the same is true for mitt romney. you've heard about battle ground states that swing these elections. there is a good baker's dozen of them. >> they're in every region. there is new hampshire in the northeast and florida in the south. >> there is 16 states widely seen, none are in the south. >> will you help me become the next president of the united states? >> analysts placed 22 states in the romney column, including some, like indiana that the obama biden ticket carried in 2008. >> republicans have to recapture three states have that been republican. indiana and virginia. and north carolina which voted for democrat in 1976. 39 electoral college votes shifted 78 in the electoral college. >> in three battle ground states mr. obama won, iowa, new mexico and wisconsin again go his way. it's is meaning a gain of 21 electoral votes. let's suppose romney picks up north carolina. ask that he reclaims virginia for the g.o.p. where it's been for all but one of the last 12 elections, let's suppose romney takes nevada where une

the same is true for mitt romney. you've heard about battle ground states that swing these elections. there is a good baker's dozen of them. >> they're in every region. there is new hampshire in the northeast and florida in the south. >> there is 16 states widely seen, none are in the south. >> will you help me become the next president of the united states? >> analysts placed 22 states in the romney column, including some, like indiana that the obama biden ticket carried in 2008. >> republicans have to recapture three states have that been republican. indiana and virginia. and north carolina which voted for democrat in 1976. 39 electoral college votes shifted 78 in the electoral college. >> in three battle ground states mr. obama won, iowa, new mexico and wisconsin again go his way. it's is meaning a gain of 21 electoral votes. let's suppose romney picks up north carolina. ask that he reclaims virginia for the g.o.p. where it's been for all but one of the last 12 elections, let's suppose romney takes nevada where une

ann romney has been a very effective advocate for mitt romney, both in softening his image. the attack on her just teed her up to go out there and make headway on this. to the extent that we're stuck in some of these roundabout questions like the mommy wars that aren't necessarily about the economy, this wasn't the best move by democrats. but she's going to be a very forceful presence for him in this campaign. you saw that this week with her response to all of that. >> dan, james? have you yet seen mitt romney come out of his corner and start attacking, taking the initiative? have we seen it yet? >> yeah. i think we saw it in the two victory speeches over the most recent primaries. they were very strong. the last one i found very little to disagree with. i think his message is coming together. but i ink what he's really going have to do -- because it's a message about the economy, and that can get a little bit complicated. obama is running against the romneys as a rich couple, and him as a rich businessman. mitt romney has to find a way to talk as though he's sitting around

he made a good campaign and made mitt romney a better candidate. a future in the party and maybe the romney administration. i think if he goes forward, he's going to marginize himself and i don't think that's where he would like to-- >> he doesn't want to lose his home state. that would-- >> it would ruin him. >> and what about mitt romney, you said he's looking better and here is the issue i want to pose to you. >> you look at the independents favorable, look at romney's favorable and unfavorable. favorable up at 50%, i mean, unfavorable 50% and favorable mid 30 and that's very rarified, unfortunate territory and i can't remember somebody with those favorables in a race. >> it's not encouraging, and on the other hand, when you've got your sea legs, as mitt romney seems to have had, actually for the last two or three outings, he's got, obviously, a new speech writer or a new confidence. one or another. but he was indisputebly eloquent and forthright in the speech and you have the feeling that this is continuum and that he could go on, things change

mitt romney's name. just a few moments ago, romney weighed in on this decision. >> senator santorum has decided not to proceed with his campaign. and i had the chance to speak with him this morning. we exchanged our thoughts about going forward. and we both have a great deal of interest in seeing the country taken in a very different path. he has made an important contribution to the political process. >> bret: so what about this and how it affects the race in bring in the panel. steve hayes for "weekly standard." a.b. stoddard, associate editor of fair hill. indicatehill -- editor of the hill. and syndicated columnist, charles krauthammer. >> in the speech today, rick santorum said it was one of the most improbable runs for president in history. he's right. think where he was. before the iowa caucuses he wasn't registering on polls. i heard you and megyn kelly talk there was a question whether he would be involved in the fox news debates. he had no money. didn't have much name i.d. he had spent time on

and for democrats and team that's want to paint mitt romney with the ryan budget it seems mitt romney is okay embrace the budget and ryan is happy. >> yes. i think goitsing to be trog see what happens after he has nomination. he has to kind of do this. talking about tea party people is kind of the problem they weren't there earlier. and a lot of the people weren't super excited about romney and waited to endorse and support him. he says he's supporting the plan but getting into ses receivics and i do give ryan credit is that there is a reason they won't talk about it. will romney actually give this the full bear hug? >> is this now the third rail? is it now not touching? >> this is the house twice supported this budget it is how romney and is the same way. i think he's embracing. you know? to some extent it helps democrats because obama was just running on the referendum, he'd lose. obviously democrats want to make it a choice. okay? republicans accepted their challenge and it means if republicans lose it's not just because obama was on target. republicans will have a mandate to have

this one about mitt romney. >> if mitt romney was in the room with you right now, what would you say to him? >> i'd say hey, mitt. i would. >> that's pretty good. >> yeah. >> do you know mitt romney? >> i've met him. but we're not friends. he seems like somebody who cares deeply about his family and his wife is lovely. >> game on. >> yeah. >> indeed. >> i think it's very effective for president obama. i personally do not agree with the highest office of the land, the most important figure in the world going on these comedy shows. i think it lowers the status of the office. >> now he's on "the daily show" and he's on letterman and he's on "the tonight show." >> next stop, the food channel. when he was running for president -->> he did "the view." >> that's right, when he was running for president, he was on "saturday night live." it will be interesting to see whether or not mitt romney does take up "saturday night live"'s offer to be on the show. it would be a nice introduction. >> we've had the face-off on his radio show. "fox & friends" face-off! we'll see. >> some people are outrag

nominee, mitt romney. for them, he came out and said he was for capping the rates and to have gone against him would have been a huge embarrassment for the standard bearer of the party, and how you pay for it. would you strip the money like the republicans, out of the health care bill, and what the democrats are proposing again and again and again and again, to tax wealthier americans to pay for it. >> paul: the big problem for me, james, the loan guaranteed. they're free lines for politicians, they don't have any cost, they don't appear to have costs exhe september when they go bad and you pay for them, some future congress and-- >> and it's also, even, it's not just that they say it has no costs and want people to pretend that, they actually pre ten because of bogus accounting that it makes tons of money that this is a huge winner for the taxpayers and yet, they had a funny series of letters where the head of the congressional budget office said, well, i know this is bogus accounting, but we've got to do

but mitt romney is just more of the same. it's a third term for george w. >> they can't have it both ways. they can't say the economy is getting better and it's just like it was three years ago before their man took control. at some point, new policies were implemented and that started in january of 2009 and since that point, none of the goals that president obama said he would achieve in his first term have been met, especially on the unemployment and the economic factors and dick, i know you like to say, so many private sector jobs have been created since president obama's come to power, but the truth is, if you look at the numbers and if we had the same size work force as we did in 2009, our unemployment rate would actually be 12%. not 8 1/2%. when one out of ten people can't find work, that president deserves to be replaced. >> julie: all right. kevin, i want you to react to this poll because this doesn't look good for romney. right now obama holds about a 7-point lead over a generic republican candidate that. doesn't nec

and that's what mitt romney proposes to do. the end result of ronald reagan's policy was to i think double the amount of money coming into the united states treasury in a five-year period. that's what mitt romney think he can do with his proposal. if it is more than a proposal. if it is really is a proposal as opposed to a trial balloon. gregg: that is what i was going to ask. is he floating this out there to see what kind of reaction he is getting? >> yes. his aides have said this is not at specific proposal. this is something he may do. it's an idea that is being tossed around. gregg: start varney, as always, thanks so much. >> thanks, gregg. gregg: as stuart and i were talking about is this simply talk or some serious plans for tax policy? we'll be putting that very question to eric finnstrom, senior advisor to the romney campaign a little later on in the program. martha: we'll look forward to that. meantime we're awaiting for the president, he is expected to announce and already started to trickle out on the wires a crackdo

romney's support? >> look at the endorsement mitt romney got. while -- people would bite -- hold their nose while endorsing them. marco rubio, they're not thrilled with him but like him better than the other guy. nobody's excited about romney. republicans have a hard time eating some of the words they used during the presidential primaries because they're going to walk back so much on what they said about romney and all their support for the other candidates have to be reversed. it's a tough road for many republicans never excited about this guy. >> monica, is this going to be a tough challenge for romney to overcome as he's going forward in the campaign? >> i don't think so. look, he's gone through one heck of a primary race. and these candidates beat each other up, as any primary process should, because it makes the nominee stronger. the reality is this campaign in november is not going to be about mitt romney. this campaign is going to be about barack obama and his abysmal economic record, high unemployment, gas prices, record-breaking defici

he didn't mention mitt romney. about it seems like based on past campaigns, time has a way of healing certain wounds. >> he will be mentioning romney in good time. that will be another step to see how this comes together. i thought this speech was excellent. it is a truly amazing american experience to be part of one and for a candidate like him to lead one from where he led it to today is an amazing thing. those emotional stories and the press falls into as they are covering these campaigns. we often forget about it. but i think he touched a lot of people today with those stories, what he and his family and campaign have gone through. in the end as he helps bring the republican party together around mitt romney which will take more time -- i think it would have been awkward to do that in one fell swoop give up how angry and acrimonious the past few weeks have been. i give big kudos for his speech. i thought it was excellent. megyn: after all the talk about how long the gop process was taking and how ugly it's gett

the mitt romney that gave that speech tonight was a different mitt romney that started in this campaign. >> he is simplistic level of delivery. the delivery tonight was different than three or four months ago. it was much more measured. he has his message down. >> if i were david axelrod, i would be paying close attention. they won't have answers. >> he slowed down. he slowed down, being more deliberate and more presidential. >> sean: kind of like dana when she was press secretary. she was very calm. never got rattled. >> trying to breathe. [ laughter ] >> sean: you didn't make fun of stuart's accented. >> will you it will not work the class warfare speech. >> that speech will work, definitely. >> sean: good to see you. we'll have a bit of tea after the show. we're going to show you the ann romney clip and following the breaking developments on this busy primary night as mitt romney looks to make a clean sweep. stay with us with more results. just when you think you've heard it all from the obama white house, an administration official announces the war on terror is over. reaction -- ho

campaign against mitt romney, mr. santorum yesterday said it's the end of the trail for him. he's going to suspend things and now the question is what is going to happen with all of his delegates. >> eric: very quickly, what happens to his delegates legally, or according to the gop, is 84 of them are free to vote whoever they want to at the convention in august. 197 or so, ballpark, if rick santorum releases them, they have the option to vote for who they want. get their support behind who they want. but rick santorum has to -- i have a hunch he will for the good the party. it's important to note, money wise, he's suspending the campaign because if he were to quit the campaign, he'd have to come up with the money to pay all his -- >> steve: i think that's when hillary did. >> eric: when you suspend, you can bide more time. >> gretchen: i find it interesting timing that he chose yesterday to do this. it was somewhat viesing to me, pennsylvania's home state works weeks away, even though people were saying that would be

that poll shows barack obama over mitt romney. and that's. >> laura: we will see now that the field has cleared out a bit, we shall see with rick santorum's departure. we will see if he ends up campaigning with romney. monica and robert, great to see you both. >> thank you. >> laura: directly ahead, g.o.p. congressman paul ryan will be here to react to the breaking news about rick santorum and to the president's harsh attack on his budget plan. later, president obama plays the class warfare card once again. but soaking the rich actually help the greetings from the windy city of chicago. people here sure are friendly but some have had a hard time understanding my accent. so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance... da bears. haha... you people sure do talk funny. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. [ male announcer ] the 2012 m-class con

how does that change the race for mitt romney? we'll ask him when he joins us for his first national television interview since that bombshell was dropped just yesterday afternoon, martha. martha: we're looking forward to that. then there's this. his lawyers now say they can't find him. so they have quit. they say george zimmerman should not be making calls to people even like our own sean hannity, which happened yesterday of the so what did mr. zimmerman have to say to sean hannity? >> now yesterday i was contacted by an individual that we in fact believe was george zimmerman. he reached out to me. choose control. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got...

was this a preview of what is to come if obamacare goes down and mitt romney with three more wins calls for rick santorum to exit the republican race. should he do it before his home state primary and the budget ballot battle as he ties to paul ryan's plan. could it hurt the republicans in november? >> ultimately i'm confident that the supreme court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected congress. >> paul: welcome to the journal editorial report. i'm paul gigot. those words set off a firestorm. many seeing his comments as a warning to the justices that they will pay a political price if they strike down all or part of the signature healthcare law. liberals claim the legitimacy of the supreme court. let's ask wall street columnist, dan herng ing ton, james free man and editorial board member, dorothy rabinowitz. president obama is known as choosing his words carefully. was he trying to lobby the supreme court? >> i agree he doesn't say what he doesn't mean. i think what happene

i think what is mitt romney supposed to say? i don't want higher interest rates for students but own way these students will ever pay back the loans is with jobs. and i mean, real jobs. not baristas and not lower paying jobs. underemployment rate as we saw yesterday, i mean in double dedge its. so these students can't find work. martha, what is your incentive if you're a university to lower skyrocketing tuition rates? no one is keeping them in check. martha: look at numbers. i found these really stunning and you can see why the president is going after this group when you look at these. outstanding student loans under 30 years, 40% of the population has outstanding student loans. martha:. >> yeah. martha: americans 60 years and older, owe 30 six billion collectively in student loans that will be a favorable thing for them as well. look at the other thing which is what mitt romney will stop into. he has a 9:45 conference call this morning on the economy. jobless or unemployed recent college graduates, 50%, bob. so you can see, yo

the same is true for mitt romney. you've heard about battle ground states that swing these elections. there is a good baker's dozen of them. >> they're in every region. there is new hampshire in the northeast and florida in the south. >> there is 16 states widely seen, none are in the south. >> will you help me become the next president of the united states? >> analysts placed 22 states in the romney column, including some, like indiana that the obama biden ticket carried in 2008. >> republicans have to recapture three states have that been republican. indiana and virginia. and north carolina which voted for democrat in 1976. 39 electoral college votes shifted 78 in the electoral college. >> in three battle ground states mr. obama won, iowa, new mexico and wisconsin again go his way. it's is meaning a gain of 21 electoral votes. let's suppose romney picks up north carolina. ask that he reclaims virginia for the g.o.p. where it's been for all but one of the last 12 elections, let's suppose romney takes nevada where une

and for democrats and team that's want to paint mitt romney with the ryan budget it seems mitt romney is okay embrace the budget and ryan is happy. >> yes. i think goitsing to be trog see what happens after he has nomination. he has to kind of do this. talking about tea party people is kind of the problem they weren't there earlier. and a lot of the people weren't super excited about romney and waited to endorse and support him. he says he's supporting the plan but getting into ses receivics and i do give ryan credit is that there is a reason they won't talk about it. will romney actually give this the full bear hug? >> is this now the third rail? is it now not touching? >> this is the house twice supported this budget it is how romney and is the same way. i think he's embracing. you know? to some extent it helps democrats because obama was just running on the referendum, he'd lose. obviously democrats want to make it a choice. okay? republicans accepted their challenge and it means if republicans lose it's not just because obama was on target. republicans will have a mandate to have

because mitt romney is a mormon? megyn: those are just a couple of questions that were asked but some are out there commenting on mormonism in a way that is really, really offensive. to those who practice mormonism. michael reagan calls this despicable. in three minutes you will see what he says represents a media double-standard when he joins us live right here. >>> if going to the dentist wasn't stressful enough, now new study all the radiation from the annual x-rays could be causing brain tumors. should you decline next time your dentist suggest this is for you? dr. siegel is here. >>> when you thought you would never see miss pork rinds again? she is back. we have news on the favorite mega millions faker, melinde wilson or is she a faker. on "kelly's court" has a twist. i was shocked not seen that she has the ticket. why not. >> megyn, i'm a lawyer. i try to solve problems for people. i don't need to sea the ticket to hear my clients explanation why it is that she has not turned in the ticket megyn: the campaign

how is america going to be excited about mitt romney. megyn: it's not about whether mitt romney or barack obama excite anybody. this is whether we'll be in for a bloodbath in terms of the mudsling and ugliness we'll see between these two contenders. what a turnoff that is to the american people. >> it's a turnoff, but it's where we are unfortunately. i agree with you, this is a disappointing point in our history. but the president can't unilaterally disarm and he knows mitt romney is coming after him. megyn: barack obama may have promised different, but if he's take incoming that's negative is he supposed to say i'm take the high road? >> i can go down the list of every attack the democrats have launched. they can on attack. it's all they have. they don't debate, they attack. >> what do the republicans are positive to talk about. >> they are not obama just for openers. >> except for mitt romney went left of obama when he was governor. let's judge him on that. >> i guess the independents and moderate will be willing to move over and the r

the wild card is mitt romney himself. he must convince skeptical voters that he is looking out for them. and that he has to do it in a very personal way. that is not governor romney's style. is he a reserve man who is a traditional campaigner saying the same things over and over and over. president obama also repeats himself frequently. but the president does have the common touch, his speaking ability is convincing to many. last time around, john mccain could not match barack obama in the debates. the senator simply refused to highlight mr. obama's telling n.i.v. world experience. reverend wright, that kind of stuff. in the end, mccain did not have enough persuasive power to overcome the charismatic obama. that was then. now, the president has a record and many believe it is weak. we have a new fox news poll that will demonstrate that in a moment. can mitt romney exploit the shaky economy? rising gas prices? and out-of-control debt? that is a question. romney can expect no help from the media. new study by george mason u

>> you know, mitt romney is bob dole all over again. he's got no personality, no charisma and no chance at winning the presidency and every major poll he's lose to go president obama hands down. the presidency is kind of like a race to see who is most popular. it's like a popularity contest for the leader of the free world and unfortunately for mitt romney, he's not a likeable guy. i agree with rick santorum. mitt romney can't beat obama and he'll never sit in the office of the united states presidency. >> rick: matt, you want to respond to that? >> yeah, i think if you're a political consultant, you would agree with me that numbers before the summer has even started mean very little in a race and if you don't think the gallup polling organization is a significant enough firm that showed romney was in the lead in the last itrace, i encourage to you look at it again. mitt romney, although behind in most polls, isitying in a position where if he can make his economic message, which is the number one issue and what this race will be about,

up next, president obama and mitt romney square off in the battle of the budget. two key senators continue that debate after this quick break. if you're one of those folks who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... well, shoot, that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of u

it's a clean sweep tonight for mitt romney. fox news is projecting that he is the winner of the g.o.p. primary races in maryland, wisconsin, and washington, d.c. now he is getting ready to come to podium to speak. adds soon as that takes place and takes to the stage, we'll bring it to you live. we continue tonight with former alaska governor sarah palin. the co-host of "the five," dealing with beckel five days a week. dana perino. from the fox business network, stuart varney. can you imagine beckel five days -- that's like matt lauer five days a week. >> it's all over you. >> before we get to serious issues you did get to co-host "the today" show today. we had an opportunity to see it. let's run a little bit of the for with matt lauer. main stream media. let's take a look. >> when you were plucked from obscurity in 2008, you had been alaska's governor about two years. you have didn't have any real experience on the national stage. in this era of intense media scrutiny, you took some lumps. you had mixed results as we all know.

ann romney has been a very effective advocate for mitt romney, both in softening his image. the attack on her just teed her up to go out there and make headway on this. to the extent that we're stuck in some of these roundabout questions like the mommy wars that aren't necessarily about the economy, this wasn't the best move by democrats. but she's going to be a very forceful presence for him in this campaign. you saw that this week with her response to all of that. >> dan, james? have you yet seen mitt romney come out of his corner and start attacking, taking the initiative? have we seen it yet? >> yeah. i think we saw it in the two victory speeches over the most recent primaries. they were very strong. the last one i found very little to disagree with. i think his message is coming together. but i think what he's really going have to do -- because it's a message about the economy, and that can get a little bit complicated. obama is running against the romneys as a rich couple, and him as a rich businessman. mitt romney has to find a way to talk as though he's sitting aroun

the endorsements keep coming in for mitt romney. he picked up a couple of allies that could help him in the primary in wisconsin on tuesday. >> i have two criteria in mak the decision. who will make the best president and who has the best chance of defeating barack obama and in my opinion mitt romney is clearly that person. >> shannon: up next, we will ask our political panel in endorsements matter or if and torsantorum is right that americans want a more conservative candidate. >>> people pushing past the hollywood gate keepers and saying no, we want this, this is important to us. >> shannon: we will talk to the creators of a new christian film that was turned down but the big studios but now is getting a lot of buzz at the box office. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, that's logisti

that poll shows barack obama over mitt romney. and that's. >> laura: we will see now that the field has cleared out a bit, we shall see with rick santorum's departure. we will see if he ends up campaigning with romney. monica and robert, great to see you both. >> thank you. >> laura: directly ahead, g.o.p. congressman paul ryan will be here to react to the breaking news about rick santorum and to the president's harsh attack on his budget plan. later, president obama plays the class warfare card once again. but soaking the rich actually help the what makes the sleep number store different? the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. now, sleep number redefines memory foam, combining coolfit gel foam with sleep number adjustability! during our white sale, receive $400 in free bedding. only at the sleep nu

mitt romney is not the president. people aren't paying 4 bucks a gallon because of mitt. >> we're importing less oil than the last ten years. that's one answer, under 50%. we're drilling more than -- >> because demand is down. it's because demand is down. >> here's the problem with your wingnuts. you think as soon as you come up with something specific it's a plan and it doesn't work because it's obama's plan. they have a proved nuclear power plant not approved before. that's good. >> he said we imported less oil? >> yes. >> that's because demand is down because the economy is suffering. if that's the theory, if the economy gets worse we'll import less. >> great plan. >> a energy policy is not rocket science. it's common sense. we know how to do it. we could do if there was the political will. >> perfect. tax time, america, we went outnd secured the president's tax returns. guess who's not paying as much tax as the first secretary? you can't make this stuff up. we'll be right back. [ kyle ] my bad. [ roger ] tell me y

mitt romney is not the president. people aren't paying 4 bucks a gallon because of mitt. >> we're importing less oil than the last ten years. that's one answer, under 50%. we're drilling more than -- >> because demand is down. it's because demand is down. >> here's the problem with your wingnuts. you think as soon as you come up with something specific it's a plan and it doesn't work because it's obama's plan. they have a proved nuclear power plant not approved before. that's good. >> he said we imported less oil? >> yes. >> that's because demand is down because the economy is suffering. if that's the theory, if the economy gets worse we'll import less. >> great plan. >> a energy policy is not rocket science. it's common sense. we know how to do it. we could do if there was the political will. >> perfect. tax time, america, we went outnd secured the president's tax returns. guess who's not paying as much tax as the first secretary? you can't make this stuff up. we'll be right back. [♪...] >> announcer: bank robbery

and for democrats and team that's want to paint mitt romney with the ryan budget it seems mitt romney is okay embrace the budget and ryan is happy. >> yes. i think goitsing to be trog see what happens after he has nomination. he has to kind of do this. talking about tea party people is kind of the problem they weren't there earlier. and a lot of the people weren't super excited about romney and waited to endorse and support him. he says he's supporting the plan but getting into ses receivics and i do give ryan credit is that there is a reason they won't talk about it. will romney actually give this the full bear hug? >> is this now the third rail? is it now not touching? >> this is the house twice supported this budget it is how romney and is the same way. i think he's embracing. you know? to some extent it helps democrats because obama was just running on the referendum, he'd lose. obviously democrats want to make it a choice. okay? republicans accepted their challenge and it means if republicans lose it's not just because obama was on target. republicans will have a mandate to have

the wild card is mitt romney himself. he must convince skeptical voters that he is looking out for them. and that he has to do it in a very personal way. that is not governor romney's style. is he a reserve man who is a traditional campaigner saying the same things over and over and over. president obama also repeats himself frequently. but the president does have the common touch, his speaking ability is convincing to many. last time around, john mccain could not match barack obama in the debates. the senator simply refused to highlight mr. obama's telling n.i.v. world experience. reverend wright, that kind of stuff. in the end, mccain did not have enough persuasive power to overcome the charismatic obama. that was then. now, the president has a record and many believe it is weak. we have a new fox news poll that will demonstrate that in a moment. can mitt romney exploit the shaky economy? rising gas prices? and out-of-control debt? that is a question. romney can expect no help from the media. new study by george mason u

governor dean assuming that romney is the nominee what is the basic case against mitt romney? >> he has no understanding of what it is like for ordinary people. he is just building a zillion dollar house in california with an elevator for his car in it. he had bank accounts in switzerland, invest in the cayman islands. nothing illegal about any of this. a guy who brags on the stump that his wife has two cadillacs and that it was funny when shut down a factory. this is a decent guy and i think governor romney is a doesn't guy and santorum is right he is a moderate at heart but has no connection to the ordinary americans of this country. >> chris: all right, governor barbour i will let you wrap tup. the same amount of time. the basic case against barack obama. >> the case against barack obama is his record. here is a man that cannot run for reelection on his record and normally presidential elections are referendum on the president. in this case the policies are not only unpopular, they make it harder to create jobs when the government sucks owl of the money out of the economy.

that's what republicans and mitt romney will do also. >> you had a great year in 2010. a midterm election that you had to go back decades to find anything similar. what do you think will happen this time? it will be hard to repeat. >> it's hard to repeat the numbers. it's not hard to repeat gaining the majority. we intend to, through a series of talks with the american people, who show them how john boehner and -- john boehner as a budget on the floor and how we're look over the horizon to make sure we're competitive with the world and prepared for the future. that's what republicans are doing, maybe jackie with a walorsksi in indiana. we've them positioned all over the world to maintain the majority. >> you had a lot of redistricting to deal with. how do you tackle that. >> first of all, it's a political exercise. many states we had no control over. what we did is went in and looked at swing seats, seats that had, over the last three, four, five cycles, gone back and forth between republicans and democrats. we hardened those seats. i think 15 republican seats have been

the primaries. >> mitt romney has more than half the delegates he needs. >> mitt romney ran the table last night winning primaries and effectively wrapping up wrapping up the g.o.p. nomination in the process. >> fresh off the victories, mitt romney seems unstoppable talking less about his republican opponents and more about the president. we might say the president is returning the favor, jim, he is referring to mitt romney by name as kind unusual tact at this point. >> unless you remember 1996 clinton campaign they started bombing bob dole. obama administration doesn't plan on running on a positive record of accomplishment. they plan on clobbering romney. friday's "washington post" headline, romney uses -- this is long complicated story about romney's money. this is the team for the next seven months is not only romney out of touch but he is hiding his assets. >> are the media helping that narrative that the president is trying to paint? >> i think that those in the media who favor barack obama would clearly like to have rick santorum stick around a little bit longer so we can broade

mitt romney is about policy what mitt romney needs to do is break that policy message down and in layman's terms where it is more palatable. where it is not policy wonkish. and that is mitt romney's challenge right now. rick: doug, meantime, mitt romney and other republicans point to the president and his policies since he has been in office contributing to the fact that a record number of women have lost their jobs since this president walked into the white house and began his first term. how does the president combat that kind of a message? those are stats that are out there and anybody can read them. >> he will do a couple of things. first, he is going to basically attack mitt romney as he has for being a wealthy, out of touch and not having a job creation policy. and i think, ultimately, excuse me. that is going to be the focus of the campaign. plus some new ideas to create job. he is going back to his jobs policy. and he will talk about things like the violence for women's act, equal pay and a whole range of an issue that benefit women. rick: angela, if you're talking to a group of wo

mitt romney is not the president. people aren't paying 4 bucks a gallon because of mitt. >> we're importing less oil than the last ten years. that's one answer, under 50%. we're drilling more than -- >> because demand is down. it's because demand is down. >> here's the problem with your wingnuts. you think as soon as you come up with something specific it's a plan and it doesn't work because it's obama's plan. they have a proved nuclear power plant not approved before. that's good. >> he said we imported less oil? >> yes. >> that's because demand is down because the economy is suffering. if that's the theory, if the economy gets worse we'll import less. >> great plan. >> a energy policy is not rocket science. it's common sense. we know how to do it. we could do if there was the political will. >> perfect. tax time, america, we went outnd secured the president's tax returns. guess who's not paying as much tax as the first secretary? you can't make this stuff up. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] what can you do w

that poll shows barack obama over mitt romney. and that's. >> laura: we will see now that the field has cleared out a bit, we shall see with rick santorum's departure. we will see if he ends up campaigning with romney. monica and robert, great to see you both. >> thank you. >> laura: directly ahead, g.o.p. congressman paul ryan will be here to react to the breaking news about rick santorum and to the president's harsh attack on his budget plan. later, president obama plays the class warfare card once again. but soaking the rich actually help the economy? coming up. are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. [ male announcer ] the 2012 m-class continually monitors blind spots, scans the road to reveal potential threats, even helps awaken its driver if he begins to doze. so in the blink of an eye it will have performed more active safety measures than most cars will i

i can't believe you and mary katharine are mocking mitt romney. and you ask me why is barack obama saying. >> i'm not mocking anybody. >> come on, bill. out of touch? you have an elevator for your car? >> bill: i don't. i don't have an elevator for anybody. barack obama out of touch one way as mitt romney is out of touch the other way. >> out of touch is when you spend equivalent of the most giant jackpot in u.s. history on solyndra. >> that was a stretch. that was a stretch. >> bill: there was another one that went bankrupt today. we have lou dobbs working on that later this week. thank you very much, guys. directly ahead, ann coulter says no way to marco rubio as a republic v.p. choice. but why? today show doctors tape to make george zimmerman look like a racist. i'm gonna take allison jenkins to the senior prom in this. one day, i'll park this in a spot reserved for me. it's got 26,0 miles on it now, but i'm gonna take it to a thousand million. [ male announcer ] when you own a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz, chances are they'll own it one d

the author of mitt romney care. he was the author of the first government take over of health care. but president obama was follow the pluprint of the massachusetts. and we have a government take over of health care because mitt romney ushered it in with ted kennedy. mitt romney also taking fire from protestors in a stop in a phone bank. keep your mitts off birth control. they shouted shame. he is no longer feeling the need to respond to every gop rival ahe expressed his pride and said the man he expects to face in november does not. and i think over the last three or four years people have questioned that. >> romney spent much of the day campaigning with paul ryan who endorsed him. and along with senator marco rubio and former president george bush. >> and newt gingrich is making more news. and he was going to cut the stave. there is more to talk about. >> in a rare statement. he finally admitted that romney is likely to be the nominee . he is willing to help romney. and that is surprising begin that it is known th

he's carrying mitt romney's water. i have seen chris christie be optimistic about the future of this country. now it's election time and he's trying to paint this scare everyone narrative. it's not going to work this time. they don't believe this rhetoric and we are moving forward as a nation. this economy is creating jobs. people are starting to get back to work. now we have to fix our deficit problem. i think the rift should give back the bush tax cuts and pay more than their secretaries. >> the democrat message is the message of division and warfare. we have class warfare, race warfare, gender warfare, war against the church, war between the branches of government that we have never seen before. right track-wrong track. people are not optimistic and you know it. >> the republican message is everyone is out to get you. megyn: we'll have to argue about chris isly another time, good-bye. there are new charges about the trayvon murder case. when does your right to free speech begin and end. one flight attendant in troub

does the press have a problem with mitt romney? yes, even in the interview diane sawyer was somehow insisting that mitt romney was not relatable due to his wealth and somehow i felt ironic, an anchor to made 12 million a year and a husband makes exponentially more than that, and yes, i feel a conspiracy to take him down. >> in the boston globe, likeable is a hurdle for romney and see these headlines. does the media have it in for any republican. >> no, for whoever could move ahead and all the things we read about romney, like the six blind men and the elephant. one talks about the likability and one talks about the women issuement and there's a good idea what is happening with the candidates right and left. >> jon: judy, will romney get a fair shake? >> yeah, i think he's going to get a fair shake, but no fact getting around most reporters acknowledge they're liberals and probably sympathetic, but on the other hand we have a vibrant social media and people on the left and right who are going to take issue at the enemy, and by the w

actually mitt romney's idea. our power panel weighs in next. plus one of the world's largest powwow says going the gathering of nations, bringing hundreds of american tribes together. we'll have that next. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] get the mileage card with special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. get it and you're in. yeah, but the feeling wasn't always mutual i want you to grow big! if you grow for me, you'll get cookies for fre nothing worked. ♪ but we started using miracle-gro garden soil. you just mix it with your backyard soil... and it feeds your plants for up to 3 months. my plants grew bigger... more butiful... with more flowers and v

men are backing mitt romney, 49 to 45% over president obama, how do you analyze that? >> this is we have seen, the past couple of cycles, men support the republican candidate and women, the democratic candidate and it is simple wi. he has to paint mitt romney as not credible to be president, as too extreme or the economy improves or people's perception of the economy improves, and that will make men feel better and what i am trying to get to here, how do you get this group and that group. while it is true you have to pay particular attention to demographics and trying to communicate in a way that will attract those votes, at the end of the day it is pretty simple. if the economy improves, men will feel better about the economy and give the president credit and if they don't feel it is improving and doesn't actually improve they'll blame him. >> and you are right, at the end of the day the president is the president of the united states, including all genders, right? >> voters aren't really that different as we think. just times about how you communicate, but the policy