Meet The Press – January 5, 2013

Guests:

Chuck Todd

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD)

Steve Schmidt

Judy Woodruff

Jim Cramer

Gene Sperling

Dr. Toby Cosgrove, President 

and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic

Dr. John Noseworthy, President 

and CEO of the Mayo Clinic

Richard Engel

Janet Napolitano

Gregory: OMG it's very cold and

Obama is in trouble!

Todd: so true Fluffy

Gregory: Todd how does Obama

salvage the wreckage of his life

Todd: fix that damn health care website

Gregory: why doesn't Obama get more

credit for the improving economy?

Edwards: because you bash him all the time

Gregory: oh right

Gregory: Steven bash Obama for me

Schmidt: Obamacare is doomed!

Woodruff: Wall Street is up 30% but

Americans aren't making any money

Gregory: Obama wants unemployment

benefits extended but Republicans are

concerned about fiscal responsibility

Sperling: that's unusual

Gregory: will Congress extend the benefits?

Sperling: I hope so

Gregory: but how do you do it

in a fiscally responsible way?

Sperling: the same benefits were

never paid for when Bush was President

Gregory: is it bad for the economy?

Cramer: you have to extend these benefits!!

Gregory: President Rand Paul says

giving benefits to people is mean

to people who need the benefits

Cramer: he's an idiot

Gregory: how do we keep unemployment

down and help businesses with their uncertainty?

Sperling: Obama has offered to cut

taxes on businesses in exchange

for infrastructure spending

Gregory: what about the minimum wage?

Cramer: we should raise it –

Wal-Mart can easily afford it!

Gregory: you surprise me Jack

Cramer: North Dakota needs people

– how do we get them there??

Gregory: by bus?

Cramer: truck drivers can make $90k!

Gregory: how much do pundits pull down in Dakota?

Cramer: nothing Fluff

Gregory: dammit

Cramer: sorry david

Gregory: what about uncertainty?!

Cramer: Boeing will move all their

jobs to Ireland – leprechauns can

easily crawl inside those little engines

Sperling: the USA is more supportive

of businesses than ever – also we

need to raise the minimum wage

Cramer: we have an unemployment

and pollution problem and we're bringing

in more immigrants and stuff from China

which is closed for smog

Gregory: what about my stock portfolio?

Cramer: Obama hates Wall Street!!

Sperling: it's soared since Obama was sworn in!

Gregory: is Obamacare doomed?

Sperling: no it's not

Gregory: but Chuck Todd said Democrats

don't want to talk about Obamacare

Sperling: he's totally wrong – bring it on –

no more pre-existing conditions and

no discrimination against women

Gregory: no no no stop talking

Sperling: six million people now have health care

Gregory: shut up shut up

Sperling: young people on their parents insurance

Gregory: I'm not going to let you

get away with this Gene

[ break ]

Gregory: what's up docs?

Cosgrove: the real question

is will Obamacare lower costs?

Noseworthy: the law expanded access

to health insurance – but now we

have to tackle Medicare

Gregory: so what should we do about Medicare?

Noseworthy: Telehealth!

Gregory: do you guys understand Obamacare?

Cosgrove: I do know hospitals are 

going to be paid less

Gregory: that's so sad

Cosgrove: we'll survive

Gregory: are health consumers stupid?

Noseworthy: people don't think about

health until there are sick

Gregory: it's icky

Noseworthy: in the meantime we

have to modernize payments,

fund NIH and reform Medicare

Gregory: aha we have to slash Medicare!

Cosgrove: Americans are too damn fat

Noseworthy: hold the mayo

Gregory: have Republicans reached

out to you to fix Obamacare?

Cosgrove: um no

Noseworthy: yes – the Mayo Clinic is the

rock star of the health care world

Gregory: should marijuana be legal?

Noseworthy: marijuana has been

a powerful medicine for 5,000 years

Gregory: I heard the Mayans all got

hooked on ganja and their civilization disappeared

Cosgrove: I didn't know that

Gregory: thanks for coming gentlemen

[ break ]

Gregory: oh my god Fallujah is falling to al-qeada

Engel: it's all about Sunni vs Shiite

Gregory: cripes

Engel: it's the same thing in Syria

Gregory: which side should we be on?

Engel: the US invaded Fallujah twice

and now the government of Iraq

can't keep terrorists out

Gregory: oh dear

Engel: Fluffy the USA had to destroy

Fallujah and we still couldn't stop the

extremists so I'm not optimistic the

Iraq government will fare any better

Gregory: how about this Donna?

Edwards: this is not America's fight!

Gregory: does the USA have a

responsibility to fix Iraq?

Schmidt: sorry but we can't get involved

in a 700 year old civil war

[ break ]

Gregory: Chuck you follow marijuana

laws very closely if you know what I mean

Todd: civil rights advances always

come from the wackos out West and

eventually come to the elite snobs of

the east coast and finally the South gets on board

Gregory: I am a father and someone

in the FBI told me drugs are not cool

Woodruff: de-criminalizing drugs

is one thing but legalization is another

Gregory: so well put Jane

Woodruff: the law is wreaking havoc

in Colorado – what if snowboarders

start using marijuana??

Gregory: oh my god Judy

Gregory: David Brooks is worried

about our moral ecology

Edwards: regulating pot may actually make it safer

Schmidt: the war on pot is expensive

and racist and stupid

Gregory: but but drugs are bad

Schmidt: I don't worry about reefer I

worry about my kids seeing Miley Cyrus on tv

Woodruff: I understand she won't

stop and likely can't stop

Gregory: but I'm a father and worry

about the kids and their wacky weed

Schmidt: man up Fluffy and tell

your kids not to do drugs

[ break ]

Gregory: New York now has a

communist mayor – is liberalism back?

Todd: Gore and Bush were like the

same boring guy – now at least we

have a real divide between the two parties

Gregory: Obama let liberals down!

Woodruff: electing DiBlasio was also

a reaction to twelve years of Bloomberg

Gregory: Steve politically what's

going to happen in 2014?

Schmidt: nothing will ever happen

until we elect a Republican President

and can we can all stop caring about the debt

Schmidt: people should move to North Dakota

Gregory: it's colder there than on the surface of Mars

Schmidt: but it has a livelier arts scene

Gregory: possibly

Edwards: Bill DiBlasio is fighting

to close the inequality gap!

[ break ]

Gregory: Janet what about

security at the Olympic games?

Napolitano: if you see something say something

Gregory: what about Russia's preparation?

Napolitano: you gotta hope they're on the ball

Gregory: but there have been 

 bombings in Russia recently

Napolitano: eh that happens before every Olympics

Gregory: some are worried that Sochi

is well-guarded while the rest of Russia is exposed

Napolitano: good – the games must go on!

Gregory: Russia hates homosexuals

and the entire US delegation is gay

Napolitano: I also represent the

University of California which is very gay

Gregory: you are politicizing the games which is bad

Napolitano: the games have always been political

Gregory: but you're turning the Winter Olympics gay

Napolitano: have you ever seen figure skating

or ice dancing or the two-man luge – now that's gay

Gregory: what about macho events

like downhill skiing and speed skating

Napolitano: I haven't seen that many

men in spandex since my days at Studio 54

Gregory: did Ed Snowden damage America?

Napolitano: he's committed crimes

and hurt America for years to come

Gregory: would you give him clemency

if he promised to give the documents

he stole back?

Napolitano: no – he took it upon

himself to reveal the secrets

and it hurt the nation

Gregory: you used to oppose same-sex marriage

Napolitano: yes but I've changed my mind on that

Gregory: you endorsed Obama early

– can you support Hillary Clinton?

Napolitano: she's not even running yet

Gregory: will she be fresh voice in 2016?

Napolitano: oh yes fresh a daisy

Gregory: Todd Gene Sperling called

you out on Obamacare

Todd: yeah well he's not a Democrat

running in a red state

Gregory: true

Todd: but Democrats can turn

the tables by asking the GOP why

they want to take away people's health care

Woodruff: this is an election year

so therefore nothing can happen in Washington DC

Gregory: of course – and that's

another episode of Meet The Press