President . Or just telling a story . A new book by one of president obamas former cabinet officials is raising big questions. Is it appropriate for a trusted former member of the president s team to write a book that criticizes the commander in chief even while hes still in office . Leon panetta served as the president s cia director from 2009 to 2011. He was there when the president ordered the mission to kill osama bin laden. President obama then nominated him to be the press secretary, publicly praising panetta. Another great Public Servant of our time, leon panetta. Leon appreciates the struggles and sacrifices of our troops and military families, because he served in the army himself. Panetta served as defense secretary until early last year. Now hes out with a new book. Its respectful in many ways, acknowledging progress made under this president. But its also filled with tough words about the president s foreign policy, a theme he did in an interview on msnbc today. I think we would be in a much better position if we had left a presence in iraq of approximately 8 to 10,000. We needed to have people on the ground, troops on the ground. You and Hillary Clinton both argued, as did others, that we should arm the Syrian Rebels two years ago. The president decided not to. If we had made that decision then, would isis have been able to grow as it did . I think we would at least be in a better position to have, in the rebel operation, a group that we would have worked with, known, helped arm. Lets talk about red lines. There was a red line against assad, then a red line on chemical weapons. I believe when youre commander in chief of the United States of america, that when you put down a red line, when you put our word on the line, that if they use chemical weapons, that we will take action, and they used chemical weapons. And when that happens, the president has an obligation to take action. Many of those decisions were made when panetta was serving the president. And heres what he said about the president s leadership. He approaches things like a law professor in presenting kind of the logic of his position. And theres nothing wrong with that, but my experience in washington is that logic alone doesnt work. That once you lay out a position, you have to roll up your sleeves and fight to get it done. Thats key in washington. In order for president s to succeed, they cannot just, you know, when they run into problems, kind of step back and give up. I think theres a feeling right now, i have a feeling that the leadership, and the congress and the president have largely given up on the big issues facing this country. The president s given up . Give me a break. Let me be very clear. Theres nothing wrong with criticizing the president , but for a former trusted official to do so while the president is still in office, thats low. And a real blemish on leon panettas record of service. Joining me now is joe madison, host of the pl÷ madison show on sirius radio and Dana Millbank of the washington post. Danas new article is titled leon panetta, other former obama subordinates show stunning disloyalty. Thank you both for being here. Good to see you, reverend. Thank you. Dana, you called this stunning disloyalty. Whats different here . Well, look, leon panetta is an american and free to say what he wants. But i can tell you what the effect is here, is to embolden conservatives and republicans right on the eve of the election. I was at an event yesterday. This was coming out with bobby jindal, republican governor of louisiana who wants to run for president. Hes saying everything thats wrong with this president , you dont need to hear it from me, just go and listen to leon panetta. So certainly hes fair to say what he wants. The criticism itself is a very common one that many people on the left have made before. The timing is very unfortunate, i think, for this president , and it does lend itself to the suspicion that leon panetta is looking to ring up some royalties. Joe, whats your reaction to the comments . My first reaction was, when i heard him say logic doesnt apply in washington, d. C. , i think thats why people are so down on washington, d. C. What do you mean logic doesnt apply . Of course you want to be logical, of course you want to be intelligent, of course you want to be cautious. My first reaction is, i thought about john f. Kennedy and the cuban missile crisis. History will tell us he was the only one at that table who didnt want to pull the trigger, which would have started world war iii. And the president is the president. The secretary of defense is the secretary of defense. The president has to make that decision. History will judge history will judge whether the president is right or wrong. And most important of all, all we have is panettas side of the story. Lets wait to see what happens when the president writes his story or when history writes and then finally, he knows darn well that we could not have left those troops in iraq. First of all, we didnt trust the leader of iraq. Second of all, he wasnt going to prosecute anything that would have been done against those troops. They would have been sitting ducks. But your point is well taken, the president of the United States has not given up. Matter of fact, hes brought 40something nations together to fight isis. You know, leon panetta has a long history in washington, he was bill clintons chief of staff. Is that playing in here at all . How do you explain this critique coming now . I think that has something to do with it. If you look whats happening, the beginning of the year, robert gates, the former defense secretary or First Defense secretary with this president came out with a critical memoir. Then Hillary Clintons book, which was somewhat critical, in particular interviews she gave. Now you have leon panetta. Whats in common here, all three of these were figures in their own right without president obama. Hillary clinton was a rival. Gates was a holdover from the bush administration. And panetta is just sort of a washington institution. I think they all feel they donto him anything. That theyre free to be their own person. So when you establish a cabinet of rivals as the president did in the first term, there are many benefits to that, but we are. Ca aqqrg a down side to that. Joe, Vice President biden hit back at panetta today. Listen to this. Im finding that former Administration Officials soon as they leave, write books, which i think is inappropriate. But at any rate [ laughter ] no, im serious, i do think its inappropriate. Give the guy a chance to get out of office. This was yesterday the Vice President talking. Is there some kind of unspoken trust that is had between the president and his cabinet members that hes taken into his confidence and made a part of the team, even after you leave the office . You know, i really dont know. I like plainspoken joe. I mean, he really puts it where it should be put. I dont know how to answer that question. But what keeps coming into my mind, reverend sharpton, this is about marketing. You know, it they waited to years from now, we may not even remember who panetta is. People may not even buy his book. Because remember, it would be Hillary Clinton that would be getting all the attention. So i think quite honestly, this is well, let me put it this way. Panetta doesnt have sex to sell. So here he sells disloyalty. Let me go to dana before you get too far out there, joe. Dana, you know, panetta has taken heat, including from you. Lets listen to how he answered some of the criticism today. You know, im a believer that that you dont put history on hold. That the reality is, you speak to what you believe history is all about, and the American People will be able to make the judgment as to whats right or wrong. Dana, do you put history on hold . Do you buy that as his logic . I dont really buy that argument. I mean, i think that if leon panetta thought he had a chance of persuading this president to take the positions that panetta wanted him to take, hed be on the job persuading him to do it. I think he gave up on that and hass has decided to go off into a dissenting role. Its not as if this hasnt happened before. It happened with george w. Bush. But just the timing, particularly before the mid term elections, giving republicans a lot of ammunition, im not sure panetta thought that through entirely. And you dont embolden the enemy. I looked this up. President bush, there were a few books written while he was still in office by former aides, but the overwhelming majority of them was after he left office. Why do some officials like leon panetta feel compelled to break that practice and publish while the commander in chief is still in office . I really dont know. And its really unfortunate because you would think that especially with a mid term election, number two, we are, in essence, at war with isis. Why would you do this at a time that could embolden your enemy, could undermine the president s leadership . You know what comes to my mind, maybe theres a lack of respect there for this individual. I hate to say that, i cant read panettas mind, but, you know, this does not speak well for how they should be treating a sitting president of the United States. Joe madison and Dana Millbank, thank you for your time tonight. Thanks, reverend. Thank you. Coming up, four weeks from the mid term elections, and first Lady Michelle obamas on fire on the trail. Anyone ever tells you that elections dont matter, you tell them to look back at the last six years. Tell them about all those elections did to change the course of history in this country, and tell them that the same is true this year. Indiana Police Caught on tape, officers smash a car window and taser a man on a traffic stop. We look at the ferguson effect on policing in america. And you know her from the cosby show. Now raven simone is sparking a National Debate with this comment to oprah. Im tired of being labelled. Im an american, not an African American. Oh, girl, twitter will be on fire. What . Im sorry. What did you just say . Stop, stop tape right now. What do you think . Tweet us. Conversation nation is ahead. [ hoof beats ] i wish. Please, please, please, please, please. [ male announcer ] the wish we wish above all. Is health. So we quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies. Expanded minuteclinic, for walkin medical care. And created programs that encourage people to take their medications regularly. Introducing cvs health. A new purpose. A new promise. To help all those wishes come true. Cvs health. Because health is everything. In life there are things you want to touch and some you just dont. Introducing the Kohler Touchless toilet. The first lady on the campaign trail in madison, wisconsin, and holdingvg nothin back. Plus, wait until you see this one. Speaker boehner reveals his jobs plan. Well, sort of. And raven simones interview with oprah draws a big reaction. Her comment on being labelled on race ahead. Were just as simple . Thanks to angies list, now it is. Start shopping online from a list of toprated providers. Visit angieslist. Com today. Red lobsters endless shrimp is now the years largest variety of shrimp flavors like new woodgrilled sriracha shrimp or parmesan crusted shrimp scampi. As much as you like, any way you like hurry in and sea food differently. Were exactly four weeks away from the mid term elections and some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party were on the road today, making the case to help the president and his allies finish what they started. The first lady was on the campaign trail in madison, wisconsin. By almost every economic measure, we are better off today than when barack obama took office. Thats a fact. It is a fact. Unemployments down. The stock markets up. Weve had 55 straight months of private sector job growth. But we still have so much more work to do. To help every american get a fair shot. No one in america should be working 40 hours a week and living below the poverty level. Thats right. Thats why the minimum wage vote is important. Thats why equal pay for women is important. You all can elect a leader who will fight to create jobs for you, when you graduate. And make sure those jobs pay a decent wage. [ applause ] these are the issues at stake for the mid terms. Raising the minimum wage, equal pay, keeping extreme republicans from taking over the u. S. Senate. And the first lady had a message for anyone who thinks this election isnt a big deal. If anyone ever tells you that elections dont matter, you tell them to look back at the last six years. Tell them about all those two elections did to change the course of history in this country, and tell them that the same is true this year. If you think every person in this country should have the chance to go to college and build a good life for themsel s themselves [ applause ] then you have to step up. You have to step up. We all have to step up and we have got four weeks to do it. Joining me now, a former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and jess mcintosh, thank you both for being here. Great to be here, rev. Thank you. Governor, will these economic pocket book issues help motivate democrats over the final four weeks . Well, thats a key, rev. Will the Democratic Base turn out . Its been a good weeks for the president , great economic news, fantastic, blowtheroof off economic news, and his performance dealing with isis, building the coalition is favored by a lot of the American People. So good news that will help energize our base and theres a recent poll showing the democratic voters who say theyre likely to vote are at 91 . Republican voters who say theyre likely to vote are at 93 . Thats good. Its narrowed the gap dramatically. Plus, theres an explosion going on out there among single women. Single women are giving d democrats in the tough states huge majorities. Kay hagan and michelle nun have 34point majority. Theyre women. But bruce braley in iowa has a 43point plus majority among single women. And mark udall in colorado has a 33point plus majority. So the lines are good. The democrats, i think, have a slightly better turnout. Field, ground operation much better. So the chances are much improved for the whole of the senate, but its still a very tough nut. If you assume that michigan and New Hampshire now are fairly safe for democrats, there are nine seats, three are gone. Of the remaining six, the republicans have to take three and they take the senate back, unless they lose in kansas, georgia, or kentucky. If the democrats win one of those states, its pretty hard for the republicans to take back the senate. Just the first lady was in wisconsin today campaigning for wisconsin gubernatorial candidate mary burke. She really stressed womens issues. I want to play part of it. Sure. A leader who will fight for equal pay for women. [ applause ] a leader who will support our rights as women to make our own decisions about our bodies and about our health care [ applause ] ladies now, theres a big gender gap in the wisconsin race and in senate races. True. Will women turn out . Will there be a bigger turnout among women . What are you seeing out there, jess . Im seeing a lot of enthusiasm among women. Among the women who usually get written off in mid term election, younger women, African American women specifically. These voters are energized because of the issues you laid out at the beginning. Raising the minimum wage, which women understand is a womens issue, ending gender discrimination in pay, having paid sick leave and access to health care. One of the reasons that was so fantastic that the first lady hit those notes in wisconsin is because republican Governor Scott walker has been one of the absolute worst across the board on these issues. And mary burke, the democratic challenger who really has a fantastic shot of unseating him in just 28 days, has been doing a really good job of highlighting those differences. And walker knows hes vulnerable on them. He put up a very strange tv ad today, where he tried to suggest that he was maybe kind of prochoice, which of course anybody who has followed his agenda, knows thats the exact hes one of the most extreme on that issue possible. But he seems to know hes in trouble with the women everyone is afraid are going to turn out and hes trying to inoculate himself but its far too late with 28 days left. Democrats have been running on things like minimum wage and equal pay, but listen to that Senate Candidate david purdue said this week about his own record on outsourcing. How do you defend that . Well, defend it, im proud of it. This is part of american business, any business. Outsourcing is the procurement of products and sources to help your business run. People do that all day. Hes proud of it. Proud of outsourcing . I mean, can you believe this governor . No. I think its an issue which could really energize democratic voters and independent voters to come out and vote for michelle nun whose run a great campaign. Purdue is in trouble because hes talking about outsourcing in a state that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, 8. 4 . Even though unemployment across the board has dipped under 6 . So thats a message thats going to tick off a lot of georgiaians and could be the difference in what was already a close election before he made that remark. If michelle nun wins her senate seat t becomes extremely hard, not impossible, but extreme hard for republicans to take back the senate. Weve heard a lot of crazy i dont know how else to describe it Crazy Campaign rhetoric. But now tom cotton is trying to connect isis to border security. Listen to this. First off, the islamic state, who collaborate with drug cartels in mexico upon who have clearly shown theyre willing to expand outside the drug trade into Human Trafficking and terrorism. They could infiltrate our defenseless southern border and attack us right here in places like arkansas. Seriously . Hes claiming isis is headed to arkansas. Are they just willing to say anything . I think this highlights a really important point in the final four weeks of the election. We know what