PoliticsNation, Friday, October 3rd, 2014

Show: POLITICS NATION
Date: October 3, 2014

Guest: Seema Yasmin; Emanuel Cleaver, Elizabeth Plank, Toure, Seema Iyer,
Clair Lewins, Hana Ali, Maryum Ali


REVEREND AL SHARPTON, MSNBC ANCHOR: Good evening, Ed. And thanks to you
for tuning in.

We start tonight with breaking news on Ebola. Just moments ago in a show
of force from the White House, top officials charged with health and
national security issues said they made this a national priority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MONACO, WHITE HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISOR: As the president has
said, we are not facing just a health crisis. We are facing a national
security priority.

SYLVIA BURWELL, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Since the outbreak
began, the United States government has been engaged in preparation both at
home and abroad.

DOCTOR ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH: Our healthcare
infrastructure in the United States is well equipped to stop Ebola in its
tracks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Here`s the latest. Right now, a crew is disinfecting the Dallas
apartment where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying. It comes
five days after he was hospitalized. Crews also wrapped up and taped the
car used to transport Duncan to the hospital. The four members of his
family quarantined at the apartment will soon be moved to an undisclosed
location.

Also today, spreading anxiety, two reports, one out of Washington, D.C.,
another from Atlanta, of patients being tested for Ebola.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: The patient has been admitted to Howard
University hospital with Ebola-like symptoms. That is how it is being
described. They also confirm this patient had traveled to Nigeria
recently.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: If there`s an Ebola concern at the county
jail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: It indicated during the check-in process that
he had been traveling recently in Africa. He was also exhibiting at the
time, fever-like symptoms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Initial tests on the Atlanta patient have come back negative.
But a final test is still to come. And late today, new details about the
American cameraman working for NBC News, who contracted Ebola. He`s
heading to a medical center in Nebraska for care. He was working with
NBC`s Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who today said the crew is taking precautions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOCTOR NANCY SNYDERMAN, NBC NEWS MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We shared a work
space. We shared vehicles. We shared equipment. But everyone here is
hyper alert. We have not been in close proximity. No one shakes hands.
There`s no hugging. So I do believe that our team, while we have been
hyper vigilant, we are at very, very, very low-risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: NBC`s Charles Hadlock is live in Dallas, also there is Dr. Seema
Yasmin, public health professor at UT Dallas and staff writer for the
morning news. Thank you both for joining me.

CHARLES HADLOCK, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good evening.

SHARPTON: Charles, let me start with the apartment. What`s the latest
with that and with the family that`s living there.

HADLOCK: Well, this is where patient zero lived for several days while he
was in Dallas, the ivy apartments here in northeast Dallas. What is going
on right now is the clean-up, a private company has been contracted and
they are in the process of disinfecting and cleaning and removing the
sheets, the beds, the carpeting, the other items that this man may have
come in contact with. They`re going to haul it away in nine to 12 barrels.
They`ll be taken to a disposal side, held for a few days until the permits
are right and probably incinerated after that.

The family is reportedly still inside the apartment, at least that`s the
official word from the city of Dallas. They are expected to be moved later
to an undisclosed location. Not a medical location, but simply another
place to stay for another 20 days until the end of their incubation period
to make sure they are not infected with the Ebola virus that they may have
come in contact with while patient zero was staying here, Reverend Al.

SHARPTON: Now Dr. Yasmin, the hospital has now admittedly dropped the ball
when Thomas Duncan first told a nurse, not a doctor, told a nurse, that he
had been in Liberia. Quote "we have identified a flaw in the way the
physician and the nursing portions of our electronic health records
interacted in this specific case. As designed, the travel history would
not automatically appeared in the physician`s standard workflow."

Now, does this go back to basic questions of readiness at other hospitals
across the country, Doc?

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSOR, UT DALLAS: It really does,
Reverend. And what we`re hearing from the hospital is that there are two
separate workflows, so the nurse had this crucial piece of information, she
put it into the message workflow and they tell us that the physician`s
workflow is separate.

What we want to know, though, is did that physician take a travel history.
It`s really incumbent, Reverend, on every healthcare provider to ask that
question repeatedly. If a patient has those symptoms, CDC guidelines say
you have to ask about a travel history.

We have, though, heard from other local hospitals that since August 4th,
they have been asking these questions routinely of all of their patients.
In fact, they built them into automatic electronic records so that nurses,
doctors, all healthcare professionals ask patients about travel to west
Africa.

SHARPTON: Dr. Yasmin, let`s talk about the timeline here. Thomas Duncan
went to the hospital on September 25th. But crews are only disinfecting
his apartment today. So for parts of nine days, the apartment could have
been cleaned and wasn`t. Should this have been done faster, and is there a
threat that the virus could have spread from the apartment in that time?

YASMIN: Reverend, reporters at "Dallas Morning News" are talking about
this right now. We`re writing about this right now, about fundamental
potential flaws in this investigation and the potential that CDC guidelines
about cleaning that apartment were not followed.

As you mentioned, hazmat crews went in today. We`re asking why were they
not sent in earlier, and why were the soiled, potential soiled clothing and
bedding remaining in that apartment for so long while that family was still
in there?

SHARPTON: Charles, hasn`t there been a lot of skepticism about how this
whole thing was handled?

HADLOCK: A lot of people want to know why it did take so long. I mean,
they knew that the Ebola patient was here on Sunday. And here it is Friday
afternoon, they`re finally cleaning up the apartment. The reason they say
they`re moving the family is not for their health, because they`re not
symptomatic, but simply to ease the fears of the community here. They had
no idea that an Ebola patient was living among them for a few days.

SHARPTON: Now Charles, you know, Ebola is contracted through direct
contact. But the director of CDC says that includes being near someone who
sneezes. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: So, there are certainly theoretical
situations where someone sneezes and if you then were sneezed on and then
touched your eye or mouth or nose with the part of your body that was
sneezed on, it would not be impossible that you could get spread in that
way. And that`s why, if you look at our guidelines, with a prolonged
exposure within one meter, three feet is considered contact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Charles, three feet is considered contact?

HADLOCK: That`s right. If you come in contact with any bodily fluid, of
course if someone sneezes you`re within range of being in contact. But
also this man was ill, he had diarrhea, he was throwing up, he was
sweating, all those fluids are in that apartment.

So the question is, were the people, the five family members exposed to
that during the time he was in the apartment. And also during the five
days they waited until the clean-up crews arrived today. Those are very
good questions to ask.

SHARPTON: Yasmin, five days, nine days later, we`re told now that three
feet is contact. Sneezing could expose you to it. It`s a little different
picture than it was originally painted to the American public.

YASMIN: Absolutely. And some of this public health messaging sadly is
becoming confusing for (INAUDIBLE) for the public in general. We know from
experience that Ebola is transmitted that direct contact with infected
bodily fluids, things like infected blood, urine, feces and vomit.

However, we do know that although there can be virus in saliva, there`s
always usually more virus, a lot more virus, in fact in blood and feces in
particular. But we have to be consistent about some of these messages.
Our (INAUDIBLE) are becoming quite concern about exactly can we catch
Ebola. And we are saying that so far the evidence says Ebola is not
transmitted through the air, not transmitted through water, or through
food. That`s what we`re learning from CDC.

SHARPTON: Let me ask you, Dr. Yasmin, just bottom line, is the United
States really to handle this Ebola situation? As people are coming here,
or people are discovered already here that may have the virus?

YASMIN: Well, we really hope so, Reverend. We have a robust public health
system here in the United States. We`re hearing from cities and counties
across the country that they are now really gearing up, they are ready in
case an Ebola patient walks into the hospital. I was in a local ED
yesterday and they said, you know what, we`re on high alert. We know an
Ebola patient could walk through the doors. So we are hoping that every
hospital is taking that approach and that all gearing up in case there`s
another case of Ebola.

SHARPTON: NBC`s Charles Hadlock and Dr. Seema Yasmin, thank you both for
your time tonight.

HADLOCK: Sure.

YASMIN: Thank you.

SHARPTON: Coming up, the story that Republicans don`t want the president
to talk about. It`s a huge issue, and it could prove the difference in
these midterm elections. Plus, a stunning new failure by the secret
service. How did a man posing as a congressman get backstage at a
presidential speech.

Also, a FOX News anchor is now asking if being a grandmother might hurt
Hillary Clinton politically.

And tonight, Muhammad Ali as you`ve never heard him before. Home
recordings he made for his children. And two of the champ`s daughters are
here. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Breaking news, another horrific video released by the terrorist
group ISIS. It claims to show the beheading of British hostage Alan
Henning. And threatens the life of another hostage. NBC consultants
believe the video is authentic, but it has not yet been confirmed by
American or British officials. This is the fourth such video ISIS has
released.

Joining me now by phone is NBC News terrorism analyst Evan Colemann.

Evan, obviously this horrific act is part of the propaganda war. What do
they hope to achieve with it?

EVAN COLEMANN, NBC NEWS TERRORISM ANALYST (via phone): Well, look, right
now the UK government has just begun involving itself in airstrikes inside
Iraq and essentially eventually in Syria. And this is a very clear message
aimed at both the UK government and more importantly the British public, an
attempt to intimidate the British public and try to force them out of this
alliance. Try to stop them from launching air strikes.

SHARPTON: But does ISIS realize that videos like this will only serve to
harden the reserve of the U.S. and other countries in the fight?

COLEMANN: I mean, look, they should. Because in this case, this was
someone who not only were there appeals from a variety of different
individuals, including his wife in western countries, you had jihadist
recruiters who has been expelled from the UK for terrorist activity who put
out telling ISIS don`t kill this guy. And if you do this, it will be a
mark against you, it will be a crime, it will be something you will never
escape from.

And yet despite this, despite all of these calls for ISIS to show mercy,
they`ve shown none. And you know, I think it`s a reflection of the fact
that this group really doesn`t care what anyone thinks of them. And
hopefully, what they will end up happening is that they are going to turn
off and disgust so many people, including the vast majority of Muslims
around the world, that they are going to end up losing their own support
base. We don`t know if that will happen, but that certainly that`s the
hope here.

SHARPTON: It is a horrific story and we will certainly be watching.

Evan Colemann, thank you for your time tonight.

We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This progress that we`ve
been making, it`s been hard. It goes in fits and starts. It`s not always
been perfectly smooth, or as fast as we want, but it is real, and it is
steady, and it is happening. And it`s making a difference in economies all
across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: President Obama today talking about America`s comeback after the
Bush recession. Today, we learned the economy added 248,000 jobs last
month and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent, the lowest since
July 2008. The last time a Republican president cratered the economy.

Under President Obama, we have now seen 55 straight months of private
sector job growth. That`s the longest streak in American history. But
today Speaker Boehner said, quote, "only Republicans are offering real
solutions to help get people back to work."

Only Republicans are offering solutions? Speaker Boehner, you can have
your own opinion. But you can`t have your own facts. The facts are this.
We still got a lot of work to do. Too many gains have gone to the top.
But the economy is back on track and it`s getting stronger every month.

Joining me now is Jared Bernstein, former chief economist for vice
president Biden.

Thank you for being here, Jared.

JARED BERNSTEIN, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, Rev.

SHARPTON: Jared, put this in context. How far have we come since the
depths of the recession?

BERNSTEIN: Well, that`s a good question for me, because I remember being
in the White House working with the team in the heart of the great
recession. You have to remember, in the first quarter of President Obama`s
term, employment cratered. I mean, it was nightmarish. It fell by over
two million jobs in just the first three months. The economy in GDP terms,
turned around in the middle of 2009. But it wasn`t until about six months
later that we started adding employment. And on the chart you showed, it`s
been pretty much steady since then.

SHARPTON: President Obama talked about how politics are getting in the
way. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The only thing that`s holding us up right now is politics. You
know, we should be raising the minimum wage to make sure that more workers,
if they`re working full time, shouldn`t be living in poverty. We should be
making sure that women are getting paid the same as men for doing the same
work. That`s something by the way, that should be a no-brainer for men
too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I mean, Jared, aren`t there concrete things the Congress could
do to make sure more people benefited from the recovery?

BERNSTEIN: Yes. That`s a very important point, Reverend. I mean, the
president gave a talk on the economy yesterday and he ticked through some
of these ideas. Two of the most important ones in this context are the
ones he just mentioned, the minimum wage and gender pay equity.

But also, this would be a great time to do some infrastructure investment.
Borrowing costs are still low, we could help boost the economy`s underlying
productivity rate by helping to improve some of our eroding public goods.
But, you know, these ideas have been on the legislative table from the
president and the democratic side since 2010, and 2011, and they`ve been
shot down every time they`ve come up for a vote.

SHARPTON: But Republicans talk about how President Obama is a job killer.
But look at this. Under President Bush, we saw a net loss of over 600,000
private sector jobs. Under President Obama, we`ve seen a net gain of 6.8
million. What more do we expect from the economy over the next two years
in your opinion, as we see this?

BERNSTEIN: Yes. You know, I think a lot of these guys and gals are just
turning the graph upside down. Saying, look at it this way. No question
that the numbers are just as the president said earlier, gaining momentum
in his favor. That said, there is, and you were right about this, Rev.,
there are some places where there`s real work left to do.

Most importantly from my perspective is on the wage side. You have people
coming back to work, the unemployment rate coming down, but the economy`s
growth is just not showing up enough in people`s paychecks. And that`s
going to take a tighter labor market than we have today.

SHARPTON: Absolutely. Jared Bernstein, thank you for your time tonight.
Have a great weekend.

BERNSTEIN: Thank you, you too.

SHARPTON: Still ahead, a stunning new failure from the agents charged with
protecting our president.

Also, Muhammad Ali as you`ve never heard him before. Rare tapes of him
talking to his kids, it is part of a new film. And two of the champ`s
daughters join me here in the studio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Today we learned about another disturbing incident involving
secret service. It happened just last Saturday at the president`s speech
at the congressional black caucus foundation.

"Bloomberg" reports an unidentified man came backstage, claiming to be a
member of Congress. The secret service spokesman said the agency did its
job, by screening everyone who attended.

Quote "this guy went through security fully screened."

That may be true, but why did it take a White House staffer to realize this
man was in a secure area when he wasn`t supposed to be. Why didn`t an
agent stop him? These details come after a provocative report from the
"New York Times" finding some African Americans see the secret service as a
flawed shield, with many believing the security breaches were intentional.
The country needs to have confidence in the agency protecting our
president, and right now, many don`t.

Joining me now is Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. Congressman, thank you for
being here.

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: Good to be with you, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Another report of a security breach with the secret service. I
mean, how much confidence do you have right now in the agency?

CLEAVER: Well, about half an inch. But I think that`s based on all of
these revelations that somehow creates an image of the agency of being
incompetent. They are all, you know, lieutenant Calluso (ph), and I think
what we`ve got to do is have a complete reform of the secret service.

There are African Americans and people of goodwill who are Americans who
are concerned. And most African Americans will tell you, even during the
campaign, many people, I can`t even tell you the people who came up and
said, I sure hope this man doesn`t get assassinated. Because they feared
that would happen.

SHARPTON: Well, I get it every day on my radio show, and it`s increased
with all of these secret service debacles. And this last one is
particularly alarming to you and I, personally. We were at the speech the
president gave Saturday night and we were in the back taking pictures with
them. This guy, whoever he was, if he had been a danger was right there
with everybody.

CLEAVER: Well, you know, when I first saw the report earlier today, I
thought, you know, something has to be done. I know it`s difficult, when
the president is around perhaps tens of thousands of people, but the secret
service has got to be willing and able to step up to the plate and protect
the president. I mean, that`s unacceptable.

You know, there were a lot of people, as you recall, backstage. And
someone could have done a lot of damage, not just in terms of with the
president, but there were members of Congress back there. There were
leadership from the House of Representatives back there. So something has
to be done.

The people of this country must be made to feel that the secret service is
able to step up to the plate and protect the president. And a lot of
paranoia out there right now, they`re doing this deliberately. And I don`t
think that`s the case. I`m certain that it`s not the case. But paranoia
always seems logical if it`s based in reality, and that is, people see and
hear all of the hateful things people are saying. Somebody referring to
the president as a sub human mongrel. Somebody calling him a black Sam bow
(ph). And so when these things are said, we know --

SHARPTON: Water melon cartoons in Boston.

CLEAVER: Yes.

SHARPTON: But let me say this, the outrage over these incidents have been
really bipartisan, though. Today the chair and ranking member of the house
oversight committee wrote a letter asking for the independent panel
investigating the secret service to do several things.

First, to review not only recent security lapses, but the full range of
management, personnel, training, and cultural issues. Second to examine
the process by which the secret service communicates with congress, the
press, the American people, and the president himself. And third, to make
an unclassified version of his report. Will this help reestablish faith in
the agency, Congressman?

CLEAVER: I think it`s the best first step we can have. As everybody in
the world knows, the two people who lead that committee are not likely
dance partners. But I think when it comes to the security of the president
of the United States, it appears to me that people on both sides of the
aisle are putting politics aside and demanding this kind of a study, I
think, will reveal our weak spots, our weak points. And I do think that
there is the will power in government right now to make whatever corrects
are necessary. Keep in mind, we are not even at the maximum personnel now.
And it`s not due to a lack of money. For whatever reason, we`re not able
to fill vacancies. So there are a lot of issues that must come to the
surface and be dealt with quickly.

SHARPTON: Yes. And I agree with you. I don`t think Congressman Issa and
Congressman Cummings are dance partners. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver,
thank you for your time tonight.

CLEAVER: Good to be with you, Rev.

SHARPTON: Still ahead, Jimmy Fallon takes on the fake photos that
republicans are using for outreach.

Also, Muhammad Ali as you`ve never heard him before. Two of his daughters
are here. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: We`re back now with "Conversation Nation."

Joining us tonight Elizabeth Plank, senior editor for Mic.com. MSNBC`s
Toure and trial attorney Seema Iyer. Thank you all for being here tonight.

TOURE, MSNBC CO-HOST, "THE CYCLE": Thanks, Rev.

SEEMA IYER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thanks, Rev. Happy birthday.

SHARPTON: Thank you, thank you. We start with the GOP getting the Jimmy
Fallon treatment on "The Tonight Show" last night for using stock photos in
their new ad campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, THE TONIGHT SHOW HOST: These are stock photos of a black
woman in one of their ads and pretending that she`s really a republican.
The only trouble is, the same stock photo has been in a bunch of other ads
that`s been released already. This is the truth, this is an ad for virtual
office assistant. That`s the same woman. Using a lot of stock photos.
Check it out.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We here in the GOP have real solutions for real
Americans. Real Americans like this old woman about to skateboard, or
these two men playing chess while a parrot watching, Asian couple high
fiving, smiling man from the `90s. We`re ready to fight for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Toure, how big an outreach problem does the GOP have that they
can`t find real people?

TOURE: Well, it`s actually, yes. It`s obviously a real problem because
they don`t have policies that benefit black and brown people. They
sometimes lie and say their policies do, but we know better. We`ve known
that for decades. So yes, they have to use these sort of fake people to
illustrate black people who might be down with their cause. I mean, do
they have a --

IYER: Can`t they find one black person?

TOURE: -- Allen West on an ad or something, I don`t know.

SHARPTON: You would settle for just one.

IYER: Just one. One real black person, as opposed to someone who`s paid
from flat fee.

SHARPTON: What does it say to voters? What does it say to the general
public, that they have to use stock photos?

IYER: It says that they have turned away the black community. Whereas, I
think, personally, as a non-politics person, back in 2008, the black
community was more receptive to the Republican Party.

TOURE: I don`t know about that.

IYER: As opposed to it now. At least we had some black republicans. Now
we have to use pictures of --

TOURE: When you go to the RNC, there`s always going to be couple of little
chocolate chips in the sea of vanilla ice cream.

SHARPTON: Wouldn`t you think they would know they were going to get
caught?

ELIZABETH PLANK, MIC.COM: Well, you know, at this point, I think whoever
is running their pr is a democratic infiltrator trying to expose how out of
touch this party is. I mean, what else could it be?

SHARPTON: All right. Let`s move on. Now, to the subway sandwich chain,
and some saying their new Halloween ad is sexist. Time magazine writes,
"Subway wants women to stay skinny so they can wear sexy Halloween
costumes." And many on social media are calling it sexist. But subway
says, people are missing the humor in it. You`ll be the judge. Take a
look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You guys are eating burgers?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Summer is over.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Halloween`s coming. You got to stay in shape for all
the costumes.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What`s that?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You know, like attractive nurse? Red Riding Hood,
Viking princess warrior, hot devil, and foxy fullback, touch down?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Elizabeth, what do you think?

PLANK: I mean we`re supposed to be nervous about bikini season, now we`re
supposed to be nervous about Halloween season. I think it`s just another
example of companies not knowing how to target women.

IYER: I think it`s a joke. It`s a joke, come on, people. She`s in the
workplace.

TOURE: She`s eating.

SHARPTON: Do you think it`s sexist, Elizabeth?

PLANK: I think it is.

SHARPTON: And you don`t?

IYER: No, I think it`s hysterical. I think it`s great.

TOURE: I mean, I`m certainly not going to split the difference with these
two. But you always notice at Halloween time that all the women`s costumes
are sexualized. The men`s costumes generally aren`t the same.

SHARPTON: Yes. That`s a point. Do they have men come out there like the
--

IYER: Rev, it`s because we want to be attractive as opposed to being like
--

SHARPTON: Well, men want to be attractive.

TOURE: But the issue is over sexualized, with all these costumes.

(TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)

PLANK: Right. And women can be more than sexual objects, especially when
they`re in the workplace.

IYER: She is. She`s a nurse, she`s a medical professional.

SHARPTON: But her and her and her, it`s all of these kinds of images, I
think, that made a lot of people respond.

PLANK: Exactly. It`s all those images combined. And the thing is, we`ve
seen companies even Getty images go the extra mile and show women in
empowered position. And that works. That actually sells product.

TOURE: I think to what Liz is saying, it`s not just we`re not going to
pick one ad and say one ad, it`s sexist. But when you look at the whole
panoply of images you get from media, it`s constantly the over-
sexualization of women.

IYER: I don`t disagree with that. I think if you look at it cumulatively,
I would agree with both of you.

SHARPTON: You wore her down.

(LAUGHTER)

PLANK: He usually does.

SHARPTON: Finally some on the right are getting really low. We knew it
was coming. But today some in the media are attacking Hillary Clinton for
mentioning her baby granddaughter in a speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Hillary Clinton`s new granddaughter already in the
political spotlight, and her grandmother put her there, using the infant in
a speech on women empowerment. Is it OK for her to use the newborn to gain
political points?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I can`t say a grandmother, part of a granddaughter ain`t
sincere for bringing it up this early, it`s not strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Using a newborn to score political points. Seema, your
reaction?

IYER: It is OK to use anything to score political points. We`re talking
about Hillary, folks. She`s a political machine. And she has been
criticized for being somewhat cold and removed from the public. So this is
going to soften her up. Grandma hill.

TOURE: I don`t even see where it scores political points or softens her
up. But this is something that happened in her life. Right?

SHARPTON: A grandchild. First one.

TOURE: Yes. She crossed over to another threshold. That`s just something
that happened. It`s not a politicized move, and it doesn`t relate to her
as a 2016 candidate. The whole discussion of she might not run because she
has a grandchild. That was incredibly sexist to me.

SHARPTON: But Elizabeth, isn`t it true that if she didn`t show some public
emotion about having a grandchild, a first one, they`d criticize her
saying, she just had a grandchild and doesn`t even talk about it.

PLANK: Exactly. It would be politicized either way but it would never be
politicized for a man, and I think that`s why it`s important that we have
this conversation, and we criticized the media for making these kinds of
comments. And I think it goes to the point of like how nervous the right
is about this candidate, how experienced and competent she is, that they
have to go so low to attack her.

TOURE: Right.

SHARPTON: But I think that we are getting ready just for the season of
them pouncing on Hillary Clinton no matter what cause they feel she`s the
candidate?

IYER: They`ve been ready for Hillary for a while. So, we have to get
ready for the --

TOURE: I mean, absolutely. You know, the Democratic Party hasn`t had a
candidate coming into the race this large, this experienced, this kind of
resume, perhaps ever. Right? So I mean, yes, they are loading up for
bear. But if this is the best that they have, she`s talking about her
grandchild, then it`s going to be a long 2016.

IYER: You don`t think it softens her up, her image?

TOURE: It does. But this is who she is as a person. It`s not like she
sort of changed her life purposely in this way.

(TALKING OVER EACH OTHER)

SHARPTON: How nasty are they going to get, Elizabeth?

PLANK: It`s already nasty. And I mean, I think at this point, it only
gives Hillary more credence. I mean, when I see her being attacked like
that as a woman, I just have sympathy for her.

TOURE: I mean, when they try to talk about maybe she has brain damage from
the fall, I mean, like you can see how nasty it`s going to be.

IYER: Desperate. Yes, desperate.

TOURE: Definitely desperate.

SHARPTON: All right. I`m going to have to leave it there, Elizabeth
Plank, Toure, and Seema Iyer, thank you and have a great weekend. And
don`t miss Toure`s new radio show "Food for Thought with Toure" starting
tomorrow at 8 a.m. Eastern on Sirius progress 127.

Up next, the private side of Muhammad Ali. Home recordings you`ve never
heard before. It`s part of a new movie and I`ll talk about it with two of
the champ`s daughters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Muhammad Ali as you`ve never heard him before. A new
documentary called "I am Ali" uses the champ`s own tape recordings made at
home, many of them for his children, to show a side of Ali that few people
knew.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: My father has a lot of sides. And you hear about the
fights, you don`t hear about family that much and what that meant to him.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: And I remember the moment I fell in love with him,
when he was -- oh, it`s going to make me cry.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Muhammad Ali!

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: How you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He whispered in my ear, is that all you got, George?
And that was about all I had.

(LAUGHTER)

MUHAMMAD ALI, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BOXER: This is a microphone, when you
get to be a big girl, I`m going to play this back so you can hear.

ALI: (INAUDIBLE) I was at a higher altitude than the rest. I was faster
than the rest. But you just have to get used to riding on jets again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Muhammad Ali is one of the great public figures in the world.
And now this film is revealing the private man as well.

Joining me now the film`s Director Clair Lewins, along with two of the
champ`s daughters, Hana Ali and Maryum Ali.

MARYUM ALI, MUHAMMAD ALI`S DAUGHTER: Hey.

SHARPTON: Thank you all for being here.

MARYUM ALI: Thank you for having us.

HANA ALI, MUHAMMAD ALI`S DAUGHTER: It`s an honor to be here.

SHARPTON: When did both of you realize that you were the daughter of a
world-famous personality?

MARYUM ALI: I knew in phases. Like I would say about four or five.
Because there are so many celebrities always around us, so many people
crowding us. But I think at the age of 15, I understand what he meant and
how he transcended race and culture and religion.

SHARPTON: Right.

MARYUM ALI: Where the diner, a guy used to be area nation walked over to
my father and said, I denounced my KKK family because I grew to love a
black men. And me and my father and this man we`re all crying at a diner
in Bakersfield. Somewhere in California. So I knew, you know, your love
and people feel you, and all races love you.

SHARPTON: Claire, as a film maker, what was it like to get access to all
these personal recordings?

CLAIR LEWINS, DIRECTOR, "I AM ALI": I felt voyeuristic, that was listening
to something quite intimate really. And I just loved hearing his voice
strong. You really got a sense of how much he loved his family. And he
was just -- his vulnerability, all sorts of things came through those tape
recordings.

HANA ALI: She loved it so much, the film was actually three hours long,
she had to shave it down.

SHARPTON: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

SHARPTON: Let me play this clip to you from the film in which your father
talks to you about your purpose in life. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI: Everything has a purpose, the moon, stars, everything has a purpose.
Now, what`s your purpose? You`re a human being. If got made the sun have
a purpose, humans have a purpose too. You haven`t found your life purpose
yet, have you?

MARYUM ALI: Yes.

ALI: What do you think you were born for?

MARYUM ALI: To make people feel better. To fix people up.

ALI: That`s good. That`s good, Maryum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARYUM ALI: Yes, you know, my dad found boxing at 12 years old. He always
felt if a child can find out what they love early, that may give them a
better chance. So, he always engaged us, not just what career do you want,
what is your purpose, and it`s amazing, I said I wanted to help people,
I`ve been be a social worker and gang prevention for 14 years. So, he made
me think about that, and wanted to direct us and I think, I mean, that`s
best practices in parenting today.

SHARPTON: One of the things I know about your father is how he really
personally liked helping people.

MARYUM ALI: Oh, yes.

SHARPTON: Things that were never in the headlines. There`s a clip in
this, Hana, where he went out of his way to help a little boy with cancer.
Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI: That little voice said I got leukemia. All he said was, I remember,
I told you, that you are going to beat cancer, and I`m going to beat George
Foreman. And the little voice said, no, Muhammad, I`m going to meet God
and I`m going to tell him that I know you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANA ALI: Yes, that`s one of my favorite stories. My father used to say
to me when I was a little girl when he had to go leave to train or
whatever, you know, I would cry and say, I want to go with you. He would
say, Hana, I`m your daddy, but I`m also the daddy to the world. You know,
he felt a responsibility to people as a whole which is one of the reasons
he`s so loved. And that`s why he`s so wonderful, he`s a hero. He`s a hero
and it`s great. You know, he just genuinely loves people and he treats
them like they were his own.

SHARPTON: This love he has for people is unbelievable, I mean, he would
just go out in the streets and just --

HANA ALI: Yes, you know.

SHARPTON: Out in the streets and just enjoy himself. Just hanging around
people.

MARYUM ALI: Yes, I think if everyone met my dad, or has a story about what
he`s done for them and submitted it to the station for instance or to Hana
or myself, we could make a book out of it.

SHARPTON: Right.

MARYUM ALI: I mean, those stories, like the little kid dying, and those
stories, he`s taken in homeless family, he`s bought people`s educations and
homes. And I mean, the list goes on and on.

SHARPTON: And it`s an insatiable kind of thing, where he needs people, he
feeds off that energy.

MARYUM ALI: You`ve been around him. You know.

SHARPTON: Yes, I know.

HANA ALI: I joke all the time, daddy, the next book is, daddy, you`re the
eighth wonder of the world. He`d love that too.

(LAUGHTER)

SHARPTON: I`m sure he would.

Now, let me ask both of you, when did you sense that the world turned? He
was very controversial at one point. But then he became this universally
loved figure. When did you start feeling the shift?

HANA ALI: My father would tell you that he thinks is when people realized
that he`s not a superman, he`s a human. And that he looks at Parkinson`s
and said God did this to show you and to show me that I`m just a man, like
everybody else. And if you see that human side of him, you see it more,
otherwise before that, no one would know that unless they knew him
personally or were friend with him.

MARYUM ALI: Yes.

HANA ALI: You know, they saw him in front of cameras.

MARYUM ALI: I think, you know, my father is a man who has really evolved.
I don`t think he made this whole but he once said the man who thinks the
same way at 60 as he did at 30 wasted 30 years.

HANA ALI: Yes.

MARYUM ALI: And I think he`s a person who owned up to his mistakes. And
he evolved. He went from the nation Islam to a more orthodox Islam. He
went from militants who more you know, through everyone is equal and
universal love. And I`ve just think he went through life and the
trajectory you`re supposed to go in.

HANA ALI: Because that was always in his heart.

MARYUM ALI: Right.

HANA ALI: Through it all, I was always in his heart.

MARYUM ALI: I would say, when he won that championship three times, and
it`s like, wow, because everyone said, he wouldn`t do it, you`re not going
to be listening. Do it. And so he kept -- it just goes through phases for
him.

SHARPTON: Well, the film is called "I am Ali" Clair Lewins and Hana Ali,
Maryum Ali, the film opens next week, congratulations on the film, and
thanks for your time.

MARYUM ALI: Thank you.

HANA ALI: Such an honor to be here.

SHARPTON: The honor is mine.

LEWINS: Thank you.

SHARPTON: Still ahead, the First Lady leaves them laughing in a visit to
daytime TV. You`ll want to see what she says about Halloween at the White
House. Also, my parting thoughts on how it feels to be 60 years young
today. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: First lady Michelle Obama went on the daytime talk show "The
Chew" today. She talked about school nutrition and her "Let`s Move"
campaign to fight childhood obesity. And then she revealed what they`re
giving away for trick or treat at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Halloween is coming up. In case you haven`t heard, they
think it`s okay to give out pencils.

(LAUGHTER)

I was curious about your thoughts about the pencils and what the White
House is giving out.

MICHELLE OBAMA, UNITED STATES FIRST LADY: Are you sharpened so that they
can stab you?

(LAUGHTER)

We have trick or treating at the White House every year and we give out
White House cookies and --

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Trying to influence the White House.

OBAMA: We`ll blame it on you.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Sounds like a great Halloween at the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: I`d like to end tonight on a personal note. Today is my 60th
birthday. And I was touched by some of the well wishes sent my way online.

Bon wrote, "Happy birthday, old man. The hardest working man in the
continuing struggle. Thank you." But thank you, Bon. Take it easy, today
I`m 60 years young.

Michael wrote, "Even though we`re political opposites, happy birthday,
congratulations on the weight loss accomplishment, Reverend Al." Well,
thank you Michael, at least there`s one thing we can agree on.

Maria wrote, "I remember your big hair days. Happy birthday, Rev." Thank
you, Marie. You know what they say, go big or go home.

Kernell wrote, "Happy birthday big guy. Now please let me know how to lose
that weight. Lord knows I need to do the same." Thank you Kernell, the
key is exercise and a disciplined diet. I`d like to thank everyone for all
the calls, e-mails, tweets and birthday shout outs over the last few days.
I`d like to thank those that came in New York, we had a big reception from
Aretha Franklin to the -- of Midair. And last night, a big gospel concert.
But I mostly thank those that have marched with me, that stand with me.
The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, and Sean Bell and Eric
Garner, they came.

Because one thing I learned is that the key to life is to find out what
your life is about and what the purpose is that you`re on the planet. Mine
is social justice. I have made mistakes. I got deterred and I`ve got
involved in detours, but my overriding theme from being a little boy
preaching in Brooklyn, to being a teenager activist, to going through my
(inaudible), to all the way to now, has been the fight for social justice.
And those little people that bleed in the same fight are the things I`m
most proud of. I`m getting older, learning how to do it better.

Thanks for watching. I`m Al Sharpton. Have a great weekend. "HARDBALL"
starts right now.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY
BE UPDATED.
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