now to nmitt romney. ohio senator rob portman, just how much excitement would a romney portman match-up bring to the table? just ask steven colbert. >> nothing fires up the base like boring. just look at these two together. it's like the bland leading the bland. although, i got say, now that i see them side by side, i wonder if portman might have too much charisma. maybe romney should go with something blander like a manequin or rice cake or a heel of white bread. no, they're all to fascinating. >> last night portman himself weighed in on that bland leading the bland comparison. >> my kids love that. i'd like to think i'm a serious legislator and try to get things done. that's my goal in life is to get things done. and it's not about sizzle for me. >> so 2012 is the anti-sizzle election? >> i don't think mitt romney has a sizzle. don't get me wrong. i think he is a dynamic guy. >> well, when is the last time i heard the words mitt romney and sizzle in the same sentence? wow. >>> up next, republicans have

the president did not take governor romney's advice. romney, romney, romney. romney, romney said "i'll take a lot of credit for the fact that the industry has come back." whoa. by the way i'll take a lot of credit for a man having landed on the moon. because although i was in school, i rooted for it. >> see what i mean? 19 direct shots in today's speech alone. why are republicans digging up four-year-old attack lines against president obama. we have the birthers that have yet to put to bed that issue. this is u.s. congressman mike coffman at a fundraiser last week. coffman found himself back pedaling that one this week in a quote that says "i have confidence in president obama's citizensiip and elect ma si as president of the united states of america but i don't think he shares my beliefs. his policies reflect that -- >> so this congressman says the president is an undocumented alien, and he is out right un-american. who votes for these odd ducks and political quakes? up next, mitt romney wants you to believe that he has more in common with bill clinton than o

mitt romney had a chance to march with romney when he was 15 years old. he had a chance to march with history and he didn't do it. the last time he was running for president, he lied and said that his father did, but he didn't. the civil rights issue of mitt romney's era was civil rights. the civil rights martyrs, james cheney, andrew goodman and michael schwartz were murdered trying to help people get the right to vote in mississippi. that was when hundreds of college students just a few years older than mitt romney were pouring into the south during the civil rights movement. a month after james cheney, andrew goodman and michael schwerner gave their lives for it. the civil rights act was signed into law because the civil rights issue of mitt romney's era was civil rights. the voting rights act was signed into law two months after mitt romney graduated from high school. did mitt romney attend any of the civil rights demonstrations in detroit during his high school years? no, not one. did other american high school kids both rich and poor, white and blac

romney? >> we don't quit, we don't give up. >> governor, would you go as far as rush limbaugh did yesterday and say this is the first president in modern time who will run a campaign against capitalism? >> well, it certainly sounds like that's what he's doing. >> the reason is simple. romney is not a conservative. >> it seems -- >> impossible. >> plain foolishness. he seems to ratchet up. >> former governor of the great state of massachusetts. ♪ don't stop believing >> we begin with the specter of mitt romney's first day in the white house. and as the presumed republican nominee releases a new video featuring all the actions he would take within ten minutes of taking office. when i say actions as regards to mr. romney, i obviously mean empty bromides and attacks on the current administration. if you don't believe me, take a look. >> day one. president romney announces deficit reductions ending the obama era of big government. helping secure our kids' futures. president romney stands up to c

i'm not sure a mark rubio or a chris christie, if romney is behind, solves romney's problems. but i do think it does have the potential. we now have three out of four major players in the race are already set. a fourth is to be determined. i don't think it's ridiculous to say a fourth will matter. it's not going to end the race either way unless mitt romney picks sarah palin, which i don't think he will do, but it does have an impact, and i would agree on the euro -- >> you've set it up, chris, i'm not going to do this on purpose, but if he picks a prize, it will be born. i know it's not on purpose, but it's more interesting to say not on purpose. maggie, what do you think of this? can a vp prospect be that interesting and that much of a cannonball that it blows this thing up to say, wow, this guy is faster than i thought he was. look who he picked. >> i don't make a habit of disagreeing with chris but i'm going to disagree with him here. i think if mitt romney picked a mark rubio or chris christie, he would get press. i don't think he will because they overshadow him. i think

plus, running with romney. the campaign says they are looking at a, quote, pretty significant group for vice president. but this morning we're joined by the last person who made the cut, the former lieutenant governor, what is it like to be vetted and sharing the ticket with mitt romney? >>> and jpmorgan reports a $2 billion loss over the last two weeks. jamie dimon says errors and bad judgment were to blame. is this the end of griping against the dodd frank financial reform law? good morning from washington. it's a busy friday. na 11th, 2012. my name is chuck todd and this is "the daily rundown." knit romney has learned that every section of your life is open to inspection, especially high school. a washington post story on his high school years at the prestigious cranbrook school in detroit, classmates describing his pranks. when he was a senior, he acosted a boy with bleached blond hair and tackled him and pinned him to the ground as the boy, john lauber, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help. romne

romney invested $10 million. the firm's managing partner is his son, tagg romney. he has an investment stakes in ta associates, on thor of several for profit schools. how about that? folks, it isn't about education, about making a dollar. privatizing education takes care of a lot of republican problems. number one, weakens and maybe kills the unions and allows funding cuts for schools so governors can run wild with the budget and hurt kids. most importantly, it increases the profit margins of people like mitt romney and his son. the education of future generations takes a back seat to all of this. for profit. is that where we want to go in america? there are instances where these charter schools are not performing as well as the public schools. how would you feel as a parent if you found out the school is making money but your kid is behind. why? they had to make cuts because they wanted to make some more money. is the not what the founding fathers had for this country. mitt romney all of a sudden has a worldly view of education? gosh, i remember the republicans go

mitt romney -- first of all, mitt romney in 1994 said he was going to be better on civil unions and gay marriage than ted kennedy. he has come a long way since then. this is about being on the right side of history. there is also poll numbers that show among independent voters the support for gay marriage the spread is like 16%. this is going to be something the white house brings up again and again and again and again. you hear the white house talking about mitt romney being a severe conservative. here is your evidence. >> i am so struck by the fact. it was just eight years ago. the entire campaign was run with this as tz key wedge issue. with conservatives prosecuting the cultural war both because it amped up their face. they had to essentially choose their own base, the preferences of independent voters. what i have been struck by all this is the tentativeness and the defensiveness of mitt romney. this is something the other side, the republican party and conservatives saw as something to lead with just eight years ago. >> they are on the defensive now. it is really remarkable to me

they elected mitt romney. he made it sound as if the election was just the house republicans. >> schieffer: we have to end it there. it's a lot of fun. we'll be back in a moment with our "face the nation" flashback. >> schieffer: finally, with mitt romney all but certain to be the republican nominee, we bid a wistful fairs well to the republican primary and all who took part. that is our "face the nation" flashback. >> it's three agency of government when i get there that are gone, commerce, education-- and what's the third one there? let's see. >> schieffer: who is michele bachmann, and why does she want to be president. >> it's very odd to me that someone would run up a half million dollars' bill at a jewelry store. >> go talk to tiffany's. all i'm telling you is we are very frugal. >> 9-9-9 plan. >> that's what i'm talking about! >> when they ask me who is the president of ubeki-ubeki-stan-stan, i will say i don't know. do you know. >> can we stop the pious baloney. you ran and lost and that's why are you n

is wrong with mitt romney? he doesn't have to build a $19 million in california, does he? can he wait for that for a few years? and now he's got an elevator in his garage? >> i tell you what, 10,000 bucks. $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> take a shot. go for it. take a risk. get the education. borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business. >> joining me now, jonathan washington post opinion writer and meghan mccain, columnist for the daily beast. meghan, first of all, it's a really ugly t-shirt. first of all, did you like that thing? >> no, it's not my style. but what's important to say is she has custom designer clothes as well. >> i believe the tennis shoes were $450. >> well, more expensive than what i wear and what the average american wears but what ann romney needs to remember is she is on the campaign trail and she should probably be more kog na zant of the message. >> she should have been warned by some of these things that came out against michelle obama. on clothin

romney's own father george. statement a new article in politico is getting attention as it highlights romney's mormon faith and resurrects the conversation about an old prophecy once attributed to joseph smith, the founder of mormonism, the so-called white horse prophecy, it is important to note the prophecy was discounted by the mormon church nearly 100 years ago, but according to politico the prophecy predicted a white horse, a metaphor for wealthy mormons would rise up and lead america back to greatness after banks fail and can the constitution is near collapse. politico says romney has mentioned devine influence regarding the constitution several times on the campaign trail but the cam taken has not responded to the request to elaborate. i am joined by the deputy white house editor for politico. thank you for your time. he has not talked a lot about his faith and they have gone online and searching and trying to understand what it means to be mormon and what are the beliefs and this issue of this white horse

romney won't distance himself from it. what should romney do? >> i almost have a little sympathy for romney. he's trying to raise money and reach people. he's trying to do what candidates are supposed too. here you have this guy who is just addicted to these kind of side show antics. it's pure show biz. donald trump is a smart guy. he likes to see people spin around and to be the cause of it. he's just stealing the spotlight from his candidate. i don't know if he knows how much damage he is doing to a guy that wants to be president. >> james peterson what about the candidate? has romney done enough? >> i have no sympathy for romney here. he got to make it clear he doesn't ride with this basis elements of republican party. it's all well and good for donald trump to run the side show because that what he does. that's how he stays in the news. a presidential candidate has to conduct himself much differently and romney has to rise above this if he wants the aspire to be the president of the country. >> here is another romney advisor speaking today.

romney. romney. romney. he said, quote, i'll take a lot of credit for the fact that the industry's come back. whoa. by the way, i'll take a lot of credit for man having landed on the moon, because although i was in school, i rooted for it. >> see what i mean? 19 direct shots in today's speech alone. finally, why are republicans bigging big ing -- digging up four-year-old attack lines on president obama? here's the latest. this is u.s. congressman from colorado mike coffman at a fundraiser last week. >> i don't know whether barack obama was born in the united states of america. i don't know that. but i do know this, that in his heart, he's not an american. he's just not an american. >> coffman found himself backpedalling that last night in a quote when he said, i have confidence in president obama's citizenship and legitimacy in the united states, however, i don't believe the president shares my belief in american exceptionalism. his policies reflect a philosophy that america is but one nation among many equa

today, romney, the campaign put out a call for romney's old classmates to come forward and defend the candidate. romney did some damage control for himself on fox news today. >> i don't recall the incident, myself, but i've seen the reports and i'm not going to argue with that. there's no question that i did some stupid things when i was in high school. and obviously, if i hurt anyone by virtue of that, i would be very sorry for it and apologize for it. >> but romney also rationalized the behavior by saying he didn't know the victim's sexual orientation. romney and his friends were beating up a weaker kid, just for the hell of it? not because he was gay? >> i had no idea what that individual's sexual orientation might be. going back to the 1960s, that wasn't something that we all discussed or considered. >> i think we can all agree that people change throughout their lifetimes. no one should be held accountable today for every action he or she takes as a teenager, but these stories, i think, give us a snapshot of who mitt romney is. the guy who forced a hair cut on a helpless can kid

i've played a pilot before. >>> mitt romney, presidential presumed nominee for president, mitt romney once lost $2 billion. $2 billion. then he found it in another pair of pants. oh, there's my other pants. $2 billion. >> back to "hardball." this is side show and david letterman said what we hear so orch from mitt romney, he just fails to come across as your average american guy. inside the actor's studio thinks he has the solution for mitt romney. here he is speaking directly to romney. >> let's start with your laugh. >> i live for laughter. ha, ha, ha, ha. >> it isn't working. it's inert. it just doesn't come across as genuine. worst of all, it's mirthless, which is to say, while you expect us to be amused, you're not the least amused yourself. i would advise those of you watching to freeze the frame and then put your hands on the lower part of your face and look at your eyes. there is no pleasure there. >> is that powerful stuff? james lipton getting to the heart of the matter or the lack thereof. >>> next up, former president george w. bush gave his endorsement of mitt romney toda

maybe romney can't. governor romney believes if he just keeps lying about the reality, you're not going smart enough to figure the whole thing out. >> things are getting a little better and the answer is yeah. things are getting a little better in a lot of places in this country, but it's not thanks to his policy, it's in spite of his policies. >> did you hear that? in spite of his policies. let's look at the private sector job growth that team romney can't figure out. the number of jobs under obama has dropped 1.86 million. check this out. that one red line in the chart, right there. see the red lines there, the red line on the chart in january. not one, the lowest point for private sector jobs was on president bush's watch. that's 820,000 jobs lost. in february, that's the blue line, the president was still finding his way around the oval office and his family was just getting move into the white house. president obama had been in the office all of 28days when congress passed the stimulus package on fe

and romney can't get there. and this is where the demographics start to cut in because the kerry states, obama's going to win the kerry states. nevada, new mexico, and colorado where you'd say boy, that's tough for obama, look at what's going on with foreclosures in nevada. of course he should get all the blame on that but we'll pass on that for argument's sake here. the problem is romney cannot win those states with the differential he's running with latinos and hispanics. these are states with -- all three of those have sizable enough minority representation, particularly with latinos, that you can't lose that group 68-19 or whatever -- depending on what poll you're looking at now, and win those three states. so give him one of them. that means obama's got to pick off one of the tossup states that he's now heading every single one of. some by two. some by seven. but he's got to win every single -- and so you get into -- that's why i'm not -- look, this is going to be fought out on the issues on going forward,

here are other pranks pulled by mitt romney. >> as a sophomore in high school, mitt romney cut the break lines of his lab partner's car. we'll be back with other hilarious pranks. in 1964, 17-year-old mitt romney burned down a howard johnson's. see you next time on other hilarious pranks pulled by mitt romney. >> good morning. it's tuesday, may 15th. a beautiful shot of the jefferson memorial and a rainy morning in washington. with us on set nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell. we have an msnbc contributor, jonathan capehart and editor for the "huffington post," sam stein. mike barnicle along with willie geist. i guess all of you have seen the flurry of polls out. the usa today/gallup poll, on the front page of usa today, which i'm sure millions of you will, you see the headline, two in three say a better economy is ahead. there is some positive news. you would think that benefit would accrue to the president. right now, it's not. 71% rate today's economy conditions as poor. 29 say the economy is in good shape. the poll shows ame

president obama and governor romney. and the decisions they made and the vision they have for the country. the president isn't running against an industry, not running against a group of people. he's running against mitt romney, and what we're trying to do is make sure people have a crystal clear sense of who mitt romney is, what kind of decisions he made and how it impacted middle class americans all over the country. and the truth is, it had a negative impact on people's lives. we think it's important americans know that, because that is the president he would be. he would look out for folks at the top and be at the expense of the middle class. >> you talk aid theed about the be no shortage of ads, you're trying to define mitt romney and your candidate. the romney campaign launched a new ad called day one part ii, let me play a clip. >> day one, president romney announces deficit reduction, helping secure our kids futures. president romney stands up to china on trade and demands they play by the rules. president romney

romney does. that's why i think this vice presidential pick and how he goes is going to -- could impact that. >> when was the last time a vice presidential pick -- >> even carried his on state. i know. >> 1960. brilliant column in the "wall street journal" last week i think on this very topic. >> and if you believe robert caro's new book he carried the state because he stole it. but separate question. >> well, what else is new? please. >> as a texas practitioner -- >> 48 votes in the '48 primary you think that was an actual majority? forget it. duval county. jim hogg. >> other than 1960. >> and rahm emanuel's running chicago. >> we'll give you chicago. >> when did a vice presidential candidate really make a difference and carry a state, joe? >> well, i think that is -- i'm saying i think that's going into their thinking. it's clearly look at who they're looking at. and -- >> it could -- and i was the one that's skeptical of this. all the data show that the average vice presidential candidate has a

romney wanted the bankruptcy. what romney didn't say but he should have, there would have had to be a government liquidity loan to get the new thing up on his feet. >> he's not saying that. when you listen to what he wanted to do it was, okay, gm, triage. you can't do triage. it is still one of the largest companies in the world. >> the bankruptcy was the triage. they off load pension debt. give chrysler to fiat. the government put in billions and billions of dollars. >> take local issues like mine. investinginfrastructure. romney's talking about not investing in those things. he's talking about giving tax breaks to the wealthiest people in this country. >> this is why bain actually does matter. because it needs to be used to talk about the bigger issue. bain fundamentally is about two conflicting visions. i don't entirely agree with how you see the visions. this is about a president who thinks that private business is bad. you need bigger government, more regulation, higher taxes, all of those things and people l

romney favored improbable. the bankruptcy judge presiding over the chrysler loan basically said the same thing. the record before the court was clear. there were no other sources of lending. even other republicans have seen the light. congressman upton of michigan supports romney but he says he doesn't agree with the candidate's approach to the automobile industry. >> there was no one that was willing to come up with the cash to keep them afloat but also to serve the warranties of everyone like you and i that drive all these cars. there was no one that would have picked up those pieces other than the federal government. >> you mean it was so outlandish he was willing to laugh about it in an answer? upton says no one was willing to come up with the cash to make romney's plan work. that's the bottom line, including romney's old company bain capital. there's no doubt about it, mitt romney's proposal for detroit was a failure. major economists know it. the republican party knows it. even his old company bain capita

the governor did not take governor romney's advice. romney, romney, romney. romney, romney said "i'll take a lot of credit for the fact that the industry has come back." whoa. by the way i'll take a lot of credit for a man having landed on the moon. because although i was in school, i rooted for it. >> see what i mean? 19 direct shots in today's speech alone. why are republicans digging up four-year-old attack lines against president obama. we have the birthers that have yet to put to bed that issue. this is u.s. congressman mike coffman at a fundraiser last week. >> i don't know if barack obama was born in the united states or not. i don't know. but i do know this, that in his heart, he's not an american. he's just not an american. coffman found himself back petaling that one this week in a quote that says "i have confidence in president obama's zip and elect ma si as president of the united states of america but i don't think he shares my beliefs. his policies reflect that -- >> so this congressman says the president is an undocumented alien, and he isout r

ratings that both candidates -- mitt romney, i want to focus on mitt romney. president's over 50% or better. personal favorable, florida, virginia, ohio. of these three states, romney upside-down like in the nbc/"wall street journal" poll in virginia and ohio more have unfavorable impression than favorable. numbers in florida. 457-43 positive that it's moving -- again, sort of more proof that florida here of the three is probably romney's best shot right now. >> exactly. and i think this is the measure of likability and the president does better on that than he does in terms of his approval rating. romney ultimately, if he's really going to put this obama first term at risk, he's got to be a little more convincing. seems to be the case in florida, not in the other swing states. right now talking about 60 electoral votes in these three states combined. this is potentially make or break land for the next election. >> all right. let me make you get into the weeds here a little built, because explain, a lot of people will look at our party i.d. splits in these thr

mitt romney's is at 41. romney's unfavorable is at 45, which, as they say, is underwater on that. it's a big jump, though. a big improvement for romney, who in april had a favorability of only 35. president had a four-point higher favorability of 56. so that favorability gap is closing. but the president still has a significant lead over romney with it. that is the polling that indicates there's a vulnerability for romney on character. >> oh, i absolutely agree. i mean, i wouldn't read too much into the jump in his favorability. a lot of that is just republicans who waited forever to get blind mitt romney. finally at this late day saying, yeah, we like the guy. we're with him. a lot of that is at work there. i'm thinking of the slogan you just quoted from john's piece there. whether they use it or not, there's another aspect of the massachusetts record that speaks directly to it. one of the reasons why romney left massachusetts and so unpopular is because he quit on the job half way through. he was elected in 2002. he was out the door by the end of 2004. he was using the office as

mitt romney. that will not necessarily work. joe may be right. the other interesting question is both sides will have armies of persuasion. the democrats will build this thing on internet technology and applications and the web and social networks attempting to takeoe and link them up with others who look like joe and hope he will reach out weird guys who live up -- they will take the social characteristics of joe and match him up with other people in order to have joe work with them. we found it worked beautifully in 2004 when we late joe up with people in his neighborhood to do that. that victory committee framework or that existed is still there in the battleground states. the chairman in warren county, ohio, the person who led the volunteer task force in florida -- most of em are still there. a lot of them in 2010. this republican national chairman understands this and has been worng behind the scenes to have that there. we will have two competing business models. one says it will use the inte

mitt romney's tenure as head of bain capital. firms like solyndra received federal loans from the obama administration but have since gone bankrupt. >> more than $16 billion have gone to companies like solyndra linked to big obama and democrat donors. obama giving taxpayer money to big donors. and then watching them lose it. >> nbc news senior political editor mark murray joins us live from washington. mark, than ad is an attempt to muddy the talk about the bain enterprises that went bellbelly that did the same thing. >> that's right. over the last two weeks we have been debating bain and seen examples of two of the companies, the democrats want to highlight and pad in the early 1990s as well as gts steel. what the romney's campaign doing is talk about the worst examples when private equity didn't work, let's have some examples of when public equity, the stimulus, didn't work, and they're using the solyndra case to say, look, here is an example, president obama overseeing something that didn't work out as well. now i would make t

mitt romney's team is a dandy. they lied about the war on women, the automobile loan and the death of the number one terrorist. tonight i'm going to set the record straight. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i just recommend that people take a look at people's previous statements in terms of whether they thought it was appropriate to go into pakistan and take out bin laden. >> mitt romney is running away from his rhetoric on bin laden, and he's digging a deeper hole in the process. >> richard wolffe on his disaster. >>> time after time the republicans have gotten together and they've said no. >> the president makes the case to workers. republicans are the problem. >> i send them a jobs bill that would have put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back to work repairing our roads, bridges, transit systems, they still said no. howard fineman on the president's big speech on jobs. >>> it was another war on women train wreck. >> it's about policy and whether or not you want to fix the structure disc

mitt romney is not that guy. he is a man who is a man of faith -- give him that -- of business -- give him that -- of family. give him that. but he doesn't understand what the job of president is. he thinks it's a tinker job. >> i don't think that's fair. >> tell me what i missed. >> first of all, i think having served as governor is a step, but i also think something deeper. this is a guy who has thought about this at least since his father ran in 1968. >> he did what daddy couldn't do. >> he thought about it on a serious level. >> is that understanding our country? >> i'll just say this having collided with him head on and having collided with his organization head on, and now working with him on the campaign. he has assembled his very smart group of people, and he listens to them well, and he asks them tough questions, and he is approaching this as me thodicaltho methodically. back in the 1950s, sam bell, who was one of the greatest politicians of all time, was at a meeting of academics who was shocked eisenho

romney's proposals. will that be a reputation of some things that got us into the ditch or something new and better. >> chris: less than a minute left, karl. does at this point i understand we are six points oath. does obama have an easier path. >> an easier bath but not a great map. this lacks opinion because -- >> chris: put up the map again. >> the last poll for south carolina is december of last year. i think for example up-to-date showing will show, iowa, and ohio either up for grabs or leaning for romney. same with colorado. and frankly this is going to come down to a narrow victory one side report other. >> chris: to be continued. thank you panel. see you next week. check out panel plus where the group picks right up with the foxussion on our website fox newssunday .com. follow us on twitter @ "fox news sunday." up next, our power player of the week. >> chris: we like to profile special people who live in or are visiting, washington, at the end of each program. this week we willle tell you about s

mitt romney had a chance to march with romney when he was 15 years old. he had a chance to march with history and he didn't do it. the last time he was running for president, he lied and said that his father did, but he didn't. the civil rights issue of mitt romney's era was civil rights. just -- the civil rights martyrs, james cheney, andrew goodman and michael schwartz were murdered trying to help people get the right to vote in mississippi. that was when hundreds of college students just a few years older than mitt romney were pouring into the south during the civil rights movement. a month after james cheney, andrew goodman and michael schwerner gave their lives for it. the civil rights act was signed into law because the civil rights issue of mitt romney's era was civil rights. the voting rights act was signed into law two months after mitt romney graduated from high school. did mitt romney attend any of the civil rights demonstrations in detroit during his high school years? no, not one. did other american high school kids both rich and poor, white

i think mitt romney will do what he thinks is good for mitt romney. and he wants donald trump's money, and will tolerate whatever donald trump has to say. >> can i talk about war roomy stuff here. >> sure. >> there was a poll that showed that the president is having trouble with white blue color worker males. >> let me just say we're not conceding any constituency and i think whatever the background, have reason to side with the president in this fight. the president's basic theory is that you build the economy from the middle out, not from the top down and that is distinnily not what governor romney's theory is. if you can give money to millionaires and raise taxes on people making $40,000 a year, that is not something that people should gravitate to. if you want to take student loan reforms and roll them back so we are giving money to bank and instead of students that's not something that a family should embrace. so we're going to compete vigorously for all constituencies. but there are obviously constituencies where our numbers are high, and where

that will be a good day for mitt romney. >> that would be a good day for mitt romney. joining us now is steve schmidt. who said it would be a good day for mitt romney when president george w. bush endorsed him? do you still feel that way? >> it means mitt romney is the republican march, this bush endorsement would have meant that mitt romney was the republican nominee because that's the threshold by which president bush would have entered the race. >> once he wrapped it up, he didn't have to get the george w. bush -- >> i think it's a pro forma endorsement. mitt romney is the republican nominee. he's going to endorse him. i don't think you'll see him actively campaigning for him. there's a terrific new book out there by nancy gibbs and it charged the relationship between all of the former presidents going back from truman and hoover and it's a fascinating dynamics and there is a traditionalist approach to this. a library and -- >> a political speech. >> he's giving paid speeches but he's not on the campaign speech. >> he's doing policy stuff. he was doing his paul ryan

did romney do that? >> i'm sure it will happen. >> hang on one second. i want to bring in joy-ann. you've been about to burst over here. it raises an interesting point. job this, often time candidates will say, i disagree with what this person said. i disavow -- all of a sudden you see them standing next to them for photo ops and fund-raisers. it is quite bizarre. >> it is. i think it shows the extent to which cartoon characters have taken over the republican party. this was a perfectly acceptable party that is now in the tlal of people like rush limbaugh and looney people like donald trump. the characters, the caricatures of the party run the party. because now the proper party has decided they would give in to the ideology of talk radio. that is really in a sense what the tea party was. this was the talk radio listeners deciding to take over the poifrlt was the john birch society people. deciding when they pushed back in the '50s, they decided to come roaring back. now the republican party when i was g

it is romney. watching him tonight, as you unspool the reels, reminded me of what a friend of mine, hollywood legend said, about a really bad movie. he said, the audience just doesn't believe it. romney is something that i think the audience, the american people, he is someone that we're just not going to believe. >> bob shrum and joan walsh, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >>> coming up, rick santorum finally endorses mitt romney. late at night, in an e-mail. what the latest show of support says about the presumtive republican nominee. >>> and we'll talk to north carolina governor bef purdue who is waging a one woman campaign against gop extremism. and the state's new anti-gay initiative on the ballot today. >>> plus, nobel prize winning economist paul krugman says the solution to our financial crisis is in reach and incredibly simple. i'll ask him about it when we joins me here live. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] this is genco services -- mcallen, te

is wrong with mitt romney? he doesn't have to build a $19 million in california, does he? can he wait for that for a few years? and now he's got an elevator in his garage? >> i tell you what, 10,000 bucks. $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> take a shot. go for it. take a risk. get the education. borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business. >> joining me now, jonathan washington post opinion writer and meghan mccain, columnist for the daily beast. meghan, first of all, it's a really ugly t-shirt. first of all, did you like that thing? >> no, it's not my style. but what's important to say is she has custom designer clothes as well. >> i believe the tennis shoes were $450. >> well, more expensive than what i wear and what the average american wears but what ann romney needs to remember is she is on the campaign trail and she should probably be more cognizant of the message. >> she should have been warned by some of these things that came out against michelle obama. on clothing

mitt romney has said that u.s. should bring home troops from afghanistan, quote, as soon as our generals think it's okay. end quote. he has also criticized president obama for publicly announcing the administration's withdraw, a plan saying that would innocent advise the taliban it wait out the withdraw. as of today the war in afghanistan left 1,948 u.s. troops dead and 15,786 wounded. joining me now democratic strategist and msnbc crystal ball and aol editorial director and msnbc political analyst howard fineman. thank you both for joining me. crystal, our assessment of the president's speech. >> i think he did a very good job. he does what he does best which is balancing the pragmatic and laying down five very concrete steps as to how we will end this conflict and tie it into american values and make it idealistic adds well. what came to mind for me with some of his rhetoric was ronald reagan and and he said here in the predawn darkness of afghanistan we can see a light of the new day on horizon. it is exactly th

romney is in bed with this guy. why is romney pulling up the kifrs over him and trump. what is he up to here? >> first of all, i'm less interested in what donald trump says than in what mitt romney doesn't say and what for that matter john mccain doesn't say. i tried pretty hard today to elicit from the mccain campaign or the senate office their view on latest about donald trump. i wanted know from the romney people whether they thought that association as george will said was harmful. no answer. i wanted to know from the mccain campaign, which is who mccain senate office, mccain having been used in an obama ad as the good senator who rejected this kind of politics for years ago. i wanted to know if mccain had anything to say about what was going on in las vegas today. silence. i think the silence from both romney camp and mccain camp means the following. they are willing to let donald trump root around in this and say whatever he wants to bring this topic up or keep the topic alive for those voters who are going to care about it. and they exist. they still exist in pla

zero to mitt romney. imagine what the conversations are like between the minnesota republicans and the romney campaign. between the state and the national republican party. can you possibly help us out with the rent money? i did say there is some good news for minnesota republicans here, and that is the that the state republicans with their $96,000 due in back rent and their million dollar debt, the state republican party found a way to turn the popularity of ron paul into something more than gets them into trouble with the guys at national. they turned his convention this weekend into a fund-raiser for the state republican party. lemons into lemonade. if you can't beat them, join them. and good luck winning minnesota in november, mr. romney. >>> this is one of those news cycles where the thing that is going on likely to make history is not a thing making headlines now as it is happening. this is president obama in chicago yesterday. he gave a wide ranging press conference. at the conclusion of the press

while mitt romney's team pushes the, are you better off attack. we know what november will be about. it's the economy. but who exactly will voters want to blame for it. >>> primary day in the cornhusker state. which republican will come out on top to try to prevent bob kurrkur kerrey from coming back to the united states senate. >>> we'll give you a crash course in our brand new app full of the latest news, analysis, even battleground maps for you to make and play with at home and on the go. good morning from washington. it's tuesday, may 15th, 2012. this is "the daily rundown." >>> the president's trip to new york had a little something for everybody in his re-electn campaign. a nod to women in hopes of growing the gender gap. an embrace of enthusiastic donors happy with his new gay stance and an awkward attempt to raise wall street money while bashing some of wall street's practices, at least when it come to you mitt romney practiced them. he had a commencement address at an all-female college. but the address was less your traditional pearls of

romney is stolid and dependable. if you marry him, maybe you will have a stable life, maybe with a dog on the roof. [laughter] in terms of personality, obama has a huge edge in this election, and it could be decisive. >> going to put taht in -- that in your next column. >> security is not a small thing. romney will say, "i am security, safety." >> richard nixon -- >> richard nixon and hubert humphrey. >> that is what romney would like this election to be. >> roger clemens on trial for perjury again. >> i am saying the statements about me are wrong. i have never taken steroids or hdh. >> roger clemens testifying before congress in 2008. in his 20-year major-league career, he won seven cy youngs, but is now on trial for perjury. nina, you were there. >> files or dramas that change and the pace of them changes. the prosecution's star witness was supposed to be any pen i -- andy pettite. he was not the icing on the cake. he basically recanted when the defense lawyer cross-examination said, "is it possible you are wrong?

mitt romney won't make himself available. even in jody cantor's rather complimentary "the new york times" story about his religion, no one from the romney camp made the candidate available. >> this is a guy who won't talk in-depth about the one thing that most defines him which is his faith. that's kind of fascinating. i think it contributes to the sense maybe we don't really know who he really is. >> pulling away the veil of secrecy one page at a time, "time" magazine and michael scherer, its engreatest ambassador. thank you, sir, for its time. >>> coming up, the eurozone confronts its debt crisis. >>> closer to home, jay carney calls bs. on what? answer's next on "now." yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. of single mile credit cards. battle speech right? may i? [ horse neighs ] for too long, people have settled for single miles. with the capital one venture card, you'll earn d

mitt romney. [ applause ] >> heather: mitt romney delivering a commencement speech at liberty university a christian college in virginia. welcome to a brand-new hour. i'm heather childers. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. the presumptive presidential nominee looking for support in a key swing state. >> the american culture promotes personal responsibility. the dignity of work. the value of education. devotion to a purpose greater than it's a self and pre-eminence of family. >> greg: molly has more. >> molly: governor romney did not shy away from the gay marriage debate to what is like lay crowd of socially conservative voters. those principles he spoke about in the sound bite, he says not everyone may agree how they play out in the culture. >> as fundamental as these principles are, they may become debatable, so it is with enduring institution of marriage. marriage is the relationship between a marriage of one man and one woman president obama steered clear of social issues, saying that he is in favor