here, and we're going to talk about living with ms, and only in america. best hairdo. we're starting right now. >> good evening. i'm donny deutsch. the big story tonight, i'm guest hosting for piers while he's on assignment. my interview with michael j. fox, plus, meredith fevieira. what she thinks about a gop war on women, and what she thinks about this dnc video. >> planned parenthood, going to get rid of that. planned parenthood, going to get rid of that. we're going to get rid of that. >> first up, michael j. fox, how are you, sir? >> nice to see you. >> how are you fealting? >> doing great. it's a beautiful day outside, and that actually helps me. and i do better when the weather is good. and i feel great. >> you know, when you see mikem j. fox and hear parkinson's. take me through a day, what is bad about the day. we see you on camera, as a crew seder. you go home, have you kids, your wife. take me through a day in the life, and what it is to live with parkinson's. >> the largest part of the day, 99% of the day is the same as everyone else's day. i get up in the morning and have breakfast and see my kids off to school. when tracy lets me sit in -- >> she runs the show, right? >> she's the head of the operation. so fundamentally, the day is the same as everyone else's. my body will tell me what i'm going to have to deal with that day because it changs day to day. so some days i may get up and say this is going to be a bear. this is going oo be easy. i may be able to forestal taking medications and then i look at the day and i try to beat it out. almost like a performance, looking at a script and saying this is my script for the day. what am i going to bring to this screen, that scene, organize my energy and be most effective. and luckily, i have a lot of stuff i want to do on a day to day basis, whether it's the foundation, working or writing or doing something with my kids. so i'm really fulfilled and 20 years on, i'm doing a lot better than i ever thought i would be doing. i was given dire outlooks on how -- what i could expect to feel and experience, and limited to ten years out, that was ten years ago. so ten years on, i'm doing well. >> you're on drugs right nuas we speak? >> i'm on all kinds of drugs. acid, lsd methamphetamine. >> i take synthetic dope mean, which is one of the things we're doing at the foundation, trying to move past that, augment it in the way, because that's been the gold standard for years. in treatment of parkinson's. but it loses effectiveness over time. and results in side effects that are pretty outrageous. kind of random movement. we want to find -- we're looking to find a better medication, and i balance it out with others. an agonist, which is a drug that makes my brain produce its own dopamine, and another that tempers the diskinesia sidefaeths. so i'm on a constant regimen. that can vary what i'm faced with on a certain day. >> speaking of drugs, you were probably the most high-profile, the last most high-profile target of attack -- we're not even going to get into that with rush limbaugh, but 2006, you did an ad for claire mccaskill, running for senate, and wheler take a look at mr. limbaugh's reaction to the ad, as it may be. >> they say politics is local, but it's not always the case. what you do in missouri matters to millions of americans. americans like me. >> in this commercial, he is exaggerating the effects of the disease. he's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. this is the only time i have ever seen michael j. fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has. he can control himself enough to stay in the frame of the picture, and he can control himself enough to keep his eyes right on the lens, the teleprompter, but his head and shoulders are moving all over the place. this is really shameless, folks. this is really shameless of michael j. fox. either he didn't take his medication or he's acting. >> yeah, i thought that was great, he really did a good thing there. >> again, i don't want -- my tendency is to want to make jokes about it, he says remain in the frame of the picture. look at rush. remaining in the frame of the picture, but you know, that's -- when i set out to support politicians and support stem cell research, it was the only way i could find to effectively push the scientific freedom in the country. really, we had a lot of people out of disease communities, if you will, had a stake in scientific research and in stem cells. and so to have others disagree with the majority of the people in the country supported it, and president bush eliminated funding of it. to make this point, to have people have an ethical problem with it is one thing. and that's great and we'll have a discussion about that, and that's why i entered the fray, to have a discussion about it. but to have it sum airily marked down and marginalized on he didn't like the way i delivered the message, and so his bully instinct is to shut down and marginalize that voice, that's another thing all together. >> that's a vicious bully. let's show his apology. interestingly enough, his current apology is a rasmussen poll, cake out, less than 30% of people believe it. you have taken the high road with this. you're a guy who got entoa lot of fights as a kid. it's so -- such a level of vulgarrity there. almost equaled by calling a law student a slut. i mean, there had to be something like, you just want to go knock the guy. >> i didn't feel that way. i felt like he had done the damage to himself. in the context of our argument, our conversation, his attack on my and my systems, it wasn't something where he didn't care. i had a problem of the image of it because i thought it was offensive to my community and my parkinson's comunltd and a larger community with disabilities. it was thoughtless and rude, but for just plea, i don't care. but he said i faked it. i didn't fake it, so he's attacking my honesty and integrity, coming from him, i didn't care. the thing with sandra fluke. i'm a husband to a wife and a father to daughters, and a son to a mother and a brother to sisters. and that was really offensive. >> i he called all daughters sluts. he got on the air, i have three daughters, you have daughters. and the advertisers now are speaking. another article in "time." a lot of dead air on the stations. this is going to hurt him, and advertisers nat are staying are voting that it's okay to say what he said. >> it's that i can yell and scream and wave my arms ironically, or whatever, about what he said. but let the free market decide. and ultimately, i love there to be voices that i don't agree with. i love for meme to say vile and intensive things bah i know who they are, and as a voter i know who they are. and they have identified themselves and that's great. and all things in the market being equal will balance that out. there's talk about bill maher. the difference is he's on hbo and doesn't have advertisers. he was one in the public sector and made statements and advertises bailed on him and he was moved to cable. it may be offensive, but it's a different thing than this giant corporate supported bully pulpit that this man has, and he did the same thing with sandra fluke as he did with me, but it was more egregious with sandra fluke because here is a private citizen expressing an opinion she has a right to express and was sought out by people who have elected to represent a point of view of the public, and she was knocked down brutal. >> it's interesting, you're a public figure, so you can take it. when you bully down the average citizen, that's where don imus got in trouble, and he's going to pay for it. let's shift to politics for a second. we got an election coming up. and it's interesting. we all vote, and when i vote, it's going to affect my taxes, who wins. you have a lot more at stake. let's talk about if santorum wins. you have a lot more at stake. let's talk about if santorum wins. coming off two primary wins. people are speaking. that party is connecting with him. if he gets in office, of course, he is very vociferous against stem cell research. how is your life effected? >> he has spoken out against sienls. he's spoken out against education. education in pursuit of science. so obviously, it will not be good, but on one hand, i'm kind of hoping he gets the nomination because he will be very vocal on these issues and this will be a stark contrast, and people will see, again, i don't want to suppress ideas i don't agree with. i want all things being equal and with the vote, all things are equal, those ideas can be met and dealt with. so if he tries -- i mean, certainly if he was elected, it would be stem cell research would be shut down and all kinds of things would be shut down, all kinds of scientific research, there was a time when they were going after science, going after stem cell research and attacking all science. and someone said fruit flies, why are we spending money on flute flies. they're a major model for scientific research. many systems can be replicated in the model of the fruit fly. so you get people who don't know science railing about science, and it's dangerous. >> we're going to take a break. we'll continue talking politics. i want your scorecard on obama. we'll have more with michael j. fox. don't go anywhere. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. that can help lower cholesterol? whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! whwheeee! ! whwheeee!! whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ahah h heaeadsds u up. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! evevererytythihingng y youou l , nonow w momobibilele.. dodownwnloloadad t thehe n nep totodaday.y. new york, new york. >> alex, that's wonderful. >> yes! >> why are you congratulating him, dad? he didn't sing it that well. >> he got the job. you did get the job, didn't you? because you really didn't sing it that well. >> i got the job. >> oh, alex, great. >> thank you. i'm going to be the youngest xettic in the history. i'm going to be rich. >> we're back with michael j. fox. that was of course a younger michael j. fox on "family ties." we went to break and tracy, your wife was up there, and you looked at that and said what a beautiful woman. she's incredible. >> amazing woman. >> she's as good as it gets. alex keaton, would he still be a republican? >> i always say, he would be converted to being a democrat now or be in jail. one or the other. >> and in trade. >> back in the days of drexel burnham. >> do you remember that? i remember seeing pictures of a young gieng. >> i look like mitt romney, notice that? >> you look good there. okay, barack obama. let's give him a scorecard. >> i'm not a politician. and i'm not a surrogate. >> but you played one on tv. >> but i think he's done reasonably well. i think it's different to be in there than to be aspiring to be in there. and i think that he inherited a big batch of problems. i don't think he's really dealt with all of them. there are things i would like to see him have dealt with. >> such as? >> i think there are some issues around -- around gitmo and privacy and other things like that, that i thought would be handled by now. things that kind of mess around the edges that i thought would be cleaned up. and just fromideic point of view, but the economy, he's done reasonably well, and we're moving forward. i can't know what that mess was. in a way, not being a politician, i make my best bet on who i think has similar ideas as i do and similar sentiments and similar emotions and similar meanings. and so i have done that with obama and then i look at it and say, okay, let's assume he's done the best he can do and i hope he can do better. the alternative doesn't appeal to me, so i would have to say he's done a pretty good job. >> done enough for stem cells. >> he's opened up the funding. but with our foundation, you know, to me, it was -- it was about the scientific freedom. with our foundation, we funded over $285 million in research. >> other than the government, largest. >> it's not like we're saying, fund this stuff, take case of us. we're saying, free us up. we'll fund it. just don't tell us we can't pursue the best, best research that is out there. let's play this out, a republican wins and they repeal stem cell research. what happens to parkinson's? you're the main fund-raiser for this disease in the world. >> we can't fund that. we have other avenues we're funding, other areas that we're supporting, and we work a lot with farma, and we'll fund research they're doing and we'll give like loans or grants to multibillion dollar companies so they'll continue to work on compounds that have interest to us because the pipeline is so time consuming that we want to keep it moving. we'll continue to do that, but again, if you have people that based on idealogical reasoning can just make summary decisions about what you can pursue, i mean, it would really be dangerous for us. >> i asked you about your day to day work. as you're sitting here, are you struggling? are you aware of trying to keep your movements in check? i want to get inside you because we know you and i know you personally and you're a dear friend and such a special guy. is this a fight for you every second or you're talking like i'm talking. >> i'm talking like you're talking and i'm aware i'm moving. and i strive for comfort and ease as much as i can more than vanity and appearance. i -- it's given that i'm going to look like what i look like, and again, that goes to the rush limbaugh thing. i mean, that's why again, i personally could care less. but knowing there's a pupulation out there that doesn't have -- is hiding from employers, that is worried about insurance based on their condition, is worried about the person down at the store, i heard a story about a guy who went to get a bottle of wine and the person wouldn't sell it to to him because he was drunk. >> you hid it at the beginning. >> yeah. >> not criticizing it, but it's something that it's not easy to come forward with. >> i hid it for seven years. so it's difficult for people to be kind of caricatures like that, was hurtful to the community. but for me, people know who i am, what i'm going through. they know the work that i do. so i don't have -- i don't feel i need to hide anything. i need to cover up anything anymore. and so it's different for me. so when you ask how i am, it's easy for me to say, i'm fine. i feel great. i'm secure, and i have a great family, and i have friends, and i have things to do and work to do that keeps me busy, but others don't, and so that's who you work on behalf of, and that's who we have to protect in a sense, in helping them know that the best research is being done and being pursued and is open and academics that pursue certain avenues are free to do it. and not worry about it. when you say government funding and stem cell research, it wasn't that they were fighting for the government to support those projects. if they use pencils that the government paid for and couldn't do stem cell research, if there was any funding at all of the university or hospital doing stem cell research, they would lose their funding. it was a broad paintbrush. >> you have four kids. what would you say if there's a young person out there, and just yesterday, they found out they had parkinson's. what would you say to them? >> just don't let others project obt you what you're spoernsing. experience it, learn what you can, educate yourself. don't project as to what your future will be. experience one day at a time, and leave yourself open to the possibilities and know that others can take care of you that care about you might want to future will be. experience one day at a time, and leave yourself open to the possibilities and know that others can take care of you that care about you might want to say, oh, you feel this, and i want to take care of that, and they don't know how you're feeling. and you respect them and love them for your care, don't let them characterize what you're experiencing. >> we're going to shift gears. you have walked right into your parkinson's with larry david, and you played an afflicted character with denis leary. you have used it creatively. wheler see that and talk about it when we come back. i've discovered gold. 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense? doc, i'm from the future. i came here in a time machine that you invented. now, i need your help to get back to the year 1985. >> mcfly. you have certainly turned the corner creatively. i have to start with the larry david "curb your enthusiasm" where larry talked about the parkinson's. i want to talk about turning it around. >> i did noting before you left, you were looking at me and you kind of, you know, shook your head. >> yeah, my head shakes, larry. i have parkinson's. i'm a head shaking fool. >> you're saying it was a parkinson's shake. >> it wasn't a larry shake. can i get you a soda or something 1234. >> that would be great. the thing is, hitler really ruined the mustache for everybody. because it's really an interesting mustache, and now nobody could wear it, you know. oh, thanks. oh, jesus christ. what the hell? did you shake that up on purpose? >> parkinson's. >> when larry called you, what did he say? let's do parkinson's? >> it was great, he called me up and said the show is improv, so they lay out the ideas, and you take it from there. he said he wanted to do something about we being neighbors, new neighbors, and he's thinking passk aggressive that i'm directing my condition towards him. and i thought it was so funny and so great, and he explained that other people would and to my defense and they would be off, too, and i loved that. i loved that everybody was kind of -- nobody gets it except me, which is really the thing, nobody gets it but me. and you can't expect them to, but you can have fun. in that scene, it's basically, you're going to shake up the coke, spill it on me. then you go. >> yeah. >> you know what you're doing? >> he's brilliant. and it was so great, i loved doing it. i loved turning it on its head. once you get past vanity, once you g