The Emily Rooney Show

From WGBH in Boston this is the 16th. This week's top news headlines from the campaign trail. So far GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry is ramping up his attacks against former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Lawmakers urges fans to get the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi Singh.

E-mails are surfacing over the fallout from a failed solar energy company the Obama administration had supported. They highlight White House concern over cylindrica and its possible effect on President Obama's re-election campaign. House Republicans accuse the White House of influencing approval of five hundred twenty eight million dollars in federal stimulus loans in a bid to show the jobs can be created through investment in renewable energy. Cylindrica declared bankruptcy last month and laid off 11 hundred workers. Police in London's financial district are questioning the 31 year old trader now charged with fraud and false accounting for allegedly abusing his position at UBS. Larry Miller reports the Swiss bank apparently was not aware that one of its London traders had lost two billion dollars in unauthorized deals. It was the traitor him self who we caught a bully who told the bank about the loss. UBS then called in the police and Britain's financial services agency UBS is under pressure for a lax internal security that failed to flag

and prevent the unauthorized deals. The credit rating agency Moody's says it's now reviewing UBS for a possible downgrade citing concern over its London based investment unit Boley worked in that unit which speculates on the performance of securities. He's reportedly hired the same law firm that represented Nick Leeson the rogue trader who brought down Barings Bank. For NPR News I'm Larry Miller in London. Greece won't know until next month about its next bailout installment from its partners in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. The country is counting on getting 8 billion euro or 11 billion dollars to avoid a default. That could have a devastating ripple effect on global markets but it's bailout partners are expressing doubts that Greece is doing enough to end its debt crisis an overhaul of the country's patent system is now a law in the U.S. President Obama signed legislation today to usher in the first significant change in decades in the way inventors can introduce their products to consumers.

President Obama says the America Invents Act will widen the path to creativity and competition. Over the last decade patent applications have nearly tripled. And because the patent office doesn't have the resources to deal with all of them right now there are about 700000 applications that haven't even been opened yet. These are jobs and business is the future. Just waiting to be created. The president signed the bill after touring Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia. At last check on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up forty six points at eleven thousand four hundred seventy nine. Now stack up eight points to twenty six fifteen SNP 500 gaining three points it's a 12 12. This is NPR News. Still more fighting in Libya today and NPR's Sean Carberry reports it and he could off he forces are facing fierce resistance as they push deeper into the former regime strongholds of Sirte

and Bani Walid. Intense fighting is taking place in both cities as the new government forces seek to finish off the remaining resistance in the country. Convoys of trucks sporting machine guns in Iraq it's have been streaming into certain Bani Walid reports from the city's described heavy gunfire as well as mortar and rocket shelling. Black smoke rises from the city's his natal plane circle overhead. Libya's interim government will meet this weekend to decide whether to declare the country officially liberated and move forward with the political transition towards a constitutional democracy. Sean Carberry NPR News Tripoli. Denmark is set to get its first female prime minister after parliamentary elections threw out the party that's been in power for a decade. More from Teri Schultz. Outgoing prime minister large look a Rasmussen conceded he lost public support and said he'd resign immediately countering Rasmussen's a sturdy program Social Democratic leader Hell if Thorning-Schmidt campaigned on higher taxes for the rich and more social spending. Saying that would stimulate Denmark struggling economy. The message won her a tiny margin of just

three seats in the hundred seventy nine member of parliament but it was enough to make her the likely next prime minister. It's been a long hard road Thorning-Schmidt told supporters in her victory speech. But we've proven Social Democrats are still a strong force in our society. DORNING Schmidt has also pledged to combat anti-immigration sentiment that's been on the rise in Denmark. She's working now to form a cabinet. For NPR News I'm Teri Schultz. And I'm Lakshmi Singh NPR News in Washington. Support for NPR comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation providing resources to improve the quality of health care on line at our WJF dot org slash consumer. It's live and it's local. Coming up next two hours of local talk the Emily Rooney show and the callee Crosley show only on WGBH. Good afternoon you're listening to the Emily Rooney show it's getting nippy and the politicians are

getting snippy this week an already crowded field of Democratic Senate hopefuls were forced to make room for one more. Elizabeth Warren became the instant darling of the media when she entered the race. Same thing happened to Texas Governor Rick Perry when he jumped into the Republican presidential primary race but already there are signs some of his support is flagging. Lots happening too on the local front as Beacon Hill appears poised to approve casino gambling once and for all this is our Week in Review. I'm joined here in the studio by a Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh WGBH contributor Carol Miller and former Massachusetts Congressman Peter Blute. Welcome all. Why so. Why was Elizabeth Warren just so instantly anointed you know the front runner. That I don't fully grasp it. Well the Democrats have thought all along that in this field of candidates they don't have anyone who can beat Scott Brown and they see her as a high profile smart tough well-positioned person who because of

her work on behalf of the Consumer Protection Agency he can jump into this void and really drive the issues I think if they had to if they had a better field of candidates locally it would have happened but this is kind of the Democratic Party who was saying in a way OK here is our candidate they're doing it subtly but they they clearly think she's have a shot. Yeah I think the drum roll has been going for quite a long time for Elizabeth Warren. People waiting for her to get in and she immediately had a national platform partially because. But partially because she's a national figure I mean she appeared long ago on Jon Stewart and she was a well known and well liked person across the spectrum she was on Rachel Maddow immediately after announcing And as you said she was there were media scrums around her in Framingham in the south Boston area where she was like an instant celebrity. She certainly has the taint of being a point you know anointed by somebody else not the voters. And I suspect her challenges in the Democratic primary will make that point

consistently across the state. For their own benefit but I also think it's very tough to run for the first time. It really is whether you run for alderman or president. There's a lot of learning curve there a big learning curve and we'll see if she can adjust quickly to it. But she already fell into the lockstep kind of candidate responses. It was all about the middle class you must use that phrase 100 times just in the first day. You know I'll be here I'm fighting for the middle. We have a little clip of her saying that as a matter of fact. Someone we have a chance to help rebuild America's middle class. We have a chance to put Washington on the side of families. We can do things a little together. Yeah I mean you talk about driving the issues of the Democrats but this seems to be sort of like a this is a tried and true this is what everybody picks up on this it's not a Democratic issue.

Yeah she's got to get beyond pabulum and really dig into some things that separate her from Scott Brown I think there are some issues there that that brown because of the way he is sort of positioned nationally and what he's trying to be locally I was like into a guy who's got one foot the canoe one foot a dock in the canoe is drifting away. And I think she can drive some issues there but you know it's Peter says it takes time first time candidate. It's a little dicey she's got some good people around her I think she will find her footing. And I think this will be a good race and she's obviously got to win the primary but I don't really see anyone other than Ellen Casey who is really a formidable possible rival. I think one thing about Elizabeth Warren that's going to be tough for her too is that part of the reason she was so initially appealing when she appeared on the national scene she was so unscripted. She really could get out there in congressional hearings and speak truth to power. She wasn't scared of anything she had very little to lose she wasn't going to lose her her job as a law professor at Harvard. And now you know you talked only about how as she sort of sticking to the talking points she's been told don't don't veer too far because

then people will have clips to use against you. If if what you're appealing for is your unscripted ness and then you become sort of chronically scripted and you can't deviate from talking points what happens to your appeal. But it's also true that this is Massachusetts and it's the bluest of blue states presidents for years. You know compound that. I have some experience in this. You can do it. Be well liked and have a B endorsed by every paper in the state but still. And they might think you doing a good job but it becomes kind of like a parliamentary election here. And that's what Scott Brown has to worry about that the wave of new voters that turn out in presidential years. They don't even care who is going to go down the line. And if you're sitting in the matrix of the national politics the way you clearly got caught up a see is seeing kind of as an enabler of the Republican Congress and Bill well too when he ran against Kerry even though people loved him here he was seen as he's going to go there and vote vote in the Senate for a Jesse Helms for you know foreign relations that kind of thing that's a problem for

Brown. I disagree. I think he transcends politics. Yeah I think people going to vote for him because they like him. I think he's also taken care of this purposely You know non party line votes he has voted against the GOP budget at different times he has purposely become not categorically sort of the servant of John Boehner or something like that or the servant of Mitch McConnell. I think there's a double edged sword here for Elizabeth Warren and Warren One thing is she is not an incumbent in a year where everybody hates the incumbent because people just hate the political system they don't like how it is. In fact we see in polls people are actually willing to say not only do I dislike Congress I dislike my own congressman. So that's good. But the other problem is she's she's going to ally herself with Obama to some degree and people hate Obama right now. So I think there's this double edged sword from this I mean is it not incumbent people misstate don't have that. I see. I think a bigger problem for her really is if she allows herself line and sinker with organized labor I watched or read the clips of her at the labor

breakfast now if she's going to be for dopey things like card check in and support the NLRB decision on Boeing you know and some of that stuff then she's got a real problem because I think people say you know that isn't really work. But the other had a good look at Scott Brown. He is running for re-election his numbers are his reelect numbers are below 50 that's not a good position to be in. That's before the campaign is really started so you've got to say a Democrat has a base in the state of probably 40 percent so I do think it'll be a real race I don't see I think a Republican who does an adept job really could have locked that seat and I think he would have to be more moderate more outspoken less scared of the press and more comfortable his own skins covering you know I have to say one thing about this with Warren she she sed doesn't appear to be taking this as a chore. I think Martha Coakley kind of you know the infamous Oh what you want to do is stand out Fenway Park on a cold day and shake hands. We caught up with his with Warren the other day and here's what she said an MRI like what your Father's Day is a campaign of the likes of him has been a happy one.

I got to tell you. Having both a shaky and people look at me I can't figure out what she's loving it course that was day one but still there was a genuine that's there to thank That's fantastic you know. Yeah I mean Scott Brown is a natural also he's out there he's working hard he's going to touch a lot of hands I would venture to say he knows how to touch you going to go out and do more because that's his thing he goes out there Oh I think there's going to be a lot of shaking hands in the cold for Elizabeth Warren just to prove she has not Martha Coakley. You know they may bear some resemblance but this is the this is going to be for better or for worse the anti Martha Coakley campaign how not to run a campaign like her I think she's got a little bit of that Patty buries a slightly goofy you know mother or grandmother in tennis shoes that go in for which is likable my you know if she if she isn't wrote as you say she can get away from that and sort of be yourself. I think there is a certain authenticity I'm not sure the attempt to paint her as a as a hard already in through and through is really going to hurt her very much.

All right moving on a couple other local issues. Yesterday the state board suspended Sal the Macy's $5000 a month state pension I guess we've pretty much figured that was coming. He was of course convicted of corruption. Last month they're likely going to yank his. Well they they did they did they sense they yanked the pension and he's going to be self reporting I think November 16th to a federal prison. Still judge Mark Wolf is weighing whether he can remain free pending the appeal that's unlikely. That was to be anticipated right that they were you know you got to talk to some of these I think eight years is I think you're going to hit any kind of some of it was the timing with some of the other cases of political corruption that he was being compared to. And it's going to be a tough road to hoe. I ran into Debbie gymnasium was a you know a chance encounter on the street the other night. I'm not going to get into all the personal details of it because clearly she's in a they're in a state of shock and you know you really feel

for the family and I think in a case like this I mean that family has borne a lot in her in particular. I've been through a lot you know wish this on anybody. On the other hand I got to say I mean I you know you feel bad in some way for the feeling but I don't feel bad for Salim he made his bed and he thought he was smarter than everyone else he thought he was a guy who could get away with this kind of thing I think Judge Wolf is exactly right when he said he would like to have you think I kind of got confused about what the lines were. Oh come on. You know exactly he knew exactly what he was doing here. I think frankly he was there was more money in play than than than really the jury convicted on. Like you know I just don't I don't have sympathy for men. And I happen to those in the pension story. He's already got a lot more back from Lee from the States. Well in fact every payday and in fact it looks like the state board is going to try to recoup the $27000 he's gotten. Twenty seven thousand dollars more than he ever paid into the system. And they may try to go after that not a lot but I know I will say that financial issues do spill over past the person on to the

family to a considerable degree so this is clearly not just a hardship for him but when the political winds turn they really turned against him and his family. The question is will this finally change the Beacon Hill culture you're up there you know it does seem like this happens all too often where you are. Yeah it does it really though does it happen well too often I mean. I would say this. Now we do we always say well three successive speakers will have been were convicted of felons. Charlie Flaherty and tough intern did not do anything like this they did things that they really penny ante compared to. They were not taking money they weren't they weren't essentially anyone was tax evasion bribes Yeah well that was dumb enough tax for him that was lying about gerrymandering they're very different things but I do think there is an indulgence for straying from the straight and narrow among among the the big powers on Beacon Hill that it's very important that we have seen the hammer come down on you know Chuck Turner and we've

seen different convictions and sentences exacted on people in recent years. I would think that would have some effect. I think it's because of the super majorities that these speakers inherit when they take over office pretty powerful they can override gubernatorial vetoes which they do routinely whether it's a Democrat or Republican governor. And that creates this sense of all power fullness that causes them to get into trouble. I think they forget often they're for a speaker or Senate president. The whole world becomes the stage inside the four corners of that building and they forget that there's a world outside that that's watching them very carefully and you know you know this attorney in particular. But but they seem to think just how they're doing in their chamber and the power they have and what they can what they can get away with there or ram through their decides today rather that rather than the rest of the world and help believe that's pervasive on Capitol Hill to just win and Tony I will be on politics I have to say that the the biggest

story of the week was really this tragic this horrible case involving this 7 month old little boy Gabriel Josh who's here Pierre died after being left in a van for six hours on Monday. The van driver apparently failed to do a head count didn't sweep the van afterwards. He was supposed to drop the kid at one daycare center. He ended up driving the van back to another daycare center where his wife or girlfriend operated a place. There are so many details that are still coming out about this but you know I think in some ways I was shocked to even learn and it's a socioeconomic thing that that anybody puts a 17 month old unattended on a bus to go somewhere unattended by anybody to you know another adult or any you know I you say I I used to see people putting their dogs on these vans you know around Boston thought I shouldn't do that because it's a creature that can't speak for itself he can't complain he can't you know and certainly I mean not to compare a dog with a human being

but a little over a 17 month old can't speak. And it's in its own defense. It's uncomfortable it's been left alone and look look at her. Yeah and I think it is a socio economic situation because you know in poor communities you just have more single parent families and in those single parent families you have one person who is the breadwinner and that person has to leave early in the morning and come back late at night and they have no ability in the way that that frankly many mothers do in the suburbs to shuttle kids around to take them to school to pick them up to be home for daycare or to take them to daycare to come at 2:00 in the afternoon and pick and then you've got his question a daycare center as me right now that is right you just hang out a shingle. It's a common pounded a problem exactly there's the transportation to get to the daycare center then there's the daycare center itself which may be a little easier that way. Where were the people who were operating the other day care center why didn't they call you know first thing in the morning and say hey we're missing. It was only it was only five kids at that daycare center and they were noticed they were missing somebody.

Well there's a requirement that the kids who are absent be reported but not that day. You have I said before you have up to four days to report their missing. What kind of attendance system is that. If I don't Four days later that a kid didn't come to school you know last week. I mean that's that's currently this is a this is dumb as it exists. I think Emily your initial feeling is there's no substitute for the parent being there for the child up to a certain age. And you're right it involves socio economics but the ideal would be that the parents wouldn't let their child you know loose with anybody else who is not a family member until they're seven or eight have some understanding have been told the last year very soberly don't just mean all that stuff. Yeah I was thinking about it when I drive up school St. Charles tunnel and the parents stop there and let their kids out. And it's about maybe 30 feet to the door and many of them won't drive away until their child has actually gone in the door which I think is a little ridiculous kids have a car is on is on the sidewalk go east. He can wait. He can walk 25 feet to the door and go in by himself. But you think the difference between that

kind of over helicopter parenting and a child who's just put on a van like that and maybe it is because someone doesn't have a car. Who knows why but I think we are going to see. Stricter regulations on what the responsibility of daycare centers are too warm to. Check immediately on whether the kids are there. The Department of Education is on this and I know that Governor Patrick is is really pushing in the wake of this tragedy to have things happen but. But I will say one other thing which is that we have here also the issue of subcontractors which has been something that sort of pervasive throughout the economy in the military in education in daycare center. So even the company that hired these drivers the one who left the kid in the car and the kid died and then also another driver who is accused of raping kids who he drove around. These people were not even hired by that company really they were subcontractors for the company which which allows everybody sort of a hands off approach. Well they really subcontract for them they're

not our employees so we we don't provide them benefits we don't really have anything to do with it. And I think the danger of having subcontractors all the time is that nobody's really responsible for anything. What a difference I mean in my shoes pre Little League I was a manager when my kids played the parents were required to come to practice. They couldn't drop off and then well Super Stop and Shop and do errands. They had to be there because God knows something might happen in wow. And we had to enforce that as managers or we get in trouble league. Can you point out too that we talk all the time as you talk about what to do how to get the economy going we need to wipe out all regulation but then when something like this happens we say and I think rightly ha. Why did why why would a poor kid like that sort of just get overlooked here maybe we need stronger or stricter regulations on certain things and it's a you have a little bit of a contradictory philosophy at play in the abstract in the specific when a tragedy like this does strike. Why did Boston Globe Scot Lehigh WGBH is Karen Miller and former mistresses Congressman Peter Blute. Well this is one I think Scott that is

ripe for a Boston Globe investigation if they haven't lit the match under then that one already I mean these are just two daycare centers that we've heard about. And both of them are problematic. It's going to yeah you know. Yeah I mean I'm wondering how how much of this goes on. I mean how common is this is this is their whole you know. You know a world of people who are forced into this situation putting their kids on these little vans and surely in the unity of their infants and by the way are they sitting in seat belts or the car seat. What is it what's the ego. Well I think we've got a fundamental problem. And every mother of any socio economic level knows that day care is really costly. I mean you talk to people to professional people not often say one of our salaries is basically going to pay taxes in daycare. So if daycare is that costly What do you do if if the parent is you know works at McDonald's or works at the post office. How do you think that that parent is paying for three kids to go to daycare. Well they're cutting corners somewhere to send him to a cheaper date somebody has a daycare

center Yeah we're as little as 60 dollars a week. I mean you know right and you're not going to hire qualified people to sit and you know play games with the kids and have serve intensive one on one interaction with $60 a week and so you sort of you get what you pay for but understandably daycare is incredibly costly and it's hard to imagine certain people certain kinds of jobs being able to afford anything of any quality. This woman did have some kind of a state subsidy that would sure I guess I mean I sold a lot of houses for debt for daycare certainly but I don't think there's as many as much as many as there is need for but. But it is subsidized on the state level it's a certain level. I'm not sure what the personal circumstances by the winner of that is that one was a single mother and she had another child a 10 year old but I'm not sure. I didn't see any reporting about a father I don't know if there was anybody in the picture but clearly more more to come. She apparently had been trying to get off of welfare. But. Anyway all right we are going to take a short break and when we

continue we're going to be talking about some of the bigger political issues on the National Front. We're also going to respond to some of your emails tweets and Facebook messages as we do every Friday. You're listening to the Emily Rooney show Stay with us. And the valley group on Cape Cod construction manager of the historic restoration of WGBH his Cape and Islands radio station located in the village of Woods Hole. More information online at V A L L E group dot com. And Newberry court a full service residential community for persons over the age of 62. Newberry court invites you to schedule a visit any day of the week. Visitors are welcomed for tours on Saturdays and Sundays by appointment. Newbury CT dot org. On the next FRESH AIR Allison Pearson talks about her novel I Think I Love you about a girl

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CBC Radio and tomorrow it on into 9.7. Welcome back you're listening to the Emily Rooney show it's time to take a dip into our e-mail bag as we do every Friday at this time. Yesterday we were talking to our regular financial guru Bob Posen and getting his take on the languishing economy and what Washington might do about it. That prompted Dana on our Facebook page to write Bob Posen obviously has a pro-market pro corporate bias if WGBH was living up to its profession of independent journalism by offering other views of the police this Social Security crisis or views that question the efficacy of markets for the Everett citizen I wouldn't care. But this sounded more like national Republican radio than National Public Radio. Is this GBH idea of independent objective journalism. Actually it was as a matter of fact we love. It was an all right. Also on our Monday morning quarterback segment with Bob LaBelle we were discussing Serena Williams controversy all behavior at the U.S.

Open last weekend that prompted this email from listener word wethers. Emily a big thumbs down to you for your interpretation of the Serena Williams controversy which occurred during the U.S. Open semifinal. You sound like you might be a tennis player yourself. I am. I believe the code is quite clear. Players may not scream or yell at as the ball is approaching their opponent. I said I agreed with that but she my only point was she didn't do it intentionally she wasn't trying to hinder them anyway. If you'd like to tell us what you think I'm always going to have an opinion back. E-mail us at Emily Rooney show at WGBH dot org. All right. We're continuing with our Week in Review here I'm joined in the studio by former Massachusetts Congressman Peter Blute WGBH contributor Kerry Miller and Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh. We mentioned national politics when we were talking of course about the Elizabeth Warren race earlier but there was the week started off with a Tea Party debate in Florida

and then the next night just by coincidence actually Rick Perry was in town to address the pioneer Institute I ended up going I had invited to go to the thing so I went but I was told by somebody in the know there that Rick Perry was not by any means the first choice for that organization about 11 months ago when they were trying to book a speaker for it. But meanwhile it ended up being you know standing room only in great timing. Yeah great great timing on their point he was not he was not overwhelming I have to say. I mean he was I found him. He was reading from a script and I mean he was tired to mean it just come up for the day. And I think he probably thought he was speaking to a largely Mitt Romney crowd anyway. But. I don't know what's happening there it feels like he came out of the box it two weeks ago when he first launched his campaign he was the instant front runner but I don't know what you think that being I mean I think he is a strong candidate because of his conservative credentials nationally that being the governor of Texas for so long.

He's a strong candidate but he's finding that it's tough to go out there on the national level. Maybe you've got to adjust what you say nationally to what you say in Texas some of that swagger doesn't go over very well in some places and could make people cringe I think the Social Security comment was cringe worthy. OK we've got through the I don't know if well this so she could comment when he was calling it likening it to a Ponzi scheme and then I thought Mitt had a good line this is from the from the debate Monday night were Mitch shot back at him over this so security thing. Do you still believe that Social Security should be ended as a federal program as you did six months ago when your book came out. Ever turn to the states or do you want to treat for that. I think we ought to have a conversation. We're having that right now Governor this deal. That's a let me finish this. It was a great comeback I have to say why haven't I got is that that was a good moment for Mitt although I will say this is a certain irony about Mitt taking someone to task for being inconsistent positions over time. I mean Mitt is flip flop back and forth across the field three or four times he's been like a cheerleader doing a cart wheels I think.

A So it that's that's a little strange. I think what you've got going on here right now in the Republican primary voters it's very much like what you saw on the Democratic side when you had John Kerry and Howard Dean. Howard Dean was what the real democratic idiot log's wanted and John Kerry was going to we can win with this guy. And it's the same way the Republican conservatives. He is. Rick Perry represents the ID of the Republican Party this is their real desire what they believe it is Social Security's a Ponzi scheme we've got to get the government out. Cut regulation. And Mitt is the guy who he's the super ego he's the guy who can win he's a local say responsible things I'm a little ball but and that's the war going on right now I just like the other way. You know who knows I tend to think that Perry could could edge Mitt out. But it's interesting because you saw some of the the real big money donors in the in the GOP start to migrate away from it a little while ago and think gee I don't know he's Mormon he's flip flopped we've got you know Romney care on our

plates do we really want to deal with this maybe Perry's the answer. And I think one of the things that Perry showed in that Tea Party debate is you always look better before you opened your mouth. And you know once Perry did once he has ideas that's when people start to have issues with him. The Tea Party did not like his view on the human papillomavirus vaccine they did not like what he had to say about how to treat immigrants in this country and how they've dealt with Mexican immigrants particularly in Texas. But you know what. Perry had to deal with reality. Romney had to deal with reality as governor of Massachusetts and Perry found as governor of Texas. You have a lot of Mexican people who come over the border what are you going to do. You cannot round them all up put them on buses and send them home it's not a possibility. I've talked to so many often recall leagues from Texas just to get a feeling about him in some of them liked him some of them didn't like them but they all said don't underestimate him. He's a very shrewd politician. He's very good at this. And I saw him up in New Hampshire a thing he's very good at the one on one he

reminded me of Bill Clinton. I so I thought you know yes you know he's got great political skills whereas Romney's more stand on Rogers. He's got such a flight distance he doesn't like to be around people harrys exact opposite and that helps in a ticket into New Hampshire. Yes although I have to say you do see the big money people in the GOP now migrating back to Romney thinking that Perry having said certain things about immigration and having said other things about the Ponzi scheme that is Social Security at least as he sees it it may be untouchable and may be written that Romney is really is really the safer person the person that's going to have wider appeal. I think the president is in serious political trouble right now because the economy and some of the things that he's done. And so it's much like 1980. Can the Republican nominee get on the stage in a debate and be credible as president once they reach that threshold. I think the Republicans will win the race because he has all the social security stuff if he comes out with a plan to reform it that's fine. The HPV thing many experts including on the left say you know that's not a bad idea here. Oh no

it's you know does just not popular with the Tea Party. Before we move on to other really important issues Peter what do you think about Mitt Romney's hair dye. I was saying that I just feel like if you're going to go with the dye you dye it completely you don't go with the gray straight line there that looks phony I don't think that's got times it has to really think it does here. Very definitely dyes his because it's turning orange and he goes all the way. Yeah the way Kennedy was doing a great live blog of the Republican debate on his Web site on Monday night and I wrote in and said you know what Mitt you have just got to go all the way. You have enough money. Get all the guys you need to cover the whole head usually a younger politician Dan Quayle did this. We'll try to gray it up to show a little seniority because he might be considered too young and inexperienced. He put gray in his hair. Yeah I think he's got the black and then the gray. There was a point. It looks different every time you see it. Well that's true. A two

tiered hair like it's just not a good look scary. All right you can see she's gotten some crawling in his boots here we want to move on. All right so this book that's about to be released by Joe McGinniss the Rogue An exposé and Sarah Palin is getting a lot of attention already largely because Gary Trudeau who is the author of the Doonesbury cartoon has been excerpting the book in his cartoon and some of it has just been I mean this is going to turn liberals into supporters of Sarah Palin his son is has been one over the top you know claiming that she doesn't like black people that she had every black person on her staff fire that she but she had a relationship with a black guy do you want to get in there with you know Glenn that's right. I guess Hunter it's frankly who here she's 23 years old. He's on me. Twenty years old unmarried she thought if she has if she wants to have a one night stand or he wasn't critical of it and ship it.

But. But some of the other stuff was really awful. You know claiming I mean that she fired 15 people because they were dark skin. I mean that's so well and I believe we heard quite a while go into his running for president the reason she left the University of Hawaii was because she felt that there were too many Asians in Hawaii. So but my question here is do we really need an exposé on Sarah Palin. There's already so much out there I mean a fixation with her. Well this is the guy national media she's not running. She even if she ran she her poll numbers are not great they're better than Michele but what is the fix she's already had a pregnant unwed daughter who is 17 on stage and then went on Dancing With The Stars. I mean this is really somebody who needs an exposé there. We are living the exposé of Sarah by the way so I know your point. McGinnis his point to make his point about was that Sarah Palin is a sports reporter and she was sleeping with one of the athletes that she was you know that he I think really what he's doing there is reaching to get that to get that in the book I think he also

said Todd was already in the picture they had a relationship it's just it's just a way to sort of get the tittle tattle into the you know the titillating detail that in this guy moved in next door Yeah exactly and this makes him not credible as far as I guess a faded writer who's trying to you know and it's making me really come back I want to wrote that thing about Jeffrey MacDonald who killed his family. Yeah I mean now I'm thinking maybe he didn't do it. I kind of say he comported himself in a tawdry way in that too if you really get him out something in the. They want on television Jeffrey MacDonald thought that he had this guy who was going to defend him and and you know I live television after having worked with him and gotten all kinds of notes from him. He said I think he's guilty you know I have no sympathy for Jeffrey MacDonald but you would think that if you're a guy who has gotten into your confidence and supposed supposedly writing a book to exonerate you you would at least have said to him Hey I'm not with you you know I'm not I'm going to I'm going to blast you rather than just taking him by surprise and I think he's really a hack. Yeah I also question already the top bestseller list on Amazon Dot Com and as you know I'm out.

I also question though the A put ability of this to anything that's real in our world I mean I don't think Sarah Palin's going to run for every anything and everything we know that already indicates a look back at the Katie Couric interview that indicated a lot about Sarah Palin and what she's qualified to do and I think we already know all that stuff it's what we have the answers already. What do think about the fact we're going to do addressing this and beat the press tonight. But a number of newspapers including The Chicago Tribune when it constitutes Journal pulled the Doonesbury strips this week saying it was too political or didn't meet basic fairness standards cartoon I would be because he was quoting the book directly saying things like Sarah Palin doesn't like black people. Say pull the Colonel by that. I think sometimes Gary Trudeau lets himself become too much of a vehicle for for attack politics under the guise of humor and I think it's unfortunate I think his trip is is funny a lot of times but I think that there are other times when he becomes sort of just a little transparent and is

his bias in this case animists I would say and I do think it is up to the newspapers what kind of decision they make and that is a that's a really serious allegation. Sarah Palin doesn't like black people and I think that it's completely legitimate to choose to publish a cartoon on that to publish an op ed that says that it's their prerogative but unfortunately I think one of the worst developments since Obama was elected is the increasing routine niss of charges of racism against opposition people who think they don't like his budget all your racist Tea Party your race is always a racist if everyone's a racist the no one is. I don't know that we hear that a lot. It's all over the place on banners or races. I don't know if you listen to the media accounts of the Tea Party rallies. You would have thought they were Klan rallies. It was terrible but I think the Dems Riddick well but I think you have to say if you look at it there were a number of signs there at some of the rallies. I'm not one who says all the Tea Party is racist but there were a good look at some of the signs and

say whoa I don't think someone who is completely devoid of racial animus would necessarily be carrying that sign there were things like that. Well it seems that there always is going to be on. You have your wingnuts on both sides I've been I've covered Democratic conventions in my got out in front some of the signs were just as as represents the right speaking of scandals in the tax x. This thing is going on with the attack watcha Obama has the campaign has launched a site to respond to smears this. But is this a Lindor scandal all about. Well they did this last time around never they. They had it during the campaign they had sort of a quick response website. They all the different things that people were saying about them I think it's where they first posted his short form birth certificate which didn't seem to deter the crazy people from insisting that he was born somewhere else and the birthers but it was a way to quickly respond to all the different you know. Peter I think said we live in a world where we're now there there was an attack a minute here and some of it you know just don't you. So I think that that was the point last time around. Yeah I don't know it's

offensive to me. Well I don't know I mean I guess I think that there's so much stuff that flies out so regularly. And it's such an expert gated nonsense and it's so frequently sort of conveyed into the process. He went to India and they spent you know whatever however many millions of dollars on hotels just nonsense but it's there and you have you know death panels you have supposed supposedly serious people like Sarah Palin Michele Bachmann just giving voice to this that it doesn't strike me as a bad thing to to get your side of the facts out from the cylinder issue is a very real issue in a brewing scandal within the Obama administration a scandal. So I think it's serious because it lets us know it is the FBI is investigating. I think kind of these this company that and whether or not you know and I can explain it is that you know as part of his green revolution he in green technology growth he invested half a billion dollars in this one company and there are surface e-mails

between the White House and some windrow which seem to indicate that. You know this was going to be get done because the president wanted to connect guns and then there was indications from other emails that maybe it's not working out too well and they still went forward with it. That's the real scandal here that the taxpayers money were risk here and it's gone all the money's gone and I think this is going to be very serious. Well let's see I mean there are a lot of things that start out looking like scandals and sometimes we get a little overly invested in the idea that they are Whitewater being I think an example that maybe should be a cautionary note everyone went on for seemingly a hundred years the investigation and really in the end if you look at what the charges were didn't turn out to be anything because I had done that at the view even at the very least this economic policy is called into great question. Yeah I mean you know not just I don't think it is because of one company an economic policy is called into question I think that there is no question that when an administration wants something and they have an agenda. In this case green jobs the people can be overeager and it's clear

that Joe Biden wanted to show up and do an interview here at the end night and say like here's this perfect example. So yes there are even if I don't know yet what we're seeing is corruption that's that's and that is the question if it's if it's a stupid decision or maybe what we really see here is an inability or to him to separate that China was going to make a huge priority in the cheap production the government subsidized productions of solar panels and same thing have to do with every view. I think I would have said that is it. Well it pales to the tune of 40 billion dollars a year and if they knew that the financials did not look very promising and they continued they had more money later and they added more money if they knew that it was leaving holding really south even that wouldn't be corruption Peter it would be corruption unless they got something back from it and less money came back to their pocket it would be it would be abject foolishness but. But there's a lot of very big legal distinction between being a fool and being a criminal. All right on that note we're going to take a short break when we continue thumbs up thumbs down on the people

places and issues in the news this week that's coming up but first the final single of Amy Winehouse was released this week. We'll go to a break listen to a bit of body and soul the duet the British soul singer recorded with Tony Bennett back in March. Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home in July when Steve would have been her 20th birthday in the city Emily Rooney shows Stay with us. I. Like you. Good see. If you two are. WGBH programs exist because of you. And Elsa Dorfman Cambridge portrait photographer still clicking with the jumbo format Polaroid 20 by 24 analog camera and original Polaroid film online at Elsa Dorfman dot com. And that's Elsa Dorfman dot com.

And from. It's your move. It wasn't a matter of weather but rather when and how when Falwell and Jennifer are more co-owners we clearly thought the WGBH would be the place to be. His listeners are discerning. They're well established in their homes in many cases and we thought it might be a good match for us. And in fact it has been that it's just all blossomed for us to learn more. Call 6 1 7 350 500. I'm Lisa Mullins two of Israel's strategic alliances are unraveling a chaotic Egypt in an increasingly belligerent Turkey have left the Jewish state more isolated than ever. This as Palestinians seek recognition at the United Nations. Israeli politicians and officials ask what are the options for the Israeli government. Our story from Jerusalem next time on the world. Coming up at three o'clock here at eighty nine point seven WGBH. WGBH is about breaking news. Whether I fight as an outsider the right fight from the floor of the Senate I will. Take.

WGBH is about breaking barriers in Haiti for health workers and a cell phone company teamed up to track quake refugees as well as people who are possibly carrying WGBH is about. Every minute you hear on eighty nine point six depends on listener support. Do your part online at WGBH dot org. I'm very glad St.. Now you can join me and Bob Garfield on the media twice each weekend Saturday mornings at 6 and Sunday afternoons at 3:00 right here on eighty nine point seventy seven. Welcome back you're listening to the Emily Rooney show and yes indeed that is the theme song for Sponge Bob Square Pants. This time for our ever popular thumbs up thumbs down segment on the people places and issues in the news this week and those are people and issues in Spongebob a new research study suggests that Sponge Bob Square Pants and similar

programs are bad for your children. Thumbs up thumbs down on Sponge Bob Square Pants. You know I think it's good my kids watched it when they were younger and liked it and I came to the realization late that they were actually underwater I didn't realize that I said what does that look like. Also the bubbles are in the water. I didn't know that until this minute underwater. The whole show is on the show is the most annoying of any show I've seen except that the fat purple dinosaur or some part of an ice thumbs down I'd love to see you just go home. I haven't really watched Sponge Bob Square Pants. I had no it's you with the show. I think that the research really shows too much TV is bad for your kids so in small doses yeah watch Sponge Bob Square Pants but thumbs up on Spongebob and thumbs down on people who bother doing these kinds of studies of course it's going to give them the attention that that's the whole point. Have them there with their tongues hanging out staring at the tube. Give me a break it off and you can transition them from that to their i pad as I don't

always need a cereal commercial and I'm in between. Yeah all right. Speaking of well I won't I won't I won't characterize this I won't put my opinion into it. Here is Tom Brady earlier this week thumbs down thumbs up thumbs down on Tom Brady's call for fans to drink. Yes they're drinking early. Do you remember the nice and rowdy 4:15 game that a lot of time to get lubed up and come out here and cheer for their home team. I mean you know what's interesting about this is he seems to have changed his persona this year he's much more macho right. Previous years he was metrosexual. Did you see that here but I know you're macho and your guy got a little daughter during the here behind us here in the middle and I mean it looked like. A girl but an interesting part of this is the reaction of the Patriots though they came out and this shows you how the spinmeisters get into deep. They came out afterwards and said he really meant get enough water to hydrate

and everyone. No that's not what sometimes I spin around things and I control it. I'm not giving up trying to be taught you know exactly I'm going to give it a thumbs down. There's no question that drinkers don't need any encouragement to drink before Patriots games but I still think to say you know get drinking early and stuff. We don't need that. That was down Tom Brady Patriots management who owns Gillette they've had experiences a concert hitting stuff with kids getting killed so they had to go to court pay out money. So they're probably more sensitive. Oh I remember in 1902 I went to Sullivan station. I was a Colts fan cheer for the Colts. People were throwing full cans of beer at me. Now that stadium people are so well behaved if you do anything when you're out of there in a second over the famous jet Monday night game in which PBS. Yeah. Doctors were ministering to a heart attack victim and the fans were urinating on the guy. Yeah. For the pages to how to position this as he was talking about a vitamin waters. Absolutely.

Give us some sound of that. All right continuing with our audio theme for a thumbs up thumbs down. Here is Serena Williams at the U.S. Open last weekend. Right that was Serena's outburst following having a point taken away from her because as they said during the letters earlier she yelled out when the ball was in the opponent's court you're not supposed to do that and it's it's a code violation because it's a hindrance of a point in my opinion it wasn't intentional. Nevertheless she was fined. She wasn't fined for that she was fined for the outburst I actually give a thumbs up to that fine. You know you just can't do that you can't you can't talk like that to a ref or an umpire in the middle of a game you just can't do it. Thumbs up we should. We need to have better sportsmanship in general in professional athletics and she should be better. You know I agree with. I agree. I'm telling it on a huge fan of hers and I think she's generally a really good sport she was

losing. That's really why the outburst happened because she was losing that that the point had been taken away from her. And that point what not to me the difference can we just say right now she was losing. All right. Say going out of that into some other issues. This is this is a favorite of mine because we've done a lot with this whole foods that took over the. What was the name of that store in Jamaica Plain they're moving into the Hi-Lo which appeal to a you know a gentrified community and was a lot of Hispanic food you get there anyway. Whole Foods is moving in. So the Jamaica Plain neighborhood council was demanding that Whole Foods sign this. Jamaica Plain good neighbor agreement but what they were really doing was shaking him down for 1 percent of their profits. The whole foods said no so thumbs up thumbs down at Whole Foods refusing to sign the Good Neighbor agreement so I was up I was I was a little yeah yeah I

mean look if Whole Foods can't make a profit because there's simply no business to be had in Jamaica Plain and really they want a different store. Then they'll leave. So I mean I think Whole Foods is either going to serve the community or they will soon enough find themselves gone and the market will solve this problem. But even in the suburbs often times the town boards will try to leverage this development approval for a couple of ball fields over here or something like that linkage and linkage Yeah but I wouldn't be surprised if Whole Foods does something like sponsor a Little League team you know brought to you by whatever I would be surprised if there's some neighborhood goodwill that comes out of this I don't want to ask you for that. Yes part of it in general I think though I think they're pretty good citizens Whole Foods and I think they're a good store to have. And frankly I agree there's nothing wrong with asking for it but I think you think that it's the type of thing you get from a large development like what you know you put a lot of in 79 States strick said thank you. This is a shakedown to when you come right in the way it is legalized straight down. All right speaking of food.

Thumbs up thumbs down on competitive eating. The Boston Herald is reporting this morning that competitive eating eating champ Sonya The Black Widow Thomas eat as an attempt to set a world record for meat ball eating at the Strader world meatball championship. She can eat more than 50 hot dogs in 10 minutes expected to down one hundred twenty five meatballs in 10 minutes. Thumbs down I get nauseous look at that stuff when they show little clips of it I want to avoid it at all costs. I'm going to give it thumbs up because I find competitive eating really fun to watch I always write the Nathan's Hot Dog on July 4th. The only thing about it is dumbs down to people's stomachs exploding and things getting lacerate because that does happen when you do competitive eating. But you know what. Every sport has injuries so. I can't talk that I would Peter thumbs down. I'm going to them say I'm not in favor of banning anything. I mean you know go for it yes and don't even press me and I don't go for the whole they are but I wouldn't be encouraging you know any contests like this when ban it but I certainly wouldn't

sponsor it and I wouldn't want to televise it but you know I haven't given that one a thumbs down. All right. Thumbs up thumbs down on requiring hospital workers to get flu shots. I think that's a thumbs up I think you're in a public health setting. You want to make sure that your patients are protected from a lot of this stuff. Hospitals are very dangerous places in this regard. A lot of people die of infection when the surgery went great. Dick Shep the great sports yeah he had a hip replaced the hip replacement went fine. He got an infection and died. I think it makes sense to take measures like the Beth Israel Deaconess and Children's Hospital are going to be requiring all of their workers I'm giving it a thumbs up to it seems common sense. No I agree. Thems up on that and I think you're absolutely right Peter I mean the it's really common to go into the hospital and acquire some other kind of disease bug or something while you're there. It did to me. Yeah. All right thumbs up thumbs down this is going to be a controversial one. Voters being required to produce

IDs at the polls right now you don't just walk in you get your name they cross it off you say who you are. So I Mansfield man is is pushing for photo IDs at the polls suing Attorney General Martha Coakley office saying we should do this we think that it's an issue across the country say different states are trying to do what I think Perry did in Texas if I'm not mistaken I think it's a reasonable thing to protect the sanctity of the ballot make sure nobody's messing around and voting twice. I think it's reasonable and indeed in order to register to vote you have to show an I.D. initially. So why not repeat that on Election Day. I think it's reasonable I mean there's been questions about whether this has an effect on immigrants. Certainly you can have an ID that's not a real I.D. I mean to take this to its logical conclusion but I'm ok with it. All right. I don't see any reason to be against it. Everyone has a single it seems to me everyone has a driver's license or some other picture ID. Quickly thumbs up thumbs down. Panic on the Red Sox is up. She says time to panic hit that panic button. All right all day that's going to be for

us this afternoon. My thanks to Scott Lehigh Karen Miller and Peter Blute. We'll be back Monday at noon. Stay with us now for the Kelly Crossley Show coming up next. And tune in to Beat the Press tonight at 7:00. The Emily Rooney show is a production of WGBH radio on the web at WGBH dot org Boston Public Radio. I'm Emily Rooney. Have a great afternoon.