good evening, everyone. tonight, is it time to trust? time for a breakthrough between the west and iran? e today was all about trust until moments ago when the prime minister gave an interview throwing cold water on the situation and laying out a time frame for a strike. in an interview with channel 2, benjamin netanyahu said this. >> translator: i am not standing with a stopwatch in hand. it is not a matter of days and weeks. but also not a matter of years. everybody understands this. >> this is his first interview since visiting with president obama and confirmed what we reported on this show, which is that president obama delayed israel's plans this spring, but had not stopped them. netanyahu's words of course leaves the extremely sensitive u.s. election time frame wide open for a strike, but on a day when the u.s. and europeans have agreed to go back to the negotiating table with iran, the news is a splash of cold water, proving israel is not backing down on trying to force a quote unquote window. talks have failed since 2009 due in part to the west's assistance, that all of iran's nuclear activities be on the table including enriching uranium -- it is something the ambassador to the irk, iaea told me recently. there was one other unexpected thing that happened today. iran's supreme leader praised president obama who cited a quote window of opportunity to revolve the standoff over iran's nuclear program. quote, this is expression is a good word. this is a wise remark indicating talking distance from illusion. sources tell cnn that he may be seriously worried about a military attack on about the united states' crippling sanctions, so he's trying to make an overture to the president. is it possible for a major breakthrough between iran and the west? david albright, a former weapons inspector -- entitled starving iran will not free it, and also, jamie reuben. great to have you with us. what he said about president obama. >> i think he was allowing some room. a clear indication for iran that negotiations is their preference. they constantly say we won't negotiate under threats. when you start stepping back from the threat of war, that's an opening and i think the he wanted to signal that. that they are open as long as these threats are stepped back from. >> do you think there will be talks and breakthroughs especially with this whole issue of preconditions? it makes a lot of sense that iran would say get out of my business if i want to have nuclear power. a lot of countries have nuclear power. why should that be a precondition? >> i think there's a lot of smoke being thrown in people's eyes. let's start with prime minister netanyahu. the israels want the world to be talking about the possibility of a nuclear strike. they believe and have said candidly, the more that seems real to withdrawn iran, is greater the chance this can be revolved without it. secondly, he said clearly worried about sanlgss and clearly likes president obama. they've said from the beginning, personally. so when president obama was talking very disparagedingly abt republicans and others who were talking of war, it suits the ayatollah to praise president obama for that. it's going to require some hard things from the united states that we've never been prepared to do and hard thing frs the iranian. we have to accept a deal that's less than a complete ending of iranian enrichment and the iranian will have to find a way diplomatically or openly to admit that some programs occurred in the past that were military in nature. because that's what the inspe inspectors are going to try to determine and until they've gotten to the bottom of those pieces of evidence, the world will not be satisfied that this program is only of a peaceful nature. >> and david, that brings me to you as a former u.n. weapons inspector. what do you make of what you've heard in recent days from the iaea, which has been clear -- and just yesterday starting talking about one of the key sites they've been denied access to that have been quote unquote cleaned up. >> the evidence is pretty compelling that iran had a nuclear weapons program in the past that may be ongoing, so they want to get to the bottom of it and iran has not cooperated. what jamie said is very important. it's essential that iran start to what we would call start coming clean about it's past nuclear weapons activities. no one's saying they're building a bomb now or deciding to, but they need to start coming clean and restoring their credibility. frankly, their seen as being disassemblers on just basic issues involving past nuclear activities and if they would take that step forward, i don't think they would be punished. it's a step that several countries in the past did and itted out to be a way forward. what they did at the board of governors meeting makes me think they're not ready to do that and we're heading for a difficult negotiation. >> we never ask whether the iranian are telling the truth. what if they didn't have a nuclear weapons program. david and others tend to ignore that. what have they are telling the truth whachlt if the laptop that iran for years has said is a forger, is a fake. what if that's true? how do you prove a negative? >> i was very much involved in debunking many of the claims. >> you were the one saying before the invasion that they had chemical and biological invasions. >> i was talking about their nuclear program. >> is kind of like -- it's a little dangerous, isn't it? >> what we're seeing here, erin, is an important debate and it's important because last time the united states did make a mistake, they went to war on the promise of weapons of mass destruction and that hangs heavy over the world's perceptions of the united states an that's why i think it is important for us to do this by the book, the iaea's work and saying that once those peaceful intentions have been confirmed, that we the united states are prepared. that means lifting sanctions, figure out a way so iran doesn't want to have nuclear weapons. that's stuff that we haven't really been prepared to do or talk about openly. we need to do that if we want to avoid what president obama said, which is the risks and dangers of using military force. >> well, it does seem rhetorically, it has been talked into a situation where there is a window. if there isn't a resolution, someone will be forced to do what -- but david, what does iran need to do to have the world trust them that whatever they did or didn't do is done and they're not doing anything? what do they have to do? >> they've looked at this information for a long time. it's not about moproving a negative. there's evidence that they want to talk ta iran and since 2008, iran has refused to talk about it. during the the last week, they further told the ia that they were to remove whole areas that they would not talk about. that concerns procurement. efforts by iran to buy things overseas, the actual buyinging of things overseas and that information shows that something has gone on that iran is not telling the truth about and now they're starting to remove whole areas. what i hope ded is that the supreme leader will intervene and overturn this situation and start to talk openly about their program. the inspectors are the ones able to get to the bottom of the whole question on iraq's with wmd and raise serious questions before the invasion and particular, on the nuclear. to now turn on them and say they're disassembling is disingenuous. the inspectors have done the honest job to figure things out. they said there isn't much there in the case of iraq. they said there in the case of iran. >> i think what we can expect and this is the hardest thing for people to aappreciate. it's very hard for a country to say they lied. and so, we need to figure out a way where information can be provided where evidence can be provided, where absolutelies can be given that are not in the context of they're not telling the truth. now, they admitted they lied. countries don't like to admit they lied. >> you know what rule number one is on this show, everybody lies. we all have. except for the three that are here tonight, all right? there's a lot more to come on this and we have a really fascinating story on iran and the u.s. coming up negs week. president obama hiring a team of scientists to study you is next and they're using it to target your vote. they're nuclear scientists, ironically. and the prosecution rests in the rutgers trial. and gas prices could hit record highs very soon. who is to blame? ♪ one, two, thr ♪ you say ♪ flip it over and replay ♪ we'll make everything okay ♪ walk together the right way ♪ do, do, do, do on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? that's why i take doctor recommended colace® capsules. i have hemorrhoids and yes, i have constipation. that's why i take colace®. 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[whoosh, clang] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. if you've posted something political on facebook, the president's campaign may be watching you. they're hiring scientists, engineers, statisticians, math me tigs to mine through troves of available data to study voter patterns and behaviors. the campaign can then use it to target the people whose support it needs most. brianna, this is pretty amazin amazinging. you're into something. i'm into something else. we each get an ad saying that obama loves that thing, right? >> yeah, and this is part of the team dedicated to analyzing data and the answers they're really looking for are how persuadable are voters. what kinds of things really resognate with them. when are they moving toward president obama? when are they moving away and this is a high-tech take off of some more traditional measures we've seen like door knocking or phone calls. tw, there is one man though s unit. he's an expert in data mining and something that's called predictive analytics. what is that? really figuring out specifically in his case, voter behavior and being able to predict how voters will respond. over the last several months, his team has hired a number of specialists who are specialists in things like social media and digital markets. >> that picture looked like some kind of a scary mug shot. there is a little bit of a creepy factor this this, isn't there? >> there's something about this, especially when looking at someone and a lot of people have an experience in data mining, it sort of evokes some of the concerns people have about online privacy or some things they learned about marketing in recent years, but the campaign is insisting they're not doing anything sketchy, they're walking on the straight and narrow. they're trying to predict voter behavior so they can figure out whether voters are persuadable an figures hout how many voters they can register or get to the polls in battleground states to get 270 electoral votes. >> john avlon is coming on in a second. does he get the same ads i would get? >> i don't know how much this pertains specifically to this group working in the obama campaign, but for instance, i'm registered to get the e-mail frs the obama campaign for research sake as are my producers. a few weeks ago, i received an e mall from a female campaign aide talking about contraception and my producer did not. >> thank you very much. and as promised, john avenlon i here, jen saki and -- good to have you with us. but jen, i have to start with you. briana's talking about how people are getting different ads from the president. is the white house going to keep hammering on these social issues and target them at women? >> what's interest is that the last couple of weeks, the debate has been not just about any social issue, but about women having access to birth control. and because wooe're not in 1950 and men and women support women having birth control, this has really shed a light on how extreme the republican flat form has gone. in many ways, this has motivated and excited women voters. people who weren't necessarily paying attention. what the white house is doing is raising awareness for this issue. >> you think this focus on social issues is going to be just an unmitigated thing for the president? >> no, and i think that democrats are really getting ahead of them and assuming, it is true that rush limbaugh's comments set the republicans back. if you look at massachusetts for example, scott brown strongly defends religious freedom. the democrat, one of the democrats challenging elizabeth warren has been trying to make an issue of it. >> there's a sound bite i want to play. a man is going to be speaking at the convention, rising star in the democratic party. shows some of the possible mines the president could step on. this is los angeles mayor talking about something he thinks needs to go on to the democratic party platform in a formal way, which is not now. here it is. >> do you think ha that the democratic national platform should have a marriage equality plan? >> i do. i think it's basic to who we are. i don't think the government should be in that business and of denying people the mental right to marry. >> so, john avlon, putting it as a formal tentative is probably not something the president wants to do. >> the president has stayed away from this issue. he is not in favor of marriage equality. >> he's evolving. >> which is code for let's talk about it in my second term. it does potentially create a real problem. fascinating is how much this issue has evolved. 59% of independent voters now support marriage equality. that's ten points up from just last year, so you've seen a sea change from american opinion on this issue. it would put the president in a double bun. >> let's talk the 2012 race here. now, this whole issue of who's getting in, who's not getting in. john, you've done some digging. just in terms of if newt gingrich got out, for example, do all those votes go to rick santorum and if so, does that crush romney? >> not all, but the vast r majority. we've seen this. in missouri when they had their beauty pageant contest a little while ago an newt gingrich wasn't on the ballot, santorum got 55% of the vote. mitt romney, 25. that shows what santorum could do. he would have won ohio. gingrich got 15% of the vote in ohio. even two-thirds had gone to rick santorum, he would have won ohio. >> and get the nomination? >> changes the math. makes it more competitive. >> ramesh, i'll give you a chance to react to something romney said today that i just had to play tonight. here's mitt romney. >> you're keeping me up at night, not much that keeps me up. i must admit by the end of the day, i am tired and i always seat something at the end of the day. my favorite is cold cereal. full tummy and a long day, puts me right to bed. >> what kind of cereal do you like? >> i like honey nut cheerios, chex -- >> sorry. the whole thing is just absolutely bizarre. full tummy. okay. jen? what do you think? >> wow. i'm glad that serious helps mitt romney sleep through the night given we're still recovering, our economy is still recovering. we have a few national security issues at hand. there are a few issues that keep the president up and i don't think if he has a bowl of cereal, he's sleeping through the night without worry. >> full tummy. just hearing it out of a grown man, it was somewhat strange. now to a very serious story. the rutgers trial. nearly nine days of testimony, two dozen witnesses took the stand. prosecutors rested their case against dharun ravi today. he's accused of placing a web cam in his room to spy on his roommate. clementi committed suicide by jumping off the george washington bridge in 2010 after he learned that ravi and others watched him have a romantic encounter. some of the evidence against him came from ravi himself as detectives questioned him about his prolific text messaging. >> first thing i'm doing is getting your text logs. every text you send. so, what i'm telling you here is that i'd rather it come from you. okay listen, this is what this young man told us. if i find -- >> i have stuff to say then. i was talking to my friend from cornell. i told her what happened. we were just joking around saying you should call in for tuesday. i was telling her we should do it and joking around, kids here saying we're having a viewinging party. >> you do a lot of joking. >> ravi's team will begin tomorrow by questioning an investigator on the case. paul cowen's a criminal defense attorney and has been following the case for us. eight or nine character withins are going to come to support ravi. is that going to be enough to get past some of his testimony, which is hard to see? >> they need a lot more than character witnesses. now, i understand why the defense is doing this. they're going to try to throw up the fact that this is a good kid. he's a nice guy. >> did something stupid, maybe heartless, but he's not a bad guy. >> like waving the white flag when you call character witnesses. it means you don't have the evidence, so let's call his friends to say he's a nice guy. i think they need more. >> should he take the stand? >> you know, the usual thing is, don't put your client on the stand. i would put him on the witness stand. i would let him tell his story to the jury, let him cry, indicate how horrible this has been for his life. i think that's the only thing that could really save him. because if the jury likes him, maybe he walks out of that courtroom. >> before we go, he's deleted text messages, twitters that he sent, tweets, sorry. so some of his friends, one of which he tweeted, did you tell them we did it on purpose. what's that's going to do? >> wow, valuable lesson. you delete these text messages, you think they're gone. they're not. the police got them back. this is the most damaging evidence against him on the hindering apprehension charge, the charge of trying to cover up and lawyers often say watch out for the cover up. >> cover up is worse than the crime. thank you very much. a ruling by the supreme court in the case of hailey barbo barbour's pardons and a viral video racks up millions of hits on the web. what's it all about? 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