Transcripts For KRCB PBS NewsHour 20130720

Trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago. Brown then, detroits leaders say filing for bankruptcy will put the city on the path to financial recovery. We hear from the emergency financial manager and michigans governor. This cans been kicked down for 60 years. Enough is enough. Isnt it time for us to see our great cities become great. Mark sheeld an suarez mark shields and david brooks weigh in on the president s remarks, detroits troubles and more. Brown the candidates for governor of virginia face off in their first debate tomorrow. We update the statehouse race to watch this year. Suarez and the wait goes on in britain for the royal baby. We have the story of the media camped out in front of the hospital. Brown thats all ahead on tonights newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Suarez the nations first black president came to the White House Briefing room this afternoon, and took on the Trayvon Martin killing and race in america in highly personal terms. He spoke a day before protests are planned nationwide over the acquittal of George Zimmerman in martins death. You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, i said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the Africanamerican Community at least, theres a lot of pain around what happened here, i think its important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that. That doesnt go away. There are very few African American men in this country who havent had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. And there are very few African American men who havent had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me, at least before i was a senator. There are very few African Americans who havent had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often. And you know, i dont want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the Africanamerican Community interprets what happened one night in florida. And its inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear. The Africanamerican Community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of Racial Disparities in the application of our criminal laws, everything from the Death Penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case. Now, this isnt to say that the Africanamerican Community is naive about the fact that africanamerican young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal Justice System, that they are disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. Its not to make excuses for that fact, although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context. And the fact that a lot of africanamerican boys are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given, well, there are these statistics out there that show that africanamerican boys are more violent using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently causes pain. Now, the question for me at least, and i think, for a lot of folks is, where do we take this . How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction . Along the same lines, i think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the florida case, rather than diffuse potential altercations. And for those who resist that idea that we should think about Something Like these stand your ground laws, i just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk . And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened . And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws. We need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our African American boys . And this is something that michelle and i talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them . I dont want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesnt mean that were in a postracial society. It doesnt mean that racism is eliminated. But you know, when i talk to malia and sasha and i listen to their friends and i see them interact, theyre better than we are. Theyre better than we were on these issues. And thats true in every community that ive visited all across count. To the president s comments, including from a pair of guests who appeared on our program earlier this week after the zimmerman verdict they are carol swain, a professor of Political Science and law at vanderbilt law school. Jonathan turley of the George Washington University Law school. And they are joined tonight by Leonard Pitts jr. , a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the miami herald. And president ial historian michael beschloss. Welcome to everybody. Leonard pitts why dont you start it off. Generally what is your reaction to what the president said . My general reaction is glory hallelujah and thank goodness when he already said it. There is no political upside. But morally and socially, i believe and i believe he came to the conclusion that as the nations first African American president there is no way that he could stand on the sidelines on this. He had to, to speak to these issues and he had to call the nation to account, not so much in terms of what happened legally, in that courtroom in florida, but in terms of the moral implications of it. In terms of this idea that seems to be bandied about that somehow its Trayvon Martins innocence or guilt that is in question, or that mr. Zimmerman had every right to talk strm because of perceived danger because of the color of his skin. That needs to be called into account and i think the president did a pretty good job of doing s brown carol swain, what did you think . There were parts of his speech that i appreciated. I appreciated the fact that he would actually have the conversation. But as far as the content, when he talks about racial profiling, yes, black men are followed. And they are looked at more suspiciously. And i speak as a mother thats raised two black males. They certainly were followed. But at the same time, what the president did not stress is the youth that causes so many people discomfort. And not just white people. But black people, as well. We may remember a few years ago, when Jesse Jackson talked about being in black neighborhoods and hearing footsteps behind him and looking over and looking behind himself and seeing a white person and having more comfort. So i think the president ial has not dealt adequately with the fact that there is a problem in the black community. The black community has to take some responsibility for addressing those problems. I think its time to have a National Conversation on race thats not politically correct, that allows all of us, white, black, brown, red, to get off our chest the things that are affecting our racial conversation. We will never move ahead until blacks girn to take responsibility and whites begin to express their concerns. Brown Jonathan Turley, you talked on monday about the perception of the american Justice System the stand your ground. What do you think about hearing from the president . I think there is much in his remarks that are quite touching, quite moving. The one thing the president cant say is i really cant do anything about. But in reality that is the case. That is, you dont you know neighbors have dialogues. You dont have dialogues through plebiscites or politicians. The fact is, we all know that we have improved but that improvement last to it is to move forward, occur on a microlevel and part of the problem you see here is how dangerous cases are to be narratives for a national debate. Were really have two different debates. You have one community that has a due process narrative and one community that has a race narrative. And theyre talking past each other. Were not speaking of the same issues. Brown and yet the president michael stepped in, said he had to come back at the end of the wake and say something. How unusual, what struck you about this . The first thing unusual about it, historians always speak about a president and say how different it is. The difference is you had an African American president talk about this issue rather than john kennedy, are campaigning 50 years ago for a civil rights bill. Who among us would like to have the color of his skin changed and live the life that African Americans were, us, presumably, how different the audience were. After the death of Martin Luther king, called on black americans and essentially said, dont respond with violence. They quite rightly said you dont have the standing to say that to us. In contrast president obama said the way to dishonor Trayvon Martins legacy would be to respond with violence. Also with politically motivates, in has been a rising expectation in some areas of the country that this verdict may be overwhelmed by federal action. It was probably even more after attorney general holder said the other day, sort of a diamond in the chandelier in the speech was, dont expect that to happen. Brown Leonard Pitts, react to what you hear around the table but also the continuing conversation that the president was talking about, not National Conversation but some kind of conversation among people in their communities. Well reacting to what i just heard, i think its rather i facile to say these black kids are essentially rub i riot and we need to talk about that. The fact of the matter is, according to every center i have seen, African Americans are not necessarily more criminal than their counterparts they are forwarded into the criminal Justice System more than their counterparts. When you have a situation where African Americans account for 15 of the countrys crime but in some jurisdictions they account for 70 or 80 or 90 of the criminals doing drug time, i think there are instances where African Americans do need to take responsibility but i think that it is entirely possible and as a matter of fact, very frequently done that we oversell that. Brown all right. In terms of a conversation that needs to happen in this country, i think that we as African Americans, need to have a conversation about organizing and becoming frankly more activist than we have in the recent years. I think our White Sisters and brothers frankly need to take a little bit more ownership of understanding whats going on in these communities. Brown im sorry, go ahead. Im sorry. Need to take more ownership for knowing whats going on in African American communities as opposed to sort of relying on these abstracts and stereotypes and media set perceptions that seem to be the root of so much of the problem and disconnect. Brown let me bring carol swain in to respond to that. First i want to respond to the disparities of drug incarceration. That goes to the penalties that are different for crack cocaine and regular cocaine. Tougher laws that affected blacks more than whites, originally it was the Congressional Black Caucus that pushed for those laws, because of the devastating effect crack cocaine was having in the black communities. Then in later years it became all about race. That blacks were being treated differently because they use crack but it was the black leaders that pushed for those laws. And im sure that president obama would be familiar with that history. And the the conditions in the black community, we are not addressing those conditions and i believe that this whole the rallies the whole politicalization of the Trayvon Martin death is a way to take peoples minds off the problems that are not being addressed certainly by the democrats. And i see activist leaders i think they are stirring the pot. They are not telling the whole story. And they have set up a situation where i think that there is likely to be more balance to ensue. Brown all right. And in the black Community Among teenagers, theres been a lot of mob violence, since the president s been elected, where gangs of black teenagers attack a alone person, usually a white person and it doesnt get the news Media Coverage that it should. Brown all right. We ought to talk about it. I think theres been a worsening of that. Brown Jonathan Turley, did you hear anything that the president said about the legal case or what happens next . I think thats where critics will not be satisfied about the remarks. Because he really didnt address this due process narrative. When he said look it could have come out differently if the races were switched. For the due process termination the result was really preordained by the lack of evidence or at least how the prosecutors presented it and it wouldnt have turned out differently from that perspective. But also talking about stand your ground laws. Thats come up a lot. It came up with the president but it had nothing to do with the trial. They didnt use this law. This was a straight conventional selfdefense case. Once again youre sort of left with were not talking about the same subjects and were certainly not talking from the same perspectives. Brown and michael youre talking about the president sort of using the pulley pulpit here that he has. Where does it go from here . Hard to say. I think probably one of the truest things he said was its not too smart for politicians to start National Conversations because they are political and they are oftentimes trivial. What happens is an event and just as you said oftentimes an event starts a conversation on a subject that is larger than the one the ent concerned. And the late 1970s sputnik happened and did we do enough to educate our children in science and math . Thats not the reason sputnik happened but it started a dialogue and perhaps this one can here as well. Jonathan turley, others, thank you very much. Bl suarez still to come on the newshour reaction to the bankruptcy filing in detroit; shields and brooks; the governors contest in virginia and britains wait for the royal baby. But first, the other news of the day. Heres kwame holman. Holman russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny was released today, after thousands of demonstrators protested his fiveyear prison sentence. He was set free by a court in kirov that had convicted him of embezzling half a Million Dollars worth of timber. Afterward, navalny said he hasnt decided if hes still running for mayor of moscow. translated i am not their pet kitten or their pet puppy whom they can first throw out of the elections and say you will not take part and then decide, okay, let him in for a month to take part in the elections. I will now return to moscow and we will discuss everything with my Electoral Campaign staff. Holman navalny is to remain free pending his appeal. A former c. I. A. Station chief convicted in italy of abducting a terror suspect is or soon will be back to the United States. A state Department Spokeswoman announced it today. Robert seldon lady was detained in panama this week, at italys request. Hed been convicted in absentia in the kidnapping of an egyptian cleric. A suicide bomber killed at least 22 people in central iraq today. At least 50 people were wounded. It happened at a sunni mosque in diyala province, during friday prayers. Police found a second bomb nearby. An estimated 200 iraqis have died in sectarian violence since the islamic holy month of ramadan began last week. In egypt, thousands of protesters were back in the streets after friday prayers, in a show of support for ousted president mohammed morsi. They waved egyptian flags and marched through cairo, demanding morsis reinstatement. Helicopters flown by the military that pushed morsi out flew above tahrir square, brandishing flags, as well. The u. S. House voted today to reduce the federal governments power to set school standards. Republicans pushed through a bill that would eliminate testing and teacher evaluation first imposed under the no child left behind law. Minnesota congressman john kline said state and local governments should have the final say over how to improve their schools. It is time for the congress the house and the senate to step up and do its job and write new law and get the administration out of the business of writing education policy. I would hope that republicans and democrats would recognize that it is not the role of the administration. Holman democrats agreed on the need for education reform. But californias George Miller and others argued that the house bill simply guts federal funding for education. We need every one of those students to be able to be productive and successful and achieving. But thats not what the republican bill promises. It grinds down the funding available to these School Districts for poor and minority children, for students with disabilities. Holman the house bill is expected to hit a dead end in the democraticled senate. Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager stephen a. Cohen now faces civil charges in connection with a major insidertrading case. The securities and Exchange Commission charged him today with failing to prevent the illegal practice at his firm, s. A. C. Capital advisors. The company said the accusations have no merit. Wall street ended the week on a subdued note. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost more than four points to close at 15,543. The nasdaq fell 23 points to close at 3,587. For the week, the dow gained half a percent. The nasdaq fell 0. 3 . Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to ray. Suarez and we turn to the many questions about the potential consequences of having the city of detroit file for bankruptcy. We have to do this in some fashion, and bankruptcy will let us to achieve that in some way. Suarez detroits emergency financial manager kevyn orr was out today, defending the decision to file the largest municipal bankruptcy in american history. With the city facing up to 20 billion in longterm debt, orr and mayor dave bing took the plunge on yesterday. As tough as this is, i really didnt want to go in this direction. But now that we are here, we have to make the best of it. This is very difficult for all of us, but if its going to make the citizens better off, then this is a new start for us. Suarez its all a far cry from detroits storied days as the motor city. In the 1950s, the population topped 1. 8 million, with workers lured by highpaying auto jobs. But by the 1960s, the big three g. M. , ford and chrysler began shifting factories to lowercost cities and faced growing competition from japan. The 1967 riots sent middle class families rushing for the exits to evergrowing suburbs with better schools and lower crime rates. They left a city where Property Values and tax revenue steadily declined, as crime, decay and services worsened. By 2010, detroits population stood at just over 700,000. On thursday, kevyn orr said its long past time to do something. There are 700,000 citizens who dont deserve a 55 minute Response Time, who dont deserve endemic blight and crime. No hope and future, just continued debt over debt and debt and borrowing. Suarez the citys fiscal woes have been compounded by corruption run rampant under mayor kwame kilpatrick. He was convicted last march 11 of racketeering and other federal charges. Two days later, michigan Governor Rick Snyder declared an emergency and appointed orr. The financial manager insisted yesterday that the city bent over backward to work with creditors, but could not Reach Agreement. Still, the bankruptcy filing left residents frustrated. Big old detroit cant even handle they own business . Thats sad. Theyve had enough time to straighten it out, so i guess as they say if you cant handle it yourself, someone else will. Suarez major creditors, pension boards and labor unions also grumbled. In washington, Steve Kreisberg of the American Federation of state, county and municipal employees put it this way. The loss of pension could be extremely devastating for a number of city workers in detroit. Its simply a matter of what theyve been counting on, its their nesteggs. Its really their life savings. Suarez now, as the city waits, a protracted process begins in federal bankruptcy court. There is no immediate estimate on how long it will last. Nest and were joined by emergency manager orr and governor snyder. Governor you said today this is a debt that can be paid and will be paid. So what can bond holders and creditors expect . Part of this process is to address the 18 billion in liabilities. Detroit is broke. And so one of the benefits of bankruptcy and this was a very difficult decision to get to and we did Everything Possible to avoid it but were here now. So this gives the city an opportunity to present a plan to say how to adjust its debts, to say lets treat People Fairly in terms of their creditors, the second piece is, very important that i want to mention is it gives an opportunity to present a plan for Better Services to the citizens of detroit. And thats absolutely needed. Response times for police in detroit are 58 minutes. So in addition to just the liability question which is a big issue on its own we need to get Better Services to citizens of detroit. Thats who i work for plus the 9 Million People of michigan. They deserve a better answer. Suarez mr. Orr, your Long Term Debt is in the billions and you have been borrowing money to meet the deficit. Whose this inevitable . I dont know if this was inevitable but it certainly was a dull decision and apparent. When you have a 360 million credit budget, something had to be done. This is 60 years of deferred maintenance thats been coming our way and we have to make a judgment call. Suarez youre talking about severe losses to those that the city owes money. Could this have been less pain to the stakeholders if it had been done earlier . Certainly we have tried to stay away from retrospeck advertises and wondering. But you cant delay these kinds of decisions and this kind of obligation and not expect it to get worse. It exacerbates and gets worse and worse and worse. Frankly that is my request to the governor to do so and the governor apparently agreed with that request, that its time to address this because otherwise ray it gets worse. Suarez in recent months were negotiations possible to restructure debt, Reach Agreement with cross avoiding bankruptcy . We have reached some agreements with creditors, those are ongoing in fact and we hope to reach additional agreements with other creditors and stakeholders if this process. There has to be a solution to where we are either consentialy or otherwise. Suarez governor back to you. This is not over for michigan is it . The railway i see it is detroit is critically important for the come back of the state. We need to trade on the path of being a great city again and this is a very important step in making that happen. To step back from simply the financial pieces of this, tremendously good things are going on in detroit today. In terms of the business community, in terms of jobs being created, downtown and midtown detroit in terms of young people moving into the city, theres 90 plus occupancy in the city. We need to look at improvements in the neighborhoods. Good things are going on there. This is about solving the city governments financial and Service Issues and thats the last obstacle to go and beyond that when we get this resolved i think detroit is going to be posed for outstanding growth and a Bright Future which is great for all of michigan. Suarez youve got other distressed cities in your state and there are other distressed cities around the country. Are they watching the massive bankruptcy closely and might it get heart harder for cities to borrow and will it drive up the cost of borrowing . There are discussions on both sides of that argument. But i was hired by the citizens of michigan including the 700,000 wonderful people in detroit to get an answer for them. This cans been kicked down the street for years and years, enough is enough. This is the way to do it. This is the way to address the debt question. This is the way to have detroit grow, and this is a decision that is, isnt it time for one of our great cities become great again . Suarez what will this mean for detroiters . Will there be services that will have to go away, or are there issues that people can no longer afford . Ray, services will get better. Were already focusing on lighting, blight, police services, health, safety and welfare concerns and frankly bringing up the level of services for the 700,000 residents of the city of detroit, to the level that should belie a great and storied city. There is so much deferred maintenance, its time to get at it ray and make it better for all the citizens. Suarez can you do that without selling off the family silver, the island, the parks, the Art Collection . Surely, the wedding china and the grandmas silver. I think we can fix this proposal that we made on june 14th. It addresses the legacy costs, long term initiatives over the next ten years, and that proposal was made without the necessity of looking into some of the assets of the city if you will that should remain for when this city is the great city it is, and it will be even better in the years to come. Suarez kevyn orr, rick snyder, gentlemen, thank you. Brown and that brings us to the analysis of shields and brooks syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. David, start with the president s speech, what did you think . I think it was just great. It was what the president was elected to be in 2008. It was the guy who seeing a lot of conflict in the country, a lot of different points of view and is able to corral them all so he explained the context, the way a lot of African Americans are responding to it, he explained realism, white americans reacting to it, he brought it together in one unified package, and he was restrained, responsible, he pointed some way down the road and so i thought it was unifying. And when we think about obama at his best i think this is the sort of thing we think about. So i just thought it was great. Brown mark. The president has been criticized and not totally unfairly for being emotionally inaccessible, for being too but oned down. This buttoned down. I thought this was completely personal and entirely president ial at the time. He did acknowledge and address the response of the american community, in the African American community than the country at large and he explained that from his personal experience i mean being followed at a department store, watching a woman clutch her purse as he got on an elevator. That the personal really worked in plaing that. But at the same time, he in explaining that. But at the same time, he didnt paper over what the problems were. And the way he addressed the question of stand your ground, i thought he made the case to me persuasively against that, and how it does raise the risk of confrontation. And particularly, when he gave the example of what if an adult Trayvon Martin had been packing heat or carried i just want to underline that. Its something you rarely have your mind changed in a second. But i was sort of ambivalent about stand your ground, strength and independence but when i heard that couple of sentences, i thought oh yeah, that is a good point. So you really at least myself, my mind turn a little on that issue. Another element i should bring in there because there was a complex little symphony there, a bit of indignation. Suppose Trayvon Martin had been the white kid and zimmerman had been the black guy how would they have reacted . There was a hint of indignation and a hint of the law professor, all the obama pieces were weaved in there. Brown are you surprised he came out a week after the verdict and why did he do it . He was going to do it and have to know, the people are going to almost hear him saying whats the point of being president if you cant do this . Brown people saying dont, politically . Listen, were working on immigration, you could hear the voices of caution. I didnt hear them but i can imagine quite frankly what they were. This is what is the best forum, he did it without a teleprompter. That tells you how deep and personal and how much he had thought about this and how much he had expressed both his thoughts and convictions and his passion. But no, i was the suggestion was that, they had been waiting for him to be asked about it. But i thought this was a far more persuasive venue. I had a chance to do a little reporting on this and it was a solo decision. It was made instinctive decision, maybe he should have made a little more intuitive decisions. I feel like doing this, im going to do it. Even to the point they didnt tell the press corps, he was coming out here wow, the guy is in the room here. It was a simple personal decision. Brown without political calculation . Thats what ive been told and understand. Brown what about political consequences or continuing discussion of the kind that he talked about . I dont know if you can calculate that. I mean i think the reaction, the people who see that is indeed personal. I really do. And i guess, if i dont know, where you can criticize the president on this. Someone who has been accused of being hypercritical about the president on occasion, i dont think there was there wasnt a false note in the whole presentation. Maybe he shouldnt be hes never been the angry or emotional black man. I mean you know that has been part of his entire modus operandi all the way through. You thought he would have exploded, the control this was so, to me, i. T. Was authentic. It was authentic obama. And i think it reminded a lot of people of the 0708 when he did captivate the imagination as well as the affection of so many people, perhaps that ardor has cooled in some precincts since. Brown i was curious what you think about this National Conversation versus the way he put it because we have traumas every so often in this country and then we talk about having a National Conversation. He said im not sure thats the way but we need to have some kind of conversation. Im with Jonathan Turley earlier on in the program. People arent persuaded with this, its neighbor to neighbor, its just interaction, its interaction of people of different races, its the normal friendships that happen. Thats how change happens. You cant talk yourself into being a less racist person. You cant talk yourself into being a better person. It comes from direct action and direct conduct. I think his reactions are right. Brown the big story of the day the detroit bankruptcy. Your reaction to that . Droit is a Great American story. And i dont know if its the postscript to or the preview of the industrialization of the grade replied west United States. I mean detroit is not alone as one goes across covering president ial elections on Congressional Elections in these great states, and i just think i just want to think about detroit in this sense. We won world war ii. We were the arsenal of democracy. Detroit was the arsenal of the United States. And michigan really, 75 of all the aircraft engines that were built for the allies in world war ii were build within detroit, and its environs. Every, every truck that brought troops and supplies to defeat nazi germany, its a remarkable story. And the middle american working class family, american success story, came from that detroit, and michigan. So i mean, i think its a tragic reality, its, all of it a terrible economic reality but its not unique. Its not unique in the sense its a terrible crisis but its not unique among american cities. Brown do you put it in such large terms . It is an urban tragedy thats gone on for 60 years, almost every facet. The production that mark talks about is the beginning of the end. What is diversity, Diverse Economic sectors that are feeding off of each other. Detroit didnt have that. Detroit had nothing else to feed off of so you had a lack of economic diversity, a lack of creativity. You look at some of the other mid western cities that have done better, the twin cities, minneapolis, st. Paul, they immediately determined education was going to be the key, they have more educational institutions. It was an urban tragedy detroit in that zone. Then there were attempts at revival, fancy downtown buildings. Thats not what you do, you give families the reason to build there and stay there. The crime, the corruption, finally you cant give 50yearold City Employees a pension and expect to survive with those kind of promises. Its just one layer after another, i hope they can turn it around but it has been a long time coming. Brown does it play into some kind of National Politics narrative or narrative that you see . We cant be a great country without great cities. I dont know how a city goes into bankruptcy. 700,000 people. If its a company or corporation, can you close it down, lock it, turn out the lights . You cant do that when you have 700,000 people with kids being raised and families. We heard governor dismie der we heard mr. Orr talk about a 58minute Response Time for a 911 call. This is unacceptable. I mean, so i i hope it can be i hope we dont just regard this as some sort of morality play or these sturdy politicians did this. It is something significant and its something that it is not unique. It is a terrible crisis and its a human tragedy but it is not a unique american experience. Brown although there are some plments of mis elements of mismanagement weve heard in this story unfolding in the years. And the other thing that is common is the overpromising of pensions, whether its illinois chicago california the ratings yesterday went down and so you know it is a problem. There is a possibility for rebound. You know you never count out human beings and detroit has some advantages. Its got really cheap real estate. And a workforce. People who know how to work. History of that. Its got suburbs, some strength and creativity. And so often, in capitalism, when you hirt bottom you have some perverse advantages, low cost, people desiring to do a turn around, whatever it taste. So theres an ebb and flow of things. Brown lets hope on hope. Red sox and yankees. I dont wear a mets tie. That would be bragging. Brown mark and david thanks very much. Suarez another look at politics now, in virginia, where the states race for governor is starting to heat up. The governors race in virginia this fall is being closely watched for what it says about the nations shifting political landscape. For decades, the old dominion was solidly republican, but barack obama carried it in 2008 and again last year. One year later, the governors race is close. On the democratic side, Terry Mcauliffe, former chair of the Democratic National committee. He helped run president clintons reelection effort in 1996 and Hillary Clintons unsuccessful president ial run in 2008. Mcauliffe first ran for governor in 2009, but lost the democratic primary. Now, he faces republican state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli. The conservative favorite has led the push for new regulations on abortion clinic, and filed a federal lawsuit against president obamas health care law. His campaign for governor has been dogged by the trouble swirling around the Current Governor republican bob mcdonnell. Hes under state and federal investigation for failing to disclose more than 145,000 in gifts from a campaign donor. Cuccinelli and mcauliffe face off tomorrow in their first debate in hot springs, virginia. For more on the state of play in the governors race were joined by two reporters, ben pershing of the Washington Post and Julian Walker of the virginian pilot. Gentlemen thank you both for joining us. Julian this is a much coveted seat by both republicans and democrats. What is the state of play right now . Right now it is very tight, two polls this week both have the governor up by two points, the other has Ken Cuccinelli up by six points. Both campaigns would quon seed that they see this as a pretty tight race. It is one that is going to be expensive. It is one that has demonstrated so far is pretty nasty and i think well see a lot more of that to come in roughly four months before election day. Suarez ben, do you agree, the republicans are spending time and money running themselves down instead of making a positive run of themselves . I think the state Party Apparatus on both sides, trying to convince the voters that the other party is unacceptable, not worthy of voting for. I think the candidates have a way to go convincing the voter that they are worthy rather than the other one shouldnt be. Suarez off year election because of the way the cycles line up, does that give an advantage to cuccinelli even though president obama won in virginia last year . That has been long standing, the year after president ial election, the party that wins the warehouse is the opposite party. By that trend alone, you would think Ken Cuccinelli has an advantage. The electorate tends to be in off year elections in virginia more of an older more conservative more leaning electorate. The republicans found that the hard way in 2009. They insist that this time they have their troops their Ground Forces motivated and they wont have the kind of dropoff between 2008 and 2009, for example when in 2008 Virginia Voter participation was 75 , in 2009, the last time we had a governors election here, it was about 40 . Suarez ben, governor mcdonnell had enjoyed pretty high Approval Ratings in his home state. Are his recent troubles making it more difficult for his attorney general who is trying to succeed him . There are two answers to that. Polls, so far we havent had a big hit on cuccinelli because of mcdonnells troubles. I think cuccinellis own advisors will admit, its distracting when he gets asked each day about bok mcdonnell. They would rather be talking about the economy, about jobs, about anything but the scandal now. Suarez there are recent connections julian between a large contributor and donor star and its kerry and candidate for governor . Well there are a number of developments that have been reported across virginia. Detailing the numerous giflts that both the governor and his family as well as Ken Cuccinelli has received from johnny williams. The most recent developments came out on thursday when the richard commonwealth toarnt released his report indicating he did not see any criminal wrongdoing or violation of the law by the attorney general for his belated disclosure of gifts from johnny williams. Also . The Governors Office on thursday released the results of an external audit done by a private attorney and former attorney general who has been hired to assist the governor, had received any state benefits while governor mcdonnells term had been ongoing. Suarez has Terry Mcauliffe been restrained because of his own background as a big money man for bill clinton and some of the questions swirling around him . Republicans always respond to this by noting mcdonnell had his own problems in the past. Also, mcauliffe has a embraced mcdonnell in some areas. He supported mcdonnells transportation bill in virginia. In some ways he embraced mcdonnells governing style. He prefers to hang back and sort of let other people do that. Suarez julian, the current United States senators from virginia happen to be the last two democratic governors of the state, tim kane and mark warner, are they of value to the democratic candidate, Terry Mcauliffe . Certainly any time you have a high ranking official holding office, has already appeared at a kickoff really that Terry Mcauliffe did this spring. They also may help Terry Mcauliffe in so much as they can present Terry Mcauliffe as kind of heirs to their legacy. Successful candidates for governor in virginia have been able to court successfully the business community, the kind of main Street Chamber of commerce vote and typically in recent virginia gubernatorial elections you see the candidate that is able to get those kind of prominent and influential business and thought makers on their side, those tend to be the successful candidates. So if they can help mcauliffe make that case to that business community, that could be helpful. Suarez and ben, quickly before we go this election will occur later this year. Is it closely watched in National Politics . Will it set the table in 2014 . It certainly will, because many people see it as the only game in town. Both parties are using virginia as a prove be ground for strategies, for messages, some of the staff in this case you play see bounding up in the next president ial contest. If only because theres a vacuum everywhere else all eyes are turched on virginia this year. Ben pershing, Julian Walker, thank you both. Brown finally tonight the waiting game in london for the royal baby a first child for the duke and duchess of cambridge. Tim ewart of independent Television News has the story. Reporter this is south wolfe road, london w2. Taxi drivers now have another name for it. Madness street crazy street. Ive been here nine days. I feel as if im having the baby. Reporter nine days some camera crews have been here for more than three weeks, trapped in a world of gossip, speculation and rumor. The latest rumor kate would arrive here at the private lindo wing to have her baby today. This is the moment everyones waiting for mother and child emerging as diana did with the baby william in 1982. Among the assembled photographers then on the left here was arthur edwards. 31 years on, hes back. Well ive had my eye spot marked up since the first of july. Its incredible. I mean no other baby in the world. I mean if Michelle Obama was expected a baby would we be outside . No, we wouldnt. Reporter we care of course, its media frenzy but what about the general public . Are you on tenterhooks . Definitely not says the man from the monarchy group, republic. Are you being a bit like sort of the grinch who spoiled christmas . No, not at all, im actually reflecting in on this occasion, im reflecting in on the majority i think. Because most people are gettin on with their lives. I mean, i dont see people talking about it, i dont hear people talking about it. Reporter kate hasnt been seen in public since trooting the color last month. The only sighting at the lindo wing, a lookalike in a newspaper stunt. There was no real news, as another day went by down on crazy street. Brown again, the major developments of the day president obama said the nation needs to do some soulsearching after the shooting of Trayvon Martin. And russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny was released from jail, pending appeal, a day after being sentenced to five years in jail for embezzlement. And the county judge in michigan ordered the governor to withdraw detroits federal bankruptcy filing. State officials said theyd appeal the order. Suarez and something very different online. Our earth and moon joined saturn for an inter plan tri photoop. Holman nasa asked americans to look up and wave today. The cassini spacecraft snapped the photo from the outer solar system a short time ago. The earth will appear as just a dot, and it could take weeks to process the images. Find that story on our home page. All that and more is on our website newshour. Pbs. Org. Ray . Suarez and thats the news hour for tonight. On monday we begin a store about stopping gun violence. Im ray suarez. Brown and im jeffrey brown. New charlie rose program, the week, appears in prime time. Have a nice weekend, thanks for joining us, good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org