron and the government to continue pushing forward with the cuts they feel are needed? >> well, that would be politically more comfortable. when you say politically necessary, that implies that if it doesn't go that way, the government falls. but it's not like that. the government will continue, because the worse the political situation, the less they want to have a general election. and we had one a year ago. so the government is going to stay there. but it may be more or less -- but the economic trend, i think, is going to be a slow, moderate, but real growth this year. >> lord britain, do you see any lessons for the united states in the steps that prime minister cameron has taken, taking some political hits, obviously, with these austerity measures? do you see anything he can teach, perhaps, our politicians back in washington? >> i think it's always extremely dangerous to transfer experience from one country to another. particularly when the size is so different. but broadly, i would say that there are some political lessons. and that is, get going, do it quickly, do more than is necessary, rather than less than is necessary, and then you'll get the benefits of it. that would be my lesson. so as to whether you cut spending or increase taxes, economically, the difference is not great. now you've got to judge politically what the traffic will bear. >> but get going on it. and up to now, i remember 20 years ago, when i was in government, being told, well, the united states somehow seems to get away with it, getting away with what other countries can't do, having budget deficits. well, eventually, the chicken has come home to roost. >> yes, they do. >> and i think that is happening now. so that's why -- >> getting going is not one of the strengths of the u.s. political system, unfortunately. >> it is not. mika? >> very aspirational. so how then, for example, with the numbers coming out tomorrow, politically here, what would a bad number mean for the future of austerity? >> well, actually, people -- you would be surprised. don't watch those numbers quite as closely as we might expect. partly because they know they're going to be revised. and therefore, you know, focus too much on the numbers. it's very difficult to say. what the impact of a particular number -- i think it's much -- so many factors other than those numbers that effect the political climate. what's actually happening in terms of jobs, what's happening in terms of the feel-good factor, whatever you want to call it. >> well, so what are the benchmarks for success then here in the u.k. that perhaps other countries would look at? i mean, where would you want numbers like growth and unemployment to be in let's say one year's time to say these were the right measures to have taken to tackle the deficit? >> i don't think you can answer that question. i'm not good at dodging questions, i always do answer them. but i don't answer questions when they're unanswerable. because it depends on what's happening in the rest of the world. so, for example, the u.s. and europe and eastern asia were going down the plug hole, then the idea that you fix a number for britain and say that's what you've got to have, that's the benchmark, would be ridiculous. >> but if you don't have some sort of benchmark, how do say these were the right measures to take and these were not the right measures to take? >> you can't judge it just numerically, and to try and put yourself into a straight jacket and say, that's going to be the top stand, is unreal. it's unreal politically, as well, because people won't judge by a set of numbers. if i were to tell you today, this is the number to go by, and you say, okay, we buy that part. and then next year, you say, that number is reached or not reached, what the government looks like politically, will depend on a whole lot of factors other than those numbers. so i just wouldn't try to make it quite so mathematical. >> but, i mean, that makes it very difficult then. >> it does. >> looking forward to say, right, what they did in europe helped growth. >> right. >> helped unemployment or didn't. it seems to me they knew that incrementing policies -- saying these were the right policies. >> no, that's right. you can come back, but you can't do it with a slide rule. you have to have more subjective tests, as well, and you have to have several tests and not one test. so, of course, it would be a lot easier for you guys if you could just say this is a number that they bought, they've got it or they haven't got it, success, yes, failure, no. lessons for other countries, yes. follow them or no. for god sake, don't do what they have done. unfortunately, life is just not as simple as that. >> caddy, what do you think? the difference you've lived, obviously, in the united states. talk about the cultural difference. the relationship between the individual and the state. there's obviously -- >> i mean -- >> greater connection? it. >> of course there is a difference. and you look at the rest of europe, as well. and part of the reasons we have seen tens of thousands of people out on the streets of madrid, london, europe, people in europe still expect the state to provide for them. and that is the compact they have made. we will have higher tax rates, and in return we expect basic levels of health care and education. that is not the expectation that people have in the united states. and so we haven't seen -- we haven't seen big protests yet. we haven't seen the big cuts yet, either. and who knows when those big cuts come, you may see them. but there is certainly much more expectation here in europe that the state will provide for you. >> let's finish on very good news for the united kingdom. your trade numbers up. >> yes. >> record exports. what does that mean for britain moving forward? >> o i think that's -- it is very good news. what it means is, that other things being equal, there will be more jobs, businesses will produce more, exporting more, and investing more. and the trade and investment relationship between the united states and the u.k. is the biggest global that there is. so it's actually quite good news for the united states, as well. >> and so what is the main export? is it the william and kate ashtray? what -- >> if we are dependent on william and kate, i would not be looking at cheerful as i am. >> i don't know. they're selling a lot of them out here. >> the numbers may be good, but we do do a hell of a lot of other things. >> yes, you do. >> financial services is another thing. we have a broadly based economy. >> yes. >> so don't just watch those ashtrays. >> okay. >> thank you very much. we appreciate your being on the show. up next, business before the bell, with erin burnett. we'll be right back. ♪ you take the long way home ♪ if i ask sheila out? 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[ men laugh ] [ male announcer ] hurry, join for free today. weight watchers online for men. finally, losing weight clicks. ♪ going to get some billionaires together. welcome back to "morning joe." roger bennett and i -- a football club. going to be a lot of fun. we'll get there. >> there aren't any left owned by brits, are there? >> english league is as american as apple pie. >> exactly. >> we're going to put roger out there, and he's going to be our front man. >> going to be the mascot, thought. >> no, the front man. >> it is time for business before the bell. >> sorry. let's bring in cnbc international superstar erin burnett. >> good morning. >> at the new york stock exchange. >> so you sent us your nice weather. >> i know. >> i know it's more like london there today, but we are getting 80 and sun. so thank you. you september the sunshine across the atlantic. >> so unfair. >> no, it's not unfair. you all have a wonderful week. international superstars. >> no, no, no. erin, i notice that you are in your liverpool red and we thank you for that. but let's talk about a bombshell dropped by the imf yesterday. >> yep. >> reminds me a lot of what people were saying about the united states in 1989, when we had books being sold called the japan that can say no. >> right. so, you know what's interesting. a couple of stories have come out about this point that the imf came out and said that china's economy will be bigger than ours by the year 2016. what's interesting is that apparently this report was posted by the imf by their website two weeks ago, and us media people, we took a little while to find it. but basically, they're saying -- they're basically saying that according to purchasing power parity, china will pass us by 2016. simply means what a dollar will buy you in that country versus another country. so the imf says no, that's not a pair way to look at it. the united states' economy on a real basis will still be nearly twice as big as china's in the year 2016. but this does raise the whole conversation about how china's going to be bigger than america. they'll hit some big -- they have a whole lot more people. so it may be inevitable that eventually they rise as they did thousands of years ago. and top america. or we can have the pie keep getting bigger so we get richer, too, even though they are bigger. how about that? i ran out of time. so i finished my sentence. >> they obviously face some challenges themselves, china. >> they sure do. >> what else are you looking at? today, erin? >> two things to take away. one, coach earnings. they got a quarter of their business from japan or a fifth, i'm sorry. but north america was what was strongest, guys, so even with that japan hit, coach numbers surged much stronger than expected. that was good news. and ford also bigger than expected, hitting it out of the park. but the big but, guys. how many people celebrate being back to where they were in 1998? >> ford does. >> how many? >> ford. ford does. one. but for ford, that's a great thing, you know? it's a great thing. >> all right. >> okay. erin, thank you. >> thank you so much, erin. it would be better if we could hear her. >> we couldn't hear you very well. and also very distracted. peter alexander is on the street. he's drunk again. but he's here. oh, look who he brought with him! >> billy bush. so i'm glad it's with fidelity. they offer me one-on-one guidance to help me choose my investments. not just with my savings plan here at work. they help me with all of my financial goals. looking good, irene. thanks to fidelity, i can stay on top of my financial future, huh? good one. why, thank you. whether it's saving for retirement, college, or anything else, contact a fidelity investment professional today. >> announcer: this past year alone there's been a 67% spike in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds means more than ever. 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[ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. ♪ >> look at that. welcome back. to "morning joe." this is exciting. with us now, the host of "access hollywood" billy bush. not so exciting, we also have peter alexander. >> what is he doing here? why did he show up? why did you bring him? >> look at that suit! >> i feel so rich right now. did you get a bonus check that no one else got at the network? >> i feel like we're seeing other people. >> you look like a member of the house of lords over there. >> when in london. >> and a gentleman from kwibly. so why are you here? >> well -- >> what are you doing here? >> if things work out, i'm going to try to camp outside westminster abbey. >> good call. >> she said yes. >> did she really? >> i love it. >> peter alexander breaks the story. you don't think there's any chance of a runaway bride? >> can you imagine like that lady, jennifer willbanks from atlanta, the girl with the larger eyes? >> could be a problem. >> peter, cross your fingers, baby, but don't hold your breath. willie. >> sir. >> the year, 2004. >> ooh. >> the man! >> yes. >> donald trump. >> yes. >> billy bush. >> epic. >> asks the tough questions. >> epic? >> roll the tape. >> voting with the next president of the united states, donald trump. >> yay. >> thank you, everybody. >> how many people are writing in donald trump today, do you know? >> i'll be the first one. >> but our cameras also captured his temper when his body guard led him to the wrong polling station three times. >> you figure out where the [ bleep ] you're going, okay? you come back here and figure it out. i'll come back later and vote when you figure out where the [ bleep ] we're supposed to be going. >> oh, my goodness. >> wow! that's a blast from the past. >> he's got a line feed or something? >> how -- >> look at that. >> what was that about, man? >> it was the craziest day. how does "access hollywood" fit into voting day? we'll take a celebrity and vote with them, go through the american process. so we went to the first place, and park avenue, and walk in, the trumpster walks in, they give him some love. he walks up and the lady says, yeah, i'm sorry, we don't have you -- >> you're not here. >> registered here. you must be up at 60th and whatever. so we get in the car, let's go, we're going to the next -- he always does this when he wants you to go somewhere -- so we get in, go up to the next spot, walk in, same sort of fanfare, a lot of people out there loving the donald. we walk in, and the lady, yeah, sorry, you're not registered -- maybe you're up at 80th and whatever it is. so then -- finally, we're crossing the street, walking into the last place, and he goes, billy, i don't feel so good about this one. no, it's not going our way, is it? we go in, sure enough -- >> he's not there. >> we don't have you. so at the end, we drop him off, and he's like, yeah, i'll do it later. i'll mail it in, i'll figure this out. no. he could have easily, 4:00, 5:00, at the end of the day. you know, gone and done it. but certainly, for the first two hours of his day when he wanted to go -- >> he got upset. i understand completely. can you imagine how upset i would be if i -- i understand him being upset. >> cause -- >> any public school in new york and vote. i'm here. where do you want me? >> so billy. at the us about the wedding. you were getting excited about this thing. >> yeah, any angle we can grab. to us, it's exciting, fun. when i think of, like, the last time -- or the last several times over the years, when people come together and gather around a tv screen, it's usually something horrible. there is a tsunami in japan, haiti, something. >> our -- our regular peter alexander newscast. >> oh, seriously. >> what's your ratings? >> he does. >> huge ratings. >> i feel the 8:30 hour just lifting right now. >> but i think everybody is excited. it's warm, it's fun. i love the bride. i think she is an interesting story. and, yeah, there's all kinds of nuggets. plus, look at the scandal. you want scandal. these royals, you go back into history, i've got this giant binder, i was reading it -- >> isn't it amazing? >> their wild. >> they're crazy. and very, very young. >> a lot of cheating going on. >> a lot of cheating, a lot of divorces and arrests for being remarried. yeah! >> it's not bad. >> we don't judge them. >> let's ask the chicken and egg question. >> yes. >> are americans interested in the wedding, or is the media just interested in the wedding? >> are you creating an interest? >> to make americans interested in the wedding? billy bush. >> people -- >> sir. >> tell you what. i tell you what. if we're wrong -- and by the way, you're here too. >> oh, yeah. >> we have just got to keep a strong face and just keep going. march right on through this -- >> stiff upper lip. >> i've heard from some people at home they're not interested at all, and others, they're loving it, every detail. you've got to commit. we are committed and we are going full tilt. >> you have jumped off that cliff. >> on the wagon, baby. >> so peter alexander, let me ask you again. why are you here? what stories are you covering, peter? >> today we did a piece about the house of windsor, to give people a better sense of kate's new in-laws, and the scandal behind the scenes of queen elizabeth's only -- of her four children only one is still on their first marriage. >> how long has the house of windsor actually owned the crown here? >> been around? >> it goes from family to family. like a century? >> it's like -- >> okay -- >> i'm not positive, i can look that up. >> we don't really care anyway. just being polite. so isn't it fascinating, though, compared to 1981, how a commoner, the house of windsor is allowing a commoner in? that just wouldn't have happened to 30 years ago. >> the question is how much control the commoners have over this wedding. a lot of people said prince william and his soon to be princess want to be heavily involved. prince phillip, the one who wears the pants in the family even though the queen is wearing the crown, calls the shots, the guy behind the scenes, even though when he's out in public he has to walk two steps behind his wife. >> that's like willie and -- >> that's like mika. >> he is 6'10". she is leaving buckingham pal e palace. you know he wants to stay for harry's after party. >> exactly. >> she's making him go -- i don't know. >> let's talk about, though, if you're going to sell this story to americans, or anybody, it's all about personalities. kate really is -- if you dig into it, a fascinating, strong personality, who i suspect, from what you hear, may actually wear the pants in this family down the road. >> she's tough and strong. >> i think so. and she's -- and she hasn't made any miss steps. look, she's had ten years in the light, hmmm ten years with william. and the media over here, fleet street, is tough. if we're tough -- much tougher over here. they're waiting for her to make some kind of giant error. and she hasn't done it. she -- >> she is impressive. >> she is impressive. this is a woman who just a couple generations ago, her family were coal miners, and the fact that these people from england are going to make it to buckingham palace, a fabulous story. >> so what are the odds, she is a runaway bride, runs away with peter alexander, lives happily ever after. >> somewhere at about a zero percent chance right now. >> peter alexander, thank you, and i'm sorry for joe. billy bush -- how do you get your hair to do that? 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[ gnome ] it's go time. ♪ don't pretend you're insulted by that. >> all right. so we just had billy bush here, trying to drum up some interest back in america and the royal wedding. that's his job on "access hollywood." it hurricanes out men, american men in particularly have no interest. they just don't care. >> you don't care -- >> well, i like the history of it. >> she's getting there. >> out on the streets, talked to some guys in new york, tried to get them interested. >> oh. >> football. let's watch. >> it's the most anticipated matchup of the year. billions will watch around the world. bigger than the yankees and red sox. more historic, even, than the packers and steelers. it's kate and william. >> all right, fellas, are you excited for the big wedding? >> not really. >> fellas, you heard about any weddings coming up here soon? >> yeah, one of the princes in england is getting married, isn't he? >> anything involving, i don't know, a royal family, perhaps, hosting a wedding? >> is it from the u.s. or -- britain? >> not from the u.s. royal family, no. who is getting married? >> what's her name? kate winslet? [ buzzer ] >> when it comes to the royal wedding, it seems we guys have not been doing our homework. >> let's me show you some photographs and maybe it will jog your memory. tell me who these people are. >> i don't know. >> you don't know who that is, i'll give you a hint, she is very important to the wedding. >> up with of the maids? >> one of the bridesmaids? >> the one getting married. >> what's her name? >> sophia, i think it is. >> princess sophia? >> princess sophia. >> that's his father. and -- >> reporter: and his name? >> that's the prince. >> everybody knows prince. >> everybody knows prince. >> so why have the less fair among us tuned out the wedding of the century? >> you've got kate, a beautiful bride, a dress, the romance and a prince. really, none of these things actually appeal to men. >> never fear, men, there's still time to learn the players and the game. and to help you, we present the guy's guide to the royal wedding. starting at bride-to-be, kate middleton out of the university of saint andrews, once a small-town commoner, kate caught the prince's eye a decade ago at a fashion show while wearing this. prince william, the heir to the throne known in the british press at wills, served with the royal air force. he proposed to kate while on safari in kenya. if you're like me, you probably did not. best man prince harry will line up in the backfield with partnershipa, kate's little sister. they saw their stock rise in the eyes of scouts by throwing impressive bachelor and bachelorette parties. and coming off the bench, the next king of england, prince charles, and the reigning monarch herself, queen elizabeth ii. she prefer they not speak to her, unless spoken to. destiny, nowadays away, but still time for you guys to impress your princess. ♪ >> if you're a man and you want to score some brownie points, sit there, look interested, and if at all possible, get a moist eye, just at the right moment where she says "i do" and bingo, you're in it for a year. and maybe you won't even have to propose. >> good advice. now it's time to load up, men, on beer and buffalo wings for those rowdy, royal wedding parties. >> do you think you'll be watching the big wedding friday? >> hell yeah. >> get some drinks and snacks for the family? >> have the family over, too. >> really? >> yeah, watch the prince get married, that's it. ♪ this will be an ever lasting love ♪ >> you guys are going to have a hell of a royal wedding party friday. >> the bars will be packed. >> interested yet, joe? that was for you. come on, still three days to get there. soccer match tomorrow. so what are you have you learned today? >> i learned that billy bush has a lot of cowlicks. >> i didn't pick up on that. >> i learned that hislizzie the hawk is scared of mika. >> yes, and she should be. >> when we come back, "the daily rundown." 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