mike huckabee, herman cain, and mitch daniels. i like herman cain because i am a black conservative, a son of a preacher, and he is a really good guy. a ticket to really want to see in 2012 and that think we have a good chance of seeing is mitt romney end allen west. that is going to be a very powerful ticket against the democrats, and alan west is going to make a great leader. he has a big future ahead of him. that ticket is going to be pretty big. host: that corresponds with this headline. r and the of the candidates that we talk about the most or have said they are going to run for sure -- mitt romney expected to make an announcement later in the week -- or anof them considering the tea party candidate? guest: mitt romney, i think probably no. since the rise of the tea party, mitt romney is one of the few national politicians -- there was never a point when you saw mitt romney drive hard for the tea party vote. tim pawlenty -- i do not know if he is a tea party candidate. he has some of the talking points in his repertoire and

mike huckabee, herman cain and mitch daniels and now herman cain is the only one still in there and i really like him. i'm a black conservative and i'm the son of a black pastor but the ticket i really, really want to see in 2012 and i think we have a good chance of seeing is mitt romney and allen west. that's going to be a very powerful ticket to take it to the democrats and allen west is going to be a very good leader in this country. he has a good future and he may not accept a vice presidential position, but he has a big future ahead of him and that mitt romney ticket and allen west ticket is going to be pretty good. >> host: all right. that corresponds with this "washington times" headline gop pushes candidates to the right. are any of the candidates that we talk about the most or that have said they're going to run for sure, mitt romney expected to make his announcement this thursday, later on this week, are any of them considered the tea party candidates? >> guest: romney definitely no. i don't think romney is a tea party candidate. i think his past as governor of massachusetts

mitch daniels -- indiana governor, mitch daniels. he emailed his supporters over the weekend to tell them that he's not running for president. in response, his supporters were like, "dad, we live in the same house, couldn't you just tell us in person? [ laughter ] what's this e-mail all about? don't ever e-mail me again!" [ applause ] actually, mitch daniels said that he's not running because he loves his family more than he loves his country. the other candidates feel that way too. in fact, newt gingrich says he loves all his families more than he loves his country. [ laughter ] i thought that was very nice. did you hear about this? sarah palin just bought a house in arizona for $1.6 million. yeah, it has a pool, a jacuzzi and a gazebo, which'll be perfect for her kids -- pool, jacuzzi, and gazebo. [ laughter ] "gazebo get away. get -- track, get over by jacket. jacket, get over by gazebo. gazebo, get in the pool. gazebo, get in the pool. go ahead, go. in the pool, not -- jacuzzi, stay there. jacuzzi, get away from the chlorine. chl

mike huckabee, herman cain, and mitch daniels. i like herman cain because i am a black conservative, a son of a preacher, and he is a really good guy. a ticket to really want to see in 2012 and that think we have a good chance of seeing is mitt romney end allen west. that is going to be a very powerful ticket against the democrats, and alan west is going to make a great leader. he has a big future ahead of him. that ticket is going to be pretty big. host: that corresponds with this headline. r and the of the candidates that we talk about the most or have said they are going to run for sure -- mitt romney expected to make an announcement later in the week -- or any of them considering the tea party candidate? guest: mitt romney, i think probably no. since the rise of the tea party, mitt romney is one of the few national politicians -- there was never a point when you saw mitt romney drive hard for the tea party vote. tim pawlenty -- i do not know if he is a tea party candidate. he has some of the talking points in his repertoire an

but i also think that when mike huckabee decided not to run and mitch daniels decided not to run she probably had and is having an a-ha moment because she also knows that she probably better than anybody else can speak to the very critically important social conservatives in the gop who are going to be essential in whoever gets nominated for the gop. and she's saying this could be my moment. now, whether she takes that to the next step, she's going to keep us guessing until that actually happens or not. >> now, most republicans have thought for months, shushanne that no, she's not going to run. if she wants to be active, she wants to be influence, she wants her voice to be heard and she wants to tease us to keep us interested in her. but you've always thought she probably will, right? >> i really have. the throughout this time. even since after 2008 when she lost when she went to alaska is she's been telling us if that door's open she'll go through it. and this continues now. and i think that this is just the next stage of it. but as you said, you just said, are there any other gop p

but interestingly enough, i guess it was the psychological build up to the mitch daniels campaign that ultimately didn't happen where all of a sudden the last week or two, i'm hearing a lot of republicans say, you know what, x isn't that bad. people coming to tim pawlenty, they are tired of speculating. they are ready to get on with it. and we are watching for governor palin to shake up this race. she would be at the top of the polls. who else? is there somebody else that you're going to say, i'm going to watch this person and they will make a decision and surprise us? >> i'm going to keep saying governor christie, no matter how many times he denies that the republicans are going to -- i think obviously governor perry we're going to watch but i don't think he's going to. he's lining himself up to be vice president or a candidate for 2016. let's speculate so that i can be in the line-up for the next time around. governor huntsman clearly, i met with him. i think he's extremely credible and mayor giuliani is somebody out there who has said that he has not said no at this point and he's a

hey, mark, what are we hearing from mitch daniels? so, i guess that he has already said he is not getting in and what more does he have to say? >> well, you know, joe, maybe you can put this into would have, could have and may be should have category. yesterday mitch daniels was asked, could you have beaten president obama if you ran for president, and he said he could have, but went on the say why he decided not to run is because of his family. as far as his daughters go, he said that really, it came down to them, and at time when they are looking to build their own lives and start their own families, this would have been a disruption. you know, in many ways, joe, you have to give daniels some credit for being a good father, rite. deciding that his family really did weigh in on what he was going to do, and as you know, here in washington, that doesn't happen a whole lot. >> absolutely. it is very true and it is very clear that people are going to start digging around in his past, and might have not been a fatal blow to any presidenti

daniels. i like him because he is five feet six inches, low to the ground, in touch with the people. i think you have to be low down there to see things. no, i think he has been an extremely effective governor to time when state budgets have ballooned in debt on average has gone up 40% in state after state. in indiana that debt has gone down 40%. at the same time a lot of the programs that really matter have been improved. even wait times at the department of motor vehicles have dropped from 60 minutes to eight minutes. i'm certainly impressed by that. so i think it's been a very effective governor. the governor of the republicans would be well to counter program against this graceful and elegant and really democrat with a guy who may not be charismatic but just knows how to run things. so i like daniels and i think there are two serious candidates, mitt romney and tim pawlenty. egg and managers, little less enamored with them i guess. pawlenty with a good governor but i haven't seen excellenc

. >> pawlenty is in, mitch daniels all doubt, on spent discovers new hampshire, and bachmann and palin edged closer. >> i have that fire in my belly. >> we will get back to sarah palin and others in a moment, but first, i want to go look at "politico's" thursday headline. this week, democrat kathy hochul defeated her opponent, republican jane corwin, in the special election for new york's 26th congressional district. this district is a solidly republican, and generally, but does with the key issue was? >> jane corwin supports a budget that essentially ends medicare. >> what do you say to these we need republicans? >> they are going to run these attack ads regret this. this is a time for leaders to be leaders. >> we will hear from paul ryan later on. democrats tied republican jane corwin to ryan's plan, which makes major changes to medicare. what did we learn from this, mark? >> when they change seats and one party wins and the other part of this is, they get attention. the especially get attention when it rolls out a single issue that captures the american people's attention. republica

mitch daniels decided not to run not because he happens to think that he can't beat president obama. he decided not to run because he's got some real family considerations there, a wife and children that really don't want to be exposed to the limelight. they have had at times a very rocky marriage that ended in divorce and a remarriage, and they just didn't want to be out there. look at paul ryan, he right now is a very powerful republican. he is very run. remember when barack obama was a candidate and everyone said why are you running now, you're so young, and he said it's a timing thing. the ryan people looked at it and said this is not his time and he's got time. >> mark preston is our cnn senior political editor. mark, republican primary voters in new hampshire are giving us a glimpse at which candidate they would trust to handle the economy. mitt romney had 44% and everyone else. let's talk about mitt romney for a second. committee gain the support of the tea party driving the agenda for the republican party these days and make himself a viable candidate? >> he is cleary going t

. >> and mitch daniels says he has other priorities. how difficult was it for you to say that you loved your family more than your country? >> and as the republican field grows our roundtable sizes up the contenders. then facing the future, the class of 2011 is ready to work but where are the jobs? graduates ask top ceos how they can get an edge in this troubled economy. >>> welcome to the program and lots in store for you. but first some late news since your morning papers. president obama heads to joplin, missouri, today to tour the site of that deadly tornado. the president will meet with local residents and speak at a memorial service for the victims. 139 people were killed in the twister that struck a week ago today. in afghanistan, officials say a nato air strike targeting insurgents instead killed 14 civilians, all women and children. afghan leaders say the bombing was in retaliation for an attack on an american base attack saturday and a nato delegation is heading to the scene to investigate. >> and sarah palin's campaign style

daniels decided not run is evidence that people are dissatisfied with the field. the big divide with people like sarah palin, michele bachmann, you know, the people who are social conservatives feel they don't have a candidate. the reason romney won't go to iowa is that he feels he can't play ball with social conservatives. it's why i don't think he will do well in south carolina. he might do somewhat well in new hampshire, which he was the governor of the state in massachusetts but he just doesn't have the sense of a passionate grassroots following that would elevate him in this contest right now. he is a very weak front-runner. that is why you see so many people jumping in. >> chris: one of the arguments is if the social conservatives, you have michele bachmann, you have herman cain, you have tim pawlenty, they split that vote, he got what i think 25% of the vote in iowa? he could win conceivably. >> he could. but what i'm saying is we are still at the point where the big money has not come behind any candidate to give them momentum. establishment republicans at

." >>> mitch daniels is out. mike huckabee is out. donald trump is out. so the press have decided that they're like a sandlot team trying to play in the majors. pundits chatting. pretty amazing how we see into the future, isn't it? take a look. >> i think the daniels departure really opens up the space for paul ryan like nobody else. ryan's the one guy who has a rendezvous with destiny right now. >> frankly, we're disappointed. now, obviously, we have to start looking. and i was just saying this morning maybe it's time to start drafting paul ryan. >> i just find this the most boring list i've ever seen in my life. pawlenty, the name itself is like polenta. >> among republicans they're saying you've got to be kidding me. this is the 3-2 beer of american politics. >> and how is the press treating those republicans who are actually running? tim pawlenty who became an official candidate this week got this question on the "today" show. >> people often look at you and they say, is there enough charisma there for tim pawlenty to beat barack obama? what's your an

daniels. dan? >>> in florida a dramatic end to the first week of the murder trial of casey anthony accused of killing her daughter caylee. casey's own mother testifying for the prosecution broke down in tears as she recalled the short life of her only granddaughter. ashleigh banfield has more. >> reporter: another emotional roller coaster for casey anthony's family as her mother was called to the stand and asked to identify her granddaughter's toys. >> caylee's. caylee's sandbox. >> reporter: a picture perfect playhouse was flashed in court to show the care and attention the anthonys lavished on their granddaughter. >> all of the landscaping around the house, did you do that? >> george and i did that. >> reporter: casey broke down in the recess that followed. her lawyers trying to console her, but the pictures and memories would prove once again too much for cindy anthony. >> i can't look at my granddaughter without getting upset. >> sorry. >> i'm trying very hard not to cry. >> reporter: her

former minnesota governor tim pawlenty, mitch daniels. fox -- "fox news sunday "errors again at 2:00 p.m. eastern. john mccain, alan west, and don edwards. 3:00 p.m., "state of the union." all right off. patty murray, the chairman of veterans affairs. finally, 4:00 p.m., open quote face the nation." face the nation." on the republican jobs plan, politics of medicare and campaign 2012. the five network talk shows begin at noon with "week to press," "this week," "fox news sunday," "face the nation," "in the washington d.c. area. tuna in on satellite radio, download as an iphone application, or listen anywhere at cspanradio.org. host: we want to introduce you to judd legum, the founder and editor of "think progress." also joining us, guy benson, political editor. thank you both for joining us. let me point you to a poll to start off with. taken by abc news, rankings rudy giuliani and others in the republican field as far as to how others are responding. rudy giuliani, sarah palin, mitt romney, they are the top three. lower on the list, miche

on politics, she'll sit down with tim pawlenty and mitch daniels as the race for president heats up. that's tomorrow morning on abc's "this week." >>> this evening, we turn to the middle east where egypt eased restrictions at its border with gaza lifting the blockade when palestinian militants seized control in 2007. israel opposed today's move fearing more weapons will be smuggled into gaza. the reopening is one more sign of egypt's deteriorating relationship with israel since the ouster of hosni mubarak. >>> back in this country tonight, a passing to report. an enormously influential poet, gil scott heron who was called the godfather of rap, even though that was not what he called himself. it's been 40 years since gil scott heron gained fame. the revolution will not be televised. >> the revolution will put you in the driver's seat. >> the revolution will not be televised. the revolution will be no rerun, brothers. the revolution will be live. >> scott heron's mixture of politics, percussion and poetry helped laid the groundwork for rap. he called it bluesology, he became a cult fig

mitch daniels decided not to run not because he happens to think that he can't beat president obama. he decided not to run because he's got some real family considerations there, a wife and children that really don't want to be exposed to the limelight. they've had at times a very rocky marriage that ended in divorce and a remarriage. they didn't want to be out there. paul ryan right now is a very powerful republican. he's very young. he could run at some other time. remember when barack obama ran and was a candidate and everyone was like, why are you running now, you're so young? and he said, this is a timing thing. the ryan people said this is not his time and he's got time. >> mark preston is our cnn political editor. republican primary voters in new hampshire are giving us a glimpse at which candidate they would trust to handle the economy, basically look at those numbers. it's basically mitt romney at 44% and everyone else. mitt romney, can he gain the support of the tea party which is really driving the agenda for the republican party these days and make himself a viable candid

gwen: mitch daniels drops down. sarah palin drops hints. a low-profile special election catapults medicare to the front burner. >> thank you all so much. gwen: meanwhile, the obamas take europe. with a little guinness, a little glamour, and a lot of the nitty-gritty of international give and take. >> it would have been easy at the outset of the crackdown in libya to say that none of this was our business. gwen: including some fence mending. >> but israel will not negotiate with a palestinian government backed by the palestinian version of al qaeda. that we will not do. >> it is very difficult for israelis to sit across the table and negotiate with a party that is denying your right to exist. gwen: and the supreme court presses not one but two hot buttons, on crime and immigration. covering the week, dan balz of "the washington post." major garrett of "national journal." helene cooper of "the new york times." and joan biskupic of "usa today." >> award-winning reporting and analysis, covering history as it happens. from our nation's capital,

david, mitch daniels announced he is not running for president. how are you dealing with this? ( laughter ) >> i've been going through the seven stages of grief. i moved to indiana so i could at least have him as governor. but, fortunately, michele bachmann is there to make me feel better. >> woodruff: what about daniels? what about the reason he gave? he said it was the women in his family, his wife. it sounded like he was ready to go for it. >> i think he was. rich daniels made an honest statement. now he has been krzed by some leading women columnists, for throwing his wife if not under the bus than the recreational vehicle-- or maybe it's a harley. it was an honest answer. he was ready to run. he wanted to run, and it really was a family decision that said no. but, he was the establishment choice. i mean, he's a serious cerebral person. it's no accident that the three plausible front-runners for the republican nomination right now-- mitt romney, tim pawlenty, and john huntsman-- are all former governors. americans look to governors. senators make speeches. governors make de

and jon, as you know, two other republicans, tim pawlenty and mitch daniels will be on with christiane ayman tour sunday morning on "this week" as the presidential race heats up. >>> we turn now to major medical news. new heart findings that have caught even the experts by surprise tonight. doctors have long known that lowering bad cholesterol helps prevent heart attacks. but in addition to that, they thought that raising the level of good cholesterol would help, too. but a big study is shaking that up. and so dr. richard besser is here tonight. we don't want to confuse anyone. the drugs for bad cholesterol, you say we keep. it's the drugs for good cholesterol in question tonight? >> reporter: that's right. you know, of course, millions of americans are taking statins to keep their bad cholesterol in check. and that's a good thing. tonight, we're talking about whether taking a drug to increase your good cholesterol will work. in this study, doctors used a drug called niaspan. they gave it to patients who are already on a stat tin. to see if there would be any added benefit. and unfortu

talked to mitch daniels, kris christie and several governors wants the freedom to customize the programs because we make them work better. right now, there's problems with the program. on method care, it kind of comes down to this. minute you, it's the biggest driver of the debt in the future with tens of trillions of unfunded liabilities. everybody acknowledges that. the status quo is the enemy of medicare, it's the worst thing because that means collapse and so does the money go to the government and come down through price controls and rationed care where we have a board of 15 people make all of these decisions, or does the money go through the individual? more for the poor, more for the sick, less for the wealth, and give them power in the marketplace to have competition. do you want a centrally planned system, or do you want a system where the providers, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies compete against each other for our business? to make that work, the person has to be powerful. they is money and rights. you have to clean up the insurance laws. under the medicare reform prop

daniels decided not to run. polls currently have her second in the primary field. the problem for palin -- there might be little way to improve that. >> she sort of hit her ceiling. there is very little room for her to grow or to change people's minds. >> reporter: indeed in new hampshire only 3% of voters say she has the best chance of beating president obama. the bus tour, which has been in the works for weeks, helps build her brand no matter what she does. the idea for it by the way came directly from sarah and todd. her staff swears they have no idea, no idea, if she plans to run. john berman, abc news, new york. >> things are getting interesting. >> i have a fire in my belly, i think it is the pizza i ate. >> late night snack. it's all good. >>> here is your friday forecast now. a wet day for much of the east coast. thunderstorms, gusty winds. hail from atlanta to portland, maine. but new york and boston will be spared. light rain from billings to oklahoma city, twin cities. mountain snow in idaho. rain fro

and indiana governor mitch daniels who says he loves his country, he just loves his family more. >> republican leaders are so unhappy some are considering drafting g.o.p. standard bearers like texas governor rick perry, new jersey governor chris christie and even former florida governor jeb bush. john hendren, abc news, washington. >>> one of yosemite's popular vantage points will reopen at noon in time for the memorial day weekend. many people hope to get a better view of waterfalls like these from grasher point. the road to glacier point has been closed due to heavy snow. visitors say this is assen impressive as the falls have been for 15 years thanks to all the snow we've had this past winter. >> all that run-off. >> all right, mr. mike nicco. tell us about the rain. >> it's nothing out there right now. to talk about. but it could develop in the last couple of hours. we'll make sure to show you where it is and where it's going. possibility of a scattered shower in the forecast through noon today. you can see the clouds gathering over san francisco. as we look back to the west from emeryvill

mike huckabee and mitch daniels, who says he loves his country. he just loves his family more. republican leaders are so unhappy with the current field, they're considering drafting gop standard bearers, like rick perry, chris cristy. even former florida governor, jeb bush. >> john, in washington. thanks a lot. >>> as abc was first to reported, john edwards has met with one of the top donors to his presidential campaign. they had lunch at her virginia estate yesterday. she reportedly gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep edwards' mistresses in hiding during the campaign. that money is the focus of the justice department's current investigation. >>> a washington state man had to be air-lifted to the hospital after getting shot with an arrow by his teenage daughter. police say the 15-year-old girl used a hunting bow to shoot her dad when he grounded her and took away her cell phone. then, she refused to let him call for help. so, he had to drive to a neighbor's house, with the arrow in his side. >> it was straight sideways. parallel to his arm. said he was in his house. a

daniels, decided not to run. polls currently have her second in the primary field. the problem for palin? there might be little way to improve that. >> she's sort of hit her ceiling. there's very little room for her to grow or to change people's minds. >> reporter: indeed, in new hampshire, only 3% of voters say she has the best chance of beating president obama. now, there could be other reasons that a presidential run for palin's moves. for instance, her daughter bristol has a house in arizona and maybe she wanted to be close to her. the bus tour, which has been in the works for weeks, helps her build her brand no matter what she does. the idea for that, by the way, came directly from sarah and todd. palin's staff swears they have no idea -- no idea, diane -- if she plans to run. >> we'll watch and you'll be on the watch, the palin watch. john berman reporting tonight. >>> and now we turn to that 16-year manhunt for one of history's most deadly villains. one of the most wanted war criminals on earth. finally, r

this poll, of course, excludes mike huckabee and mitch daniels, two candidates seen by those in the gop establishment as well as a social conservative community as very serious candidates and very good candidates. should sarah palin decide to run, she would be reaching out to social conservative voters to gain their support. is a potential problem for sarah palin. i got off the phone with tony perkins, a very powerful organization said one of the problems for sarah palin is that michele bachmann, the minnesota congresswoman, she is starting to take up a lot of that oxygen that sarah palin once owned. michele bachmann is a very conservative, she's very good in social conservative issues, and that could be potentially a problem for sarah palin, should she run for the republican nomination. >> mark preston, interesting stuff. look forward to your analysis piece on this. next update from the best political team on television is an hour away. >>> we want to start this hour with the high-profile murder trial of casey anthony out of florida. new details are riveting, and there were tense and h

[applause] >> the fiscal summit included a summit with mitch daniels. he was interviewed by washington post columnist george will for 20 minutes. >> governor daniels, unfortunately seems determined to go on being known, a good example of midwestern political culture in the midwest. they have gone to a kind of low-key but effective leadership of which he is an exemplar. you said to an audience here in town united states is menaced by survival level fret. people are more implacable meant americans before returning to red ink. in indiana you took a deficit of $900 million in 2003. it became but $1.3 billion surplus in 2009. could you do the same thing in washington? >> guest: we have to start with the only operating principle that makes sense in life and that his optimism. if you are asking would some of those things -- tools or steps we took apply then i think some would and some wouldn't. there isn't anything magic about it. it summons the will and makes the case. we found in our state people might not like individual steps but they like the general idea

names like mitt romney sarah palin, newt gingrich, michelle bachmann, mitch daniels, donald trump. you know what? we're going to throw the rest of the names up on the webb. as a result, america got to meet some of the lesser known republican candidates. >> congressman ron paul of texas, herman cane, former chairman and ceo of god matter's pizza. tim pawlenty of minnesota. rick santorum. >> jon: you might have to google some of those candidates. although i guess for the last guy i prefer you didn't do that. by the way, if you didn't get that joke, go google samtorum right now. i'll wait. yeah. (beep) believe that? santorum might as well change his last name to lemon party. go ahead. google that. i'll wait. all right. let's move on. perhaps the most well known candidate was 12th term texas congressman ron paul the only participant currently holding office. >> we do not need secret prisons nor do we need the torture that goes on in the secret military prisons. maybe we can take care of some people back here at home if we weren't spending $1.5 trillion a year on our mill tarism. >> jon

mitch daniels may be hoping to be had running mate. and then this in the money section. do not invest in stocks of congress is in session. so far that rule has served him well. it has gained 10.5% since inception. fort wayne, indiana, mike, democratic caller. caller: i was thinking about this. i would not have even if it were not for free lunch. i would for weeks, and and they both worked, they just did not have good jobs. but the thing that makes me mad about the school system, is not the teachers, it is the parents. the kids that come to class that do not care to graduate or if they pass. and then they just failed classes and they end up dropping out. i went to a school that had a 50% dropout rate in 1996. if you start taking some of these kids that are wasting my money and say, you know one of be here? then pay for the class is that you failed. if the kids want to drop out, they should have to pay. they go there and they waste their money and they do not try our care. they're just there because their parents make them or they hang out with their friends. i think the k

mitch daniels, mark and i were talking beforehand, mitch daniels' personal situation which i think actually reflects quite well on him. his wife left him and married someone else and then came back to him and the four daughters. that's been given curse sorry attention in the state of indiana. that would have been a story for days and it would not have been a particularly pleasant experience so it's a tough thing to do. you've hit memorial day of the year before and you're not in, it's pretty tough to do. very few window wookees left. >> charlie: a pretty good candidate or not? he was a guy that went from wall street to running for president. there was this about, did his wife... do you assume that's the story that mitch daniels says the family doesn't want me to run. therefore i'm not running. he was leaning that way but he decided in the end when the family voted no to say no. >> i don't know what happened in the final days of conversation. i do know every time i spoke to governor daniels in the last two months, which was three times. >> charlie: you interviewed him recently. >> i did. i s

mitch daniels is that guy. a solid, serious person. he has experience as budget director. under president bush. much admired around this town. for him. >> juan, you are hurting mitch's share. >> i like mitch. >> say something nasty about him. >> the deficit here is he's what you call areamatically challenged. challenged. -- is charismatically challenged. >> chris: but the question is here, less sizzle and more substance might not be a bad thing. >> this is politics here. you have to gave speech and wow a crowd. at some point people have to respond to you emotionally saying that's our leader. >> chris: brit? >> you are trying to find out how the republican field is doing, don't watch polling numbers for candidate. the number to watch are obama polling numbers. also, the numbers like the growth of the economy, which was quite leaguer in the recent quarter. the continued unpopularity of the healthcare program. president obama's abysmal poll rating on his job on the economy. these are the things, these broader issues that are thought about here in washington related to the deb

they're looking for an alternative for romney and are waiting until july and looking for mitch daniels and john huntsman. chris: have they given up on bush? >> he's one of the people they're craving but i don't think he's going to get in. chris: i love that word, craving. elisabeth? >> leon panetta, the director of the c.i.a., ran the raid and what's interesting to me was how much he was out on the networks, out on television, talking about the c.i.a. and to me that was kind of a little of the transition into his new role starting july 1 as the defense secretary. >> the big question at the white house, president obama last year announced he was going to make a state visit to pakistan. now he's come out with this raid that shows that osama bin laden was staying an hour outside of islamabad and all this intel coming out, people waiting to see how high up the pakistani government might be implicated. they don't know if obama will go yet. >> no is the answer. to go way outside the beltway, but the embattled president of syria has told other arab leaders that he knows he'll have to distance

we still have maybe a decision soon from mitch daniel and we're talking about michele bachmann, maybe a decision soon. pawlenty is in and mccain jumping in now and a couple other officials. is it starting to get good now, maria? >> well, whenever you have the kind of week that newt gingrich had, it is always good for democrats, t.j. but i have to tell you, it has been interesting because the gop leaders, the republican leadership really is very anxious for others to get in because they understand that if the field really looks like what it looks like today, obama is going to sail into re-election. so, i think that pawlenty needs to really look at this and huntsman needs to look at this and mitch daniels needs to look at this and even with them in, i don't know that the field is going to be strong enough to go up against this president right now. >> and on this president, i'll let you answer this next one because i have to move to something certainly that was big news of the week and that was the president making his speech on the middle east. got a lot of backlash from that, lenny. i'

. >> reporter: pawlenty's official entry into the race came hours after fellow republican mitch daniels decided not to run. the two-term governor of indiana took his name out of consideration on sunday. he cited the wishes of his wife and daughters. an erupting volcano in iceland threatened air traffic in the united kingdom and ireland today. the grimsvotn volcano began spewing dense ash on saturday. it reached 33,000 feet, the altitude where passenger jets fly. british airways and k.l.m. were among airlines that canceled tuesday morning flights to and from scotland, ahead of the ash cloud's arrival there. another icelandic volcano erupted last year, grounding thousands of flights and stranding millions of travelers across northern europe. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jeff. >> brown: a divided supreme court today ordered california to release thousands of inmates from its overcrowded prisons. ray suarez has the story. >> suarez: the justices ruled five-to-four that the packed living conditions threatened inmates' health, and violated constitutional rights agai