Transcripts For MSNBCW Morning Joe 20130716

Pulitzerprize winning historian jon meacham. Mike barnicle, something about the home run derbies hard to take your eyes away from. I like the home run derby better than i like the allstar game actually. You see the players interacting with their kids, their children on the field. Its a nice night. No doubt about it. And al hunt, bryce harper, second place. Bryce harper second place and batted against his father which i thought was good. It was a nice touch. His father hit him with the snich and he didnt charge the mound. And Gene Robinson, how exciting to have this going on so you didnt have to watch the nonsense going on on other news channels where everybody was doing their best to try to divide sides, one side trying to inflame, the other side trying to grant absolute ab solution. It was a respite. I watched the home run derby last night. I think, you know, i had been all day, you know, wrote a column and was deep into the Trayvon Martin case and it was good to watch baseball. It was good to watch baseball. Michael steele, im watching these cable news channels and its both sides, im just sitting there depressed. Right. What is it, i asked this question in an oped, why is it that we republicans, certain elements of our party, seem to go out of their way to inflame minority voters . Well first of all, is that a fair thing to say . Why is it that i know i can count on conservative outlets to have a onesided view and to talk about how a dead boy had it coming and he was in on marijuana, he was on pot and he was this, he was that and the other, a young young man. Its easier to fall into the stereotype and continue to project that than to actually step back and recognize the reality that racism is a still a sin ster part of the culture and environment that africanamericans and a lot of Americans Still have to live in. Its easier to project outward just because im not that way and therefore anyone who brings it up must somehow be trying to stoke these flames et cetera. It happens on the right and left. I watched as you did to my great frustration some on our home network as well as some on other networks stoke the flames in different directions. Sure. Raising up images of the past, which had no linkage at all to the present case. Nothing to do with the present case. And others and why do conservatives, ill ask you one more time, youre running for office im not running for office. I will ask you one more time, i only ask you this as we move forward, i would like in my lifetime for the Republican Party to get more than 6 of the africanamerican vote. Why is it all of the conservative outlets that we go to every day to get news on what the president is doing wrong if i can answer your question seem to the second like something this happens go on the side that i can answer your question. It wasnt always this way. Republicans used to get huge chunks of of the africanamerican vote and they dont. Can we put on the table that getting more than 6 is not going to happen in the next four years. You know, even if those same voices that youre alluding to, joe, had come out and were reasonable in their response, as opposed to extreme in their response in some cases, theres still a heck of at lot more that needs to be done than just saying something nice or politically correct about the Trayvon Martin case. I understand. I take your point its harder today than it was a year ago. Its harder today. And even a thousand mile journey begins with the first step. Lets take the first step and be neutral on these things. At least be neutral. Again, its buying into a stereotype that is culturally been grown, particularly over the last 40 years. Stereotype of whom . Of africanamericans that, you know, somehow that they theyre on the doll, part of this system thats been created. Theyre not going to vote for us anyway because theyre bought and sold into this government mindset. All of those things feed into this notion. You layer on top of that the criminal Justice System that indicts and convicts disproportionately africanamericans and that doesnt necessarily have to do, Gene Robinson, with republicans or conservatives. I mean, again its buying into a stereotype of africanamericans, its buying into a stereotype of Republican Voters as well, of the republican electorate which is whiter an whiter and whiter and the people who are stoking these flames this way think that plays with the voters. I have a suggestion, al hunt, just because al sharpton is doing something and you hate al sharpton, doesnt mean you help your party or your cause by going in the complete opposite direction. Maybe sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Maybe sometimes conservative outlets should sit back and not purposefully antagonize africanamericans. Well i agree with you on conservative outlets. Who was it that once said people tend not to vote for you when they think you dont like them. That is a fundamental problem. Jack kemp personified. Jack kemp was not going to get 57 of the black vote but he was going to compete for it and he was going to convey a message that i think not only appeals to a lot of africanamericans, but to a lot of whites and people of other color, because he was about an opportunity for all america. Youre talking about the passing of a man you knew and respected very much in the nixon administration, Richard Nixon, got 18, 19, 20 of the africanamerican vote in 72. Did pretty well in 68. Did pretty well in 1960. 1960 got 35 . 35 in 1960. Jon meacham, not so long ago, republicans were able to get 30 . 25 . Nixon, ironically, nixon the man that liberal media has said was the architect of the southern strategy, which, you know, supposed racist strategy that nixon concocted in his evil hands while walking in wing tips on the sands of san clemente, this is actually a guy that understood africanamericans better than any other republican in 50 years, and he had the votes to prove it. Yeah. Are you suggesting theres something wrong with wearing wing tips on the beach . Meacham barnicle is wing tips with your hunting shorts. That worries me. Yeah. That worries me. It was 32, 33 in 1960. A Competitive National electorate. The iconic moment of this which we all know is Lyndon Johnson turns to bill miers after he signs the Civil Rights Act in 64 which Barry Goldwater voted against, a big moment in the development of the modern right and said i handed the south to the Republican Party for a generation. Lbj was wrong, it was for two generations. Its a more complicated political universe right now and i dont think much of the commentary has reflected that. The nature of this commentary, president obama carried virginia twice. He carried florida. Carried florida twice. We have an africanamerican president. North carolina. Its just its all more complicated than a lot of the chatter reflects. And thats the world we live in. Its a lot more complicated and even talking about lbj, i have to say, there was a time, and this is all about expanding the Republican Party. I know there are a lot of freaks out there already blogging and getting crazy, scarborough is not i want to expand the party base. I want everybody to vote republicans every four years. I want the party to have all the money, win every single election, nominate every chief justice. A time not so long ago when lbj was attacking Richard Nixon for being too progressive on the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It doesnt have to remain this way, where we are constantly in an yan tag nistic relationship with minority voters. Something else crazy happened yesterday. Talk about dogs and cats sleeping with each other, i expected the state puff marshmallow man to turn the corner on pennsylvania and head straight up to the capitol when i heard rand paul and ted cruz, now want to join forces with kirsten gillibrand. What a night. Do we need bill murray here. Dogs and cats living together . I was there until about 10 00. What happened . Tell us about the story. Senators who went into the Old Senate Chamber which is so rare and to have senators of both parties meeting together, really rare. The Old Senate Chamber so old there were only 64 seats, there werent 100. How close were you snuggled with others. What i was struck by in part coming out of that meeting, this had to do with the changing of the rules and an airing out of some strong feelings on both sides, i was encouraged by seeing members of both parties talking to each other coming out of that meeting which we often dont see. That meeting, of course, was for the changing of the rules and i guess it was out of this meeting perhaps, the news breaking overnight, that rand paul and ted cruz said they were going to join forces with kirsten gillibrand. On the military Sexual Assaults. Yes. Talking to some of her aides last night they were very encouraged by that because they believe that if you see republicans standing additional republicans because a number of them are already involved in that, that will help to bring along others. This provides big big cover. For any republican, any conservative. And it was a big deal to the people working with her who have been at this nonstop. The military Sexual Assault story where she was so front and center has been a little bit below radar. Shes continued to work to try to get those votes and so thats a big deal today. Yep. But kelly, so whats going to happen today . Whos going to back down . Yes. Well i was also struck by the fact that harry reid was quite interested in Bryce Harpers performance coming out of the meeting last night so it didnt give us a lot of sense there was Real Progress made. Hes a big fan of the national mets. Huge fan. A couple days ago, talking about the national mets. There you go. Thats well, he talks about it a lot. He loves music. Personal friend of Bruce Springste springsteen. Talking about it may not be the same as feeling about it when it comes to harry reid. What we dont know is, can they resolve this. Everybody said they felt better about talking about it. Thats something to be said in washington. It does look like they will work towards some kind of a less than nuclear option, but they arent there yet. Are we going to talk in one minute about new polls out, the Eliot Spitzer race and Anthony Weiner race. Jon meacham and Mike Barnicle, this picture, it is of a man that you all both know, that you all have both visited in kennebunkport. George h. W. Bush back at the white house to celebrate his Public Service. 89 years old. 89 years old. Jon meacham, i will start with you great socks. The socks are the key. They are not prudent, but hes given up that particular battle. Theyre dr. Seuss socks. They are dr. Seuss socks. But mrs. Bush and her way, a couple about two months ago right before the president s 89th birthday in june, the president was former president was wearing those socks and was visited by the texan cheerleaders. He was actually the rose presenter as they were receiving their commissioning, i guess. Im sure he was. And mrs. Bush, as the cheerleaders were leaving, turned to the reporters and said, you can stop the prayers, hes better. So i think i think thats great. President obamas remarks, president obama has been incredibly solicitous of bush 41 in part because when he was having such difficulties in his first term he was explicitly thinking, i think its safe to say, about the example of a president who had one term, but whom history has vindicated in the ensuing years. He gave him the medal of freedom a couple years ago and admired the kind of courage that president bush showed. I think this is part of that ongoing paying of respect. Mike barnicle, lets show what the president had to say about the 41st president of the United States yesterday. The fact that youre such a gentleman, such a good and kind person, i think helps to reinforce that spirit of service. So on behalf of all of us we are surely a lly a kinder and gentl nation because of you and we cant thank you enough. Mike barnicle, in an age where there is so much political division, this is a man that holds together the president s club. Weve heard it time and time again. Bill clinton, who defeated him in 1992 and didnt think a whole lot of him back then, considers him like his father now. And even president obama, who is the least clubby of president s since jimmy carter, likes the man a great deal. Even jimmy carter has the greatest of respect for george hr h. W. Bush. Carter is a guy that doesnt play the game either. He is, as jon meacham says, the last gentleman it seems. Thats absolutely correct, joe. I dont think any of us will ever meet a more modest man who has done more incredible things with his life and during his life and while he is a republican and was elected president as a republican, his larger commitment clearly is to the country. It always has been. And anyone would be struck by the mans modesty. I think ive told you this before, but a couple of years ago, i was up in kennebunkport sitting on the seawall yowl side of the home where he has spent and asked him how many summers have you spent in this house, mr. President , he indicated he had spent every summer of his life he told me in that house, with the exception of one when i was away, not fighting world war ii, not getting shot out of the sky over tokyo bay, when i was away. Thats the mans intrinsic modesty he brought to his life, that he brought to his service, to the country as president. Just a gracious, gracious gentleman. It seems like a perfect segway to move to polls that we have on Eliot Spitzer and yes. Now the race in new york city where voters are hinting they may be willing to forget youre going to have to answer to bar about that. In the mayors race Anthony Weiner has increased his lead pulling ahead of Christine Quinn 25 to 22 . The poll indicates the former congressman does especially well with africanamerican voters doubling the rest of the pack in that area and in the comptrollers race former governor Eliot Spitzer barely has been in the race for a week and already leading manhattan borough president Scott Stringer 48 to 33 . Spitzer is particularly strong among men who choose him by 20 points over stringer. Among women, the gap is slimmer, 44 to 32 . If there ever was a question on whether voters would be able to stomach spitzer after his scandal his favoribility is high, 53 . Also should be noticed voters say financial corruption is worse of an offense than sexual misconduct. Gene robinson, look at those numbers and its like the mark sanford race at the end of the day, at the end of the day, voters want competence and and and you get it with spitzer. We still havent seen it with Anthony Weiner, running against quinn who seems competent, she was on the show, and Eliot Spitzer very competent even though hes running against a strong opponent. I think Eliot Spitzer is going to win and i think that voters decided you know if you theyre looking at wall street, they remember what he did in the past, and theres a sense that its still a cesspool and you dont get a nice guy, you dont necessarily want a nice guy to clean that stuff up. Yeah, hes kind of a jerk but, you know and in new york in the city, especially, Michael Steele, theyre not looking for nice guys. No. Rudy giuliani had a definite edge to him. Yeah. Mike bloomberg has a definite edge to him. And guess what . Both of them have stood its like Margaret Thatcher in britain in 1979. Margaret thatcher wasnt a nice person but then again, i guess you were over there then, a nice person would not have been able to stand up to the she was followed by a nice person, john major, who got run over. How did that work . Run over. And this may be the greatest oat, quote, in modern british history. You were talking to Margaret Thatcher and what he did say about john major . If only he were a man. Can you believe that . How awful is that . Has thatcher ever been compared to spitzer ever before . This could be a new mark. Could be. Joe right, though. I think that what happens, what is happening, what were seeing happen, is voters are beginning to separate that those sort of personal attributes where these guys may fail from time to time and looking at what they have accomplished and what theyre able to get done. They like they want some serious i mean when i look at those numbers, i havent been in new york too long, everything you all say about Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner i think thats deceptive. Right. If im Christine Quinn or Bill Thompson im dying to finish two. I want to go one on one with Anthony Weiner. Among other things he doesnt convey those qualities. He does not. If im Christine Quinn, i ask for ten debates. I want as many debates im serious against Anthony Weiner as possible. You listen to her, and again, you know, she maybe even on facebook or twitter. Maybe hell debate there. But its a good point. Eliot spitzer you know, mika and i talked about the fight we had and she didnt want spitzer on because i didnt want to get into all of the personal stuff. I just wanted him to talk about what happened in the financial meltdown. I said its not relevant to what i want. I want information from this guy and hes got it and he came on and he was able to give that information. You sit there going wow. Whereas, you know, Anthony Weiner, generalities. Its picking fights. Christine quinn also came on, very impressive. So i think youre right. I mean, does everybody agree . I agree. Just a second governor in a different way. Those are offices that and a congressman. I live it every day. I know how the public feels about congress. Its not its interesting that its been the year of redemption with sanford, weiner and spitzer, but they do have separate records that voters will look at. They do. That is, though, the takeaway here, the year of redemption. Basically the year of voters frankly not giving a dam. Right. Yeah. True. About about. About past scandals, they dont care. I think thats pretty obvious. The question is who finishes second to weiner if he the other thing, candidates have learned how to apologize and they now come more with their heart on their sleeve as opposed to what we saw with gary hart, who was, you know, ready to be combative and push back, now these guys are like mea culpa, im so sorry. Gary hart follow me. How would you like to be gary hart and see who followed you into the white house four years later. Hes still thinking i i got i am a choir boy compared to what the American People elected for years later. I take one boat trip timing is everything. Suddenly im hugh hefner. No. Coming up on morning joe, talking to former White House Press secretary robert gibbs. Plus, oh, my goodness, Mark Leibovich, joins us to discuss his new book on the washington establishment. Also congressman Elijah Cummings and writer from curb bur enthusiasm actor jeff garrlin. First heres bill karins he has a check on your forecast. That hot forecast, joe. Good morning, everyone. The heat continues today and this morning. Yesterday 90s widespread. Thats the thing about this heat wave. Its pretty much from the east coast spreading now to the rockies. Notice on this map almost everyone was in the 90s. Thank all that urban jungle, the pavement from the big i95 cities for that hottest temperature there of 96 in d. C. So you start your morning feeling like 85 in philadelphia. Thats the warmest heat index out there right now and later this afternoon, we do it all over again in this region of the country. 90s widespread, maybe as hot as 97 in d. C. When does it end . Looks like on saturday with a cold front and thunderstorms. Thats when we finally break this heat wave as we go across the country. Otherwise, theres not a lot of other bad weather out there. You just got to stay in the ac and keep yourself cool. We leave you with a nice shot. The marina there. Beautiful. No one is in the water yet but im sure that will change a little later this afternoon. Youre with watching morning joe brewed by starbucks. Welcome back to morning joe. Lets take a live look at the white house on this hot july day. And now its time to take a look at the morning papers. From usa today, the official boy scout gam worry which happens every four years is under way in West Virginia. Obese scouts are being left behind. Members had to meet a body mass index of 40 or below to be admitted to the ten day program. The Organization Says it shared the requirements years in advance with hopes to motivate members to stay in shape. I disagree with that. I dont know. I guess because i sit next to mika every morning. If you have a doctor that says you can do this kids should be allowed to do it. Anyway, wall street journal federal judge has heard initial arguments that could award billions of dollars to the developer of the world trade center. The new york developer is seeking damages from several airlines for the september 11th attacks on the twin towers. The developer is still paying on a 99year lease on the site and has collected more than 4 billion in insurance. The judge said he would decide on the case tomorrow. And the New York Times, general David Petraeus found himself in the headlines again after news broke about the salary at his new job. Petraeus, who is going to be serving as a visiting professor at the City University of new york this fall, was set to make 200,000. The payday attracted negative attention for the former cia director and he decided to drop his salary to just 1. And the san antonio express, leaders of the zetas, one of the most notorious drug cartels in mexico the leader is in jail this morning. Mexican special forces arrested miguel angel morales, a leader known for his brutality in drug wars that have left the country scarred with violence. He was captured near the texas border in a truck carrying eight guns and 2 million in cash. Which is actually nothing, thats what jim vandehei carries around washington, d. C. , all the time, to get his tips. Hes with us fou. Thanks so much for being with us, jim. Good to be here. Whats heading up your politico playbook today . A couple things. You were talking about the Sexual Assault bill in the military gaining steam. There is a real conversation taking place now that you have ted cruz and rand paul on board for democratic bill and at least gives it hope. And this is huge stuff, there actually is a change of the system. The system that we currently use has been in place since the 1950s and because of all of these highprofile Sexual Assault cases in the military, theres real momentum on capitol hill to change that system. Now, while they have some support, theres still only a 31, 32 votes. They have to get well beyond 50 to actually change the system. It will set up a fascinating clash between what is rand paul wing which has real suspicion about the military versus the john mccain wing of the party which tends to be very defensive of the military and more often than not carries a day inside the Republican Party and on capitol hill. Lets talk about wendy davis, state senator in texas, made big headlines for a filibuster. She led regarding an abortion bill that now actually has become law in the state of texas. Shes pulling in some really big donations from across the country, isnt she . Yeah. Less than two weeks she raised 1 million. She became a National Folk hero for a lot of democrats, a lot of donors and somebody whos going to be taken extremely seriously in texas politics. I was looking at mikes playbook which came out and apparently draper, the author has a new piece out taking a look at texas and taking a look at this whole apparatus of wendy davis, of the castros, of former obama folks trying to take texas and turn it into a state that democrats can compete in, given the influx of hispanic voters in that state. Its very conservative. Remember the last senator it produced the guy name ted, last time i checked was a conservative guy. More than 1 million is what some of these former obama folks have raised to turn that state into a Democratic State i would watch it over the next eight. You say ted cruz is very, very, very conservative, i hear hes working with kirsten gillibrand. Rino geez, come on. Arent there any true believers out there anymore . Where have all the good men gone . So we bring up wendy davis here. Al hunt, there was a article this weekend in the New York Times, david lionheart talking about abortion, saying the plurality of americans support the house bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. It is interesting that americans are becoming far more progressive on gay marriage and gay rights but on abortion, because of technology, because viability is comes earlier, because you can see the 3d imaging, i wonder if americans not because of what anybody in washington is doing, but because whats happening in doctors offices across america, americans are becoming a bit more conservative on abortion by the year. I think the key term there is a bit. I mean just a bit. Because over 40 years, it is remarkable how little Public Attitudes have changed on the issue. On the one side, overreaches which the liberals have done in the past. There usually is a counter reaction. I suspect republicans are slightly overreaching in some state legislatures now. But on the 20week ban most americans i think most americans are with them. I dont know if my figure is right. I think only about 1 of abortions occur after 20 weeks. Its a small percentage. So i think thats i think thats right. And i dont think i think theres some other issues and when you start going after planned parenthood as we saw in the 2012 election, that causes when it becomes a war on women versus saving babies lives, the whole dialog becomes what was also so fascinating is, 60 of americans believe that women should have the right to have abortion in the first trimest trimester. 70 of americans think abortion should be banned in the second trimester, which lionhard and the New York Times illustrates shows that both parties bases are out of touch with where most americans are on this issue. I think theres an apprehension if people give any ground on setting a time, that it would perhaps lead to restrictions on access even early on. I think thatses where theres apprehension. Youre seeing many people do look at later term abortion in a different way, even throw it is much more rare. So it puts people in that awkward position of, this is more complicated than issues often would like to be because people want to be able to say one thing or another and it does get murky when you begin to have these restrictions and things like should there be surgical privileges for a doctor who performs these, it does when you put restrictions of any kind, it makes some people nervous he even if those restrictions might be reasonable to some. I would think that, you know, as usual, people are kind of ahead of the politicians in that they are looking at the practicalities. There are not very many abortions after 20 weeks and so while its a political matter you could say hold it if you restrict there, doesnt that open the door to earlier restrictions. I think as a practical matter, americans say well but that is really quite rare, so and also, though, if you followed wendy davis efforts in the texas legislature, you would think that michael, that the republicans that proposed a bill that banned abortion after 20 weeks, had crawled out from under rocks. Yes. And were the most extreme out of touch, wildeyed radicals, thats just not the case. Plurality of americans are with them. Im not talking about other parts of the bill. When somebody says ultrasound i flinch. But that part of it, i asked wendy davis this, nothing extreme about 20 weeks. No, nothing extreme about it. But as far as Public Opinion goes. I think it speaks to a couple things. One, how on the left, they can be extreme and exaggerating, you know, exactly the level of support that they have with these things and what happens, and what allows them to do that, is something that the gop has now given them in this latest alliteration of the debate and that is, conflating rape and other things that affect women more personally and directly or as personally and directly into this debate on abortion. Yeah. So all of a sudden it becomes an adjunct conversation about contraception and these other things republicans would be good not talking about rape and trawl sou ultrasounds. Good idea. Very good. Hey, jim, thank you so much for being with us. We greatly appreciate it. Good to be here. Coming up, hes not even an all star, but Yoenis Cespedes upstaged a bunch of great major leaguers in last nights home run derby. Ryan shactman will join us along with mika who has just jetted in from the south of france. Well ask her to take off her sunglasses when we return. 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Thats the power of the home depot. Right now, get wholehome installation for just 37 bucks. Vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. Because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy, get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Oh, look. Beautiful shot of citi field and thats where the allstar game is going to be played tonight. With us now, host of way too early Brian Shactman talking about the allstar home run derby last night. This is always the fun part. Yeah. I mean its amazing. They make it look easy, joe. Any Big League Softball player knows that stuff aint easy in softball let alone baseball. Reigning champ Prince Fielder adorable with his son by the way he had the longest bomb at 483 feet, but he did not advance to the finals. A faceoff between the nationals bryce harper and the as Yoenis Cespedes. Harper wins the hair department. Meacham you can do that. Barnicle cant do that. Meacham facial hair. Cespedes took the title 17 home runs in the first runds round, nine in the finals includes this walkoff. And he wins it with a bomb back, back, back, back. Gone Yoenis Cespedes has won the home run derby. I think chris berman said the word back 672 times last night. Its a famous call. I know, i know. Back, back, back. What do you win if you win the home run derby . You win a chevrolet truck and a big belt that you cant wear anywhere. I thought they had a boxing champ in yesterday. It was its like a boxing title. All right. As for todays main event matt harvey will start for the nl, max scherzer will take the mound for the al. First pitch, 8 15 eastern time. Those two guys are pretty awesome. All right. This one i thought we would never see again. Might not see it in the majors. Alex rodriguez hit a home run yesterday. Not in the home run derby, but in a aa game in trenton. The yankees third baseman went 2 for 4 in a rehab outing, seven innings of work against the redding phillies. Thats a good sign for arod. He struggled in single a. He says hes a week away from being ready to play with the big boys. Trenton might be as close as he gets to Yankee Stadium this summer. We shall see. All right. Coming up next, weve got mikas mustread oped pages. You were im not you were on the beach in south of france. Whats wrong with you. Thats a tad how was san tropez . Thats her favorite. That is her favorite. Morning joe brewed by starbucks. My mantra . Trust your instincts to make the call. To treat my low testosterone, my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. Axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. Axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. Women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. Report these symptoms to your doctor. Tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. Serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. Common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. Ask your doctor about the only underarm low t treatment, axiron. Wi drive a ford fusion. Who is healthier, you or your car . I would say my car. Probably the car. Cause as you get older you start breaking down. I love my car. I want to take care of it. I have a bad wheel i must say. My car is running quite well. Keep your car healthy with the works. 29. 95 or less after 10 mailin rebate at your participating ford dealer. So you gotta take care of yourself . Yes you do. You gotta take care of your baby . Oh yeah live shot of the sun coming up over washington, d. C. , and it is hot, to hit 96 degrees yesterday here, i stupidly went out running. Welcome back to morning joe. I did. I cant help it in washington, i love running the monuments. How can you help it . It is beautiful. I did the steps. You need mobile air conditioning. By the time you got to the 96 degrees. I was you know, be you need an ambulance to trail you. I wasnt the only one out there. I loved it. Time for the mustread opinion pages. In the New York Times frank bruni for you kelly, because youre going to counter this im sure, with your love of capitol hill. Someone has to. Thank god. Thank god theres someone. You give me hope. In other saner walks of life, friend means someone you yern to see. In the senate it can mean someone you yern to see under the wheels of your Sport Utility vehicles, wrighting in agony and wheezing in surrender. I assume that this was the usage that harry reid had in mind when he called Mitch Mcconnell my friend. Right now the deliberative body as the senate has been called looks more like the set of the Jerry Springer show except boring. Is it any wonder so many prominent polls are taking a pass on membership in the club . On monday in a voice of surprising sadness, reid declared the senate broken. He looked weary, beaten down, a mirror of americans whose faith in washington has ebbed. When we look toward the potomac, pe see posturing in lieu of cooperation, tribalism in place of collaboration, and thats not what friends are home. Give me hope. Using the phrase my friend that is one of the last ways they tried to have a respect for each other. It could be fists thrown. It could be mud slung. It doesnt mean, my friend, does it . It means my colleague. Used all the time. Used all the time. I hear it i get nervous. It really is. Its also, it has become more of a im going to say this now and then the really tart thing comes next. What is encouraging they spent more than three and a half hours last night, democrats and republicans, talking together which they so rarely do, really hearing each other out. No staffers in the room no media there. How unusual is that, kelly . Extremely. Never seen it done in the time ive been on the hill, several years. Never seen it done. Done during impeachment and after 9 11. Those are the two occasions. So in occasions of extreme need for unity. And theres a sense there is an extreme need, that the rules havent been working and people are not understand each other. So the encouraging part is there was a spirit last night of people feeling better about each other and i saw lots of pockets of democrats and republicans kind of whispering together after the meeting was over. So thats encouraging. You know, all of the things that were said are true but theres more to it. But the poison, the poison is still in the well. All of this my friend, collegial conversation, doesnt translate into the implementation of actual legislation. Yeah. Or getting things done. Republicans will still look at anything coming from the other 1600 pennsylvania avenue as an anath ma and dont want to touch it. Harry reid is going to look across the aisle at Mitch Mcconnell and friends and scoff at their unwillingness to cooperate and work while putting, you know, things on the table that he knows republicans arent going to go for. So so you still have the poison in the well there. Where are the glimmers of hope in terms of legislation that bipartisan efforts that will move our country forward. None in this but none in the cycle. Talk about the glimmers of hope, though wait a minute, al immigration. 14 republicans al, we couldnt get gun control done. That was awful. Something everybody agreed on. I would pathetic. They can get some things done but that obscures a larger point, the place is dysfunctional. I covered the old senate back when mika was in grade school and i think has a lot to do with the leaders too. I agree. I cannot imagine bob dole and howard baker they were real George Mitchell would not let this happen. This is a sad commentary on mcconnell and reid. Where do we go . I think theres a very good chance this all falls apart today, the nuclear option, and then the senate doesnt get anything done. They cant even agree to come and meet. So many of the senators are newer, having never been in the minority if theyre democrats, so thats one of the issues where theyre debating what it means to be in the Minority Party in the senate. Right. Up next, matt harvey may be the best pitcher in baseball, but to his hometown fans know who he is . He stits the streets to find out. News you cant use is ahead. Oh, hes a fighter alright. Since aflac is helping with his expenses while he cant work, he can focus on his recovery. He doesnt have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. Kick kick. Feel it feel it feel it nice work you got it you got it yes aflacs gonna help take care of his expenses. And us. Were gonna get him back in fighting shape. [ male announcer ] see whats happening behind the scenes at aflac. Com. [ male announcer ] some question physics. Some question gravity. And some. Even have the audacity to question improbability. 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To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30tablet free trial. All right. Its time for some news you cant use. Brian shactman, are you going to bore us . I think you might use it. Barnicle and i were talking about matt harvey is handsome. Yes. And hes a little slice of awesome. Yes. Okay. More than a little slice. Awkward. But its not awkward. The thing is, nobody in new york even knows who he is in his home city of new york. Hey. Im matt harvey, allstar pitcher for the new york mets and im here to find out what new yorkers think about matt harvey. Matt harvey, i like him. Also hes a good pitcher. Kind of saw him naked on espn the body issue so its kind of weird. Hes all right. Thats kind of weird. It is kind of weird. Did he look all right . He looked okay, you know. I think there was one where he was sneaking out of the hotel room in new york city or something. Is this the one youre talking about. Thats him. Holy [ bleep ]. Thats you. That is me. Why would you do this . Longtime mets fan . Yeah. Since i was little, yep. Mets fan all the way. Who is your favorite player. Dude, harvey, man. If he was standing here right now what kind of advice would you give him . I think i would say keep being awesome. Im pretty sure thats it. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Absolutely. Wait. Yeah. Wait. Youre matt harvey . Yeah. Thats pretty good. Thats cute. I think. Watch him tonight at 8 15. Hes legit. Is that all you got. Listen, we got to go. All right. That was okay. Up next the the huffington posts sam stein joins the table and former press secretary robert gibbs and read au genes oped on the verdict in the George Zimmerman case. Morning joe straight ahead back in a moment. Ds most advand distribution systems, and one of the most efficient trucking networks, with safe, experienced drivers. We work directly with manufacturers, eliminating costly markups, and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country. When you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. Dedication thats the real walmart because all these whole grains arent healthy unless you actually eat them multigrain cheerios. Also available in delicious peanut butter. Healthy never tasted so sweet. Resoft would be great, but we really just need kidproof. Softsprings got both, let me show you. Right over here. Here, feel this. Wow, thats nice. Wow. The soft carpets have never been this durable. You know i think well take it. Get kidfriendly toughness and feetfriendly softness, without walking all over your budget. He didnt tell us it would do this. More saving. More doing. Thats the power of the home depot. Right now, get wholehome installation for just 37 bucks. Yeah. Welcome back to morning joe. Look at that live look. You know who gave us that . Who did . The french. You just came back from. Stop it. EuGene Robinson and Michael Steele are still with us here in washington, d. C. Its very hot here. It is. Walked out of the hotel at 6 00 and its hot. You dont have the mediterranean breezes cooling you down. Its old. People dont believe it anymore. Mike barnicle is with us in new york and joining the table senior Political Editor and White House Correspondent for the huffington post, sam stein. Hello. Hello. Former White House Press secretary and msnbc contributor robert gibbs with us. Good to have you on board. Lets get to the news. You have been doing quite a good job here. Thank you. You did good. We begin with the fallout from the zimmerman verdict. In los angeles, Police Declared an Unlawful Assembly and multiple arrests after a gathering of hundreds of people turned violent. The lapd says the protesters vandalized properties, set fire and threw chunks of concrete at Police Officers. One of the six jurors in the zimmerman case spoke to cnn last night about the verdict of not guilty. Do you think hes guilty of something . I think hes guilty of not using good judgment. I think george got in a little bit too deep, which he shouldnt have been there, but trayvon decided that he wasnt going to let him scare him and get the one over, up on him or something, and i think trayvon got mad and attacked him. Its just hard. Thinking that somebody lost their life and theres nothing else that could be done about it. I mean, its what happened. Its sad. Its a tragedy this happened. But it happened. I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into. I think both of them could have walked away. It just didnt happen. And this tragedy, of course, frames a much bigger issue that Eugene Robinson writes about in the Washington Post, black boys denied the right to be young and eugene your write in part this, if anyone wonders why africanamericans feel so passionately about this case, its because we know that our 17yearold sons are boys, not men. We know how frightened our sons would be walking home alone on a rainy night and realizing they were being followed. We know how torn they would be between a childs fear and childs immature idea of manly behavior and we know that a skinny boy armed with only candy, no matter how big and bad he tries to seem does not pose a more tall threat to an adult man who outweighs him by 50 pounds and had martial arts training. We know the boy man have threatened the mans pride but not his life. The conversation we need to have is how black men, even black boys, are denied the right to be young, vulnerable, make mistakes. We need to talk about why black men are no more likely than white men to smoke marijuana but four times as likely to be arrested for it and condemned to a deadend cycle of incarceration and unemployment. I call this race im. What do you call it . Trayvon martin was fighting more than George Zimmerman that night. He was up against prejudices as old as american history. And he never had a chance. Gene . Well, you know, i started the column by saying we really shouldnt be that surprised at the verdict because i think the system failed Trayvon Martin, i think it failed him the night he was killed before his body was cold, frankly, because the assumptions that the Police Officers made at the time was that he was in the wrong. They didnt conduct a proper investigation. They didnt arrest zimmerman or test him for drug or alcohol use. They didnt really preserve the crime scene for that long. They didnt bother to look for witnesses very hard. And so all that evidence or potential evidence that could have or should have been gathered really wasnt until six weeks later. And by the way youre trying to put together a case youre not going to get what you could have got than night. A lot of people, gene, also to explain why a lot of this didnt happen, are saying after the verdict, stand your ground really had no part in this trial. It sure did at the beginning. It did. It go did at the beginning and prosecutors on both sides will stay whether theyre liberals or conservatives, everybody looking at this case, that wasnt involved in this case, would say stand your ground played a huge role in the beginning and the investigators assumption that zimmerman was not guilty of anything and didnt commit a crime. Yeah. Exactly. The idea that the Police Officers would come across a scene heres a grown man who says i just shot this unarmed kid and it was stand your ground and they would say, okay, fine, good night. And the parents were contacted for a couple days. They couldnt get the parents. It was horrible. But there was kind of i think there was an assumption, just another black kid who had been, you know who knows what he was doing but probably doing something he shouldnt have been doing and if he wasnt, we understand why George Zimmerman would think he was and its a shame. Its a tragedy. I always say this about republicans versus democrats and these news stories, mika, you know, what would people be saying if it were george w. Bush doing, you know, such a thing with the irs instead of Barack Obamas administration, and this case, and by the way, the question answers itself. The question answers itself here too. What if this were a white boy walking through the neighborhood at 17, the question answers itself. And anybody out there, that would suggest that the same thing would have happened if it were a white boy walking through that neighborhood. Absolutely. Is either lying to themselves or is so ignorant on crack as michael said. Living in a different country. Trayvon martin the defendant in this case and can we look at ourselves and our Justice System and say the outcome of this trial would have been the very same . And i think thats that is along with the life of, as eugene says, the 17yearold is whats lost. There was an outcry from the getgo, because this seemed so wrong for exactly what all of russ talking about right now, and thats why the president felt emotionally compelled to jump in. What do you make, gibbs, of the president s statement in the past few days, given the verdict . Well, i think its an awkward position. It is in a sense because look, he is the president of the United States and anything he says or does, could be seen as coloring the Justice Departments review of this case and theres no doubt that he wants to give that process some space and i think he also wants to, as he did in the statement, appeal for some measure of calm in all this. But theres no doubt that this is look, i think what eugene writes is remarkably passionate personal and eloquent about this and what we all have to examine. Does the president you know the president well. Does has he decided and i think he would be right to decide it probably that when he comments substantially or substantively on a racial issue, that he, rather than advancing the conversation, he retards it . In other words im not sure he has he decided he has to be extra specially careful again, theres still you know, when everybody yesterday calls for the Justice Department to get involved, then he is the president , has to be careful about again, giving them some space i think we were those of us that thought the first africanamerican president could start a different now, different, dialog about race, he does that by being in the white house and by the images and doing his job, but by talking, i now think it doesnt work. He will tell you, you know, this is not just a conversation that he has to be involved in. This isnt going to be successful unless this is a genuine conversation were all involved in. It isnt because we have a black president we need to have this conversation. Its because, you know, Trayvon Martin couldnt be more removed you said retard the conversation. Are you suggesting a white president would be more free to speak on these issues than an africanamerican president . You know, im you can kind of tell, im kind of trying to work through that very question. I think maybe. It may be the case. It may be the case. Because people get their backs up when you remember, you know, when henry gates was arrested early in obamas term on his own front porch and gee, the president said, gee, thats kind of stupid and boom, you know. This gigantic reaction which turned into a huge thing it was. Something getting lost in translation here, all of this emotion thats come to the core of the debate here on trayvon, really needs to we need to step back in the black community and begin to have a conversation internally because we have to think about how we also project out to the broader community, acceptance and tolerance of behaviors of situations and conditions that we should not expect others to be up in arms about. So if we tolerate the level of incarceration, poverty, and drug addiction, other things that infest in the community, without those folks, where were the folks marching for the 500 some africanamericans who were killed in chicago . Where were the rallies . Q. Where were the protests . Where was the leaderships voice framing the argument that this is unacceptable in our community . So why should we expect White America to go, well step in and fix that problem for you. But yes. But you and i know, that there are people working in africanamerican communities and hispanic communities around the country every single day. Absolutely. On these issues. People who organize marches on these issues. They dont get the coverage. They dont get the notoriety. People are working on this i agree. You have done mentoring and i have done meant org. Its not as if people are sitting back and saying this is fine. We need to we also need to raise that level of conversation in the consciousness within the community as well as the Broader Society to help us begin to deal with these issues. So it doesnt happen in isolation. Gene im curious to get your thoughts, why do you think, to michaels point, we latched on to this case and not another one that happened . You know, thats a good question. I know why africanamericans latched on to this case, i think, and its because it just seems so personal. Anybody who like me has raised two sons. Exactly. Who have on occasion worn hoodies, you know, and who are great kids and who have grown up into great young men and we think my goodness had one of my sons been walking down that street would walking through a neighborhood, had hes walking through a suburban neighborhood. Hes carrying skittles. He this guy whos out of control carrying a gun, a neighborhood basically a barn barn barney fife, is told to back off, he continues his pursuit, says mutters some things that people interpret different ways, and this kid is killed, again, in the neighborhood, killed by George Zimmermans gun, by George Zimmermans bullet, because this guy looks at him and profiles him and says, these punks always get away. Part of what made us so intrigued by this case. One, was that George Zimmerman is walking free. And he was not charged. Which seemed insane to anyone. The second thing, there was a set of laws that essentially concurred George Zimmerman to be a vigilante and that made it seem a little bit bigger than other stories. It made it seem like it was a little bit more political than other stories. All right. Lets go, because its something robert brought up, civil rights charges. Mike barnicle, that Justice Department may put forward. The Washington Post this morning, mike, saying that is unlikely. Also, Pete Williams last night on nightly said its unlikely. You look at the fact that in the courtroom we never even got to stand your ground laws. We were talking about selfdefense in the courtroom. Well, the bar is even higher here if the Justice Department is moving forward with hate crimes. Theyre not going to reach that threshold if theyre ever in a court of law and i would be stunned if the Justice Department brings a case. So youll have people still wondering how it could be that zimmerman got away with what a lot of a lot of americans, millions of americans, still think was murder. Yeah. I would think, joe, the Justice Department in the end would be reluctant to bring any charges against zimmerman on that basis. If a jury was unable to convict him, with all the evidence the jury heard of either murder or manslaughter, i dont know what the Justice Department does. An interesting dynamic here in listening to the discussion, its been nearly 50 years since we had what was called the kurner commissioner report that rose out of the riots and assassinations in 1968 and it basically indicated that we live in two americas. There was nearly 50 years ago. If youre a young black male, youre still living in two americas. I would submit that one of the threads in this case that is there and has now been pulled to the forefront because of the notoriety of the case is this. If youre a young africanamerican male or parent as gene is and gene wrote about so eloquently today, you know instinctively that you dont have the same access to a decent future as my sons do or your son does joe or your boys do. You dont have that same access because there are going to be road blocks because of your color, there are going to be economic road blocks, there are going to be educational road blocks, and thats the discussion that we have to have. There are still two americas that access to the future that so many people feel they have, young africanamerican males dont feel they have that same access and i would challenge anyone who doesnt believe this, to get out of the car in an africanamerican neighborhood and ask the first five young men they meet to define the future. What does the future mean to them. They might talk about something, friday night im going to the ball game or whatever. Right. Go to the suburbs, go to an affluent white suburb and ask five young white males to define their future. Im going to harvard. Or im getting a hightech job. Its different. Yeah. Certainly in my neighborhood they didnt say they were going to harvard, but anyway. Alabama. So lets pull this apart, though, what Mike Barnicle said, because it as far as opportunities go in the future, it seems to me if were comparing today to 50 years ago, there are two americas and there are two americas whether youre white, black, hispanic, based on im dividing this up. Yeah. Based on income. If youre in the right neighborhood, it doesnt matter what color you are, so much as far as getting into colleges and there are opportunities for you, but when you go to a poor neighborhood, tougher for africanamericans, tougher for hispanics, tougher for other minorities, and i think this case illustrate especially when you talk about law enforcement, you are far more likely to be presumed guilty in america if you are a young not if you look like you, but if you look like your sons and younger than your sons. Young black man in america youre you got a target. My last book disintegration was about the fact that the black community is not monolithic. You cant generalize and say everybodys poorer, everybodys less educated. Look at prince gorges county outside of washington. The richest majority black jurisdiction in the country. Light years different from right across the boarder inside d. C. In pockets of southeast where theres poverty and dysfunction and the whole sort of pathology that we that we have talked about for years and years. One of the things about the Trayvon Martin case that i think was so universal for africanamericans, is that he wasnt a poor kid. He was a middleclass kid with two bright, engaged parents who were doing their best. He was in a middleclass neighborhood walking. So it really could be any of our sons. It could be anybody. Anybodys kid. And what my book was about really, was my intense concern forb the folks who have been left behind. There is a lot more access to education, to employment. Its not perfect. Its not where we should be. For my kids and for michaels kids theres lots of opportunities there werent 50 years ago and were much further along the road. Those folks left in those increasingly concentrated pockets of poverty and dysfunction, and pathology who are in the cycle of incarceration. No hope. Of unemployment, whatever what do we have to offer for them . Nothing. But the rungs of the ladder that generations past have used to climb into the middle class, the rung of that ladder are gone. There are no jobs. Even beyond that, i agree with that a thousand percent, but beyond that, whether they are the young men who are an abject poverty living on the corners wearing their hoodie or a middleclass kid walking through a middleclass neighborhood at night wearing a hoodie, the one thing they have in common is theyre still black. Yeah. And it speaks to systemic issue within the country that as a nation we refuse to face. That is how uncomfortable we are to look each other in the eye and have a honest, down to earth discussion about how we feel about race, what we want to do about the feelings and how we move beyond those chains that still hold us to a past that we talk about we have removed ourselves from, but its still very much a part of the either that we take in every day as we go out as our sons go out i tell my boys, my boys are 24 and 21. I tell them, i say, remember, when you walk out that door, you are a black man in america and you need to understand what that means when people see you, how they look at you, how they approach you, what they think about you, and how they will deal with you because its not the same for your white friends. Its not the same for your other friends. Because we all have had that talk. History walks with you out that door. Gene, youve had that talk with your sons. Weve all had that talk. Every black parent had a talk with their children, particularly their sons, for example, what to do if youre stopped bay policeman and how to act and how how to be not to be perceived roll down every window in the car, turn the dome light on. And frankly, its a matter of life and death. Think about that as a matter of life and death. Yeah. It is. It is. It literally is. White kids go around at 12 00 at night, 1 00 at night going back to their College Dorm Rooms they get stopped its one thing. Your kids, you get stopped at 12 00 or 1 00 in the morning, immediately turn on the dome lights roll down all the windows because as you said gene dont make sudden moments. Its a matter of life and death. And its like telling your kids the world we live in, in america is not fair and you have to have a disclaimer before you leave. Thats right. Thats the ultimate problem. Thats the bigger issue around all of this. Sam and robert stay with us. Still ahead jeff garrlin from curb joins us. Sure the senate is dysfunctional but at least it was able to pass recent legislation including Immigration Reform. Is there any hope for the snous two leading men, straight ahead on morning joe. Mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. Vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. Because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy, get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. With us now, republican representative from oklahoma congressman tom cole and representative from maryland, congressman Elijah Cummings. Here to give us hope. Oh, wow. Right . Thats a tall order. So, really quick, lets talk really briefly and then get into a lot of other topics, talking about the zimmerman verdict. Really quickly, whats your take on it . I was very saddened by it and just telling eugene i thought he wrote the best article i have read on this issue. I got to tell you, when i talk to africanamerican parents the biggest fear, joe, is that their children are going to be profiled and their children are going to be harmed. Black boys in particular. Right. And i thought it was a travesty. While i understand as a lawyer the reasonable doubt standard is a very High Standard. Yeah. Exactly. As eugene said, trayvon was not given the benefit of any doubt whatsoever from the very beginning. Yeah. So yeah. He was definitely profiled. Anybody who says he wasnt theyre lying. By the time it got to the court, we said this at the beginning of the case, the prosecution had an extraordinarily difficult case to make. You didnt know who was screaming. Reasonable doubt is a High Standard especially in those charges. So, tom, ive been talking about conservatives, at lo of the conservative sites, talkers immediately rushed to zimmermans defense, reflectively rushed to zimmermans defense and said we want to move beyond 6 in National Elections with africanamericans, we might want to just work on trying to understand what its like having a 17yearold son and what its like every time that 17yearold son goes into a different neighborhoods. Well, i think you to from the very beginning recognize, this guy didnt have any business following that kid. He should not have done it. No reason to do it. He called the police. They told him not to do it. He goes out, has a gun. What we dont know what happened in the encounter. Thats where you run into the reasonable doubt standard. One thing about what happened in the incident but an incident zimmerman is not blameless. He should have never been there. And, you know, nobody should have to deal with what the families are going through and hopefully out of this really awful incident well look inside and reflect as a society. We have big lessons to learn here. Big lessons to learn. Lets talk about the house. You are going to give us hope . Yes. Going to have to change what we were saying outside. We were talking about we were talking about the farm bill and how i mean, youve got 60 or so tea partiers who get very upset and they want you to, you know, reduce the food stamps more and more and on the other hand youve got the democrats who are trying to create a reasonable bill with ag and nutrition and now and so what do we end up with . A bill with ag giving money to subsidies to farmers but at the same time, no nutrition. Thats 80 of the bill. Well, you know thats not hopeful. Thats not hopeful. We can do better. First of all, we can do better. Its not as if these programs arent going to go on. Theyre entitlement programs. I would argue what we missed as republicans was the chance for real reform. We could have got somebody reductions. A program that has doubled under president obama and doubled again under president obama. Theres things you can do differently and help people that need it. When we dont have a title, were now stuck with the senate bill, not as good as what was defeated in the house, and existing law. Its going to be one or the other. Yeah. If we do nothing again, the Current Program goes on. So that wasnt very smart politics in my view. An interesting piece in new York Magazine by jennifer senior. The speaker is mute but not unintelligible. It but now unintelligible. Hes a conservative certainly but also an institutionalist, oldschool politician that likes to do deals. He has an interest at 63 and leaving a legacy of bipartisan accomplishments behind him. His speakership of late, has become a case study in minefield walking. Forcing him to balance one survival instinct against another. If he doesnt make an attempt at a serious immigration bill, hell have almost nothing to show for his leadership but if he tries to forge a deal with the democrats and let the bill come to the floor hell face a result from his own rather large backbench, boehner is one of the most beleaguered powerful people in washington. Of course theres another powerful leader in washington whos inconveniently intraverted and allergic to conflict his name is barack obama. What a formula for success. Lets talk about the immigration bill for a second are we going to see a bill pass the house . Well, it depends on what time frame, depends on what happens first. Ive never thought this bill was going to move quickly through the house. Weve got the farm bill, student loan bill, weve got end of fiscal year and debt ceiling before we get to immigration. If it happens its going to be shaped by those four things. Did we resolve those successfully in a bipartisan way. If we do you have a shot at the immigration bill before the end of the year. Citizenship or its got to change, obviously. I mean the senate bill, you have to remember two out of every three republicans in the senate voted no. Yeah, a decent product got a little better in the process. Thats why it picked up support. But, you know, legal status i think is at the heart of any bill at the end. You have to have done these other things given how low the popular trust in the government. Robert, its an uphill battle as far as getting something through the house. No doubt about it. The the congressman said, for all of the momentum that Immigration Reform had out of the senate, 30 of the republicans voted for it. In order to label something bipartisan, weve lowered the bar to embrace bipartisanship. The question i have for both of you two is, im an oldschooler. You are too. There seems to be i wonder what the strategy is to even getting conference committee. These days it seems like in the old days the senate would pass some the house would pass something, a committee reconcile the differences. Seems to me theres a reluctance of many in the house to be in the same room to work out those differences and i wonder how you think we bridge that. Thats a very difficult one. And i sometimes i get the impression, and cole can give his opinion on this, sometimes i get the opinion that there are some folks who on the House Republican side who dont want anything to happen. Who have basically placed us all in a stalling mode trying to get through this election situation and then maybe theyll do something and have a new president or whatever, new congress. I im telling you, i get so frustrated to see not going to conference say, for example, on the budget. Thats crazy. I mean, not being able to pass a farm bill. I mean, the American People have got to be saying wait a minute, whats wrong with you guys . I dont know whats is, but the article you just read, is quite accurate. I think boehner is a decent man. I really do. I think and i think he really wants to do the right thing. But as i was telling cole, you know, when hes talking to the president , the president is saying lets work a deal and the next thing you know the president is always worried when he goes back to the conference, theres 60 tea partiers saying no no no. Lets talk about the president. Do you agree with this article, jennifer senior, that the president also can be a very, very frustrating man for democrats . I think the president every democrat off the record said yes, he drives us crazy you can tell us that on the record. They do it on television. They so do it on television they did not do it on television. Your objection is overruled, counselors. Answer the question. No, i first of all, i think the president tries very hard to accomplish things, but sitting on the committee i sit on as Ranking Member oversight, i believe that he is there are efforts to block him at every single i agree with that. And so he reaches out and they say reaches out and and every time. So i think he keeps coming and we just the Congressional Black Caucus had a meeting with him last week and you can tell he was really frustrated. He says, you know, for example, i have i have appointments recess appointments and 250 years, they were constitutional. Suddenly when i became president theyre no longer constitutional. Dont even start me on the and that you know, i dont think the democrats are upset with the president because they know hes trying and they see it every day, the blocking that is done. Let me offer an alternate reality. This is a president on the recess appointments who lost the case in court. He overreached. A president who routinely suspended bills. Which laws he wants to enforce or not. We saw it a couple weeks ago on obama care itself. That doesnt breed a lot of trust on our side. I think weve had a chance at bigger deals and people recognized, debt ceiling deal, thats 2. 2 trillion. The deficits is half of what it was three years ago when this Republican Congress came and we have something we should be very proud of there. Now, half our members have been there three years or less so theyre still learning how this game is played. But they put a lot of runs on the board. I think the next six months, farm bill, student loans, again, end of fiscal year debt ceiling, immigration will decide whether or not this has been a Successful Congress or not. Okay. I wont ask you if those members that have been there three years or less are frustrating to you. Actually, its usually guys like me that have been longer that are frustrating. You dont have any excuse. Why are you behaving this way. Congressman Elijah Cummings and tom coles, thank you so much. Thank you. Up next, there is troubling new data on Childhood Obesity and its being linked to foods you might not expect. Dr. Nancy snyderman has the details. Vegetables. Stay away from them. When morning joe comes right back. [ dad ] so i walked into that dealers office and you know what i walked out with . [ slurps ] [ dad ] a new passat. [ dad ] 0 apr. 60 months. Done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway is a germanengineered piece of awesome. That i got for 0 apr. Good one, dad. Thank you, dalton. [ male announcer ] its the car you wont stop talking about. Ever. Hurry in to the volkswagen best. Thing. Ever. Event. And get 0 apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. Thats the power of german engineering. That starts with one of the worlds most advancedy, and get 0 apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. Distribution systems, and one of the most efficient trucking networks, with safe, experienced drivers. We work directly with manufacturers, eliminating costly markups, and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country. When you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. Dedication thats the real walmart and didnt know where to start. A contractor before at angies list, youll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. No company can pay to be on angies list, so you can trust what youre reading. Angies list is like having thousands of close neighbors, where i can go ask for personal recommendations. Thats the idea. Before you have any work done, check angies list. Find out why more than two million members count on angies list. Angies list reviews you can trust. I love you, angie. Sorry, honey. This Years National Scout Jamboree begins today in West Virginia but dont expect to see obese boy scouts at the celebration. Get this. The organization required members to go through a fitness exam including an obesity screening. Its the first year of the new requirement and the scouts website says it will require more stamina and fitness than in years past. A scout Spokesman Says the group doesnt have data on how many were impacted by the new fitness standards. And theres a new study out that finds the number of kids with high Blood Pressure is on the rise. Heres nbcs chief medical editor dr. Nancy snyderman reporting on this alarming trend. Youve done amazing. Reporter 15yearold eaten is on a mission to get healthy. Like a lot of kids hes struggling with his weight and surprisingly high Blood Pressure. My favorite salty snacks are those little 100 calorie things of popcorn, fritos, that is my weakness. Reporter the study examined over 11,000 children ages 8 to 17 for more than a decade and found an alarming rise of high Blood Pressure, an increase of 39 . Researchers blame obesity for the increase in the number of kids with high Blood Pressure and they say too much salt is another reason Blood Pressure levels are so high. Theres a lot of sodium contained in places you wouldnt expect. Its in yogurt, processed food, soup, even in breads. Reporter as for salt, how much is too much . It varies. Ages 1 to 3, no more than 1,000 milligrams a day. 4 to 8 years old, 1200 milligrams. Ages 9 to 50, 1500 milligrams. These are all markedly less than adding one teaspoon of salt a day. Small changes can make a big difference. Reporter joanna is the medical director at camp shane. You want to hear music. Reporter where ethan is getting in shape this summer. Ive been seeing lots of young kids with high Blood Pressure readings. I havent seen that so frequently in the past. In fact, i actually sent my machine in to be checked. Reporter stabilizing Blood Pressure can prevent longterm problems like premature heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. Just the type of conditions ethan wants to avoid. Hes lost 50 pounds and his Blood Pressure is now under control. The more he continues to lose weight, the more were going to try to avoid this high Blood Pressure from coming back. All right. That was chief medical editor dr. Nancy snyderman. What do you think about the boy scouts saying you weigh too much. You cant be in the jamboree. So were going to keep you from the Great Outdoors where you hike and lose weight. Why dont you just stay in your house and play video games. And play video games. Yeah. Im just not sure if thats the right way. I do i agree that Childhood Obesity is i mean its awful. I mean, you see it. From keeping them outdoors. Sets the kids up for Massive Health problems later on and see it all around you. You cant go to the jamboree . Really . But to what the boy scouts said, they gave due notice. This was fouryear notice. They told them for the next one you got to be in shape. We want a body mass of x. You had time to go outdoors. Theyre jumping into the conversation. I appreciate that. I hear what youre saying. Up next actor and director jeff garlin standing by in the green room talk about his new film dealing with idiots. Oh, my god, sort of like my reality. Standing by in the green room. Hes not talking about the folks on curb your enthusiasm and i dont think hes talking about the set of morning joe. Kids are like sponges. They soak up everything. Especially when it comes to what you say and do. So lead by example and respect others. You wont let prejudice into your home. The more you know. Mhandle more than 165 billionl letters and packages a year. Thats about 34 Million Pounds of mail every day. Ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer . Millions . Tens of millions . Hundreds of millions . Not a single cent. The United States Postal Service doesnt run on your tax dollars. Its funded solely by stamps and postage. Brought to you by the men and women of the american postal workers union. [ male announcer ] man wasnt supposed to drive on water. Or turn nature into power. Night wasnt supposed to look like noon. And we certainly werent supposed to haul 30,000 pounds up by the bootstraps. But with bestinclass 850 poundfeet of torque, ram can. This is the full line of new ram commercial vehicles. Heres to the next frontier man isnt supposed to take on. Guts. Glory. Ram. Man isnt supposed to take on. I tthan probablycare moreanyone else. And weve had this farm for 30 years. We raise black and red angus cattle. We also produce natural gas. Thats how we make our living and thats how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. People should make up their own mind whats best for them. All i can say is it has worked well for us. So you can capture your receipts, ink for all business purchases. And manage them online with jot, the latest app from ink. So you can spend less time doing paperwork. And more time doing paperwork. Ink from chase. So you can. On tomorrows show bestselling author daniel silva and oh, good. Up next, actor and comedian jeff garrlin joins the conversation. Hes gotten up. Hes walking over. Hes a former scout member. Well be right back. How is it going . Are you enjoying baseball . Not really. Im just not good at it. Not good. I think youre good. Pitcher, i know where your family lives. Stop brushing my boy back. When you were coaching, what were the parents like . Were they like these idiots. I didnt know most of them. Thats whats wrong with you people. Youre so involved. Some of you know, im going to spend some research, spend time with you for possibly my next movie project. This isnt one of those you get in a room, youre so pretty, youre so pretty, im going to film you, take your top off, is it . That was the trailer for jeff garlands new film dealing with idiots. Here the costar, writer, director. Jeff, ill start off. I dont know what it is to deal with idiots. Tell me about it. I spent my time watching my Children Play sports, not only baseball but soccer. The behavior of the parents, i kept on saying to my wife, why do people behave this way . This is crazy. One day i said to her, im go to make a movie about it. Boom, there you go. I like it. Were you surprised at the level of intensity and insanity among Little League parents . Of course i was surprised. When i was a kid, maybe two, three parents showed up for a game. Now, two, three parents dont show up for a game. Everyone else is there. Everyone else is basing whatever hole is in their life on that game. Some parents are mean to other peoples kids. You have to. Were talking about nine years old, eight years old, ten years old. So i can understand a kid 16, maybe theres a little more competition. We were talking off the air. Coached all his kids, saw all of it. I grew up in the 80s, where it was true, he didnt make every game. He would commute an hour and a half from work and then come for the concession stand and some woman would scream at him for not being on time to sell bazooka gum. The crazy woman with the snack bar, bazooka gum. What kind of world did you live in . This is literally baseball in massachusetts. What about the idea of parents, the 52 accountant from h r block, who thinks he was once with the cardinals, cant play, never played, trying to impart his wisdom on the kids . Well, everyone in my movie works for h r block and they are 52. I dont know where you come up with this. Bazooka joe, 52 h r block. Fred willard is in the film. Fred is unbelievably funny everything he was in. Every time i was with fred willard in my head, i would think to myself, oh, my god, this is fred willard. Everybody else is my peer. Fred willard is one of my idols. Joe, how would you be coaching a team, do you think . Youve been a coach of a team. Did they love you . I have so many stories. How did you treat the children . I treated them just like bobby knight treated his players. One story comes to my mind. Let me ask a question. Is Eugene Robinson still with you . Yes. I love the way he talks. Im going to tell you, when i coached Little League, my whole team was white. There was another white coach that had a whole black team, they were profiled. All those kids were profiled. It didnt work out. Thats actually thats pretty good. Not very good. I was sitting in the greenroom, and i just couldnt control myself. Im Gene Robinson and i need coffee for my puppet shows. Hes turned into the cookie monster. Mike barnicle, coaches whose sons were made the pitchers, the quarterbacks. Thats always the thing where the coachs son is the pitcher and nobody else will ever get a chance to pitch. Its almost like people become coaches to make sure their kid pitches, no matter what their skill level. You dont have to talk like eugene anymore. Ive got something in my throat. So i actually youre talking about a story, i actually was so tough on joe your son. I went i overcompensated. Im not sure you should tell this story. One day three of the players came up. And they said, mr. Scarborough, could you take it a little easier on your son. Then he went crazy on those three. I would always tell joe, wed get in the car after every practice, you understand why im doing this . Yeah, i understand why youre doing this but you didnt really have to tell me to get down on the ground and eat dirt. Point taken. Mike barnicle, we all grew up with that, the fathers who were coaches so their sons could be pitchers and quarterbacks and things they never would have been if their dads werent coaches. Thats very true, joe. One of the things im proudest of as a parent of seven children, three boys, i never had to teach collin barnicle how to throw at a guy and hit them. He instinctively knew about that. Let me tell you whats amazing about this. Now im cringing. Listen when i tell you something, the fact you had seven sons, youre a busy man and your last name is barnicle. Tell us about your movie. Wednesday night ic center in new york, friday night in los angeles at sundance cinemas. On demand you can watch it right now. Wait until morning joe is over and then pop it on. Im friends with susie and did an interview with her in bed. Its kind of a long story. Its a long story. She says behind your back that youre adorable. She would be correct. Youre adorable. Thats who is adorable. Youre a big bowl of adorable. This day calls you. To fight chronic osteoarthritis pain. To fight chronic low back pain. To take action. To take the next step. Today, you will know you did something for your pain. Cymbalta can help. Cymbalta is a pain reliever fdaapproved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. One nonnarcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. 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Talk to your doctor. Cymbalta can help. Where over seventyfive percent of store management started as im the next american success story. Working for a company hourly associates. Theres opportunity here. I can use walmarts education benefits to get a degree, maybe work in it, or be an engineer, helping walmart conserve energy. Even today, when our store does well, i earn quarterly bonuses. When people look at me, i hope they see someone working their way up. Vo opportunity, thats the real walmart. Nocharge scheduled maintenance. Check. And heres the kicker. 0 apr for 60 months. And who got it . This guy. And who got it . This guy. And who got it . This guy. Thats right. [ male announcer ] its the car you wont stop talking about. Ever. Hurry in to the volkswagen best. Thing. Ever. Event. And get 0 apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. Thats the power of german engineering. Good morning, 8 00 a. M. On the east coast, 5 00 a. M. On the west coast as you look at washington, d. C. Its going to be hot as hell today. EuGene Robinson, Mike Barnicle, jon meacham. How hot in new york . So hot in new york mikes reflector shades he uses in central park will fog up. They fog up usually but they are going to fog up for Different Reasons today. I know you will. Im watching cable news channels, both sides, getting depressed. The oped, why is it republicans, certain elements of our party seem to go out of our way to in flame minority voters . First of all, is that a fair thing to say . Why is it . I know i can count on conservative outlets to have one view, talk about how a dead boy had it coming. He was on marijuana, pot, whatever. Its easier to fall into the stereotype and project that than set back and recognize that racism is part of the sinister environment africanamericans and quite frankly a lot of americans have to live in. Its easier to project outward that doesnt exist. Im not that way. Therefore anyone who brings this up must be trying to stoke these flames, et cetera. I think it happens on both the right and left. I watched, as you did, to my great frustration some on our network as well as other networks stoke the flames in different directions, images of the past with no linkage at all to the case. Why do conservatives, ill ask you one more time, i know youre running for office, ill ask you one more time. I only ask you this, as we move forward, i would like in my lifetime for the Republican Party to get more than 6 of the republican vote. Why is it all the conservative outlets we go to every day to get news on what the president is doing wrong seem to reflexively, the second Something Like this happens, go on the side to answer your question, it wasnt always this way. Republicans used to get a huge chunk of africanamerican vote. Now they dont. Can we put on the table getting more than 6 is not going to happen in the next four years. Even if those same voices youre alluding to, joe, had come out and were reasonable in their response as opposed to extreme in their response in some cases, theres still a heck of a lot more that needs to be done than to Say Something nice or politically correct in the Trayvon Martin case. I understand. Its harder today than it was a year ago. Every 1,000 mile journey begins with the first step. At least be neutral. Its buying to a stereotype that has culturaly been grown, particularly over the last 40 years. Of whom . Africanamericans. They are on the dole, part of the system created. They are not going to vote for us anyway because they are bought and sold into this government mindset. All of those things feed into this notion. Then you layer on top of that the criminal Justice System that indicts and dwikts disproportionately africanamericans. That doesnt have to do, Gene Robinson, republicans are conservatives. Its buying into the stereotype of africanamericans. Its buying into a stereotype of Republican Voters as well, of the republican electorate, which is whiter and whiter and whiter. The people stoking these flames this way think it plays. I have a suggestion, just because al sharpton is doing something and you hate al sharpton, doesnt mean you help your party or your cause by going in the complete opposite direction. Maybe sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Maybe sometimes conservative outlets should sit back and not purposefully antagonize conservative outlets. People tend not to vote for you when they think you dont like them. Thats a problem. Not all republicans. Jack kemp personified jack kemp was not going to get 50 of the black vote. He was going to compete for it, convey a message that i think not only appeals to a lot of africanamericans but a lot of whites and people of other color because he was about opportunity for all americans. Youre talking about passing of a man you knew and respected very much in the nixon administration. Richard nixon got 18, 19 of the africanamerican vote in 62, did pretty well in 68, pretty well in 1960. 35 in 1960. Jon meacham, not so long ago republicans were able to get 30 , 25 . Nixon, ironically nixon was the man liberal media said was the architect of southern strategy. Racist strategy nixon concocted in evil sands walking in wing tips of san clemente. This is a man that understood africanamericans better than than any other republican in 50 years. Are you suggesting something wrong with wearing wing tips on the beach . Barnicle. Wing tips with your hunting shorts. That worries me. No. Yeah, it was 32, 33 in 1960. It was a Competitive National electorate. The iconic moment of this, as we know, Lyndon Johnson turns to bill moyers after he signs the Civil Rights Act in 64, which Barry Goldwater voted against, a big moment in the development of the modern right and said i just handed the south to the Republican Party for a generation. Lbj was wrong. It was for two generations. Its a more complicated political universe right now. I dont think much of the commentary as reflected that. Because the nature of this kind of commentary, president obama carried virginia twice. He carried florida. We have an africanamerican president. North carolina. Its all more complicated than a lot of the chatter reflects. Thats the world we live in. Were going to talk in a minute about new polls, Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer race. First i want to show this picture. Its a man you all both know, you all have both visited in kennebunkport. George h. W. Bush back at the white house to celebrate his Public Service. 89 years old. 89 years old. Jon meacham, i will start with you. The socks are the key. They are not prudent but hes given up that particular battle. They are dr. Seuss socks. They are dr. Seuss socks. Mrs. Bush in her in imtible way he was visiting cheerleaders, rose as im sure he was. Mrs. Bush as the cheerleaders were leaving turned to reporters and said, you can stop the prayers. Hes better. President obamas remarks hes been incredibly solicitous of bush 41. I think in part when he was having difficulties in hires first term, he was explicitly thinking about the example of a president who had one term but who history has vindicated in the ensuing years. He gave him the medal of freedom a few years ago and admired the kind the president showed. Lets see what he had to say about the president of the United States yesterday. The fact youre such a gentleman and such a good and kind person, i think, helps to reinforce that spirit of service. So on behalf of all of us, let me just say that we are surely a kinder and gentler nation because of you and we cant thank you enough. Mike barnicle, in an age where there is so much political division, this is a man that holds together the president s club. Weve heard it time and time again. Bill clinton who defeated him in 1992 and didnt think a lot about him back then considers him his father now. Even president obama, who is the least cluby of president s since jimmy carter likes the man a great deal. Even jimmy carter has the greatest respect for george h. W. Bush. Carter is a guy who doesnt play the game either. He is, as jon meacham says, the last gentleman. Thats absolutely correct, joe. I dont think any of us will ever meet a more modest man that has done more incredible things with his life and during his life. While he is a republican and was elected president as a republican, his larger commitment clearly is to the country. It always has been. Anyone would be struck by the mans modesty. I think i told you this before, but a couple of years ago i was up in kennebunkport and sitting on the seawall outside of the home where he had spent. I asked him how many summers have you spent in this house, mr. President , and he indicated he had spent every summer of his life, he told me, in that house in kennebunkport, he said, with the exception of one when i was away. Not fighting world war ii, not getting shot out of the sky over tokyo boy, when i was away. Thats the mans intrinsic modesty that he brought to his life, his service to the country as president. Just a gracious, gracious gentleman. It seems like a perfect segue to now move to polls we have on Eliot Spitzer. Congratulations new york city joe, youre going to answer to bar about that. I think knows tongue planted firmly in cheek. Steadily increased his lead pulling ahead of Christine Quinn, 25 to 22 . Does especially well with africanamerican voters, doubling the rest of the pack in that area. And in the comptrollers race former governor Eliot Spitzer barely has been in the race for a week and already leading manhattan borough president Scott Stringer 48 to 33 . Particularly strong much men who choose him by 20 points over stringer. Among women the gap is slimmer, 44 to 42. If theres a question whether voters could stomach spitzer after his scandal, his favorability is high. Financial corruption is worse of an offense than sexual misconduct. Gene robinson you look at those numbers. Its like the mark sanford race, at the end of the day voters want confidence. Us it with spitzer. Still havent seen it with Anthony Weiner. Running against spinner who seems confident, spitzer who is confident, running against a good opponent. I think voters decided, you know, they are looking at wall street. They remember what he did in the past. Theres a sense that its still a cesspool. You dont get a nice guy you dont necessarily want a nice guy to go in and clean that up. Yeah, hes kind of a jerk but, you know in new york in the city, especially Michael Steele, they are not looking for nice guys. Rudy giuliani had a definite edge to him. Mike bloomberg had a definite edge to him. Like Margaret Thatcher in britain in 1979. Margaret thatcher wasnt a nice person. Again, i guess you were over there then, a nice person would not have been able to stand up she was followed by a nice person john major who got run over. This may be the greatest quote in modern british history. You were talking to Margaret Thatcher and what did she say about john major . If only he were a man. Can you believe that . How awful is that . Has thatcher ever been compared to spitzer ever before . I think youre right. What happens, what were seeing happen as voters, were beginning to separate personal attributes where guys may fail from time to time and looking what they have accomplished and what they are able to get done. They like some serious when i look at those numbers, and i havent been to new york, but everything you all say about Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, i think its deceptive. Multicandidate field if im Christine Quinn and thompson im dying to finish two. Coming up on morning joe, not just the Online Stores keeping tabs on shoppers, neighborhood businesses are tracking customers wifi connections and using video cameras to analyze what they are looking for. Implications of Retail Surveillance ahead. Coming up next Mark Leibovich is with us. His new book peels back the curtains on washington and calls the carnival that connects media celebrity and power in the nations capital, well, he basically calls it a joke. First here is bill karins with the forecast. What are we looking at today . The heat wave continues. Washington, d. C. Is the leader. Not that you want to be. But the heat index value in d. C. Is already at this hour 90 degrees it feels like at 8 00 a. M. Can you imagine what its going to be later this afternoon. Its very warm in all the locations on this map. D. C. And richmond are right now the highest temperatures. Later this afternoon we have an outside shot that someone could hit 100 today on the eastern seaboard. For the most part were talking mid90s in the big cities, low 90s, ohio valley and great lakes. So this heat dome pretty much goes across much of the northern half of the country. The heat wave breaks in chicago on saturday. Youll get thunderstorms friday. As far as washington, d. C. Goes, youre in the 90s, mid90s, until saturday. Looks like sunday will be the first day youll be back in the 80s with a little cooler weather. In other words, this heat wave is here to stay for the middle of july. Youre watching morning joe. Were brewed by starbucks. Ng to be an Even Better Company and to keep our commitments. And weve made a big commitment to america. Bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. Through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u. S. Than any other place in the world. In fact, weve invested over 55 billion here in the last five years making bp americas Largest Energy investor. Our commitment has never been stronger. Stubborn love by the lumineers did you i did. Email . So what did you think of the house . Did you see the School Ratings . Oh, youre right. Hey babe, i got to go. Bye daddy have a good day at school, ok . But what about when my parents visit . Ok. I just love this one. And its next to a park. I love it. I love it too. Heres our new house. Daddy youre not just looking for a house. Youre looking for a place for your life to happen. The beach on your tv is much closer than it appears. Seize the summer with up to 50 off hotels at travelocity. Welcome back to morning joe. Michael steele, sam stein, robert gibbs. Here in washington, d. C. We came to washington, d. C. To meet our next guest. He, though, has had to leave town. Undisclosed location. Much like mr. Zimmerman, hes in an undisclosed location that looks an awful lot like 30 rock studio. A man who will never eat lunch in this town, out with the book this town. In it mark writes in part, this washington is one of the two or three most popular destinations in the country along with new york and possibly los angeles. For those seeking selfcreation, reinvention and public purpose on a grand and national scale. People work obscenely hard, and they do it despite because of the baggage they bring. They do it in many cases with a desperation that to me is the most compelling part of the washington story. Whether now or before, it is a spinning stew of human need. A spinning stew of human need. Like the media industry. Say that five times. Lets begin at the beginning. Thats a very good place to start. You start with a scene mika and i knew very well. That was the garish carnival of preening, posing and predatory at tim russells funeral. That was the moment of writing this book. Sitting at the Memorial Service for this beloved newsman. Arguably the mayor of official washington. Struck down in the prime of life. All of a sudden i start looking around and business cards are flying and people are trying to get booked on shows. Just watching an event like this generate into a Cocktail Party without the cocktails was pretty striking. So i figured washington maybe had reached a Tipping Point of selfcelebration and sort of followed the phenomenon over a four or fiveyear period. Here we are five years later. You brought the beginning robert gibbs being hounded there. Robert, you remember. You stated correctly, mika and i actually had trouble getting to our seats. Mika saying, quote, a new low even for washington tackyness. Mark, thats where you talk. Washington tackyness. Sorry. Hes a writer, okay . I like having my face on the screen when the words washington tackyness to express for people to savor it. Look, this was a moment. I went back and i interviewed a lot of people who were there just to sort of get a fuller sense of the spectacle. The larger point was it was a jumping off point into what washington has become, which is a city that supposedly was built on Public Service but largely given over to selfservice and preening. I thought it was a seminal moment for washington but also the themes im writing about. So youve been there 16 years yourself. Yes. And youre part of this cesspool, which you state in the book, to be fair. I mean, who isnt at this point somehow attached by exactly the problem you put in this book when you, yourself, i venture to say you probably thought about how can you write about this being in it. A little bit. I knew this was going to be an uncomfortable book to write. Its always uncomfortable to give away the secret handshake and write about people youre going to see again. My job as journalism should be uncomfortable. It should be a lot more uncomfortable than it is, the people written about, the people doing the writing. To me this is an exercise not hispanic going on within the belt the book was of great interest inside the beltway but i want people outside the beltway to read it. It does shine a light on a culture thats gotten really sort of very much really gotten too far away from its original moorings and has given over to selfservice. I can see how this is interesting to people outside of washington, d. C. Ive got to say being around here a long time, its kind of like looking at your own rash. You know its there. I thought you were going to Say Something else. Like going to the bathroom. No, i know what my rash looks like. Theres no need for me to look at it. Its right here. He said this yesterday except it wasnt a rash. Its too obvious for insiders. I would think people outside of washington, d. C. , robert gibbs, would be absolutely fascinated by this town. From the excerpts that have been in the newspapers and New York Times magazine, i think people will be fascinated a bit to read this. I wonder, too, mark, you say you want people outside the beltway to really read this. What do you hope they take away and what do you hope changes about this town . Well, look, i mean i think one thing to take away, everyone fundamentally is disappointed with washington. If you look at poll numbers about congress, the media. Its a fairly universally disliked city. I think what i tried to do was give a fuller cinema graphic sense of what the carnival has come. Changes in d. C. That werent in place 20 years ago. One, the incredible amounts of money in politics flooding bo washington. This the wealthiest metropolitan area in the country. Its home to seven of the top ten counties in the country in terms of wealth, which is a great disconnect with the rest of the country. But also the way to which celebrity and new media has transformed the dynamics of politics in a way i think people dont fully appreciate when they do this shorthand reflexive we hate washington. So look, im not in the change and solution game. But i hope at the very least as a journalist i can hold a mirror to the culture he. So chart your own personal observations over the course of the 16 years youve been in washington from waltham, massachusetts, not newtown. The address is newtown. Chart your own in terms of narcissism, selfabsorption, just selfinterest, the the growth of it. I think its always been there but i think its been exacerbated, one, by the proliferation of media. Anyone can get a Facebook Page or twitter account or blog, what have you. There was a notion new media democratize everyone. Everyone says washington is a tough town. Yes, the egos are fragile. I know firsthand the media, especially, is one of the most thin skinned areas of american life. Mark, how has that reaction been . The reviews have been great. People seem to really like the book. Thats great. There have been angry emails and phone calls. Frankly, most of the criticism has been of the how dare you variety, meaning were not supposed to speak about each other in this way. Again, i welcome the discomfort. Im pretty disappointed with washington. I think a lot of people are. Thats what i tried to do. Sam . Mark, you talked about making people uncomfortable, so let me make everyone uncomfortable here. One of the big themes of the book is how the team obama people came to washington with the idea they would change it and they themselves got changed by it. Im wondering if you can talk about how that influenced your reporting, why you thought that was a predominant theme and maybe just address it to robert. Mark, just so you know, that was aols sam stein. I never sat on aol. Corporate america if half of its web page its interesting. That question does make a larger point, which is the notion washington is hopelessly divided is somewhat of a myth. People are hopelessly interconnected in many ways of the obama experience was fascinating. It really did begin in 2008 when my chronology begins. This massive change brigade, with big ideas about changing washington. The president explicitly said they failed. A very smart person is quoted in the book saying rhetorically did we change washington or did washington change us. That very smart person is on this panel right now. Look, the Obama Administration has been sort of at the pinnacle of celebrity operatives. They have gotten a lot of attention. Obviously its gotten a lot done. The obama agenda has been realized in many ways. Not fully, obviously. I do think the notion of a changed washington was a complete myth. It was a very Effective Marketing strategy in 2008. I assume it was genuine then. I also think its gotten a lot of people very, very wealthy. I think the whole circle of the revolving door this team was supposed to top has only been intensified. So mark, before we go, of course, dont mention any names, because im friends with everybody in this book. I used to be. I very, very, very interested in protecting them and protecting everybody in the club. Thats just who i am. Sure. You all are invited over to my house for hot dogs in georgetown. Exactly. Without naming a name, who describe the most hysterical reaction to your book and tell us without naming who it is somebody that Everybody Knows who has had the most hysterical reaction. Im waiting for the next book to tell that. Dont name the name but what did they do . Would it be a lawyer . No, no, no. I wouldnt i cant even begin to go there. I would say this. It actually involves, i can name a name. Lenny davis, who is a lawyer, wrote me an email pretending to be relieved that hes not in the book at all and then complaining he wasnt in the book at all. Then in so doing that, he made himself the centerpiece of a story written about this in the daily beast last week. Now i just said his name again on morning joe, which is probably the highlight of his year. I think in a way in the unending circularity of this so messed up. You just the man doesnt want to be left alone. Come on. Lenny, love you. You should have been in this book, but you sure are in this town. Look at this town, two parties, plenty of valley parking, americas guilded capital. You can read excerpt mojo. Msnbc. Com. Mark leibovich, thank you so much for coming. Still ahead, how big retailers are tracking Cell Phone Service to keep tabs on customers. Really . Really . Oh, my god. Thats next on morning joe. [ dad ] so i walked into that dealers office and you know what i walked out with . [ slurps ] [ dad ] a new passat. [ dad ] 0 apr. 60 months. Done and done. [ dad ] in that driveway is a germanengineered piece of awesome. That i got for 0 apr. Good one, dad. Thank you, dalton. [ male announcer ] its the car you wont stop talking about. Ever. Hurry in to the volkswagen best. Thing. Ever. Event. And get 0 apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. Thats the power of german engineering. And get 0 apr for 60 months, now until july 31st. How can i help you . Oh, youre real . You know im real at discover, were always here to talk. Good, cause i dont have time for machines. Some Companies Just dont appreciate the power of conversation you know, i like you i like you too at discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Get the it card and talk to a real person. That starts with one of the worlds most advancedy, distribution systems, and one of the most efficient trucking networks, with safe, experienced drivers. We work directly with manufacturers, eliminating costly markups, and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country. When you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. Dedication thats the real walmart 38 past the hour. Another hot one here in washington. Its not just the nsa gathering your private cell phone information. Apparently your local Department Store is also getting in on the action. The New York Times reports Retail Stores like nordstrom are beginning to track its customers movement by following the wifi signals. Companies are hoping the new technology will give them further insight into the shopping tendencies of their customers. Joining us now professor of marketing, marlene, good to have you. I get freaked out about how much of our shopping is tracked online, let alone you get emails back, type it in. I know all of our emails are being read but im still not comfortable with it. I know we sign onto it. This is now tracking us in the stores. They did it on video, right . Track our sales with credit cards. They track everything we buy. Tell us about this, wifi movements, what are they tracking . Its interesting to see how retail brick and mortar are trying to mimic online traffic. They track how obvious we come in the store, where in the store we go, how long we stop in each department. You can track what customers are drawn to visually, where they actually feel like walking. What, those end up becoming the areas of desire for retailers to put their best products. Exactly. Affect their merchandising decisions, what they buy, how they merchandise it. You can make purchasing decisions that way and instore decisions. I want to bring Brian Shactman into the conversation. Brian, what issues, what questions does this raise, do you think . I think its the whole issue of freedom of wifi. The only way to protect yourself if you dont want to be exposed in this, free wy guy, i one have to suck up my 3g. Any other ways than that consumers can protect themselves. Another followup. I know you wont remember both questions. Where does it go in the pecking order we should be exposed by our habits. Most people arent even aware its happening. You set your cell phone settings and forget to turn it on or off in your experience. You can turn off your phone or take out the battery. It is a little disconcerting that you have to go to such measures to avoid having your information be collected and tracked. Youre right, i did forget the second part. In terms of the google certainly stuff when you buy something and you see the actual products and lasses you visited show up on the ad, that stuff is alarming when you see how much they do know. In terms of the hierarchy what consumers would be concerned of, is this not that big a deal. It has a creepyness factor. Not just when you go online. You feel anonymity online. Its disconcerting when youve been searching something and you see ads pop up in your feeder or google page. I dont know that its concerning necessarily in terms of privacy and safety. It feels more invasive. I think its creepy. Does it work from a marketing perspective . In it does give retailers valuable information, things we talked about in terms of where they are and how long they stay. I dont think it gets to the deeper behavioral issues retailers might want to know. Like why did you stay in this section 15 minutes. What was it about this display that attracted you, what about the window display drew people in at a higher rate. It gives some information but not the depth of behavioral information that an online tracking system might get. Marlene morris towns. Thank you for being on the show. We were in your bedroom a few hours ago. Agents weird. A little weird. Not the person who said that to us which really sounds funny. Business headlines with Brian Sullivan are next on morning joe. Stacey my daughter zoe had her first open heart surgery. When she was only fifteen hours old. Handing her over for surgery is the hardest thing ive. Ever had to do. Before obamacare, Insurance Companies could put lifetime. Caps on your health insurance. Once you hit that cap. They dont pay anymore. Zoe was half way to her cap before her first birthday. Anncr obamacare ended lifetime caps stacey thanks to obamacare, we can now afford the care. That zoe needs. And for her, thats a lifesaver. Im gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. I think your friends will understand. Oh. No, its actually my geico app. See . I just uh paid my bill. Did you really . From the plane . Yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24 7. Sounds a little too good to be true sir. Ill believe that when pigs fly. Ok, did she seriously just say that . Geico. Just a click away with our free mobile app. Wi drive a ford fusion. Who is healthier, you or your car . I would say my car. Probably the car. Cause as you get older you start breaking down. I love my car. I want to take care of it. I have a bad wheel i must say. My car is running quite well. Keep your car healthy with the works. 29. 95 or less after 10 mailin rebate at your participating ford dealer. So you gotta take care of yourself . Yes you do. You gotta take care of your baby . Oh yeah American Express credit card, every purchase earns you 2 cash back, which is deposited in your fidelity account. Is that it . Actually. Theres no annual fee and no limits on rewards. And with the fidelity Cash Management account debit card, you get reimbursed for all atm fees. Is that it . Oh, this guy, too. Turn more of the money you spend into money you invest. Its everyday reinvesting for your personal economy. 46 past the hour. Business before the bell with cnbcs Brian Sullivan. I have a feeling you were a giant sin aid oconnor fan. No. Its sad. Nothing does compare to you, mika. The reason i bring that up, that song was number one the last time the nasdaq 100 rose 14 days in a row. Were talking april of 1990. Thats where we are right now. The top 100 companies have seen gains 14 sessions in a row. Youve got to go back 23 years to find a time when we have done that. Right now futures indicating we might slide a little bit but hard to make a call right now, which is very sprising giving gas and oil prices. Most viewers, hoarding oil, they want to know where gas prices will go. Higher. Next couple of weeks should see a market spike in gas prices around the country. A note on Goldman Sachs earnings, the Company Printing money. Goldman sachs had a revenue of 8. 6 billion, 193 billion net in come. That is up a billion dollars from the same period last year. Why is that . I saw that flash across wall street journal, had a flash on that. Why is business so good for Goldman Sachs. Investment, banking and trading. Goldman sachs, say what you want about them, right, they are still the go to bank for a lot of security deals on wall street. Their net in come jumped a billion bucks. Why is this year better than last . Whats the driver . Theres a couple of drivers driving this bus. Number one, the fed. Pumping liquidity, quantitative easing, whatever you want to call it. Liquidity is the term we use for excess money is going to the banks. They can disperse it as they want. Stock markets doing well. Europe has made a comeback, japan made a comeback. Securitized deals making a comeback. Thank you, fed. Ill leave you this number, 268,000, thats the revenue per employee at Goldman Sachs. Wow. Wow. Okay. Numbers. Nothing compares to you, Brian Sullivan. It really does. Up next, the home run derby held last night. Brian shactman there for a firsthand look. Thats next when morning joe comes back. Mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. Vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. Because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaas commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy, get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. Barnicle and i were at the home run derby. Hot. Hot but great. In a way better than the allstar game. In a lot of ways, im amazed how hot it was, didnt have air conditioning for the media, everybody wants a piece of these guys. But despite all that, they still managed to have a little bit of f fun. At citi field in the middle of the summer and in the middle of a brutal heat wave, this is the hard part. But after talking, sweating, and waiting i think the only time were actually able to breathe during this ordeal is once we take the field. This is the best part. Im from the same hometown. To be here, man, its unbelievable. You get a moment on your own to reflect. Came from your hometown, being in the derby, being in the game, can you put it all together. Its very surreal. It will sink in a few days from now. Just trying to enjoy it, soak it in second by second. Welcome to the clubhouse. Its kind of like a family reunion. Youre around some of the best players in the game. Everybody wants a piece of you. Its super hot. How do you enjoy it the way you seem to enjoy it. Youve got to enjoy it. Before you know it, its over. Enjoy it while you can. My mom always told me, somebody is going to ask for your autograph, so you might as well enjoy it. Being with my boys, thats what its all about. Thats what makes it fun for me. Make a decent catch out there santino caught his first flyball. Coming up next, what, if anything, did we learn today. [ jen garner ] imagine a makeup so healthy your skin can grow more beautiful every time you wear it. Neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98 of women saw improvement in their skin. Neutrogena® cosmetics. 98 of women saw improvement in their skin. Every day were working to and to keep our commitments. And weve made a big commitment to america. Bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. Through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u. S. Than any other place in the world. In fact, weve invested over 55 billion here in the last five years making bp americas Largest Energy investor. Our commitment has never been stronger. Even superheroes need superheroes, and some superheroes need complete and balanced meals with 23 vitamins and minerals. Purina dog chow. Help keep him strong. Dog chow strong. That starts with one of the worlds most advancedy, distribution systems, and one of the most efficient trucking networks, with safe, experienced drivers. We work directly with manufacturers, eliminating costly markups, and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country. When you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. Dedication thats the real walmart i donwithout goingcisions to angies list first. With angies list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic find out why more than two million members count on angies list. Angies list reviews you can trust. Welcome back to morning joe. Youre not allowed to stand. Bring it down. Bring it down. If its too early, its morning joe. It is. Its way too early. Lets stick around first. Weve got to talk to Mike Barnicle. Mike, what did you learn today . I learned jeff garland is a very, very funny man. In addition to doing impressions of Gene Robinson, he does all of us, and its spot on. Brian, what did you learn . Takes guts to write about the town you live in. Mark leibovich. Interesting to see how the book goes brf the man will never have lunch with davis. Jeff garlands impression of Gene Robinson was not spot on, like the cooke monster. What did you learn . Trayvon martin case opened up wounds you need to heal. Listening to you and gene talk, so many of us live in a completely different world and have no idea what its like to be africanamerican parent with teenager boys sending them out into the night, and the day, to go to school or somewhere. Its unbelievable the conversation you had. What did you learn . I learned theres something wonderfully not right about jeff garland. Hes not all right. Its way too early, its morning joe. Stick around now because going to the daily rundown with luke. Luke. Okay. After the verdict, reaction continues to unfold as attorney general eric holder makes his first Public Comments on the decision ahead of the draft in