Page 982 - Midterm News Today

Picture, lets not forget the republicans are ready to build up the deficit to give tax cuts to the riches but wont extend unemployment benefits for millions of americans. i also think what were seeing is were seeing comprehensive but compromised legislation. significant major achievements compromised by entrenched corporate interests if washington. a lot of americans dont see the picture. i think for progressives, we understand that it takes more than one election. that we need to fix on systemi...

Joe." david gregory, thank you very much. we will see you sunday on "meet the press." a great lineup once again. david, thank you. mark penn, what he says democrats must do to avoid a disaster in the midterm is coming up on "morning joe." theres oil out there weve got to capture. my job is to hunt it down. im fred lemond, and im in charge of bps efforts to remove oil from these waters. bp has taken full responsibility for the cleanup and that includes keeping you informed. every morning, over 50...

Will i get a bump in my -- on my website? you can watch whenever i go on to a show like that, we get an immediate bump. you can see the little spinners. >> fascinating. a candidate admitting in public that the reason they go on some of these news shows, theyre not news, is to raise money. you dont often hear a candidate say it. strategists talk about it all the time. fascinating. she needs a lot of money. harry reid up on the air with another new ad today and not accepted too many listings, eith...

Minnesota. tell us about this republican candidate, did he or he did not propose that. >> well, ed, this guy is so incredibly radical, a few years ago he said the minimum wage was socialism and proposed abolishing it completely. last week he was talking about a tip credit which means that companies could pay less than the minimum wage. is he backpedaling as fast as he goes, stum blipg over himself. no question, he wants wont support to us increase the minimum wage. its another sign that the nati...

>> what about the republican strategy? do you believe what senate majority leader harry reid said that basically the republicans are out to ditch this economy so they can get back in power? do you think that there is a strategy to make sure that no jobs are created and americans are going to suffer between now and the midterm? >> i dont know. i dont like to think that but ive also sat and watched, not sat, sometimes up and screamed watch the republicans vote no on almost everything. right from t...

Rate. actually unemployment is probably up around 14 or 15%. >> governor, do you think that the republicans are trying to gut the economy and until the midterm because they want power back? >> i believe that this is all about politics. and its unfortunate. i believe that some brilliant guy like frank blount has convinced them to say deficit, cut the deficit, cut the deficit. and theyre misreading the american people. im not surprised. this is the first ive heard that have poll but im not surpris...

Anything about it. i want to shift quickly here about jobs because this midterm is going to be about job creation. a lot of the americans are going to be making decisions on that. now, today, at the white house, bill clinton and warren buffett were called to meet with the president. which signals i think to some americans that this white house is still looking for answers on job creation. what does that message send to you? >> what that message sends to me is that the president is on course. he ...

>> and if the democrats dont address this and come up with a plan and articulate it to the public, dont you think that this could be a disastrous midterm? it is about the jobs. what do you make of this? >> right, we have to be clear as a bell. there is good stuff in this job extender bill that the republicans are holding up, there is good stuff for small businesses, really good stuff. tax cuts for small businesses, a lending pool for small businesses, and thats important. thats very, very import...

Its always dangerous for a midterm president. obamas popularity was about what bill clintons popularity was at the time, but here again when "the washington post" asked are you inclined to re-elect your representative in congress or look somewhere else, 6% said they ieng going to lock around. so, you know, it looks on the face of it a little bit worse for the democrats now, but i was talking to pollsters today. couple of things to keep in mind. one is its not that the people dont like democrats....

47%. a slight drop. not a huge drop, but look at this number. how is the president performing when it comes to the economy? a new poll says only 4 in 10 americans approve of how the president is handling the economy. thats down 16 points from may 2009. if you are the president of the united states, the first midterm election is essentially a referendum on your agenda. >> no doubt about it, but the interesting thing on the abc poll, the democrats have an eight-point advantage over the republicans...