:00:11. > :00:13.Tonight: Can a millionaire ex- public school boy stay in the
:00:14. > :00:20.Cabinet, after allegedly swearing at a police officer and calling him
:00:20. > :00:23.a pleb? If people swear at the police, then they must expect to be
:00:23. > :00:26.arrested. Unless you're in the Cabinet apparently. We'll be asking
:00:26. > :00:29.what the political fallout might be for Andrew Mitchell and the
:00:29. > :00:33.Government, with a Conservative MP and the chairman of the
:00:33. > :00:36.Metropolitan Police Federation. Our political panel are here to examine
:00:36. > :00:41.the damage to a Government long criticised for being out of touch
:00:41. > :00:48.with ordinary people. They'll also look ahead to Nick Clegg's big week
:00:48. > :00:50.in Brighton. Whether they vote for Obama or Romney - can any president
:00:50. > :00:57.really govern America's split nation where political cooperation
:00:57. > :01:03.is often a dirty word? Justin Webb has a special report from Florida.
:01:03. > :01:11.This country has become essentially ungovernable. Its politics are
:01:11. > :01:14.poisonous. Good evening. When British people
:01:14. > :01:21.are asked who they trust, police officers tend to come near the top
:01:21. > :01:24.of the list and politicians near the bottom. So the police
:01:24. > :01:27.diplomatic protection officer who claims that the Tory Chief Whip,
:01:27. > :01:30.Andrew Mitchell, swore at him and called him a pleb, is likely to be
:01:30. > :01:33.believed, despite Mr Mitchell's protestations about the exact words
:01:33. > :01:35.he used. The big question however is whether this is one grumpy
:01:35. > :01:38.politician, who had a momentary flash of anger, or something which
:01:38. > :01:42.plays into the damaging criticism of the Government - a Cabinet of
:01:42. > :01:51.millionaires, arrogant posh boys - as one Tory MP put it - out of
:01:51. > :01:55.touch with a country in economic difficulty. Here's Peter Marshall.
:01:56. > :02:00.Tourists were flocking to the scene of the offence today, some of them
:02:00. > :02:06.still unaware the portals to Downing Street would forever more
:02:06. > :02:11.be known as Mitchell gate, this is where the Sun termed the cycling
:02:11. > :02:15.Tory's outburst, actually burst out. Foul mouthed Chief Whip Andrew
:02:15. > :02:20.Mitchell yelled four-letter abuse at cops because they wouldn't let
:02:20. > :02:27.him pedal out of Downing Street. The PC reported to his superiors
:02:27. > :02:32.Mitchell told him, "Best you learn your (BLEEP)ing place. Best you
:02:32. > :02:37.don't run this (BLEEP)ing Government. I'm the Chief Whip, I'm
:02:37. > :02:40.telling you and I'm coming through these gates." This is excruciating
:02:40. > :02:44.for the Government, playing on the arrogant, posh boys image they're
:02:44. > :02:47.December froit shed. Still worse it happens only the night after two
:02:47. > :02:50.policewomen were shot dead in Manchester. The Police Federation
:02:50. > :02:54.already at odds with the Government they feel are out to get them, are
:02:54. > :02:58.furious. Police officers are angry about what happened particularly
:02:58. > :03:04.during this week. It showed a degree of uncertainty. I'm not so
:03:04. > :03:09.concerned about the fact that he showed a pit of pique and anger
:03:09. > :03:12.towards a colleague, who's clearly upset about what has happened. He's
:03:12. > :03:16.in a subordinate position to the Chief Whip. It's the mind set
:03:16. > :03:20.that's revealed. The veil is lifted slightly and you get a glimpse of
:03:20. > :03:24.perhaps the way some of those in Government are thinking.
:03:24. > :03:28.officer Mr Mitchell offended is from the Diplomatic Protection
:03:28. > :03:33.Group SO6. Mr Mitchell apologised to him this morning, saying he said
:03:33. > :03:36.sorry to his sergeant last night. In a public statement, Mr Mitchell
:03:36. > :03:39.explained. "I attempted to leave Downing Street via the main gate,
:03:39. > :03:44.something I have been allowed to do many times br. I was told that I
:03:44. > :03:48.was not allowed to leave that way. While I do not accept that I used
:03:48. > :03:52.the words have been reported I accept I did not treat the police
:03:52. > :03:56.with the respect they deserve." In the past when the Sun's quoted
:03:56. > :04:00.anonymous policemen they've run into big trouble. But the paper's
:04:00. > :04:04.political editor is clear about their position on this. We don't
:04:04. > :04:10.know what words were used. All we're reporting is that the
:04:10. > :04:14.policeman is in the firm police that those damaging words were used.
:04:14. > :04:19.The policeman made a verbatim note at the time. Then he filed the
:04:19. > :04:23.report to his superiors that evening. He's written that down?
:04:23. > :04:28.He's written those words down. As far as the police are concerned,
:04:28. > :04:33.there is no debate. The Police Federation too insist the words
:04:33. > :04:36.quoted by the Sun are the words the officer reported. What's curious is
:04:37. > :04:41.Andrew Mitchell is a stickler for discipline. Ewas known as thrasher
:04:41. > :04:45.at public school and was thrilled by his recent appointment as the
:04:45. > :04:51.Government's own discipline Aaron, the Chief Whip. Here he was at
:04:51. > :04:54.Mitchell-gate loseing his own cool so badly. He also sets great store
:04:54. > :04:57.on decorum. Newsnight understand when's he was appointed development
:04:57. > :05:01.secretary, Andrew Mitchell insisted officials always addressed him as
:05:01. > :05:06.Secretary of State. He also wanted the men to wear ties at all times.
:05:06. > :05:09.When it was pointed out that wouldn't necessarily fly in the
:05:09. > :05:14.modern Civil Service, Mr Mitchell compromised. They only had to wear
:05:14. > :05:19.tie when's they were in the presence of the Secretary of State.
:05:19. > :05:23.That was Andrew Mitchell. Mr Mitchell a former investment banker
:05:23. > :05:26.has homes in hills Midlands constituency and a French ski
:05:26. > :05:30.resort but he lives in North London. His own MP is Labour. I think it
:05:30. > :05:35.shows how completely out of touch this Government is. This is ai
:05:35. > :05:41.senior politician who's just been promoted. In the end, deep down,
:05:41. > :05:45.this is how he behaves. He's denied saying "pleb". And exactly how does
:05:45. > :05:49.the rest of what he's supposed to have said show that he has a
:05:49. > :05:52.different attitude than saying they are plebs? You don't talk to
:05:52. > :05:56.anybody like. That are you not better than anyone else. You treat
:05:56. > :06:00.people with respect. For David Cameron, in Manchester, paying his
:06:00. > :06:04.respects to the murdered officers, this has been an uncomfortable day.
:06:04. > :06:07.What Andrew Mitchell said and what he did was not appropriate. It was
:06:07. > :06:11.wrong. It's right that he's apologised. He's obviously
:06:11. > :06:15.apologised to me, but much more importantly, he's apologised to the
:06:15. > :06:19.police. That needs to be done. The police do an outstanding job across
:06:19. > :06:22.our country. They do a very important job protecting places
:06:22. > :06:26.like Number Ten Downing Street. I'm very conscious of the protection
:06:26. > :06:29.they give to me and my family and the work that they do for everyone
:06:29. > :06:34.in public life. I'm eternally grateful for that. The police
:06:34. > :06:36.should always have our respect and our help and support. That's very,
:06:36. > :06:40.very important. Thank you. REPORTER: Is it appropriate for him
:06:40. > :06:45.to keep his job. No answer on that. What's worse the king over the
:06:45. > :06:49.water, Boris, had somehow put his foot in it in advance last year,
:06:49. > :06:54.condemning disrespect for officers of the law. Nch I reckon we need to
:06:54. > :06:57.get back to where we were before some law of 1988 and make it clear
:06:57. > :07:01.that if people square at the police, then they must expect to be
:07:01. > :07:07.arrested. Andrew Mitchell won't go to jail,
:07:07. > :07:11.but he may not survive as Chief Whip. One Tory back benker, no fan
:07:11. > :07:17.and off record, suggested he would be gone by Monday. Either way,
:07:17. > :07:19.Andrew Mitchell discipline airian faces a difficult weekend. John
:07:19. > :07:23.Tully is chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation and
:07:23. > :07:27.Peter Bone is a Conservative MP and colleague of Andrew Mitchell. First,
:07:27. > :07:31.the police officer as we said is from the Diplomatic Protection
:07:31. > :07:35.Group. Do you and other police officers believe his account?
:07:35. > :07:38.Absolutely. I've not spoken to the officer personally. But I have
:07:38. > :07:43.spoken to his local federation representative. It's clear from
:07:43. > :07:49.your report that the Sun are adamant that what was reported was
:07:49. > :07:53.correct. I've got no reason to doubt the veracity of the comments.
:07:53. > :07:56.I absolutely confirm the integrity of the officer. Did anybody else
:07:56. > :07:59.hear this? My understanding is that there was more than one police
:07:59. > :08:03.officer present at the time and that there may have been members of
:08:03. > :08:08.the public at the other side of the gate in Whitehall. So this other
:08:08. > :08:11.police officer, did he hear the words "pleb" or the swearing?
:08:11. > :08:17.understanding is that both police officers have made a snot of the
:08:17. > :08:21.incident and have recorded what was -- have made a not of the incident
:08:21. > :08:25.and have recorded what was said. two police officers maed a note of
:08:25. > :08:29.something which could be considered also to be an offence? Absolutely,
:08:29. > :08:34.an offence under section five of the Public Order Act. If Mr
:08:34. > :08:38.Mitchell had continued with the behaviour, he was liable to be
:08:39. > :08:42.arrested. It's not looking very good for Mr Mitchell. If what
:08:42. > :08:46.happened, alleged happened, it's totally unacceptable. Nobody, I
:08:46. > :08:49.would never consider swearing at a police officer under any
:08:49. > :08:53.circumstances. The guy that's protect us in Downing Street put
:08:53. > :08:55.their lives at risk to protect the Prime Minister and Cabinet members
:08:55. > :09:01.and members of the public. They've always been very civil and helpful
:09:01. > :09:05.to members of Parliament. I think it's, if what is alleged to have
:09:05. > :09:09.been said, it is very difficult. Indeed. We have two police officers
:09:09. > :09:15.apparently who appear to say broadly the same thing. So, Mr
:09:15. > :09:19.Mitchell's position would either be that they're both wrong or that he
:09:19. > :09:24.actually is telling a lie. Well, I think the serious questions to be
:09:24. > :09:28.answered on that point. I believe there might be CCTV and maybe even
:09:28. > :09:34.if there isn't audio, there may be lip-reading that can prove one way
:09:35. > :09:38.or the other. I'm not hear to defend the indefensible. But the
:09:38. > :09:41.one thing the Chief Whip has been right to do is come out straight
:09:41. > :09:47.away and apologise. That's something politicians don't often
:09:47. > :09:50.do so that's a big plus. Is this a resignation issue? The resignations
:09:50. > :09:54.are for the Prime Minister and the for the minister involved, but
:09:54. > :09:58.obviously, if it was proved what the Chief Whip is saying isn't
:09:58. > :10:04.what's happened, then that would be very serious. I have to say to you,
:10:04. > :10:08.we all say stupid things when we get cross and we get grumpy and use
:10:08. > :10:13.language we wouldn't wish to use. Can you not accept the apology and
:10:13. > :10:18.move on? Clearly the officer has been spoken to by Mr Mitchell and
:10:19. > :10:26.he has accepted the apology. don't. The wider policing community
:10:26. > :10:29.is concerned that over time the Government has sustained quite a
:10:29. > :10:34.vitriolic attack on police pay and conditions and pensions for
:10:34. > :10:38.instance. We've had this tragic event in Manchester with the Prime
:10:38. > :10:44.Minister being there today and making some comments, which I have
:10:44. > :10:46.to be honest, many of my colleagues feel are hollow words. Your
:10:46. > :10:50.colleagues feel that the Prime Minister's words about the
:10:50. > :10:55.shootings are hollow? Absolutely. Why are you saying that? That's the
:10:55. > :10:58.feed back I'm getting from my membership. He paid a very strong
:10:58. > :11:08.tribute to the police who protect him and the rest of society.
:11:08. > :11:08.
:11:08. > :13:49.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 160 seconds
:13:49. > :13:52.The problem is that plays into the political narrative that they are
:13:52. > :13:58.political narrative that they are posh Boy is who are out-of-touch.
:13:58. > :14:02.Also, actually, most politicians do not want to pick a fight with the
:14:02. > :14:07.police on any level. I think that particular word is important,
:14:07. > :14:10.actually. You're right, all of us lose our temper, but unfortunately,
:14:10. > :14:15.the things that come out when you lose your temper are things you
:14:15. > :14:20.would rather conceal. I think there is a problem, if you feel that a
:14:20. > :14:23.group of people, in this case, the Conservative ministers,
:14:24. > :14:27.occasionally, I think one of the police in your report said, the
:14:27. > :14:32.veil has been lifted, it is the idea that the mask slips, who are
:14:32. > :14:37.these people, what attitudes do they have? That is a real problem.
:14:37. > :14:43.And I think the use of the word pleb is fundamental to that, if
:14:43. > :14:47.indeed he did use it. There's two bits to this, what he did or did
:14:47. > :14:51.not say, and then there is the bigger picture, which is damaging
:14:51. > :14:55.for the party. First of all, there are lots of things in politics
:14:55. > :15:01.which fall between, it is not a very good thing to have done and
:15:01. > :15:06.resignation, and this is one of them. I think we will have to see
:15:06. > :15:10.what he said. Personally, I have known him for quite some time, so I
:15:10. > :15:14.find it quite hard to see him saying that. But if there are
:15:14. > :15:18.police notes, that might change things. It might, we will have to
:15:18. > :15:24.see. But when people get into disputes, they have different
:15:24. > :15:29.accounts. So there is that side of it. It is a bad thing, for which he
:15:29. > :15:32.was white to apologise. It will not enhance his reputation or that of
:15:32. > :15:36.the Conservative Party. But personally I think it falls short,
:15:36. > :15:40.my judgment is that it will prove to fall short of resignation. And
:15:40. > :15:43.then the big picture, of the Conservative Party, this will add
:15:43. > :15:47.to the problems that the party has got, not only on the issue of
:15:47. > :15:54.whether or not it is in touch with people, but also specifically with
:15:54. > :15:59.the police, which is a very specific problem. This was being
:15:59. > :16:02.used by the police to make a broad point. But also the question of
:16:02. > :16:07.speaking in good faith. Personally I thought that was a rather odd
:16:07. > :16:14.thing to say. We were talking then about pay and conditions, for a for
:16:14. > :16:18.goodness sake. So, I think it will be bad, but I also happen to think,
:16:18. > :16:22.the idea that it is going to go on for months, I think this will prove
:16:22. > :16:26.to be quite a short-lived story. Moving on to Nick Clegg, with his
:16:26. > :16:31.apology, is he saying that he is having a new start, before the
:16:31. > :16:39.weekend? It is interesting. I think it will definitely help get through
:16:39. > :16:43.this week, because clearly, he has been going around the country meet
:16:43. > :16:46.King -- meeting local parties over the summer. I am sure it is true
:16:46. > :16:51.that he has had terrible feedback about the level of anger against
:16:51. > :16:56.the Liberal Democrats, and he needed to do something, he felt.
:16:56. > :17:02.You either really like this statement, which was bowled, which
:17:02. > :17:07.is usually aware of condemning it, but... Either you thought it was
:17:07. > :17:12.refreshing, honest, that any attempt to reconnect with your
:17:12. > :17:17.support a base, or, as one person said to me today, it was mawkish,
:17:17. > :17:22.self-serving, all the rest of it. thought it was absolutely ghastly.
:17:22. > :17:28.I did not mind it. I thought it was ghastly, and I thought it was so
:17:28. > :17:31.crude, to do it now, the week before the conference, and to have
:17:31. > :17:37.had a focus group to decide whether or not to go ahead with the apology.
:17:37. > :17:40.Please, for me, that took any sincerity out of it. Is it not
:17:40. > :17:46.refreshing to have people apologising? I think we get it
:17:46. > :17:50.quite a lot now. I think Andrew Mitchell is absolutely right to
:17:50. > :17:53.have apologised. Nick Clegg, is he apologising for the fact that it
:17:53. > :17:58.should not have been in the manifesto, is it the fact that they
:17:58. > :18:05.knew they really could not fund it, or is it the fact that they chose
:18:05. > :18:10.to not vote for it? The reason it will not work is that Nick Clegg,
:18:10. > :18:16.who I admire a lot, but I think he hopes to regain the innocence of
:18:16. > :18:22.the Liberal Democrats, and that is not possible. A big party strategy
:18:22. > :18:29.has to move on, from accepting that they made a very big decision,
:18:30. > :18:34.which at the time I thought was brave and right, the decision to
:18:34. > :18:38.join the coalition, but it is also irreversible. You cannot pretend
:18:38. > :18:43.you did not do it, and they cannot pretend they did not introduce
:18:43. > :18:49.tuition fees. He is right to say you cannot have some kind of
:18:49. > :18:52.humiliation which leads to redemption. You cannot go back to
:18:52. > :18:56.an idealised a Lib Dem world, unsullied by the realities of
:18:56. > :19:00.politics. But as I said before, I think it is important that you have
:19:00. > :19:10.to find a way of reconnecting with your support a base. If you can do
:19:10. > :19:13.that, you might be on the way to something not too terrible. But are
:19:13. > :19:17.we at the point where what is happening is that at the top of the
:19:17. > :19:24.coalition, they get on well, and the further down you go, in both
:19:24. > :19:32.and more sniping? I notice The Guardian has got an argument
:19:32. > :19:36.between Danny Alexander and George Osborne over the environment.
:19:36. > :19:41.think that has always been said. There are a very strong dividing
:19:41. > :19:45.lines between these parties, they are not natural allies. But from
:19:45. > :19:55.Danny Alexander's point of view, it could be quite a good thing to do,
:19:55. > :19:55.
:19:55. > :20:02.They have to be political parties for the next two weeks. We'll get
:20:02. > :20:05.more of. That The coalition can't go back to the innocent days either.
:20:05. > :20:09.They cannot pretend they haven't got a relationship with the
:20:09. > :20:13.Conservative Party. For some people, that's just a really unacceptable
:20:13. > :20:16.thing to do. I don't see it that way. They can't pretend it didn't
:20:16. > :20:21.happen or think that the voters on the left are going to forget that
:20:21. > :20:24.it happened. They've got to carve a strategy that doesn't depend on
:20:24. > :20:27.either going back to their old innocence and getting those voters
:20:27. > :20:30.or appealing to the left. They are now, they made a decision to be a
:20:30. > :20:36.centre party of Government. They've got to make the most of both of
:20:36. > :20:41.those things. My criticism of Nick's, Nick Clegg's broadcast was
:20:41. > :20:45.that it was doing neither. It wasn't really a ministerial, I'm a
:20:45. > :20:51.sort of person to take tough decisions and live the consequences
:20:51. > :20:56.of those. It wasn't accepting the reality of his position he had
:20:56. > :21:01.taken either. I notice the telegraph as well, agree to mansion
:21:01. > :21:05.tax block Clegg says. How does that actually plai out when you're in
:21:05. > :21:09.Government together? I think the Spending Review really is the
:21:09. > :21:12.problem for the Government. Because these dividing lines between the
:21:12. > :21:18.two parties will have to be on show as they negotiate in public over
:21:18. > :21:23.what's in the Spending Review. That creates a constant fault line which
:21:23. > :21:28.we'll see all the time over issues like. This if you -- if you look
:21:28. > :21:31.back at the budget, the cut to the top rate, Lib Dems didn't want it
:21:32. > :21:35.to happen. It proves unpopular. They want to re-emphasise the idea
:21:35. > :21:38.that, for them, that was a mistake and you have to go back all the
:21:38. > :21:46.time to make sure if the poor are going to suffer, the rich suffer as
:21:46. > :21:52.well. You will get these arguments. The deficit cutting is the Lib Dem
:21:52. > :21:57.Democrat policy or the coalition are in the -- or the Liberal
:21:57. > :22:02.Democrats are in the coalition for nothing. We leave it there. Thank
:22:02. > :22:05.you. Now, even to some Republican supporters Mitt Romney is giving a
:22:06. > :22:11.good impression of someone born with a silver foot in his mouth.
:22:11. > :22:20.Tonight he tried to end one long running row by publishing his tax
:22:20. > :22:25.returns for last year. He pays tax at around 14% of his $13 million
:22:25. > :22:28.annual earnings. There say hidden story behind the headlines. America
:22:28. > :22:32.remains a 50/50 nation, split between Republicans and Democrats
:22:32. > :22:36.and the political atmosphere in recent years has become so
:22:36. > :22:40.poisonous that the kind of bipartisan politics necessary to
:22:40. > :22:48.make government function smoothly are often missing. Justin web
:22:48. > :22:54.reports now from Florida. The glitz, glamour, the highs, the
:22:54. > :22:59.lows, the ever changing landscape of the Miami skyline, to many
:22:59. > :23:03.small-town Americans, Miami, the state of Florida, can look alien,
:23:03. > :23:07.too transient, too bold, too gleaming, but in 2012 as in
:23:07. > :23:10.previous elections all eyes are on this state. Florida matters, that's
:23:10. > :23:15.what we're going to be told over and over again in the weeks to come.
:23:15. > :23:20.29 electoral college votes, it's a big state. It could make all the
:23:20. > :23:25.difference between Obama and Romney. All of that is true. But who cares?
:23:25. > :23:28.To put it more precisely, are we missing the bigger picture, the
:23:28. > :23:34.wider story both for Florida and the rest of the United States,
:23:34. > :23:40.which is that this country has become essentially ungovernable,
:23:40. > :23:45.its politics are poisonous? Miami Dade College is the biggest
:23:45. > :23:48.in the nation, 175,000 students, many of them from minorities, all
:23:49. > :23:53.of them called out on the streets in this mass voter registration
:23:53. > :23:57.drive, a drive which comes at the end of months of court battles over
:23:57. > :24:01.access. What ID do you need to vote? How far in advance can you do
:24:01. > :24:06.it? It matters because poorer voters are less likely to have
:24:06. > :24:12.photo ID. Less likely to get to the polls on time, but more likely to
:24:12. > :24:16.vote Democrat if votes are counted. Voters think Florida Republicans
:24:16. > :24:20.are fighting dirty taking away their right to have their voices
:24:20. > :24:23.heard. The efforts throughout the state that have done so have come
:24:23. > :24:31.from Republican legislative bodies. In essence, then you have the
:24:31. > :24:35.effect of real live suppressing the vote. That's what you see its real
:24:35. > :24:39.purpose as? Exactly. That's a fundamental issue. If you think
:24:39. > :24:42.that people on the other side are really trying to stop their
:24:42. > :24:48.opponents voting. Extremely so, especially when you see that the
:24:48. > :24:51.people that register to vote with organisations like ours, that we
:24:51. > :24:55.are at the shopping malls, supermarkets are normally
:24:55. > :25:03.minorities. By stopping third party organisations from registering
:25:03. > :25:08.voters you are really stopping minorities from registering. On the
:25:08. > :25:13.other side of the fence they feel equally bitter, perhaps more so,
:25:13. > :25:16.the conservative talk radio station, not far from mieyama, cater for an
:25:16. > :25:21.audience many fee that the Democrats are trying to steel
:25:21. > :25:24.Florida with fake voters and fraud. I hope Floridians understand that
:25:24. > :25:26.this, what happens in Florida can decide who the next President of
:25:26. > :25:35.the United States is. Absolutely. Thank you Sir. I appreciate your
:25:35. > :25:38.time. Senator John McCain. I have no examples of anybody
:25:38. > :25:44.trying to suppress the vote. I think that people should have to
:25:44. > :25:48.prove who they are before they vote. I can't cash a cheque without a
:25:48. > :25:52.driver's license or federal ID, but we're allowing people to vote who
:25:52. > :25:56.never furnish proof of identity. They can walk into a voter
:25:56. > :26:02.registration drive and say their name is Tim Tebow and be given a
:26:02. > :26:05.ballot. You are saying some on the American left are deliberately
:26:05. > :26:09.getting false names onto the register? We know they did it in
:26:09. > :26:16.2008. They did it in 2010. My expectation is they'll probably do
:26:16. > :26:21.it again. Enough already! What interests me
:26:21. > :26:28.is what's caused this mess. Look at these Americans, do they look
:26:28. > :26:33.angry? Are they bumping into each other and not saying "excuse me "?
:26:33. > :26:39.Of course not, suburban America is a placid place. As sunny today as
:26:39. > :26:44.decades ago, or maybe not. Perhaps ordinary Americans are the problem.
:26:44. > :26:47.Many years ago the late senator Daniel Moynihan had a message for
:26:47. > :26:52.his fellow citizens, you are entitled as Americans to your own
:26:52. > :26:56.opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts. Well, Americans
:26:56. > :27:02.thought carefully about what the senator said and decided to take no
:27:02. > :27:08.notice. This grieves a man who's dabbled in fact and fiction, but
:27:08. > :27:12.still thinks there's a difference between them. Carl Hiaasen,
:27:12. > :27:17.novelist and columnist and Florida institution. Is it also the case
:27:17. > :27:20.that there is so much information out there that people use that
:27:20. > :27:24.information to back up what they already think. There are more
:27:24. > :27:27.sources of information that appear to back up your own case. I think
:27:27. > :27:30.that's absolutely true. We're all guilty of it to some extent. The
:27:30. > :27:36.difference is I'm looking for actual facts. I'm not looking for a
:27:36. > :27:40.talking head or a blog, a guy who's blogging in a closet in Utah.
:27:40. > :27:43.That's not where I'm going for my information. But I have the benefit
:27:43. > :27:47.of a lifetime in journalism. Most people don't. They're in a hurry.
:27:48. > :27:52.They're looking for information. If they're driving down the highway
:27:52. > :27:55.and steamed about something and they want to turn Rush Limbaugh on
:27:55. > :27:59.the radio to rant and rave about the Welfare State in America, and
:27:59. > :28:04.this is what they felt in their heart, that's where they're going
:28:04. > :28:11.to go on the dial. Is he changing anybody's mind? No. He's attracting
:28:11. > :28:15.people who think the way he does. There is another explanation for
:28:15. > :28:19.America's anger, a simpler one, which cries out at you as you drive
:28:19. > :28:24.across Florida. It's the economy. Not just this downturn, this
:28:24. > :28:29.explanation looks back at the last 50 years of American history. The
:28:29. > :28:31.nation has made and spent money, big money.
:28:31. > :28:35.# Wonderful town # Wonderful people #
:28:35. > :28:38.There were good years and bad, but the long-term trend in that time
:28:38. > :28:43.was always up. So a Republican President could always afford to
:28:43. > :28:47.give a little in public spending. Richard Nixon expanded social
:28:47. > :28:50.spending, called himself a Keynesian. A Democrat could reduce
:28:50. > :28:56.taxes as well without breaking the bank and everyone got a car with
:28:56. > :29:02.fins and felt OK. Now that's over. Perhaps for a long time. America's
:29:02. > :29:07.economy is growing again but only slowly. There's $16 trillion of
:29:07. > :29:11.debt to pay off or pay down. The University of Miami is as fine a
:29:11. > :29:17.place at any to contemplate the future of the nation. You need sun
:29:17. > :29:21.tan lotion, a fashionable computer and a strong stomach for gloomy
:29:21. > :29:24.talk. Part of the impasse is due to the fact we don't have enough to go
:29:24. > :29:29.around. We're in a rough period economically. The kind of
:29:29. > :29:32.flexibility and Leeway that was felt, you know, that were felt
:29:32. > :29:37.years ago and in previous decades under Bush and Clinton, you know,
:29:37. > :29:40.we no longer have that Leeway. We don't have the cushion of our own
:29:41. > :29:50.prosperity. The in-fighting or the battling has gotten worse.
:29:50. > :29:53.Absolutely. There'll be some Americans who point out this is
:29:53. > :29:57.still an energetic place, that energy doesn't come from Government.
:29:57. > :30:01.In fact, this might come from the lack of it. Perhaps we don't need
:30:01. > :30:08.the politicians, they'll say. America may be forced to find out
:30:08. > :30:11.in the years ahead if that's true. in the years ahead if that's true.
:30:11. > :30:19.Tomorrow morning's front pages: The Mail has "I'll have your job for
:30:19. > :30:24.this." The Daily Mirror - on yer bike, Tory minister told to quit
:30:24. > :30:29.after vile rant. The telegraph agree to mansion tax
:30:29. > :30:33.or we block cuts, says Clegg. And Chief Whip to get butler to make