Up. Nascar steps up to the plate for the families of sandy hook victims. Ill ask driver Michael Waltrip about the new 26 car he is driving at daytona this weekend, and about the message he is sending. 150 fbi agents raid the scooter store. Quick, we have to hold him. And fast ill show you why this is good news for defenders of the big three. Plus, the ridiculous bail in the pistorius trial. And everybody in the office is making oscar picks. Everybody . Nate silver is playing the odds, and im playing my gut. Dont waste that power. The big picks are coming up. Get that out of here. Good to have you with us tonight, folks. Thanks for watching. We are one week away from devastating federal Government Spending cuts to kick in. Republican strategy so far is to keep repeating the lies about the sequester over and over again to catapult the propaganda. Were weeks away from the president s sequester, and the president laid out a plan to eliminate the kuester and the harmful cuts that come as a result of it. Speaker boehner has his members in lockstep behind the talking point. They insist the president has no plan. We acted months ago, acted twice last year. The president actually suggested sequester in the first place, has never put a proposal on the table. Now, we expect politicians to lie and leave out details like 1. 2 trillion in cuts before any kind of new revenue came. In but when journalists get involved in the act, its really a bigger problem, folks. You see, New York Times columnist david brooks is a conservative, but he presents himself as someone who is reasonable and willing to see both sides of an argument. So it was rather puzzling today when brooks blamed the president and republicans for failing to avoid the sequester. The columnist wrote the president hasnt actually come up with a proposal to actually avert sequestration, let alone one that is plausible clot. He should know how to use google or at least pick up the telephone. Or at least he should know how to go to the white house website, because if he had he would have seen the president s proposal. It is very detailed. It offers a twotoone ratio of tax cuts to increases. It is by all measures a compromise. Brooks was dragged over coals by other journalists for shoddy work. He wrote the white house has proposed various constructive changes to spending levels and entitlement programs. These changes are not nearly adequate in my view, but they do exist, and i should have acknowledged the balanced and toughminded elements in the president s approach. You think . This is what brooks should have written in the first place. But its hard to blame david brooks alone for spreading these falsehoods, because the problem is much bigger than just one writer in new york. Meet Pete Peterson. Peterson is a wall street mogul who has spent an estimated half a billion dollars protecting rich investors at the expense of the 99 of americans. You see, peterson is behind the group fix the debt. The group claims spending is way out of control, and we need deep cuts in the entitlement programs. The figureheads for fix the debt are these guys, the austerity brothers, Erskine Bowles and alan simpson, and believe me, they dont have to worry about their retirement being lost or their pension or their health care. Now the Current Issue of the nation magazine reports peter timed the launch of this new 60 Million Campaign to exploit the wrangling over the fiscal cliff, the debt ceiling and the sequester, the Misinformation Campaign has worked. A bloomberg poll on the size of americas budget deficit shows 62 of americans think the deficit is getting bigger. 28 of americans think that its staying the same. And get this number, only 6 agree with the truth. My friends, the deficit is shrinking. The Congressional Budget Office says the deficit is down to 845 billion. It is projected to be 600 billion less than when the president took office. Americans need to break out of this misinformation loop, dont you think . If they want to listen to a republican, maybe they should try listening to outgoing transportation secretary ray lahood. He spoke about the sequester consequences today, including the loss of 100 air Traffic Controllers. This requires compromise. This requires republicans stepping forward with some ideas about how to keep essential services of government running at the level that people have been accustomed to. This is not rocket science. Well, its not rocket science. But, folks, it is just as serious. Get your cell phones out. I want to know what you think. Tonights question, will republican lies prevent a deal on the guester . Text a for yes. Text b for no to 67622. You can go to our blog at ed. Msnbc. Com. Well bring you the results later on in the show. Joining me tonight david cay johnston, professor at Syracuse University and pulitzer winning journalist. Great to have you on with us tonight. Why did these groups like the fix the debt outfit want americans to think the deficit is just out of control . Oh, its central to their whole marketing campaign. They represent very wealthy people like Pete Peterson who want all the benefits of living in america. And by the way, where are the Pete Peterson factories and the Pete Peterson payroll people. Theyre just financial speculators at blackstone. Its crucial that theyre making huge fortunes while not doing anything productive. So theyll do anything they can to argue we are in terrible trouble if we maintain Government Services that actually help real businesses do business Like Airlines and food companies. I guess when i look at the numbers that are playing out right now, you have to have the question, is deficit reduction an urgent problem that needs to be faced . Because it seems like the president s plan wants to take care of this over time. That if we, you know, mind our ps and qs financially, and dont go off into war and not pay for them, that we are strong as a nation, and our economy is Strong Enough to recover from this piece by piece. What about that . Well, this is where i would be critical of the president , ed. I think we would have faster economic recovery if we werent laying off Police Officers and firefighters and School Teachers all over the country. If you look at the reagan era, one of the things reagan did was a huge rampup when the economy was in trouble of government employees. But without question, the deficit is coming down to where it should be. Which is slightly above spending or a balanced budget. Its going in that direction. The president has had the smallest growth in Discretionary Spending in numerous president s as opposed to the big spender george w. Bush who came ahead of him. Dave, stay with us. I want to bring in steve benen, msnbc contributor. Good to have you with us tonight. Why are mainstream journalists repeating this lie about president obama not having a plan to replace sequester . Well, i can only speculate about what brooks and others are thinking. But i would think in all likelihood, there is a forced equivalence between left and right and democrats and republicans, it doesnt really exist. I think for many pundits who are so eager to avoid any sense of bias or any sense of maybe one side is more responsible for problems than the other, that they have to say that both sides are always to blame, regardless of the facts, regardless of the circumstances. We see pieces like the one we saw in the New York Times today where the president is getting blamed even though he is not ultimately responsible and hasnt done any of the things he is accused of doing. As a consequence you hear a lot of pundits saying things like the deficit is getting worse when its getting better. That spending is up when its down. All tease things that are completely detached from reality. Its very frustrating to watch. Well, the budget control act, the president did sign it. But a bunch of republicans voted for it to get it to his desk there is shared responsibility here. But the thing that is so frustrating is that the lies are out there by conservative media saying that its all the president s fault. The fact is they are so draconian. It was a movement to try to get these two sides together so we wouldnt be at this point right now. So the point is here, steve, did democrats and the white house lose the message game on the deficit . I dont think so. I think that if you look at the polling that came out this week in particular, we said to president and the democrats in congress have a Real Advantage when it comes to Public Perception and Public Attitudes here. The president has produced a balanced approach where there is a combination of spending cuts and new revenue from closing tax loopholes. I think that reflects the fact that they have actually done a fairly good job in winning over the american mainstream. Its republicans who are really suffering, however. There is ample polling data this week that shows republicans are on the wrong side of the american mainstream when it comes to the sequester, when it comes to spending, when it comes to compromise. When you look at this larger arc, i think its fair to say when it comes to the message war, democrats are coming out ahead. And that matters, of course, next week. Republicans are thinking if they go through with this and the sequester hits, then theyll be able to say well, this is the white houses fault. Its the obama sequester talking point theyve been so fond of. But all Available Evidence suggests that the public will blame republicans, not democrats, if this happens next week. All right. Lets hear from transportation secretary, outgoing transportation secretary ray lahood. He was explaining today why this is so important. Here it is. I would describe my presence here is one word republican. Theyre hoping that maybe i can influence some of the people in my own party. David, is there a chance some republicans can talk sense to the rest of this party, or is this going to happen . I think we have to consider the possibility, ed, that the republicans out in the field and the republicans on capitol hill belong to two different parties. Some of the polls are showing a majority of republicans are opposed to what the leadership is doing on the hill. And of course thats trying to deal with the Tea Party People who are at the core of this. You know, some republicans say the sequester cuts wont be so bad. I mean rand paul is out there saying its the least thing that we can do. Steve, is he right or wrong . Youll be surprised to know that i think rand paul is wrong. I think this notion that the sequester cuts will be meaningless, look no further than john boehner. John boehner himself has said that this will be a disaster. Orrin hatch, republican from utah said this week talking to a local newspaper that he thinks this will be a disaster. I think that even rand paul when it comes to his rhetoric on the sequester is part of a very small minority of even republicans, because i think there is bipartisan agreement that this is a real problem, that the american mainstream regular folks are going to feel a real pinch, and its going to do harm to the economy, the military and public needs. I think rand paul is in the minority on this one. Of course, the end of march is certainly going to do something as well. Theyre going to have to figure out what to do with the budget there. In fact, i want to put it to both of you. What happens when were approaching another deadline at the end of march and this time to avoid a Government Shutdown . Well, ed, as i said on the show some time ago, i think were in for two years of the craziest behavior weve ever seen in washington. Not until we get another election are we going to get some sort of sensible, thoughtful how do we develop the commonwealth necessities for creating private wealth and making business work when you have a group of people who dont seem to understand any of the fundamentals that the economy depends and has a foundation in the Services Government provides, like air Traffic Control and food safety inspection. Steve, your thoughts. I think thats right. But i would just add that republicans a little wary about 2014 mid terms. I think they realize if there is a Government Shutdown and the public blames them that John Boehners majority is very much in doubt, and it could be eliminated. So i think that that fear may just possibly prevent a Government Shutdown in march. All right, david cay johnston, steve benen, good to have you with us tonight. Appreciate your time. Remember, share your thoughts with us on twitter at ed show and on facebook. We want to know what you think. Coming up, nascar is paying tribute to newtown, connecticut, with a special 26 car at this weeks daytona 500. Driver Michael Waltrip and team owner Brandon Davis are here next to talk about it. Stay with us. [ male announcer ] whats the point of an epa estimated 42 miles per gallon if the miles arent interesting . The lexus ct hybrid. This is the pursuit of perfection. A talking car. But ill tell you what impresses me. A talking train. This ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what its carrying, while using less fuel. Delivering whatever the world needs, when it needs it. After all, whats the point of talking if you dont have something important to say . Ted cruz is channeling joe mccarthy again, and rand paul says the president is being dishonest about the sequester. The big panel takes on the latest rightwing conspiracies. And hollywood is rolling out the red carpet for this years oscars coming up sunday night. Ill tell you who i think will win it. And why the academy has already made a serious mistake. Dont forget you can listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3 00 p. M. Share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter u use edshow. Were coming right back. Hi. Hi. Im here to pick up some cacti. It should be under stephens. The verizon share everything plan for small business. Get a shareable pool of data. Got enough joshua trees . On up to 25 devices. So you can spend less time. Yea, the golden barrels. Managing wireless costs and technology and more time driving your business potential. Looks like were going to need to order more agaves. Ah oh ow . And more bandages. Thats powerful. Shareable data plus unlimited talk and text. Now save 50 on a droid razr maxx hd by motorola. Thanks for stay with us tonight. The shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School renewed an intense debate on gun control in this country. And on sunday, the tragedy will take center stage at nascars biggest race of the year, the daytona 500. Twotime daytona champ Michael Waltrip will be driving this tribute car instead of the usual 200 Miles Per Hour billboard. Waltrips team changed the cars number to 26 to honor the 20 first graders and six adults gunned down in december. This paint job encourages fans to send a text to donate 10 to the Sandy Hook School support fund operated by the united way. Nascars chairman donated 50,000 to the fund after the waltrip made this emotional visit to newtown earlier this month. Im joined now by nascar driver Michael Waltrip and Brandon Davis, the own over swann racing who are getting ready for sundays race in daytona beach, florida. Congratulations on qualifying yesterday. Great to have you on the ed show tonight, as well as you, mr. Davis. Well, we really appreciate it. Yesterday was a lot of pressure to put that number 26 text newtown to 80888 toyota into the field. It was a big deal for our team and that community to know that theyre going to have something to cheer for coming on sunday in the Great American race. We couldnt be prouder to represent the community, and we couldnt be prouder for the nascar family rallying around this great cause. Michael, why did you turn your car into a tribute to newtown . Well, mike helton, who is a nascar president had a friend who lived in the newtown area, and his grandson was in school that day when the tragedy occurred. And hans relik is the name. Could you get some of the First Responders a tour . Show them the racetrack so they can come down. That is all it took to try to figure out how he could do more than that. He called me up and said we love to put newtown to 80888 on your car and have you represent the community. And Brandon Davis, our car owner was kind enough to allow us to put the livery of the newtown connecticut town and the School Colors on the race car. T before we wanted to announce to it the world to tell everybody what we were doing, we took that trip up to newtown and visited with first responder, teachers, even some of the victims families. And indeed, it was quite an emotional moment. And from that day until now, i left part of my heart in newtown. And im so thankful were able to get that car in the show. It was lot of pressure for our team to get in. Were in now. And were going to celebrate sunday. And hopefully give those folks in newtown three hours or so of joy, something that they can sort of take a break from the tragedy and enjoy seeing their car on the track. Brandon davis, what kind of reaction are you getting from fans . What kind of reaction do you think youre going to get on sunday . Weve had a very good reaction so far. One of the things that really surprised me when we were in newtown unveiling the car, michael and i and brian franz, the local fire and rescue were there, of course, the First Responders. And they mentioned to us that they had a daytona 500 watch party every year. And they were very excited that now theyre going to be on the car. And im very happy to support that everyone i know across the country is behind this. And i hope everyone, whether theyre a nascar fan or not, gets behind newtown and texts newtown to 80888. I have to ask you, michael, the shooting in newtown renewed the gun control debate on many fronts in this country. Of course the sandy hook parents have spoken in favor of regulations such as background checks and maybe some other thinkings. Where do you come down on this issue at all, or does that matter . We are here to race cars, and any time our community is hurting, we rally around the races. Its how we heal ourselves. And if you think about the healing process that the town of newtown and the folks from sandy hook are faced with, this runway is very long. Years and years of therapy and counseling and just trying to heal these folks and make them try to return to some sort of normal it is. And we dont know what all that is going to entail and what all it could encompass. So were here to race our car do, what we do best, celebrate the event, the daytona 500 with the wonderful tribute and an honor to the folks in newtown. Thats as political as were going to be because were just thankful that its been received so well by the town and how happy they are theyre going to have a car on the track. Sure. And obviously, brandon, the united way says the Sandy Hook School support fund has raised over 9 million so far. Where do you hope the money will go . I hope that it goes to helping the families that need it. And they need as much help as they can possibly get. Not just the money, but support. And they need to know the rest of the country is behind them. I know there has been a lot of controversy over this, after this incident across the country. And this, were hoping to pull everyone together to get behind the families that are in need, because theyre going to need it for a long time. Michael waltrip and Brandon Davis, youre doing great things for newtown, connecticut. The town certainly needs it. I know they appreciate it. Best of luck to you, gentlemen, in the big race coming up on sunday. Well all be watching. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. And the fact that you had us on tonight helps us to spread the word. So youre doing great things too. Thank you. Thank you very much. You bet. And coming up, the fbi takes down the scooter store scam. I have the details on how much Medicare Fraud has cost you and how the government is fighting back. And the rightwing smear machine kicks into high gear. Tackling the latest conspiracy theorys from rand paul, ted cruz and others. Its all coming up. Stay with us. 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Good toss see thats much better that was good. You had your shoulder pointed, you kept your eyes on your target. Lets do it again watch me. Just like that one. [ male announcer ] the durability of the volkswagen passat. Pass down something he will be grateful for. Good arm. Thats the power of german engineering. Back to you. Welcome back to the ed show. Its the same old story. In an effort to cut spending, republicans want to raise the medicare eligibility age. Currently the minimum wage is 65 years old. Now if republicans had their way, they would push it to 67 years old, two additional years could really devastate seniors. 270,000 seniors would become uninsured. The solution to our budgetary problem isnt cutting benefits and breaking a promise made to our seniors. We need to cut down on the rampant fraud. You might be surprised to learn just who is ripping off the government these days. Imagine one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. One medicare benefit that with private insurance may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. One company that can make it all happen. Your power chair will be paid in full. The scooter store. Oh, the ol scooter store. Theyve spent years convincing patients to buy motorized wheelchairs, telling them the government will pick up the bill, not a problem. But former employees told cbs news the companys strategy was to bulldoze doctors into writing prescriptions so people would get the chairs whether they needed them or not . Well, on wednesday, federal and state agents paid a little visit to the scooter store, raided the joint headquarters in an alleged fraud investigation. The Inspector General of hhs released a report finding that industrywide, 80 of medicare payments for power chairs, they are made in error. Now, you see from 2009 to 2012, government auditors found that the scooter store overbilled medicare by as much as 108 million. Its estimated that Medicare Fraud costs taxpayers an estimated 60 billion to 90 million each year. The Obama Administration has made it a top priority to cut down on Health Care Fraud. For every dollar spent on investigating Health Care Fraud the past three years, the government has recovered 7. 90. When republicans tell you that gutting medicare benefits is the only way to cut spending, make sure you remind them about the ol scooter store, and tell them to crack down on the waste, fraud, and abuse before they come after seniors. I would say balderdash. Its untrue, unfair, dishonest, disingenuous. The president is making stuff up. Up next, the big panel on the sequester truthers coming out of the woodwork and the sequester scare from ted cruise. And the bail decision in the blade runner trial. And then there is the other oscar. 48 hours until hollywoods biggest night. Ill tell you who should be taking home the hardware. When e something made your jaw drop . 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Advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking advair. If youre still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. Get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd. Com. Thanks for watching the ed show tonight. The right wing smear machine was hard at work again today. We have several examples, but lets start with senator rand paul of kentucky, who is spending his vacation telling fox news viewers the looming budget crisis is really not a big deal. In fact, senator rand paul says that the president is lying. I would say balderdash. Its untrue, unfair, dishonest, disingenuous. The president is making stuff up. Making stuff up. Rand paul says he is not worried about 85 billion in budget cuts between now and september 30th, even though his own Party Leaders say sequestration threatens the nations security. Military readiness, and the economy. Now senator paul wants us to believe sequestration is a good thing, and the president is just overreacting. The sequester is a slowdown in the rate of growth of government. Its the least we can do for the president to use this histrionics is beneath the presidency. Lets get reaction from our panel. Michelle goldberg from newsweek and the daily beast. John walsh and political strategist angela ragg. Is the president overreacting . Lets just say rand paul is spoton. John nichols, is the president overreacting . He absolutely is not overreacting. The sequester is austerity. It is its not slowing the rate of growth. Our population is growing. Our needs are growing. If you slow down the amount of spending youve got at a time when you have growth and population, you are making severe cuts. And the sequester is really the first installment on an austerity agenda that poses huge threats according to government and private sector analyses to our abolishmeemployment rate an potential for growth. The president is not lying nor is he being historionic or overboard. I dont know what the president strategy is, but it looks to me like there is not one. Theyre saying Different Things and reacting on different points and none of them make sense. When you talk about sequestration or across the board cuts, were talking about things that impact the lives of real people. They want to see small government. Well, small government doesnt work when you have a large population. Whether its food inspectors or health care programs, or cuts to Education Programs that are vital to the success of our country, were talking about a magazin massive issue here. There is no dream or nightmare really is what sequestration would be all about. Its not fate. This is a real issue. It deserves real attention. We cannot continue to have these piecemeal solutions that continue to put us in a crisis governance mode. We just cant do it anymore. And michelle goldberg, what are we seeing the republicans do here . Theyre calling the president a liar. Theyre saying he doesnt have a plan. Theyre saying this all a his fault. Well, theyre doing a bunch of Different Things, right . On the one hand you have some republicans like rand paul saying the sequester is no big deal, that if it went into effect it would slow the rate of government, which is kind of their entire reason for being. At the same time, you have other republicans saying this isnt our fault. This is all obamas idea. They want the get as far away from any responsibility for the sequester as they can. You know, i think kind of depends on how much they have drunk their own kool aid. And thats a battle that you see within the Republican Party. The people who are true believers in the tea party ideology, maybe people like john boehner who are willing to humor it, but at the end of the day know that a lot of these policies if enacted will be catastrophic and that the republicans will be blamed for them. What do you think, john . Are they just going to go with these this sequester, hit the deadline, let it start to peel on the economy a little bit and continue to blame the president . Do they think they can turn the numbers in their favor with this strategy . From what i hear, talking to republicans and democrats, there is a view within the mainstream of the Republican Party. Not the rand paul fringe, but the mainstream that they should let the sequester go forward on the theory that they need to tell their base that they are standing up to obama. When the president stepped up and said we have to do something, the base immediately said oh, no, if the president wants it, we dont want it. It appears that even some of the supposedly more sensible players in the Republican Party are willing to let the sequester happen, willing to let the pain happen. Yeah. To satisfy their base. Michelle, who pays the political price on this, once it all plays out . Well, i would like to think that the republicans will pay the political price. And it seems likely. I mean, given the popularity ratings of the Republican Party and of congress more generally. And it seems that you cant quite you cant say as some of them are trying to say that the sequester isnt a big deal, but all of the pain from it are going to be obamas fault. When people start feeling these cuts in their real lives as theyre going to, its going to be pretty obvious who its been that has been willing to kind of shut down the government or derail the economy in order to force these austerity measures. We have gone from boehner the summer of 2011 saying he got 98 of what he wanted to all of the sudden this is all the president s fault were at this point right now. They dont know what they want right now. Theyre an unguided missile politically, and theyre searching for an identity and theyre going to let it go through because theyre winging the whole thing. Lets talk about another member of the smear team. Ted cruz is reportedly accusing Harvard Law School of harboring communists. The new yorker posted this story today, quoting a teach ted cruz gave while he was campaigning a couple of years ago. Cruz reportedly said the communists were members of the harvard law faculty while he was there between 1992 and 1995. Cruz refused to comment on the speech today. Senator cruz was recently criticized for making some unverified allegations against chuck hagel last month. Angela, what about this . Is cruz just trying to make a name for himself with the tea party, or is he really on a witchhunt . Senator cruz is a Rebel Without a legitimate cause. I dont know what is going on with him. But every time you turn around, there is some new hyperbole that he is spewing. And today to see him talking about, you know, the president is the most radical president ever, im sorry, but i want to know what the definition of radical is, because to me, radical is a president who would come up with a Mass Communications campaign to deceive the American Public into believing there are weapons of mass destruction. I hardly see anything that president obama has done as radical. Senator Barbara Boxer loosely compared ted cruz to joe mccarthy. John nichols, your thoughts. That a fair comparison . Sure it is. When you suggest that there are communists on a faculty, and then when youre pressed about it you dont answer the questions, you play around with it, thats mccarthyite tactics. The one thing that is really important is not focus so much on ted cruz, but to focus on the leadership of the Republican Party. In the 1960s and the 1970s, william f. Buckley and Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan called out members of their own party when they went to fringe arguments and made claims that are not legitimate matt. The problem with ted cruz is not ted cruz. It is the leaders of the part Mitch Mcconnell and john boehner and others. Do you think theyll do that . I cant see what theyll gain from it. You have seen a few attempts. Mccain called him out. Lindsey graham called him out. Mitch mcconnell has his own problems to worry about without calling out ted cruz, wouldnt you think, michelle . But the problem is the leaders of the party, even very conservative leaders are so incredibly cowed by their base. For a long time you had a party that very adroitly whipped up the frustrations and paranoia and suspicions of their base. Theyre no longer controlling the base. The base controls them. And so there is not much leverage they have over it. They have just enough control to screw things up so legislatively nothing gets done. Thats about where they are right now. Lets talk about another texan and louie gohmert. We have some people who think sharia law ought to be the law of the land and forget the constitution. But the guns are there. The Second Amendment is there to make sure all the rest of the amendments are followed. What about that, angela . Well, first and foremost, i want to say that america is a land of laws. We have the United States constitution. Weve got the United States code, and we have states and municipalities that have laws that are enacted on a regular basis. Sharia law is not one of them. The disrespect to islam notwithstanding, this is highly problematic there are no facts given in the opinions that they constantly put out, they get air time. Im trying to understand the standard for obstruction of justice at this point. This is illegitimate points they consistently make, and they get air time and space in papers for this. Its just outrageous to me. It really is. Michelle goldberg, john nichols, angela rye, yesterday to have you on the ed show tonight. I appreciate your time. It was an emotional day in court for olympic star Oscar Pistorius. Up next, the latest on todays controversial bail hearing in the blade runner trial. Thats coming up next. And oscars. Ecial occasion. So she makes her new mini cream pies with real cream filling and milk chocolate on a cookiecrumb crust. Marie callenders. Its time to savor. To volunteer to help those in need. When a twinge of back pain surprises him. Morning starts in high spirits, but theres a growing pain in his lower back. As lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. But after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. Just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. Today, jason chose aleve. Just two pills for all day pain relief. Try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. With simple, real ingredients, like roasted peanuts, creamy peanut butter, and a rich darkchocolate flavor, plus 10 grams of protein, so its energy straight from nature to you. Nature valley protein bars. Welcome back. Nancy pelosi said today democrats will use the minimum wage issue to win back the house in 2014. And many of you are talking about that on social media. On facebook, amy riley sommer says 9 is a lot better than 7. 25 but living off 9 would still be a challenge. Fredrick stevens writes more money to the workers means more tax money. All good. Karen says maybe we should put congress on minimum wages. Lets see how they would fare on it. You can go to our Facebook Page right now and join in on the conversation. Dont forget to like the ed show when youre there. Still to come, im picking my favorites for sunday Nights Academy awards. See how my picks are going to stack up against the experts. Stay tuned. Stay with us. Were going on vac, so i used my Citi Thankyou card to pick up some accessories. A new belt. Some nylons. And what girl wouldnt need new shoes . And with all the points ive been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. Things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your Citi Thankyou points to travel whenever you want. Visit citi. Com thankyoucards to apply. Im here to pick up some cacti. It should be under stephens. The verizon share everything plan for small business. Get a shareable pool of data. Got enough joshua trees . On up to 25 devices. So you can spend less time. Yea, the golden barrels. Managing wireless costs and technology and more time driving your business potential. Looks like were going to need to order more agaves. Ah oh ow . And more bandages. Thats powerful. Shareable data plus unlimited talk and text. Now save 50 on a droid razr maxx hd by motorola. And we are back. After four days of combative hearing, world famous athlete, olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail. Also known as the blade runner, pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend in south africa on valentines day. Pistorius is facing one count of premeditated murder. Earlier today, a magistrate released the double amputee on bail, set at 112,000. Michelle kosinski of nbc has the latest details from south africa. Hi, ed, right. This finally did happen. After four tense days of arguments. And when it was finally read out, Oscar Pistorius sobbed, broke down, his body shaking. And even though you might say that this was fully expected, the judge really kept everyone guessing. I mean his ruling lasted two hours. In it he criticized prosecutors, saying that their witness, this chief Police Investigator presented flawed evidence. Some of the things he said were just wrong, you should have done more work on the case. But that doesnt mean that the states case is not strong. Then he criticized pistorius, saying he had problems with his account of what happened early that morning, saying if he felt so vulnerable, so scared as he claimed that he had to grab his gun and start shooting, not knowing who was in that bathroom, why did he rush right into the danger . But ultimately, he ruled that pistorius was not a flight risk, not a danger to the community, and released him on bail. Pistorius has to surrender his passports, his guns, cant use drugs or alcohol, cant return to the scene of the alleged crime, which is his house. Needs permission to leave his town, and will have to check in with police twice a week. Ed . That was nbcs Michelle Kosinski reporting from pretoria, south africa. Tonight in our survey, i asked will republican lies prevent a deal on the sequester . 84 of you say yes. 16 of you say no. Coming up, ill tell you why im actually pulling for a republican on sunday night. David edelstein of new York Magazine is here to preview the academy awards. Stay with us. The boys used double miles from their capital one venture card to fly home for the big family reunion. You must be garths father . Hello. Mother. Mother traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. Two words. Double miles this guy can act. Wanna play dodge rock . Oh, you guys and with double miles you can actually use, you never miss the fun. Beard growing contest and go i win whats in your wallet . [ bop ] [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all you want, i dont like v8 juice. 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I just served my motherinlaw your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much. I told her it was homemade. Everyone tells a little white lie now and then. But now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] shes right behind me isnt she . [ male announcer ] progresso. You gotta taste this soup. Watch this alakazam [ male announcer ] staples has always made Getting Office supplies easy. Another laptop . Dont ask. Disappear abracadabra alakazam [ male announcer ] and now were making it easier to get everything for your business. And for my greatest trick enough [ male announcer ] because whatever you need, well have it or find it, and get it to you fast. Staples. That was easy. And in the big finish tonight, the oscars are sunday night, and everyone in the office is making their predictions, right . Your office is like ours . Okay. Im going to give you mine in just a moment. The oddsmakers are going with argo. An 85 chance of winning. It also is the pick of nate silver of 538. Com. Argo portrayed the rescue of six americans during the iran hostage crisis back in 1979. Zero dark thirty depicted the tenyear hunt for osama bin laden. The movie actually sparked a senate investigation. One of my favorites, lincoln, of course, possibly one of the best political movies i think ever made. Then there was Silver Linings playbook, a truly funny, unusual, and moving film about a man with bipolar disorder. Of course, every year there are movies and actors who are sadly overlooked. Ladies and gentlemen, i give you the campaign. My country tis of thee sweet land of liberty after cam bradys babypunching incident, Marty Huggins has jumped 11 points in the polls. Joining me tonight is david edelstein, chief film critic of the new York Magazine and contributor for cbs sunday morning. Do i have a shot at this . I probably shouldnt hold my breath. I think its a terrific performance. And i definitely think that you really nailed the sort of gravity of the moment and the lightheartedness. Im just talking out my butt here. I have no idea. Believe me, i can do it for 20 minutes as well. David, great to have you with us tonight. I am very happy to be talking about an oscar that didnt kill somebody either tonight. What do you think . Tonight. Best picture . Best picture, everybody is saying argo. And theyre saying argo because ben affleck, right, didnt get nominated for best director. So his loss is the movies win. Its kind of funny anylike that in hollywood. Its not so much artistic merit, its who can we award. Who needs the bucking up. Of all the pictures i saw this year, when i came out of lincoln, a week later i went back and saw it again, i was so impressed with it. Both times i left the theater thinking how can that not win . I just had that feeling. Does lincoln have a great shot at getting best picture . I thought so. But maybe it just wears its gravitas too loudly, you know. Maybe just people, you know, came out of it awed, and now they just think back and go i dont really want to see that again. I dont want to think than movie. I dont know. I dont know. I loved it too. I loved it a lot more than i loved argo. Best actress, i like jennifer lawrence. I thought she was terrific in Silver Linings playbook. Well, i think she is definitely going to win. Jessica chastain i thought had a great shot. But zero dark thirty got caught up in all the torture stuff, and we know that despite what that movie says, torture does not work. And if you can point to anything to prove that, its that zero dark thirty will not win an oscar. Is this a tough year to pick tough actor . No. Hugh jackmans got it in a lock, absolutely. Ha ha, just kidding. Of course its daniel day lewis, of course. Really . I cant even remember who else is in the category, im afraid, i know. Bradley Cooper Bradley cooper. Hes great. When i was watching him, it was this is just this guy being this guy. It was like there was no script at all. I dont know if he would like to hear you say that since he is playing a lunatic. Every time this time of year, i get really sad. All these people do these great things. We have to view everything these days through a prism of a competition. Some of my favorite performances telephone year didnt get nominated. But what the hell, lets talk about the guys who did. Best supporting actor . Well, everybody says de niro. And you know why . Because de niro was out there campaigning. He was pressing the flesh. Whereas Tommy Lee Jones who i thought had the best chance is kind of widely regarded as a sour puss. Does that matter . Of course it matters. Youre not going to talk to me about art, are you . Were talking about politics. Its all about politics, im afraid, im afraid. So its really not who the best is. Its really maybe who they like and de niro knows that . I dont want to minimize the fact that these people have great tastes by and large, and they pick very worthy people. But no, in the end, what makes the difference is how much money you pay on the campaign. Yes, they have political they have awards consultants. They have their own james carvilles. They have their own war rooms, you know. They really do it out there. They spend the money to get to lobby these voters, these few thousand white over 55 male predominantly liberal voters and get them into this camp. What performance this year was a real letdown . What were you expecting to be really good and it didnt do very well . You know what . I dont want to badmouth people. Yeah, yeah. I just want the say i want to say that im disappointed that matthew mcconaughey, who gave such an electrifying crazy performance in magic mike wasnt recognized. Here is a guy who gets such a bad rap. People think he is a space cadet. He is so wonderful. He is such a wonderful actor. Rachel wise in a movie nobody saw called the deep blue sea. All these people, my heart kind of breaks for them. Poor actors, theyre always getting rejected. Now, for best director, you like ben affleck, right . He is not going to win because he is not nominated. He cant win. Impossible. Unless he is a writein. Him and Kathryn Bigelow for the torture thing. Definitely he deserved a nomination. Its not my favorite movie. David a wonderful, wonderful director. A tad crazy. And well known for being a bit of a jerk himself. And maybe he has a ways to go. He