the reverend al sharpton weighs in on these grizzly mamas. i begin with the scare mon gerring southern strategy making a comeback. this time the right is going ballistic about the islamic near ground zero to ginn up fears about american muslims starting with this guy. wait, president obama's not a muslim. look, i want to be clear on this. president obama is a christian. apparently it's not working because that's news to nearly one quarter of america and new time poll shows 24% think that president is a muslim. that's mental. a pew poll finds that 31% of it americans believe he's muslim, more than the amount of republican who's think he's a christian. by is the correct answer. and even 10% of democrats believe these nonsense rumors. this forces obama supporters including his spokesperson today to say he's not muslim! not that there's anything wrong with that. but why is this idea even out there? how did it get into the blood stream of the american population? >> mom hugh say obama, i want to be fair, too. he probably is the best anti-american president the country's ever had. >> imam hussein obama. so they set up the idea he might be muslim without saying it although that was really close. kind of like when bush kept using iraq and 9/11 in the same sentence. how do people get misled? he doesn't know. what's the purpose behind all this. this is a free country. who would it matter if he were a muslim? >> let's find out. >> on the tenth industry of after you've killed 3,000 people, you're going to now build your mosque on their there really? >> so according to beck, muslims, all muslims are responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks and if barack hussein.obama is a muslim, then i guess he must be guilty. i want to remind everybody, not a muslim, a christian. this controversy is just a convenient way to carpet bomb by screaming muslims, mosques and terror attacks. from now all the way till november they're going to keep on going with this. the outrage over the muslim community center in lower manhattan isn't about location. there's already a mosque three blocks away. and it isn't about muslim radicals. the imam running this center was used by the fbi and bush administration as the model of a moderate muslim. the outrage is about stirring up fear hant against a minority group and exploiting that prejudice for political gain in an election year. and if the republicans can tap into that vein of fear and loathing that drives their base, they figure it can only help them in the polls. look, that's what they do. we've seen the strategy before. the right told that you obama wanted to kill your grandma last summer. now they're trying to paint him as a muslim and hence a radical, maybe like a neo-nazi or a skinhead. >> the vast majority of the american people believe there is a freedom of religion that is engrained in our constitution and that right of free expression of religion would be best exercised by not building here. in that same first amendment, there's a right of freedom of speech. who believes that say skin heads should show up at a black sorority convention and scream big got remarks? who believes there's a right of freedom of assembly? who believes nero nazis should show up at a by nay brith hotel? that are rights it would be prudent not to exercise them at certain times. >> so here we will go again. the whole muslim community is like neonazis. where have we seen this movie before? right, on fox news channel. any chance they're driving this story is propaganda for their own political purposes? but look at what else rove said. he thinks muslims should not exercise their first amendment right to worship because it might offend someone. i wonder if he would an apply that to other rights like maybe giving up your second amendment rights to make your neighbor feel more comfortable or fox news giving up their first amendment rights if had what they say offends someone? are they going to do that? of course, not. that's the point. the conservatives don't really have an argument here. this is what they do, led by fox news, they try to scare you and divide us. someone has to put an end to this vicious cycle. that's how we wind up here with 70% of americans saying that a building a muslim community center in a former discount department store is insult to the people who decide on 9/11. nearly a quarter of the country thinking president obama is a muslim. if we keep going with this cycle and pretending this is a real issue, we all wind up helping them in their political hatchet job when the rest of the media tos stories ginned up by fox to smear their political opponents, we all wind up working for fox news. and no one wants that. now tell me what you think in our telephone survey. the number to dial is 877-ed-msnbc. everybody's weighing in on this. we want to hear your opinion. my question to you is simple. do you have a problem with the islamic center being built near ground zero? press one for yes two, for no. now joining me, florida congressman alan grayson who's not shy about his opinions. the conservative propaganda seems to be working. what's failing here? is it the media, is it the democratic response? what it is? >> it's the failure to concentrate on things that matter in ordinary people's lives. we've got 15 million people in this country who don't have a job. what is the republican plan to help them? they don't have one. we have over 30 million people who still can't see a doctor when they get sick. why are we not talking about that instead? they have no way to help them. they tried to scare everyone in the country by saying the president was black. that didn't work. he got elected anyway. now they're saying the president is a muslim. believe me, if we got invaded by mars tomorrow, the republicans would claim the president is a martian. but that doesn't solve anyone's problems. we have to work hard to solve the problems of ordinary people and rebuild the middle class in this country. concentrate on that for a change. >> i swear to you my next question was if they accused him of being a martian, do you have to come out every once in awhile and say the president is not martian be? >> it's sad. look, we really are cheating ourselves. this can be a heaven on earth. this could be an outstanding place to live. the very top in the entire world. instead, we're 50th in the world, ooth in life expectancy just below albania, dead last in math test scores. the math is the same in seoul, korea as it is here. it's the same math. we have to work harder to solve our problems. and we can't get distracted all the time by the people who want to distract us for their own shelfish purposes. if we're going to talk about 9/11, why don't we talk about how not so much the people who died are disgraced by the possibility of an islamic athletic center several blocks away how about the fact they were disgraced by a president who let it happen, who went on vacation for the entire month of august after he was warned that osama bin laden was finding targets in new york city and learning how to take these planes and do terrible things with them. the thing itself said hijacking and they did nothing about it. so you tell me, why does president obama have to be drawn into this at this point when the republicans let us down this way so terribly and got us into two wars to boot. >> i had a feeling you might say something interesting. by the way, that memo also said they planned to attack new york and possibly washington. so, and if you remember, the guy who deliver that had memo to them, the cia guy said now you covered your ass. you can go home. that's what president bush did when he got that memo about the possibility of attacking. >> and promptly spent the entire month of august on vacation. so who really let down those people on 9/11? was it barack obama? was it the people who want to build some kind of health club in downtown new york? or was it the president of the united states right then george w. bush? >> congressman, you point out one of the strategies is let's talk about the real issues. that's very fair. unemployment is what 91% of americans say they care most about when asked in a poll. but on the other hand, if you leave these attacks lying out there, you see they take hold. a majority of republicans think that a.c.o.r.n. stole the election for obama. that's crazy talk. so how do you respond? do you not say anything? do you fight back? what do you do? >> one of the problems is fox. okay? fox has turned into monty python's lying circus. all day long they spew lies out day after day and created this bubble of irrealty and it's a threat to this country. this is a threat to this country that you have people listening to fox day in and day out who are misinformed day in and day out and believe it. because some of the people can be fooled some of the time and fox problems that every single payer day. >> congressman grayson, always an interesting interview. thank you for joining us. >> let me tell you the real story of the man who's the victim of the smear campaign. imam faisal abdul rauf, a prominent voice for peace and anti-extremism win the muslim community well before 9/11. he's so well respected he was the go-to guy on counter-terrorism under the bush administration when they reached out for muslim americans. and aid -- and hes will aided the fbi after the 9/11 attacks. nearly everything they've told but this man is a lie. now, for more let me bring in sam stein. he's a political reporter for the "huffington post." he wrote an excellent article about debunking these rumors here. sam, what's the real story of imam rauf? >> thanks for having me. in the past couple weeks, we've seen this imam sort of tarnished for being a radical islamist, a conduit for hamas. one of the things we wanted to do was sort of get a real sense who he was. all we did was a very basic lexisnexis search and pulled up old articles and called people who actually have associated with him. everyone pretty much said the same thing, this is a moderate muslim voice who built his career on bringing together the muslim and american worlds, worked in official and unofficial capacities as a diplomat to the muslim world. to sort of denigrate his mission would be a real disservice to the country. this is someone you want to elevate, the type of image you want to show can coexist in american society. people like walter isaacson spoke out. he was in horror as what was happening to this man and the treatment he was receiving by some of the right wing critics of the mosque he's proposing. >> right now, you mention in your article madeleine albright has great things to say about him. karen hughes and condoleezza rice. if they worked with him in the past, is it incumbent for them to say i know this guy and what we're doing here is wrong? >> that was something i noted at the end of my report. have you people who worked with him side by side or sent him out on missions, the fbi, karen hughes, the bush administration. not only that, but they will already represent, have come to represent sort of the more moderate voice of the republican party is the bush administration which did to its credit try to elevate moderate islam and put it aside from the extremists. they've been totally silent. president bush has declined requests for comment, karen hughes' office declined request for comment from me. i think there's people who are certainly disappointed. the people who have spoken out happen to be conservative muslim and arab-american who's actually worked in the bush administration who have watched as the rhetoric has flown left and right evolving around this project and this imam and frightened what's happening. >> i want to show you video of this imam at the daniel pearl memorial here. >> yeah. >> i'm sorry, a quote from that. i'm going to read it to you. it says if to be a jew means to say with all one's heart and mind and soul, here o israel, the lord our god, the lord is one. not only today am i a jew, i have always been one. if to love our god with all of my heart, mind and soul and to love for my fellow human being what i love for myself, then not only many i a christian. we are here to seek your forgiveness and of your family for what has been done in the name of islam." >> is it possible to get more moderate than that? for him to say i have always been a jew, a christian. how does a guy like this become the target of a hatchet job? how did it happen? >> very simple. you have a project that people oppose on divisive cultural grounds and when there's really nothing to latch on to in opposition, you have to create a boggyman. in addition to the opposition's credit, this imam has declined to comment where the funding will come but you know, it's clear that his record shows he's been a moderate muslim. but they've tried to create a boogeyman as a way to ginn up opposition to the mosque. it's a sad tale because here's a man who the day after 9/11 devoted his life and his life's mission to bridging gaps between the muslim and american world. i think the lesson that's going to come from this latest episode is maybe those bridges can't be built. >> let's hope the rest of the media learns this lesson. thank you so much for covering the story. we appreciate it, sam. >> thanks, cenk. >> sarah palin is an absolute disgrace and tells dr. laura not to retreat but to reload. she wants to reload racism, bashing gays. it's scary this person is influencing millions of people. reverend sharpton is here to respond. that's going to be good. president obama makes good on a campaign promise. the combat mission in iraq is over. and john mccain thinks this guy deserves the credit. i'll get rapid fire response, all that plus sharron angle compares herself to george washington. and bill o'reilly really has no clue. so i'm going to offer him one in the zone. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. honor... follow-through... and follow-up. it's a promise that says go ahead and buy a ram 1500 or heavy duty without a payment for 60 days. and if it doesn't do everything you ask it to do... bring it back. ♪ ram. ♪ [ male announcer ] he's sweet, even with 1/3 less sugar than soda. kool-aid delivering more smiles per gallon. up next, the senior director for the chamber of commerce says that women choose to get paid less. one of his pieces of advice for women, marry rich. illiterately couldn't believe they said that but it's true. i'll give you the exact quote. that's coming up next. stay with us. boss: our breakout session is gonna be great. got the gecko t-shirt... "4 million drivers switched!" gecko water bottle... notebook... chamois... gecko: sir, i feel a little bit uncomfortable with all... you know... with all this. i mean, it's not about me. should be about how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. things like that. boss: oh, of course! we're not gonna get carried away. gecko: uh...yeah... all right as long as we don't overdo it. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. it's the 90th anniversary of women having the right to vote. great. the u.s. chamber of commerce is celebrating by blaming women for unequal pay. they're not kidding. they're saying it's women's own fault that they earn less than men do. their senior director of communications wrote this on the chamber's blog. "it is true that culturally speaking women are more likely to have make tough choices about work-life balance but as we all seek to -- let's not overlook the obvious immediate power of the individual solution, choosing the right place to work and choosing the right partner at home." he's saying a woman just chose better jobs and paying paying fields they would be better off did you catch that last part of his comment, that women would have more money if they chose the right partner at home? what is this, 1955? are they serious? instead of asking for equal pay for equal work, women should just marry richer guys? wow. joining me now is terri o'neal, president of the national organization for women. terri, what do you think? is that a winning strategy for the chamber to say why don't you just marry richer guys? you'll be all right? >> i think the chamber of commerce should consider changing its name to the men's chamber of men's commerce. it's a stupid blog post mr. peck put out. generations ago, women who stood up for women's rights were accused of having penis envy. here's mr. peck and part of what he said in that post was that women who stood up for equal pay are engaging in money envy. i suppose for some men, penis envy, money envy it's the same thing maybe for mr. peck. it's astounding he put that out there. >> a lot of people are going to say, women sometimes do go into fields that don't pay as well and some women get pregnant and then decide to stay at home either for some time, you know. that's going to lower the amount of pay they get. is that a fair criticism to say that's why we have the disparity in pay? >>, of course, not. it's completely unfair. the vast majority of workplaces in this country are severely sex segregated and golly gee, wouldn't you know that will systematically, every single payer time you look at it, the lines of work within any workplace dominated by women pay less, have less possibility of advancement, don't have the pensions, don't have the savings plans. and the lines that are dominated by men pay more, have more opportunities for advancement. so to say these are women's choices is simply not the case. unless you say that it's a fair choice for women to say gee, if i go over and work in the part of the business establishment that's dominated by men, i will experience rejection and sexual harassment and other forms of verbal abuse daily, so my choice is to put up with that or give up and go over to where women predominate. that's not a real choice. for the united states chamber of commerce to suggest it is is really deeply offensive to all of the women who work in this country. >> the government accountability office says women get paid less even if you account for industry, occupation, marital status, et cetera, et cetera. one quick question for you. >> sarah palin tweeted something on feminism that i wanted to share with you. who hijacked the term feminist? a cackle, i don't know what a cackle of rads are, about a cackle of rads who want to crucify other women with whom they disagree on a singular issue. it's ironic and passe. what do you think about that comment? >> sarah palin does not stand up for women's rights across a broad array of issues. she is anti-a large number of rights for women and doesn't speak for the women of the united states. >> terri, thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. thank you. coming up, oh ryely thinks there are no muslims anywhere near ground zero. this guy needs to get out more. i'm opening his eyes and spinning him into the zone next. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 what if every atm was free? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more $2, $3 fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more paying to access your own money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it'd be like every atm in the world was your atm. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking(tm) account. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 zero atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 a great interest rate. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no minimums. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the biggest thing in checking since checks. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 open an account at 1-800-4schwab or schwab.com. 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[ male announcer ] take your 14-day challenge. ♪ prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on. o'reilly weighs in on the lower manhattan islamic center brouhaha. when he tries to explain why, the wheels fall off the wagon. >> this whole controversy is absurd. if you just strip away all your ideology, it's not about freedom of religion. there are more than 100 mosques in new york city. more than 100. there isn't a muslim within a mile. who's going to go to this thing? okay? i mean, it's just crazy. >> so i don't get it. is he saying there are already so many mosques that this isn't an issue and the networks should shut up about it or is he saying there are no muslims within a mile of ground zero? it if he's saying he's full of it, we agree. if he's saying no muslims live within a mile of the center, let's take a look at lower manhattan and find out. the site for the community center. then a few blocks north of that, there's a mosque. a few more blocks, another mosque. want to climb out on a limb and say that there are muslims in the vicinity of ground zero. o'reilly seems to think there's a muslim free zone within a mile radius of the community center. there are more than 600,000 muslims in new york city? they're part of this community, so much so there were dozens of muslim american who's were killed at ground zero on 9/11. so suggesting that there are no muslims within a mile of the proposed islamic community center is nothing but psycho talk. coming up, sarah palin thinks america isn't fair because people were actually outraged when dr. lawyer ral said the "n" word 11 times. now palin and dr. laura are blaming these men for everything. reverend sharpton and eric boehlert fire back ahead. watch out. they're coming. >> the last u.s. combat brigade heads home from iraq. a campaign promise made good bit president. so why isn't he saying anything about it? i'll get rapid fire response, all that, plus you will not believe what happened when this bull charged into the stands in spain. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. stay with us. [ school bell rings ] ♪ ♪ ♪ over a thousand people a day are switching to chevy. they like that vehicles like the 2010 malibu, traverse and silverado half-ton have each been named a consumers digest best buy. they like that chevy backs the quality with a one-hundred-thousand mile powertrain warranty. they're not just trading in, they're trading up. qualified lessees now get a low mileage lease on this malibu ls for around one ninety-nine a month. call for details. the switch begins at chevydealer.com. inves are demanding more for their money. good. this time, i'm watching fees like a hawk. i hate hidden fees. why should i have to pay for something that i shouldn't have to pay for? td ameritrade's pricing is clear and it's straightforward... it's spelled out upfront. no hidden fees... no bait and switch. no gotchas. and there's one flat rate for online equity trades... for big accounts... or small ones. that's the way it ought to be. time for fresh thinking. time for td ameritrade. welcome back to "the ed show." sarah palin has unleashed her inner grizzly in defense of dr. laura and her right to freely drop the n word. after laerping dr. laura was quitting her show, sarah palin tweeted dr. laura, don't retreat. reload. steps aside because her 1st amendment rights ceased to exist is thanks to activists trying to silence. isn't american not fair? if i remember correctly palin said that the mosque near ground zero had a first amendment right but out of respect for others should not exercise it but thinks dr. laura's comments were a great way to exercise her first amendment rights. is it okay to reload on statements like this? >> i really thought once we had a black president, the attempt to demonize whites hating blacks would stop. but it seems to have grown. and i don't get it. >> i don't get it. why won't black people just stop complaining already? we already gave them a black president. all the studies showing blacks in this country have a harder time getting jobs and housing magically stopped the minute barack obama took office. is that what happened? palin doesn't have a problem with those comments. but tweeted dr. laura even more powerful and effective without the shackles so watch out constitutional obstructionists. without the shackles, right? because she was the one being held down by the man as she broadcast on 00 dleds of radio stations all across the country? and palin wants us to be thankful for the woman who say if you're gay or lesbian, it's a biological error. who said femininism destroyed the sanctity of motherhood. what happened? i thought sirp was the champion of women. does she think the feminist who's got her the right to run for office destroyed motherhood? finally dr. lawyer ral once also told her mother she should place her autistic child in a home because "he might not be fixable." and she needed to have a life outside of this torture. this is the woman sarah palin is supporting? this is the person she thinks should reload? all right. let me bring in reverend al harp president of the national action network. reverend, is dr. laura right when barack obama elected did we solve all the racism in the country? >> i mean it is so absurd on its face. the fact of the matter is we still face a nation with instruct yaurl inequalities. blacks almost two to one unemployed. we have a huge gap in education and health care as well as in the criminal justice system. i think what the election of president obama was a very, very progressive step, i think america grew a lot but if we're to act like we're at racial equality, that is an illusion. i think anyone grown knows bet than that. we must give america credit for progress but progress is not arriving at the destination of having a racially equal society. >> so what do you think is more offensive, sarah palin backing dr. laura saying the "n" word 11 times or backing the contempt of what will dr. laura said? because around the "n" word, she said some prith loathsome things and stereotypes about black folks. which part do you find more troubling? >> the i think the contempt. clearly i don't agree with the word. we all came out civil rights groups saying bury the word. many of us have used it and said let's go against black hip-hoppers and artists as well as whites saying it because it's wrong. the context. she not only talked about blacks since president obama seems to be doing more in terms of whites, in terms of demonizing was her term whites. she inferred if you're in an interracial marriage and feel that you're being treated wrong or things being said by your inlaws, maybe you shouldn't be in a marriage. she took shots at a whole bunch of things contextual little that will are racially insensitive to say the least. what is amazing is she says this and then when people like us respond, she will says, oh, i have the first amendment right. she does. and we have the right to respond. you can't say things and then tell everybody else shut up. you can't respond. we merely responded without w our first amendment rights. >> so what's the right answer here? because you know, i heard the whole thing and she said, oh, black people have a chip on their shoulder. didn't listen to what the caller's issue was, made all these assumptions. i don't think the "n" word is magical. but the context was worse. what do you do about dr. laura and sarah palin backing her? >> what you do with dr. laura is you express to those who subsidize her, advertisers and radio stations that a lot of the listeners and a lot of their consumers think that is insensitive and don't want to spend money with people that would subsidize that. if i did it on my show, if you did it on your show, people have the same right. that's their right to say i don't think if i'm going to buy your product you ought to advertise with people that use certain things that's offensive. then it's up to advertisers. with sarah palin, i think the irony is on august 28th, next saturday when many of us will be marching on washington remembering dr. king's dream, she's going to be in lincoln memorial with glen beckon that day after she just told this woman who reload on then racially insensitive language? i think people need to understand on that dale as we remember the real dream of dr. king, what is sarah palin thinking about a dream when she tells someone to reload, racial incense activity that didn't offend al sharpton or media matteiers. it offended the black caller who frs a listener of dr. laura. when the woman said that's offensive and called her on it, she said i'll say it again. no apology, no thinking it through. no remorse. she kept loading, and now miss palin says reload. >> thank you so much for joining us, reverend sharpton. >> thank you. >> always interesting. you know sarah palin being on where dr. king gave that will speech might be violating hallowed ground. i think i've heard that argument before. soap now for more, let me bringing in eric boehlert, senior fellow at media matters for america. apparently this is all your fault for quoting dr. laura. what's the matter with you? >> people hate when we post their transcripts and let people hear what they say. this is typical what we hear from this sort of conservative commentator. they get caught saying something bigoted and rather than take responsibility, they play the victim. you know, there's a mob out to get them. look, free speech, the first amendment does not guarantee you the right that someone will advertise on your show. it does not guarantee you the right that people won't be offended. this notion that media matters took her free speech away is absurd. and for sarah palin to double down on that and claim that you know, dr. laura's free speech is under attack is abyour. there's no truth to it and people are offended and dr. laura again doesn't want to take responsibility. she wants to play the victim. that's what the conservative commentators always do. >> eric, i get dr. laura. all you're doing is quoting her and will heing people decide. how about sarah palin? conservatives do guilt by association all the time. >> all the time. >> is it fair to do that to sarah palin in regards to dr. laura. >> she's doubled down today and poefrt aid long defense of dr. laura on the record saying she backs her. she's on the record attacking people that have called her out, called dr. laura out for being insensitive and bigoted commentary. so she's made it clan she absolutely thinks dr. laura is in the right. people do not have the right to really criticize her and again, no one's taking responsibility here. they're playing the victim. sarah palin basically her job now is to play the victim at the hands of the so-called liberal media. so again, she's doubled down. and people i think have every right to ask for all the candidates that sarah palin has endorsed in the fall, what do they think about dr. laura's comments? do they think sarah palin is right? maybe they should start weighing in on this, as well. she has nationalized this debate by weighing in on this matter. >> that's an interesting twist. i hadn't thought of that. you guys are sneaky. thank you, eric. stop quoting people. now let's get rapid fire response from our panel on these stories. combatted operations in iraq are over. president obama kept his promise to end the war but he's not taking a victory lap. john mccain says we should be giving credit to bush. our panel takes on the polls that show almost a quarter of the country and nearly a third of republicans think president obama is a muslim. with us tonight, joe madison, com m satellite radio show host and karen hanretty, a republican strategist. i used to fill in for joe a long time ago in washington. good to have you here. >> thank you. >> does john mccain have a point there? george bush did the surge, the violence went down. and we can be leave? >> well, we can leave but the question is, what do we leave? and when you look at the recent violence throughout iraq, we will -- we've got real problems. i don't know what the victory quite honestly is. he may have a point. i mean, you know, president, former president bush did set some timelines. president obama to the -- to many progressives who are upset think that he is trying to outdo bush, of course, the white house doesn't want to hear that. so you know, you can spread the -- maybe -- you know what? maybe they are a relay team. and bush has passed the baton and now president obama is finishing the last legging. >> karen, how about that? does president obama deserve credit for keeping his campaign promise. >> i think he absolutely deserves credit for not pulling the troops out sooner to sticking to this timeline. you know, really quite frankly, stick together bush/petraeus plan. the surge i think has allowed president obama to pull these troops out. it's a surge that president obama opposed but i give him credit for this, and you know, i don't know how the left cannot give president bush credit for the surge. it probably came too late. i wish it had come sooner. you know, i think this is something that people on the left and the right can look at and say this is a good day. this is good for the u.s. troops. i think it's good we're leaving iraq, we're leaving it much more stable. i think than anyone certainly on the left we would be able to leave it. >> i'm certainly not one of those who think we're leaving it stable. that is -- >> more stable. >> it is not. okay, well that's all relative because anybody who reads the headlines. >> they have a democracy functioning for a couple years. i think that's much more. >> kind of. >> than many people ever thought was possible. >> they don't have a democracy. they don't have a democracy. >> i want to go onto the next issue. karen, i'm one of those people who could make that argument against bush for another day. by the way, their government not set yet. those are for another day. go onto the poll that shows that nearly a quarter of americans think that barack obama's muslim. how did we get to this point and who's at fault for such a large percentage of the population just believing something that isn't true at all? >> because people keep hearing the lie over and over and over again. the man is baptized a christian. look, in washington, d.c. where i live, he goes to church on easter. he goes to black churches throughout washington, d.c. the reality is he has confessed that secrecy us christ is his lord and savior and he is not worship at one mosque. the reality is that people don't want to believe it because it's just a way of a continuing to make him appear like illegitimate. this is stupid. this is absolutely stupid. and people ought to start thinking for themselves instead of letting loud-mouthed talk show hosts think for them. >> there's something to be said for loud mouthed talk show hosts. karen, look the liberals didn't put this smear out there. isn't it obvious that the conservatives did? and isn't that a big problem? >> i think there should be a new murphy's law we all need to agree to which is 25% of the american people are always going to believe something crazy. it's just like backing in 2007, 2006 and 2007, polls came out showing that about 25 to 35% of americans thought that george bush and the federal government were somehow implicated in 9/11. in fact, 35% of democrats thought that. so you're always going to have a percentage of the population that believes some crazy conspiracy. and by the way, i don't think it's a conspiracy if you think president obama is muslim. i don't think that having a muslim president is a bad thing. i don't know why we're -- it's kind of bizarre to me we equate thinking he's a muslim with being something bad. he's not a muslim. >> i don't know where we got that idea. maybe fox news? >> where did that happen? >> but how about the fact -- >> we agree. >> on the left continuously for a number of years it was george bush knew about 9/11. that's insane, too. i think you have to agree that a portion of the population is always going to believe something bizarre. >> you know, but you can't bring up george bush. that's what the right keeps saying. >> we've got to go. joe and karen, thank you so much. thank you, guys. i appreciate it. now coming up, jobless claims spiked to their high left level in nine months. now some critics say president obama is turning his back on the middle class. bob shrum responds. a bull runs into a crowd. you won't believe how this ended. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. ♪ a day once dawned ♪ ♪ and it was beautiful ♪ ♪ so, look, see the sights ♪ that you learned [ male announcer ] at&t covers 97% of all americans. at&t. rethink possible. buy a pantech messaging phone like the impact, and get a pantech messaging phone free after mail-in rebate. [ female announcer ] this is not a prescription. this is diane. diane, who has diabetes and a daughter who could use a little perspective. diane, who worked with her walgreens pharmacist to keep her blood-sugar numbers in check with a few changes to her diet. ♪ diane, who's showing her daughter the world's a bit bigger than 8th grade. expertise -- find it everywhere there's a walgreens. still not too late to let me know what you think. the number to dial is 877-ed-msnbc. tonight' cell phone question is do you have a problem with the muslim center being built near ground zero. press one for yes, press two for no. the number to dial is 877-ed-msnbc. that communicates. honor... follow-through... and follow-up. it's a promise that says go ahead and buy a ram 1500 without a payment for 60 days. and if it doesn't do everything you ask it to do... bring it back. ♪ ram. waking up with morning pain is hard enough, but it can also drain the energy right out of you. if you wake up tired and in pain, try new bayer am. bayer am works two ways to give you a better start to your day. it combines extra strength bayer aspirin to treat all types of pain plus an alertness aid to reduce fatigue so you can get off to a running start. don't let morning pain and exhaustion drag you down. fight it with bayer am - the morning pain reliever. helping you buy better. [ male announcer ] what if clean sheet day became clean sheet week? new ultra downy april fresh has scent pearls that give you a whole week of freshness with just one wash. ♪ and ultra downy april fresh lets you climb in to more freshness for 7 days than this other fabric softener after 2 days. so why settle? get more. feel more. ♪ [ male announcer ] he's sweet, even with 1/3 less sugar than soda. kool-aid delivering more smiles per gallon. >> in the playbook tonight, the economy is going from bat to worse. some critics are saying the president has forgotten about the middle class. new jobless claims spiked to their highest levels in nine months. bankruptcies both personal and business are at the highest level in nearly five years. what should the president do? a second stimulus package or just ask for more patience? the president hammered the republicans for blocking the small business bill today. let's watch that. >> unfortunately, a partisan minority in the senate so far has refused to allow this jobs bill to come up for a vote. many provisions in the bill were actually authored by republican senators. it has been praised as being good for small business by groups like the chamber of commerce and the national federation of independent businesses. a majority of senators are in favor of the bill. and yet, the obstruction continues. >> come on, even the right wing chamber of commerce is in favor of it. you know i'm tough on the president but he's right about this one. this bill can help and it's refreshing to see some fight in him. now joining me now is democratic strategist bob shrum, professor at new york university. this whole idea that the president has forgotten the middle class or has not done enough for unemployment, et cetera, is that just a communication problem for the president that he hasn't communicated how much he has done for them or is there some truth to it. >> he's done extraordinary things at a level we haven't seen from any president in terms of achievement in 50 years. the biggest part of the problem is that the economy is in tough shape. and the economy's in tough shape because the party of no succeeded, they succeeded in making the stimulus bill too small. they succeeded in making sure it had too many tax cuts in it and the president who i think wanted a second stimulus bill was told he didn't have the votes. the republicans wouldn't vote for it probably to a person. and there were a lot of blue dog democrats against it. but i think blaming the president -- i'm sorry. >> it's okay. but now look, blaming the republicans now right before the elections, it seems like you're really late to the party. i mean, barack obama kept reaching out and reaching out and they kept hitting below the belt. he's playing patty cake with them. now is it too late to turn around and say these guys i was trying to make deals with are actually the bad guys? >> i think what he audit to do is set a big speech that sets the frame for the midterm elections, go out and show that he and the democrats have been fighting for ordinary people and the republicans siding with special interests. that's true on issue of an issue of an issue. if he doesn't draw that kind of big dividing line, if he simply says can look the choice is do we want to go forward or go back, i fear there are going to be a lot of people who are going to say maybe i do want to go back, not to bush but to a time of full employment to a time when home values were secure. the president inhair this had mess. he's doing i think as good a job as anybody could do with it, but he now has to go out there and be the politician in chief and stop talking about bipartisanship and talk about what the real differences and stakes in the battle are. the one other thing i would add is just because robert gibbs was stupid enough to attack progressives doesn't mean that progressives should be stupid enough to attack be barack obama. we ought to be pushing. >> if he deserves. if he had actually made the changes, there would be no reason for it. instead he went halfway because of the republicans. he's all i'm going to reach out to them. patty cakes. >> we have a constitutional system of government and a distorted system in the senate where you've got to get 60 votes to get anything through. >> presidents tried for 100 years to pass health reform. this president finally did it and did it with the help of progress i bes. >> bob, thank you. i appreciate it. it's a good conversation. all right, now, look, a couple of final pages. roger clemens has been indicted. the seven-time cy young award winner indicted by the feds for allegedly lying to congress about using steroids and growth hormone, faces charges of obstruction of congress, making facility statements and perjury and throwing a bat at mike piazza. that wasn't in there. fans got way more than they bargained for at an event in spain last night. things got completely out of control when the 1,000-pound bull takes a turn and charges into the crowd. it runs through the stands knocking over people. fans are running for their lives. one guy tries to pull the bull down by the tail which is a terrible idea. employees of the but ring managed to control and kill the bull. stay classy, spain. coming up, sharron angle's totally unfounded delusion she's just like america's founding fathers. keller graduate school of management, you'll have a professor with you every step of the way. whether you take classes on campus, online, or both, you get the same attention, the same curriculum, and the same quality. 85 locations nationwide and online. discover how to grow the business of you... at keller.edu. when something's safe? 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[ female announcer ] maxwell house gives you a rich, full-flavored cup of coffee, on your next business trip, pack your marriott rewards visa card. get triple points every time you use your card at marriott. apply now and earn 22,500 bonus points when you use your card and enjoy a free night stay. so, before you know it, work time becomes well-deserved downtime. apply now at marriott.com/freenightstay. you've got staying power. welcome back. sharron angle is a gift that keeps on giving. she says she's just like america's founding fathers. is that right in the founding father who's started a revolution against the conservative monarch for their rights were conservatives? they were probably the biggest liberals the world has ever seen. somewhere in nevada, harry reid is saying thank you. tonight in our phone survey, i asked you do you have a problem with the islamic center being built near ground zero, 18% said yes, and they're wrong. 82% said no. that's "the ed show." i'm cenk uygur.tomorrow on "today," meredith gets an exclusive interview with rod blagojevich. "hardball" starts right now. losing my religion. let's play "hardball."