my reaction from bernie sanders coming up. joe lieberman may be leaving the senate, but he sure is taking the low road out of town. even today, he's still insisting iraq was developing wmds. joe lieberman, the man who still doesn't get it. adam green with us on that tonight. and presidential wannabe rick santorum plays the race card against president obama, which puts the republican has-been in the zone tonight. and more hate from rush limbaugh. reverend al sharpton live to discuss that. his crusade to get the fcc to clean up the airwaves. can he do it? but this is the story that has me fired up first tonight. less than 24 hours after house republicans repealed the health car law, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is threatening a vote in the senate. >> republicans have been listening and now they're acting. i want to congratulate our colleagues in the house on this important first step. i hope the senate will soon follow suit with a vote of its own. the democratic leadership in the senate doesn't want to vote on this bill, but i assure you, we will. >> i assure you. calling the shots. how can mitch mcconnell assure anybody of anything? mitch, you don't run the fort there in the senate. you can pull some trickery to try to get things done, but i don't think it will happen. mcconnell must have some other deal in the works to threaten the democrats with a vote in the senate. we asked majority leader harry re reid's office today. he, of course, runs the senate, to respond to mcconnell. his office gives this interesting response to us. unlikely. that's it. a one word response, unlikely. a spokesman from reid's office told us mcconnell doesn't have the power to bring the bill to the floor on its own. but, of course, you know, he can attach it to another bill and force a vote, trickery stuff. it's a cheap political trick and the republicans are using this as a diversion. republicans are not living up to what they said they were going to do. this is what mcconnell said just two days after the midterm elections. >> the american people want us to put aside the left wing wishlist and work together on helping to create jobs and restore the economy to health and prosperity. there is no reason the two parties can't work together on achieving these goals. >> okay. so threatening votes and all this kind of stuff is the best way to go? it must be a tone thing again. last fall republicans were yelling, where are the jobs? this is what they're talking about today. >> we plan to stick with repealing this terrible bill, the government takeover of health care. not only in the house, but we're going to continue and stay with us until we get it through the senate. and if it means repealing the president of the united states and repealing a liberal senate, i guess that's what we have to do in 2012. >> that's their real plan. but look what john boehner was talking about right after the health care bill passed. when are we going to begin to listen once again to the american people who sent us here to do their work? gosh, we're really off track now, aren't we, republicans? boehner hasn't introduced, he has not introduced one piece of legislation to create jobs since he became the speaker. so where's the priority? he doesn't have one, except repeal, repeal, repeal. boehner isn't focused on jobs today. he's worried about abortion. >> clearly, there's an awful lot of doubt as to where the administration really is on this issue. i think the will of the people is that they will enact this clear cut prohibition on taxpayer funds on abortions. >> does he follow the news at all? does he follow the news in his own chamber? the president signed an executive order that bars federal funds for abortion. two years ago, president obama took the oath of office, two years ago today. ever since he's been on a legislative roll. he's doing great in the polls. he's doing better and better. so democrats need to hold their ground on health care. it's not an issue. harry reid can't afford to pay for the same real estate twice. this country has broken ground on health care reforms somewhat, okay? we got some good things. and what do the republicans want to do? they want to discriminate. they want to divert. they have no job plan. where's all the job talk coming from the republicans? they are ominously silent. they talk about job killing but they don't talk about job creation. so we're going down the road of repeal. we're going down the road of threats. we're going down the road of what we really want to do is get rid of the democrats in the senate and get rid of the president and, in fact, we're not going to do anything for two years. that's basically what they're saying. every bill that comes up in the senate, you can guarantee that mitch mcconnell is going to try to get a vote on health care and we're not going to get anything done for the next couple of years. ask yourself the question, is that what you voted for? and keep in mind, boehner had to take that vote on health care because he has 60 nut job tea partiers there that he has to satisfy. but where's the job talk republicans? tell me what you think. the number to dial tonight is 1-877-ed-msnbc. tonight's question is, do you think john boehner and the republicans have a real plan for job creation? i mean, where is it? press number 1 for yes, press number 2 for no. we'll bring the results later on in the show. joining me now is vermont independent senator bernie sanders. senator, great to have you with us tonight. and thank you for braving the chilly vermont weather tonight to join us on this very important subject. i really appreciate it and i know our viewers do, too. let's get right to it. here you have minority leader mitch mcconnell in the senate assuring that there will be a vote on repealing health care in the senate. what do you think about that? >> well, i can assure the american people that health care reform is not going to be repealed. it should not be repealed. in fact, it should be made stronger. here in vermont, i can tell you we are looking forward to being the first state in the country to pass a medicare for all single payer system, but whatever happens, we are certainly not going to deny 32 million more americans health insurance. we're not going to deny 20 million more americans access to community health centers. we're not going to do away with pre-existing conditions and the right of young people to be able to be part of their family's insurance programs. >> republicans seem to be very short on jobs talk. how long is this rhetoric about health care going to go on with the republicans? how long are they going to ride this pony in your opinion? >> well, i think this pony may be bucking a little bit. and the polling i have seen, ed, is that while there is a real split in this country about whether people like the health care reform bill or not, most people understand that when you have 50 million americans uninsured, when the cost of health care is soaring when we're spending twice as much per capita on health care than any other nation, it would be totally absurd to completely repeal this health care bill. that's what the polls are telling us. it's absurd in my mind to continue to talk and talk and talk about this issue when we have a massive unemployment problem, huge national debt and we've got two wars. there's a couple of other things i think we've got to address now as well. >> is this an admission that the republicans really don't have a plan to create jobs, that they seemated on tearing down what the last session did on health care? where's the jobs talk? why aren't the republicans demanding it? >> i think you're right. when you look at the real problems facing this country, and that's creating the millions of jobs that we desperately need, moving us towards a balanced budget in a fair way, not giving tax breaks to billionaires, not allowing corporations to continue to hide their money in the cayman islands and other tax havens. when you're talking about the real issues that affect the american people, the republicans have very little to say. >> appreciate your time. thanks so much. we'll do it again. >>ing okay, ed, take care. >> joining me now is bob shrum. this is eric cantor, house majority leader talking about what harry reid and the senate should do on health care. here it is. >> i've got a problem with the assumption here that somehow the senate can be a place for legislation to go into a cul-de-sac or a dead end. and leader reid continues to say that he is not going to bring this up for a vote in the senate. the american people deserve a full hearing. >> does it violate the new rule of civility so say that's shamelessly hypocrite call? they presented all sorts of important legislation coming up in the senate. used the filibuster over and over and over again, and even tried to prevent the 9/11 responders from getting the help they need by using a filibuster. look, these guys don't have a jobs plan. they don't want a recovery, they want a recession so they can, in michele bachmann's inelegant phrase, repeal president obama. i think we'll see them do this again and again. there are smart republican strategists who think this is a very bad idea, that they're going to run the risk of doing to themselves what republicans tried to say barack obama had done to himself when he was pushing health reform so hard. that is they're going to look like they're so angry that they want to take this bill, they want to repeal it and they're not going to pay any attention to jobs and the critical economic issues before the country. >> and the bottom line here, don't the republicans have to make a decision how long they stay on this? or are we headed for major gridlock again in this next session of the congress? i mean, if he's assuring the american people that there's going to be a vote on health care when he's the minorly teeder, he can put it as an amendment, but of course, the democrats aren't going to move on that. so we have more gridlock. >> i can assure my wife i'm going to run the new york marathon but it's not going to happen. he can assure the american people that there's going to be a health care vote in the senate but he's not going to have that either. they need to move on, figure out how they're going to cooperate with the president. their numbers went up, congress went up, the president's went up in december when this occurred. the difficulty with that is boehner understands that. mcconnell may even understand that, but they have to deal with two things. one, about 60 tea party people, you're absolutely right about this, in the republican caucus in the house. and two, mcconnell has a whole bunch of tea partiers who are afraid of a challenge. maybe, just maybe they'll try and do it for another week, hope they've satisfied the base and then move on. >> they've got to get to jobs sooner or later. although if we did run in the new york marathon, we would at least make it to the corner. >> maybe if they have a walking division we could do it. >> i know the bus routes, i guarantee you that. thanks for being on. i think they have to get to jobs sooner or later. and this gal right here, michele bachmann, she's flying to iowa tonight for meetings. she could make this gop race a real scramble. our panel on that tonight. senator joe lieberman, lefties aren't we just excited about the fact that he's leaving? could he leave sooner? anyway, he insisted today that saddam hussein was developing wmd. folks, joe-mentum is over. give it a rest. can you leave early? plus governor al sharpton takes on rush's racism. and rick santorum plays the race card against president obama. in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. i love your work. it's true. you never forget your first subaru. coming up, steve cohen on his controversial remarks on the house floor. that's coming up. why did he say it, what did he really mean? that's next. helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor. so do a few lifts. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ ♪ work, work all week long ♪ punching that clock from dusk till dawn ♪ ♪ countin' the days till friday night ♪ ♪ that's when all the conditions are right for a good time ♪ [ male announcer ] advanced technology that helps provide cleaner air, cleaner water, and helps make all of us more energy efficient is something the whole world can get in step with. [ static ] ♪ i need a good time [ male announcer ] ecomagination from ge. it's technology that makes the world work. ♪ guarantee me the best deal on my refinance loan, or pay me $1,000? that would be nice, not getting swindled. um...where are we? don't just think about it. put lendingtree to the test. get the best deal, or $1,000. welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. i said repeatedly if we want to change the tone in this country, it has to start with the lawmakers in washington. today, democratic lawmakers are in the spotlight, one in particular because he brought up the nazis while making an argument against health care repeal. here's congressman steve cohen on the house floor tuesday night. 2009, st. peterpetersburg times the biggest lie is the government takeover of health care. there is no takeover. it's insurance. we heard in 2009, there were death panels. everybody agrees now that was a big lie. just like government takeover of health care is a big non. the nonpartisan, bipartisan congressional budget office says it's going to cost us $230 billion the first decade. and $1.2 trillion thereafter. and they say well, they can have their opinion. those are facts. those are nonpartisan facts of people we hire to give us the truth. and they don't like the truth so they summarily dismiss it. they say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie. just like gerbles. you say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie and eventually people believe it. like blood libel. that's the same kind of thing. the germans said enough about the jews and the people believed it and you had the holocaust. >> congressman cohen joins us tonight here on adequate the "t" did you go too far? >> apparently so. a lot of people hold a strict liability rule on mentioning the holocaust or anything. i'm jewish and i passed a holocaust commission on my state and worked on it 20 years. i've learned that lesson, i guess. everything i said was true. i think everybody agreed that it was true. there's been a message. it's been given over and over and over and it's a lie. i regret it's taken away from the health care issue that i'm so passionate about. i participated in the special order. i wanted to get the people who watch c-span the information that you gave them on the clip that you just showed. >> i think you were very clear in your house floor message about exactly what they have been saying about health care and the government takeover. the cbo numbers and all that kind of stuff. but do you feel like you -- you know, brought us to a point where there should not have been a comparison because the holocaust was so horrific, compared to a repeal on health care. >> no question. that's true. still that's something i don't see still. i have to admit it. what i was talking about was the message and the process of delivering the message -- >> are you sorry for making the connection? >> i'm definitely i am. i'm sorry any jewish people, my republican colleagues got the wrong impression. i do think the rhetoric should be toned down. i hate if i participated in anything that made my congress, which i'm honored to be a member of, or my district, which i love -- >> would you say that you would not use that term again? >> never. >> because, you know, the tea party has been criticized for carrying nazi signs at rallies and such stuff as that and the comparison of hitler to the president. there's been plenty of criticism on that. and now a democratic congressman goes out and you say you're sorry for that tonight. but if we're talking about tone in america, this can't be tolerated, can it? >> no. i'm not going to do it again. i learned my lesson. and when i was among the tea party people when they were protesting the health care, i walked among them for about 20 minutes and i saw those signs with president obama looking as hitler, et cetera. and it was disgusting. and, you know, it was a mistake. but when you do special orders, i do my one minutes -- i speak from the hip. i obviously went further than i should have. and i have apologized to the american anti-defamation league and the jewish defense, you name it. but i'm pleased to the message -- the message i said was true that they've been lying and they've been doing it over and over and over again and that's been their game. and i don't think we have had a good message on our side to respond to it. >> and i think a lot of liberals in this country admire you for calling them liars because the numbers are what they are. and this is hurting a lot of people if it were to ever go to a repeal. plus the cbo conversation we're having in this country. you're talking about a messaging machine they definitely followed to get their point across with health care. >> i think it started with karl rove and weapons of mass destruction then went to government takeover of health care. then yesterday on the floor. michele bachmann was talking about socialist. those are the buzz words that are fall and shouldn't be used, but they continue using them. and i think mike penn said he's often -- he wants to be concise, careful and consistent. that's somebody who i will never mention again who lived in a previous century who worked ifor bad people, what he did. >> thank you so much for coming on. we'll see rick san tur rtorum i zone" next. six crunchy triscuit crackers and six slices of kraft 2% milk natural cheese for a dollar or less equals 22 grams of delicious whole grain that are good for you and your wallet. when you can have triscuit, why snackrifice ? 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mine can. td ameritrade can. they've got trading specialists i can call for help. and paper trading. free practice trading that helps me hone my technique. complex options. and free tutorials. online or in person. can a trading site really make a difference? if it can't, why are you trading there? number one in online equity trades: td ameritrade. trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account. in "psycho talk" tonight, former pennsylvania senator rick sanatorium is the best hope to win back the senate seat he lost in 2006. but santorum hasn't lost his skill at using psycho touk talk. listen to the way he characterized president obama's stance on abortion. the question is, and this is what barack obama didn't want to answer, is that human life? a person under the constitution? and barack obama says no. well, if that person, human life is not a person, i find it almost remarkable for a black man to say no, we're going to decide who are people and who are not people. >> republicans are so bankrupt of ideas, that guy is their idea of a good senate candidate? an santorum isn't the only 2006 loser trying to push his way back into politics. down in virginia, george allen is trying to gear up again and win back that senate seat that he lost after using this racist comment. >> this guy over here with the yellow shirt, the macaca or whatever it is. he's with my opponent. he's following me around everyone. let's give a hand to macaca here. >> will the highlight reel ever change? the republicans are being forced to roll out washed up 2006ers like allen and santorum. i say bring it on. democrats can only benefit from their stale psycho talk. coming up, the republicans pander to the tea partiers during the midterms. now it may be coming back to haunt them. that's next in the battleground story tonight. rush limbaugh is spewing more hate on to the airwaves. now he's mocking the chinese president. reverend sharpton is going to the fcc. he'll join me tonight. plus, michele bachmann is headed to iowa. what's that all about? does she think she can be president? 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[ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? campbell's healthy request can help. low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat, and a healthy level of sodium. it's amazing what soup can do. welcome back to "the ed show." the republicans are out on a limb, are they not? nay pandered to the tea party base during the campaign, they built their strategy for 2012 right after the political lexs. but the political world has shifted since then. president obama is looking stronger these days. he has a 53% job approval rating, up eight points, a big move. meanwhile, the polls also show the midterm honeymoon pretty much over for the republicans. just 25% of americans say the republicans in congress will bring the right kind of change to washington. 20% say they won't bring any -- they're going to bring the wrong change and 51% say well, they're not going to bring any change at all. joining me now, the founding editor of the huffington post. gosh, it reminds me of the wind sailing commercial they had of john jerry. who's moving forward? what do you make of it? >> as an old football player it's a lot -- >> easy on "old." easy on "old." >> as a classic football player, ed, you know it's a lot easier to stand on the sidelines and boo and hiss. it's the old nicholson line when he says to tom cruise, tell me you got more than this. tell me this is not all you've got. the american people are sitting here, 43% of them want congress to focus on jobs. and what is the fist thing they do autoof the gate? health care repeal? i mean, they're stumbling, falling on their face, ed. it's pure kabuki theatre. >> right now a lot of americans have shifted. only 45% think he's a true liberal. 40% think he's a moderate. that's a high number. and 11%, i don't know where they are, they think he's a conservative. we know that's not true. the bomb line here is he's really setting up a formula and has cut enough deals to make them happy over on the conservative side. >> that's the point here, what are they going to do? what is their plan for jobs? they've been banging on and banging on. but they' got to feed that tea party base. that's the promise they made to them. the bottom line is i think this is a great chance for the democrats in the senate to regame the issue about health care. >> you've got to buy a piece of property twice. we had this discussion. i think that's why it's polling so much better for the president. the bottom line is, it's all about jobs and the republicans have nothing on the table. when are we going to get the jobs plan from boehner and the boys? >> exactly. with we're sitting here waiting for it. time to put up or shut up. when people look at the specifics of this bill, keeping kids on your plan until they're 26, no pre-existing conditions. not booting someone off when they get sick. they go i like this. i think this is a really horrible ground for them to stand on. i think they're making a similar mistake by trying to pay off their base on the health care repeal idea. >> this is the one i really like. let's go back to the reagan years. the republicans love reagan so much, they want to put his picture on a dime, you know what i mean? reagan this time in his presidency, 10.4%. president obama, 9.4. job approval, 37%. president obama, 54. re-election? well, what do you think? i think it looks pretty good right now. i think the next two years, roy, in my opinion is going to be all about messaging and protecting what the democrats did in the last session. >> you know what we're going to see, ed? just as barack obama looked fantastic in juxtaposition to sarah palin on the tucson shootings, we see boehner and mcconnell doing these crazy and theatrical dances, he's going to look more and more like the grown-up in the room. >> congratulations on how you've just grown over there. it's a great american story. you do great work. >> appreciate it, my friend. now, let's get some rapid response from our panel on these stories. congresswoman michele bachmann is going to give a big speech in iowa tomorrow. she's also going to talk to officials in the state. she's a fundraising machine, you can't deny it. the presidential race is going to get interesting real fast. and the honeymoon is over for republicans in congress. only a quarter of americans think they'll bring the kind of change to washington that americans want. joining us to night, joe madison, xm satellite talk show host, joe and michael, great to have you with us tonight. let's go down the road to michele bachmann. what's the plan here? i know minnesota is close to -- iowa is close to minnesota, but i can tell you, it's cold there, too. what is she doing going to iowa? >> well, look. there are tons and tons of new republicans who are talking about getting into the race. hrudey giuliani is talking about getting into the race. donald trump is talking about running as a republican. the ambassador to china is talking about running as a republican. what does that show? it shows even though president obama has gotten a big bump in the poll and because of the compromises he made with the republicans in the lame duck session, he still looks vulnerable. there's going to be a lot of excitement in the republican field this time. >> what about bachmann? you can't deny the fact that she's a money machine. she's that kind of candidate that comes out there and she just says it, she doesn't care how controversial it is. do a lot of voters in this country, that's the real appeal. joe, what do you think? >> it's interesting what i just heard. one is that it's not just a bump because of the speech he gave. i mean, you just got through having a con ver saversation. people say there's no plan on the republican side. she's a money machine, it's payback time. when you go around the country and raise money for candidates, she's going to now make them pay up. that's why she's in there. what i find interesting is i can't wait for the cat fight between sarah palin and bachmann. >> you're going to have to wait for a long time. i don't think either of those two ladies are going to run. >> really? then why is she in iowa. >> she's considering it. i think her better chance is to run for senate in iowa. >> let's come back at some point in time because i think both of them are going to run and try to stake out positions at the republican convention. that's exactly what -- i don't think they're going to be the nominee, but i think they're definitely going to run. >> michael, you really think both of them are going to run? >> no, i don't think either of them are going to run. i think the republican nominee is going to be what we call a fresh face. somebody who hasn't been around the block that much. now, michele bachmann would qualify, but i think it's very, very tough for anybody to run directly from the house for president of the united states. >> and also when you're kind of nutty when you talk and you're an extremist -- >> hey, joe. we've got a new tone in america. >> the honeymoon is over for the republicans. obviously the poll numbers are showing that. but i've got to ask both of you, when do you think the republicans are going to come to the table with a real jobs plan instead of pointing their finger at the white house all the time. michael, when is the job plan coming? >> there's not going to be a job plan and i'll tell you why not. because that's not your job when you control one house of congress. the republicans got elected to try to temper and move barack obama to the center. >> the right kind of change? look at those numbers. >> by the way, 50% of people, ed in that same poll that you just showed believe there will be no change in congress. they're not afraid of the republicans. jobs are not the issue. let me tell you something, i hope everyone -- >> i said there will be no job plan. >> it's not their job to create their jobs. >> come on, quit their double talk. it's their job to create policy to help business create jobs. >> the congress responds to the president. i hope he talks about tax reform. i hope he talks about meaningful progress on the deficit. the republicans' job is to get our fiscal house in order. >> okay, no jobs plan the firs republican congress to never have one. >> that's a sound bite. >> always a pleasure. good discussion, guys. coming up, joe lieberman gave us one more reason to celebrate him leaving today. wait until you hear what he said about wmd in iraq. adam green sounds off. and rush limbaugh is at it again. reverend al sharpton spoprespono his hate next. ♪ ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me ♪ dee dee dee ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me [ female announcer ] now you can take your philly even further with new philadelphia cooking creme. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. >> and in my "playbook" tonight, progressives couldn't be happier about turn coat joe lieberman saying he's going to leave the senate. he's been a long thorn in the side of the democratic party from the war in iraq to john mccain. all the way through the health care debate, he's still in denial about weapons of mass destruction in iraq. listen to the exchange with arianna huffington this morning. >> saddam was threatening the stability of the entire region. he's shown that by his actions. he was developing weapons of mass destruction. >> on what basis are you saying that? >> i'm basing it on the report, charles duelfer. >> there's nothing in the report -- >> i don't think you've read it, sweetheart. >> gentlemje senator from conne joe lieberman just showed why progressives can't wait for him to leave. not only is he off his rocker, he's rude. he may be the last person in america who thinks saddam hussein had wmds. george w. bush even admitted they were wrong about it. >> we thought he had weapons of mass destruction. turns out he dependent. >> his good buddy john mccain thinks he would be a great secretary of defense. i don't. for more, let's bring in adam green. i'm a liberal, i'm celebrating. i would like for him to leave tonight if possible. the damaging affect he's had to the progressive movement? >> first of all, it's important to point out that joe lieberman has consistently lived in a state of denial or delusion. you might recall in 2004, he actually ran for president and in the new hampshire primary, he came in fifth out of five major candidates, yet he went on stage that night and declared himself having come in tied for third place. anytime he loses, he declares victory. he hurt the democratic party and it's a good thing he's going. >> how do you think the left would take it if president obama put him on a cabinet? >> that would be a pretty bad thing. president obama would probably hear a lot of blowback on that. i think arianna huffington just said to joe lieberman's face, i really hope you're not appointed secretary of defense because we can't have someone in that position who still thinks that there were weapons of mass destruction in iraq. >> is he too much of a hawk? >> is he too much of a hawk? well, absolutely yes. it was a pretty pivotal moment in 2006 when progressive s pry married him and through the iraq message, by beating him and showing that voters supported democratic politicians being strong on the iraq issue, that actually had ripple effects and had the entire democratic party to start talking about iraq which helped us take back congress. that's been our strategy the last couple of years, trying to push democrats to be bolder on things like the public option and wall street reform. >> and who would you support in connecticut for this senate seat? >> that's a good question. we had a senior staffer on the ground from your team working to organize progressives to beat joe lieberman if he ran. now that he's out, one guy is chris murphy who we're taking a look at. but we want to support the most progress i progressive candidate in that race. >> couple of final pages in the play book tonight. president john f. kennedy was sworn into office. his inaugural address remains an iconic speech that will always live on in american history. >> the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor, we'll light our country and all who serve it. and so my fellow americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. >> events in washington will honor president kennedy all week. tonight in the kennedy center, it's hosting morgan freeman who will read excerpts from the late president's speeches. president obama is gearing up for his reelectioned by. the president is moving some senior white house staffers to chicago and opening up his campaign headquarters there. the white house spokesman robert gibbs says he will formally declare his candidacy soon. the formal launch is expected this spring. coming up, rush limbaugh, well, he's at it again. more on his racist rants. and it was flat out despicable and offensive. reverend al sharpton up next to talk about this. 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"thank you very much, i don't need your help any more." you know now, i can actually say i bought my home. i knew that the more i dedicated... the harder i worked, the more it was going to benefit my family. this my son, mario and he now works at walmart. i believe mario is following in my footsteps. my name is noemi, and i work at walmart. ♪ to stay fit, you might also want to try lifting one of these. a unique sea salt added to over 40 campbell's condensed soups. helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor. so do a few lifts. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ >> finally tonight, rush limbaugh went after the chinese president with this despicable imitation. had you jintao -- [ imitating chinese ] >> nobody was translating. but that's as close as i can get to it. >> well, limbaugh just keeps saying whatever he wants with no consequences. but if a liberal says something similar, look out, folks. do you remember back in 2006, rosie o'donnell took a lot of heat for imitating a chinese newscaster on "the view." and news busters went to town on that story. there were calls for her to be fired and she was eventually forced to apologize. so far limbaugh hasn't acknowledged that what he said was wrong or what he did is offensive. and of course nobody here on my show is holding many i breath, especially me. but my next guest is taking action to put an end to the hate speech and stuff like that in america. reverend al sharpton is working on getting the fcc to clamp town on racism on the public airways. do you consider that racism? >> unquestionably. he's mocking someone based on their language and their culture, which therefore is not against an individual, it's against a whole race of people. this is an anti-chinese slur. and not only is it bias against people of chinese language or chinese dissent, it is at a time when this country is trying to for the economic benefit of the country have a good relationship with the chinese. so here we are, a week and a half after the president tries to pull the country together in the wake of arizona, and here we have rick santorum, we have rush at it again, they have the right to do it, but i don't think rush has the right to do it on the airways. fcc needs to draw the line of where the standards are. >> and how close are you do you think to these public hearings? would they happen this year in 2011? >> i think thigh will. we need people to continue to write the fcc as many have saying we want public hearings. why not have public discussion. even the right that says we think we have the right to do it, what are you afraid of? having a public hearing, public discussion so these people from limbaugh all the way can come in front of the position and explain our position and let the public see what government is saying is proper and improper to use federally regulated airwaves for. >> you say what limbaugh did is racist. what do you think to the people who think it was funny. oh, gosh, that was a funny imitation of the chinese president. what about that? >> well, if you want to use humor to desecrate people based on who they are, the question is do you have the right to do that using federally regulated airwaves? you can use humor and be funny with obscenitieobscenities, but you can't do that. you can use humor and talk about doing something criminal. you can't do that. i think you should not be able to use humor in a racist or gender-biased way. reverend al sharp ton, always a pleasure to have with us on this subject. you are going after this in a totally different way than anyone has ever approached what is said on the public airwaves in america. do you get any inclination at all that this is going to be received as a very serious issue with the fcc? >> i think we will get to the public hearings as long as people help us to continue to push it. and we show real determination. >> reverend, good to have you with us tonight. thank you so much. tonight in our telephone survey, i asked if you think john boehner and the republicans have real plans for job creation. 2% said yes, 98% of you say no. boehner, you've got work to do, buddy. this program note, dan lauria in the play "lombardi" will be with us tomorrow. the packers and the bears play this weekend. dan lauria, a fabulous actor. and i tell