far. >> i don't think anybody's going to miss thanksgiving because of any sort of protest. >> washington goes from carving turkeys to debating ducks. >> after the republicans stood the president up for the first day. >> we've just come through a two-year period where we saw the government take over just about everything it could get its hands on. >> they will try again. >> i have the awesome responsibility of granting a presidential pardon to a pair turkeys. >> his meeting with republicans will take place next week. >> they will have to decide what to do about the expiring bush tax cuts. >> what's still unclear, at least to me, what position it's going to take, what is the compromise position. >> democrats have to decide whether to force a showdown. >> there's a significant disagreement that feels like they're almost waiting to see what the republicans will do. >> white house reaching out to big business in the middle of record profits. >> i have people complaining over here, i have those same people investing like they never have before. >> in the senate, john mccain is still threatening to philly buster the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. >> the policy has been work and i think it's been working well. >> harry reid promises action on the dream act. >> if harry reid wins re-election in nevada, he'd better start understanding how to say muchas gracias. >> and all sides will have to decide what to do with the growing crisis in north korea. >> the carrier will be joining military exercises starting this coming weekend. >> our commitment to defend south korea -- >> our north korean allies, we're bound to by treaty -- >> what i'm saying,i don't think about sarah palin. >> you need a little bit of levity in this job. >> good evening from new york. this holiday season american corporations have a lot to be thankful for. they just had one of their best quarters ever. posting profits of approximately $1.6 trillion. the white house has signalled its concern about strained relations with the business community and wants to make itself more accessible to corporate executives when it rebuilds its economic team. the americans that continue to struggle with the threat of joblessness and foreclosure, should president obama be concerned about strained relationships with the mainstream. and the extension of unemployment benefits when the lame duck session of congress returns next week? joining me now, ari berman, roger haj, the author of "the mendacity of hope." thank you all for being here. >> thanks for having us. >> let's start with this news about record quarterly profits. fundamentally, barack obama has always been a creature of business interests. how do you understand the sort of -- the corporate profits and the fact that the business people aren't happy with him? >> he hurt their feelings. he said that they were fat cats, and that's got to hurt. i mean, otherwide i don't understand it. because he came into office, he had a major coalition of corporate backers. these guys invetted in his candidacy, and they've gotten tremendous returns. so what are they unhappy about? i don't get it. >> i think also, i wonder, adam. you're a pretty savvy political strategist and organizer, i wonder also the degree to which this is intentionally sort of maximalism from the part of corporate american finance which is to never be happy, to always have demands. how much this is a strategic game they're playing. >> i would be shocked if it wasn't a strategic game. what we're seeing with president obama is, despite the fact that we have corporations who have spent millions to crush him, and despite the fact that republican leaders are saying, their number one priority is to beat him. that's not how you negotiate and get respect. they should take a lesson from them on this one front. figure out how to be stronger in negotiation and fight. >> there's a clip we have of john boehner, actually, i want to play this, because it's gotten lost in the whole tax cut debate. this is what boehner had to say about his openness to tax reductions. >> the only option i have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, i'll vote for them. >> right, so boehner actually said this back in august. it's been lost to history bizarrely. and now the white house is saying, maybe we'll do the same thing. ari ari, what do you think the white house has learned or mislearned from their shellacking. >> it doesn't seem like they've learned a lot. they've forced boehner's hands, vote on these tax cuts. that's where they have the upper hand but they've been boxed in by boehner's subsequent statements by mcconnell and the rest of the gop who say we have to extend the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. president obama says he doesn't want to do it, don't do it. actually have a vote on the middle class tax cults and let people decide. >> i should know, right, there is a consensus position. to the extent there's a bipartisan consensus, he's voting on these tax cut that is everyone agrees on, the only polarizing thing. i want to get to something that's really important in terms of understanding the president. roger, the argument you make in the book is that our understanding or this progressive understanding that they don't know how to negotiate, there are all these strategic missteps that led to this is fundamentally flawed, right? >> yeah, i think obama is taking care of his real constituenonstituency. he's taking care of the people that voted for him in the only way that counts. how much are you putting into the game? are you paying to play? if you're playing to pay your interests will be served. if you're just voting, there's nothing, you're not going to get anything. >> do you think, ari, i don't know if you've read the book. your books compliment each other in an interesting way. the thesis of your book is that there was something there that was genuine and grassroots. and a part of it has been perverted. there wasn't anything real and genuine there in the beginning? >> i don't think obama won because he was the candidate of goldman sachs. but what made his campaign unique was all these people. every politician's in the pocket of goldman sachs and these guys. obama differentiated himself by promising another way that all these people would be able to thwart the entrenched power of the corporate interests in washington. that was his campaign premise and he didn't do it once he got to the white house. >> why didn't he do it? adam, you've been on a lot of the fight s s, what is fuelling -- what is your framework for understanding not waiting in those fights? >> i think the political competence of this white house is under question. they're unwilling to step on toes. when someone like owe lympia snow says she would kill the public option if it was proposed in the health care bill. he could have flown to maine, commanded local media attention, tell everyone to pick up their cell phones and call their senator. he didn't do that. he invited her and joe lieberman to a backroom and said, what do you want. what he needs to do with this lame duck session is say, i'm going to draw a line somewhere, and pick a fight. >> there's several fights to be picked from in this session. there's the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. there's extension of unemployment benefits and there's tax cuts. do you foresee fights being picked on those? are we going to run up into the same kind of structural impediments in the filibuster and have the same conversation again about whether olympia snow is going to come aboard? >> i think if anything, obama will probably pick a fight on the dream act because it doesn't hurt his corporate backers. >> this is a new prediction? >> no, no, i'm saying, it's a no-brainer. i mean, he alienates the tea party, but so what. i mean, that doesn't hurt him, that helps him, he can get some credibility by fighting on that. whether he'll do that or not, i don't know. but the logic of his administration points to that. because it's easy. >> well, and i think it would be the same thing on don't ask, don't tell, right? don't ask, don't tell is another place where a fight could be picked that isn't going to necessarily -- >> i think what people care about most now is the economy. the tax cuts are the crucial fight, if he wants to reduce the deficit, and then extends these tax cuts for the wealthy, his entire domestic agenda is completely boxed in, that's why this fight is so important to lay a marker down. if he doesn't, it's going to thwart the rest of his agenda. >> not just a marker, but if you will not pick a fight on an issue, where you are are on the side of 98% of the people. and the republicans are on the side of the wealthiest 2%? what will you pick a fight on? this is the way to get his mojo back and run into the new congress. >> what lesson do you think the white house has lrned from their shellac shellacking? you have an understanding of it. i think everyone at the table has an understanding of what created the shellacking. what do you think the white house has learned from it? >> i'm weeping as i say this. people want us to compromise more, and we will get credit if we compromise more. if you were to take a poll, which i'm sure there were plenty of, that is one of the least relevant questions in the poll. when people want the public option, want corporations held accountable and the republicans are standing on the side of almost no one, except their corporate benefactors, you don't cut a 50/50 compromise, you fight. unfortunately, i don't see them learning this lesson. i hope they do. if you're listening out there, learn your lesson, pick a fight. >> ari, what do you think? >> i think if you listen to obama's interviews, he said, i looked like too much of a tax and spend liberal. i don't think that was the mandate. people were frustrated by the government. it was the third straight incumbent. they wanted to see how government was helping them in their lives, instead they looked at government as being on the side of the bailout, for example. being on the side of these corporate profits and not really fighting for the little guy. not really fighting for main street, that's where obama's message didn't breakthrough, if he had been more populous, if he had gotten that tax and spaend again de, but had done it in tangible ways that benefited people's lives, he would have been better off. >> do you agree with that? >> i do. going back to what made his candidacy special. it was so cynical. looking back, i think there's no question that he identified his ,gift. he identified his angle, he came up with this beautiful rhetoric, but it was ultimately empty. and if he does pick a fight on the tax cuts, i will be blown out of my chair. i just don't believe he will do it. >> the one difference i have with roger is, he's saying obama is competent and strong and doing what he intended to do. i'm arguing, he may have had a good vision in the future. >> i don't think he's competent, i think he's plitically incompetent. >> you think he has ill intent and is incompetent. >> i don't think his intent is malignant, it's just conventional. he wants to succeed. that's the way i see it. doesn't really care what it is that gets passed as long as he gets the mark on the board. >> i think that was the rahm emmanuel school of politics that he ended up following. >> i just like you, chris, from being in chicago we followed obama pretty early on, and he must have been incredibly cynical from a very early moment because people really gravitated toward his campaign early on without him doing anything. >> even the senate campaign. >> in the senate campaign very early on, he became this vessel for all these students that were inspired by him. that was real. >> i think the movement around him was real. i think people actually saw that there was a possibility there. but i think ultimately, he didn't care. he came in and he -- once he got in, it was just like the door shut. >> i'd like to mention one thing here. there were several hundred former obama campaign staffers that joined our group through the process of the public option fight. i e-mailed them a few days ago. i was shocked by the responses i got. people writing back saying, if i caves on tax cuts, this is not the person i campaigned for. >> it seems like the tax cuts is a real marker, it's a real center of the caucus issue the way the social security privatization has been in the past. so let's say that is the case, the tax cuts fight is going to be the biggest one. how do you see -- where's the daylight in terms of moving this in the right direction? i mean, if what roger's saying is right, i'm curious to hear this from you first, roger, where do you see the flexibility in the system at this point for people to have an impact on a fight like that, if the sort of ending has already been written? >> i think it's hopeless. in a way it's hopeless with this administration. i think people have to let go their desires and their wishes and their hopes and dreams about obama and just get organized and say, okay, obama's what we have to fight. >> right. >> and we have to fight it. we have to create an organized movement on particular issues, most importantly money in the system. if we can't get the obscene quantities of money pushed to the margins, the rest of it's not going to happen, if we can't pass something like the fair elections now act, if we can't get even disclose act which is lamentable. somebody came up to me after a debate in october and said that every public interest group in the country should spend a third of their budget focusing on campaign finance. no other cause can possibly succeed as long as we live in this absolutely corrupt system. >> i'm going to give you each 15 seconds to say a prohope message. >> this is where writers and activists might disagree. i think there's room for activism here, over 140,000 people have gone to our website and signed a petition telling president obama to fight, don't cave. the afl-cio all coming out in this public clamor say dare republicans to vote against these middle class tax cuts and i'm hoping the clamor is going to result in at least the congress taking the lead, even if the president won't. >> i think obama's a reasonably progressive guy, he's being pushed to the right by almost everyone, we'll see if some people on the left can push him to do the right thing on the tax cuts and going-forward. >> great conversation, guys. thank you so much for joining me, i really appreciate it. still ahead, we were promised chaos. the naked airport scanners were supposed to ruin holiday travel. without airport anarchy, what's the reaversion to the new tsa rules. that's next. sarah palin says she wouldn't sit down with katie couric again. could it be because levi johnston's performance with the same questions? when i was 16, i was hired as a cashier at the walmart in marinette, wisconsin. that first job launched my career. since i've been with the company, i've been promoted ten times over the span of 11 years. today, i'm a divisional learning and development manager. we can actually help people develop in their own careers. my job allows me to make a difference in the lives of almost 100,000 associates in the northeast. if you think about it, that's almost 8 times the size of my hometown. my name is nick and i work at walmart. ♪ a $100 cream. flabbergasted when we creamed a $500 cream! for under $30 regenerist micro-sculpting cream hydrates better than 23 of america's most expensive luxury creams. fantastic. phenomenal. regenerist. protesters threatening disruptions over new tsa rules must have gotten sidetracked. even the flying scottsman who threatened to enhance patdowns while wearing a kill sans underpants didn't show. is the debate over? don't bet on it. why the president's turkey pard season a good place to start. this friday only, buy one of these smartphones and get a great jawbone icon hero headset free. only at verizon. i won't. ♪ [ female announcer ] clear some snow. ♪ or spread a little warmth. maxwell house gives you a rich full flavored cup of coffee so you can be good to the last drop. whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters, plus a powerful pain reliever, wherever you need it! [ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is! happy national opt out day, everyone. the holiday dates all the way back to last week when a loosely organized internet campaign encouraged the 1.6 million passengers estimated to fly this thanks giving to opt out of a screening by the tsa's new scanners. or as the website wewon'tfly.com calls them, porno scandals. the opt out day's organizer's goal was to encourage passengers to opt in to the tsa's time-consuming enhanced pantdowns complete with groin inspection. that would jam checkpoints, force the tsa to reconsider its policy. the tsa's goal was to prevent the next underwear bomber from taking down a flight. it appears that getting home to grandma is more pressing than protesting. no serious disruptions were reported at the major airports on the busiest travel day of the year. president of the american federation of government employees, a union that protects tsa officers and the co creator of we won't fly dot com thank you for joining me. >> thank you. >> how do you feel national opt out day went. do you feel it was a success? >> absolutely. for three weeks we've been recommending to travelers to avoid the airports today. avoid the radiation nude photography, and also to avoid the enhanced patdown which most people would considering to be a sexual assault. we recommend travelers opt out of both those things and find another way to travel. from what i've heard, the airports have been very quiet today, the aaa has announced a record number of travelers are traveling by car, daze up to 94% which is a significant increase over last year. so it seems to me that a lot of people have said, no, we will not be abused for the privilege of purchasing air travel. >> john, i wonder how you have from your perch as the president of the union, how you understand this backlash that's developed. were you in a position in which the department of homeland security came to you and your members knew these new policies would be coming out? do you have a position as union president whether they're a good idea or not? >> well, obviously, the transportation security officers knew the new policy was coming out, they had been trained on it, but anyone who intentionally wants to delay or disrupt air security, that's the craziest idea in the world. there's going to be technological advances, evolution of technology, metal scanners just don't make it any more. and i think most people will be very realistic about this thing and they are going to be giving thanks that our -- the flying public is secure. and i do want to say this, that i think the flying public really owes a lot of thank you and appreciation to the transportation security officers. they put up with a lot of abuse this week, i think they handled it very professionally, courteously and the flying public ignored this opt out. >> one of the things i read about what you were organizing was wondering if the actions that you were advocating was going to end up bringing the brunt to bear on the people implementing the policy as opposed to the people who crafted it. >> first i'd like to clarify that our goal was never to bring any type of chaos or delay to any traveler. this has been an educational campaign to let people know about the dangers and policies that have been in place. we're talking about detailed scans that are so detailed they can supposedly tell if a man is circumcised or not or if a woman is menstruating. we're talking about patdowns where they're putting hands between legs, putting hands between but of courses. feeling around breasts. the american public has definitely said this is unacceptable. the new poll says 1% of travelers are against it. and 48% are saying this is seriously affecting their travel plans. soy think this is something we really need to understand that what we're talking about is not a minor infraction on privacy. we're talking about very serious issues, and i am sensitive that tsa employees maybe haven't received very much respect. i think they -- every person deserves respect. but i think many tsa people are questioning the assignments that they've been given to their credit. they seem to have been on their best behavior today. >> john, you sound like you want to respond to that. >> yeah, chris. you know, people have to realize that there are individuals out there who want to take our airplanes down. now, to say -- i hear this strong criticism, but very weak alternatives, the people at tsa are dedicated public servants and are experts in the security field. and when they're putting up this new technology, i think can you believe them that it's necessary, and it works. so to say that these -- this security is evasive, well, maybe it is. but it also is what we have to do if we're going to have air security. and i just don't think the flying public and i fly a lot, i just don't think they care about this. i think they'll get used to the rules, perhaps it could have been communicated a little better to the flying public, but i think now it's been very -- it's been communicated pretty strongly through all the press on this thing. and, you know, it -- go through security as today showed, people went through very smartly, very quickly, and it's only people who won't go through the new imaging unit -- >> john, i'm going to have to cut you off there, i'm sorry. we're out of time here, john gage, james babb, thank you for your time tonight, i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. when sarah palin talked about her experience in the private sector this week, she meant her job as mayor of wasilla, alaska. what are the qualifications? levi johnston reminds us next. the two turkeys who got a prn shall pardon got to spend last night in a posh hotel near the white house. unfortunately, not everyone who deserves a pardon gets the same treatment. ♪ we all do it. but you don't have to. thanks to secret flawless renewal... with odor-absorbing micro capsules that capture... odor and release a fresh scent. it's still working, so you can stop checking. but i knew that i was going to need a day job. we actually have a lot of scientists that play music. the creativity, the innovation, there's definitely a tie there. one thing our scientists are working on is carbon capture and storage, which could prevent co2 from entering the atmosphere. we've just built a new plant to demonstrate how we can safely freeze out the co2 from natural gas. it looks like snow. it's one way that we're helping provide energy with fewer emissions. pediatrician recommended pain reliever for children. plus, children's advil® brings fever down faster than children's tylenol®. choose children's advil®. relief you can trust. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you'll get an extra 15% off storewide this friday till 2:00 p.m. a texas jury deciding the case against tom delay apparently did not want to take the decision home over the holiday weekend. today jurors found delay guilty of money laundering. for illegally funneling money to texas candidates in 2002. delay could face up to life in prison. still ahead, go gather the family, we'll have an encore presentation of lawrence's exclusive interview of levi johnston. lawrence puts levi to the test using the same questions that stumped sarah palin in her interview with katie couric. who answered the questions better? 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[ male announcer ] get an exceptional offer on the mercedes-benz you've always wanted at the winter event going on now. but hurry -- the offer ends soon. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] at&t and blackberry have teamed up to keep your business moving. blackberry torch now just $99.99. only from at&t. rethink possible. blackberry torch now just $99.99. fifteen percent or more on car insurance? does a former drill sergeant make a terrible therapist? patient: and that's why yellow makes me sad. i think. sarge: that's interesting. you know what makes me sad? you do! maybe we should chug on over to mambie pambie land where maybe we can find some self-confidence for you. ya jackwagon! tissue? crybaby. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. sarah palin's ex-future son-in-law is back in the spotlight tonight. although sarah palin has no problem with her daughter bristol, johnston's former fiancee appearing on dancing with the stars or starring in her very own reality show, she does take issue with johnston sharing the spotlight. palin wrays s writes in her new book, we all had to bite our tongues more than once as tripp's father went on a media tour through holly hollywood and new york. johnston who's running for palin's former job as mayor of wasilla said last month he wasn't doing any more interviews for a while. luckily, lawrence owe 'donnell had the chance to talk with him as his campaign was getting underway. we decided to extend his 15 minutes by several more. >> in our spotlight tonight, levi johnston. thanks for joining me, coming all the way across the country to be in our new studio here. you're now planning to run for mayor of wasilla. re-election is next year, right? 2011? >> right. >> will you be running as a tea party republican or as an establishment republican? >> that's actually undecided. i'm registered as a republican, there's been -- most of my family is republican, i do, however, have one democrat in my family. >> you do? >> i do. i do. >> what's that like on thanksgiving with the democrat at the table? >> he actually lives in colorado, he doesn't come around much. >> that's not a problem. >> i'm not sure on that yet, but there's some talk about what i'm going to do still. >> bristol had something to say about you running. let's hear what she had to say with jay leno. >> let me ask you a question. would you vote for him? >> well, he needs to move to wasilla, to the city limits. and he needs to get his ged. >> he has to get a ged? >> so how are you doing on the ged? >> you know, it's ready to go. i imagine here in the next month it will be done, wrapped up. >> you're working on it? >> oh, yeah. >> now, next time you get that ged question between now and then. i can't wait to get it. >> i have two words for you. abraham lincoln, okay? that puts it away. you're done. >> all right. >> never graduated from high school. >> now, you have actually set a record, did you know you set a political record already. you are officially the most unpopular person ever polled by public policy polling in any state. what they do is, poll politicians within their state for popularity, the previous holder of this title was john edwards, he held that title with a 15% favorable rating and a 72% unfavorable rating in his home state of north carolina. your unfavorable rating is tied with edwards. that's good news, you didn't do any worse than that. but in alaska, 6%. you have a 6% favorable. now, your election is not until 2011, so there's time to turn this around. have you to turn that 6% into a 56%. how are you going to do that? >> you know, i -- those numbers don't surprise me. i'm 20 years old, i have -- i'm new to politics, i don't know a whole lot, you know? but this is by far the biggest challenge in my life. and i'm looking forward to it, i have a whole year to study up on it. it's going to be hard work. and, you know, going around talking to people. this time next year i will be ready, and i promise you those numbers will be different. >> you're studying up. let's talk about how you're studying up. when it comes to establishing your world view, i'm just curious, what newspapers and magazines do you read regularly? >> i read the frontiersman every once in a while. i'm not going to sit here and tell you a read a lot of newspapers, i don't get "the new york times" i don't watch a whole lot of news. i don't watch tv that often. >> what's your position on global warming? do you believe it's man made or not? >> no, i don't. >> you don't believe it's man made? or you don't believe it's man made. >> i don't believe it's man made. >> some people have credited the morning after pill with decreasing the number of abortions. how do you feel about the morning after pill? >> i feel it's -- that's a girl's decision, same with abstinence. ty don't believe in abstinence, i feel like if you're having unprotected sex, you get the girl pregnant, you should have the baby. i mean, tripp was the best thing that ever happened to me. but at the same time, i was young, and i imagine where my life would be without him. at the same time, you know, i wouldn't trade it for anything. >> do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted scientific principle e iple or one of several theorys? >> you're kind of getting over my head on some of these things here. i don't know how to answer that question. >> that's an answer. that's what i like to hear, is an honest politician who's willing to say, he doesn't know when he doesn't know the answer. >> in afghanistan, do you believe additional troops, u.s. troops will solve the problem there? >> i have no idea. >> okay, again, that's the kind honesty that maybe alaskans will start to turn your way with that kind of honesty. you are of what used to be called draft age, military service age. so -- and you probably have friends who have been in afghanistan, or people you know from alaska who have gone there, you haven't thought about yet what you would suggest as the best way to go forward there? >> no, i have not. >> okay. the united states as you know,deeply unpopular in pakistan pakistan. do you think the pakistani government is protecting al qaeda within its borders? >> like i said, i don't watch a whole lot of tv. >> frontiersman doesn't have much to say about that, when you're reading frontiersman? >> apparently not, because i'm not brushed up on that. >> do you believe the u.s. should negotiate with leaders like president assad and ahmadinejad. >> yeah, i do, i think we should reason with everybody. >> there you go. that's the obama position on that one. for a lot of people out there, you got that one rate. all those questions were exactly what katie couric asked sarah palin when she was running for vice president. and let me tell you, she struggled. if you think they were tough, you're not the only one who struggled with those. the question america wants to know. and by the way, relamb, we're done with the politics. have you been watching "dancing with the stars"? >> to be honest with you, the only time i watched it was back there in the green room. >> the only time? >> that's the only time -- i've seen it on youtube once, like the first dance she did, a few days afterwards, i youtubed it. as far as watching the show, it was a few minutes ago. >> what are you doing instead? >> better things to do, i have my son to worry about, family, i have stuff to do around the house. i have my friends, i got -- reading up on all this stuff, trying to become mayor. i got a job, you know, i have much better stuff to do than sit around watching tv. >> where is tripp during "dancing with the stars"? >> he's with bristol, as far as i know. >> you have a new girlfriend, you want to confirm, deny, you want to just -- >> we did a music video together. and we kicked it off, we had fun. >> kicked it off, is that -- >> that's just hanging out. we hung out, we did great. made a great video together. and that's it. >> all right. levi johnston, can't thank you enough for coming across the country and taking on this first national grilling on your political positions. >> i'll be better next time, i promise. >> hey, if you read a couple more things from frontiersman, that's going to help with the alaskan voter, but an occasional glance with the new york times, they cover some of that ahmadinejad stuff. in a few days you'll be up to speed with sarah palin. >> the reality show is "loving levi" the road to the mayor's office. thanks levi. >> since lawrence's interview, levi has finally come up with a platform. johnston would focus on bringing better schools, less crime and more joshs for the citizens of wasilla and neighboring palmer if he becomes mayor. who handled the questions better? levi or palin? the mashup you don't want to miss is next. along with the announcement of the winner. and later, the presidential turkey pardon. it's a light hearted moment every thanksgiving, today's event has triggered a serious comparison between president obama and president bush. ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ i'm gonna get my hair cut ♪ even if i have to cut it myself ♪ ♪ but it makes me out of breath ♪ ♪ when you say ♪ ♪ love is a game -♪ a game for two -[ ring ] ♪ love is a game i want to play with you ♪ [ female announcer ] introducing the dell streak 5 pocket tablet exclusively at dell.com and best buy. you've seen lawrence's interview with levi. no one can forget sarah palin's interview with katie couric. when lawrence o'donnell interviewed levi johnston in september, some of the questions may have sounded familiar. that's because they came from katie couric's memorable 2008 interview with sarah palin. we know we enjoyed the palin interview. would she ever do it again? >> with a reporter that already has such a bias against whatever it is i might come out and say, why waste my time, no. >> she may want to rethink that if she plans to run in 2012. here's a reminder of how they responded to the same questions two years apart. who's the better candidate? you be the judge. >> when it comes to establishing your world view, i was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read? >> i've read most of them with a great appreciation for the press, for the media. >> what ones specifically, i'm curious? >> all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years. >> when it comes to establishing your world view, i'm just curious, what newspapers and magazines do you read regularly? >> i read frontiersman every once in a while, wasilla. i'm not going to sit here and tell you i read a lot of newspapers, i don't get "the new york times" i don't watch tv that often. >> what's your position on global warming, do you believe it's man made or not? >> there are man's activities that can be contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now with these impacts. i'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate, because the world's weather patterns are cyclical. >> no, i don't. >> you don't believe it's man made? or you do believe it's man made? >> i don't believe it's man made. >> some people have credited the morning after pill with decreasing the number of abortions, how do you feel about the morning after pill? >> i feel, you know, it's -- that's the girl's decision. the same with abstinence, i don't believe in abstinence. >> how do you feel about the morning after pill? >> i'm all for contraception and any preventative measures that are legal and safe and should be taken. katie, again, i am one to believe that life starts at the moment of conception. >> therefore, you don't believe in the morning after pill? >> i would like to see fewer and fewer abortions in this world. i haven't spoken with anyone who disagrees with my position on that. >> i feel like if you're having unprotected sex, you get the girl pregnant you should have the baby. >> do you condone or condemn the morning after pill? >> personally, and this isn't a mccain/palin policy, but personally i would not choose to participate in that kind of contraception. >> do you believe evolution should be taught as a principle? >> i think it should be taught as an accepted principle? >> do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted scientific principle or one of several theorys? >> you're kind of getting over my head on these things here. >> would you support a moratorium on foreclosures to help average americans keep their homes? >> that's something that john mccain and i have been discussing whether that is part of the solution or not. you know, it's going to be a multifaceted solution that has to be found here. >> so you haven't decided whether you'll support it or not? >> would you support a moratorium on foreclosures to help average americans keep their homes? >> i believe i would. >> i know the mccain campaign has called for a surge in afghanistan, but that country is as you know, dramatically different than iraq. why do you believe additional troops, u.s. troops will solve the problems there. >> because we can't afford to lose in afghanistan. as we cannot afford to lose in iraq either. these central fronts on the war on terror. >> in afghanistan, do you believe additional u.s. troops will solve the problem there? >> i have no idea. >> the united states is deeply unpopular in pakistan, do you think the pakistani government is protecting al qaeda within its borders? >> i don't believe that the new president has that mission at all. >> like i said, i don't watch a whole lot of tv. >> frontiersman doesn't have much to say about that when you're reading frontiersman? >> apparently not. >> do you believe the u.s. should negotiate with leaders like president assad and ahmadinejad? >> yeah, i do. i think we should reason with everybody. >> you can't just sit down with him with no preconditions being met. barack obama is so offbase in his proclamation that he would meet with some of these leaders around our world who would seek to destroy america. >> i am new to politics, i don't know a whole lot, you know. >> last word viewers went to the show's blog on msnbc.com to vote for who performed better. not even close, levi walked away with 97% of the vote. the thanksgiving spirit hit the nation's capital today. the president faced some criticism for people he isn't helping. ♪ every time it's so right ♪ well, it feels so good [ female announcer ] when you have a softer bath tissue, you can enjoy going more... while still using less. introducing new charmin ultra soft. new charmin ultra soft has an ultra-cushiony design that's soft and more absorbent. so you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. [ both ] ♪ soft to the touch... [ female announcer ] using less never felt so good. new charmin ultra soft. enjoy the go. so i've come up with some mnemonic devices to help me learn your names. hello, a "penny" saved is a "penny" earned. oh, that's 'cause fedex ground helps you save money. that's right, penny. do you know ours? heavens to betsy. dwayne the bathtub. magic wanda. yeah! what's mine? uh, you're a dan fool. oh. it's just a device, dan. you can't take it personally. yeah, i suppose. [ male announcer ] we understand. you need a partner who helps you save. fedex ground. this morning the governator was in downtown los angeles handing turkeys out to needy families. this is why i'm going to miss having him in charge of our state. >> this is a good workout. >> how would you say happy thanksgiving in austrian? >> we don't have a thanksgiving day. >> and there's no such language as austrian. >> true, there's no such thing as thanks giving in austria, where they speak german. so presumably there's no need for austrian's president or chancellor to pardon any turkeys. here in the states, that's critical business for the commander in chief on the day before thanksgiving. >> good morning. i have my two trusty assistants here, malia and sasha for one of the most important duties i carry out as president. i have the awesome responsibility of granting a presidential pardon to a pair of turkeys. now, for the record, let me say that it feels pretty good to stop at least one shellacking this november. this year's national turkey goes by the name of apple. and his feathered understudy is appropriately named cider. and after today, apple and cider will spend their retirement at the same beautiful place our first president spent his, mount vernon, virginia. >> the president went on to give a reminder, thanksgiving is a day of compassion and generosity toward your fellow man. to that end, after the pardoning, the first family volunteered at martha's table, a d.c. based charity dedicated to helping those in need. compassion and generosity. admittedly this is a slightly jarring transition from a light hearted poultry pardoning, but on a day when the president grants clemency to a pair of turkeys, president obama has yet to pardon a single human being. it's not just that he hasn't gotten around to it either, in october he formally denied 71 pardon requests and 605 commutation requests sent over by the justice department for his consideration. he fails to use his power to pardon by december 20th, he will