>> i'm john heilman. >> i'm mark halperin. with all their respective president obama -- with all due respect to president obama, this is a motorcade. ♪ >> in our lineup tonight, jeb bush's monopoly, ted cruz's community chat, and rahm emanuel passes go. first, rahm emanuel goes direct to jail. do not collect $200. mark and i wrote that one of rand paul's liabilities was in

-- that he hasn't ever so slightly thin skin. yesterday, he made his campaign announcement. he moved on step two. doing an interview with sean hannity, he declared that the things he had set in the past should be in the past, which is to say off-limits. this morning, he appeared on the today show with savannah guthrie who asked him about some things , he said in the past. >> you have had the use in the -- the use -- views in the past on foreign policy that are under docs, but you seem to change. you one set iran was not a threat. now you say it is. you once proposed ending foreign aid to israel. you now supported. you once offered -- >> before we -- >> i just wonder if you have mellowed out. >> why don't you let me explain instead of talking over me.

why don't you ask me a question? >> have you changed your opinion? >> that is a better way. you have editorialized. let me answer a question. you asked a question and said how have your views changed saying my views of change. instead of editorializing and saying my views of change. >> rand paul went on to give on some reporting advice to another journalist, this one from the ap, who asked him to clarify his position on abortion. >> i would reported exactly the way i said it. i gave you a five-minute answer. >> in your office pool of how long it would take for the thinness of rand paul's skin to reveal itself, if you picked one day, congratulations. mark? my question to you is is already it already clear just 24 hours

that his prickliness prove to be his fatal flaw? >> the man's skin is thinner than that on a peking duck what if kmart. greetings from chicago, where rahm emanuel was at this community center. i was talking with some kids. we'll talk about that later. this is like nostradamus or cassandra for this one. this is a guy who knows that being thin-skinned is a problem. we did not give all the examples today. he was demonstrating the fact that when he is challenged, he reacts badly. nothing savannah asked was unreasonable. nothing the ap asked is unreasonable. for him not to be prepared to answer a question about exceptions for abortions, but this was beyond my sense of just quickly this would happen. if he does not become a strong candidate, this is the problem. >> here is the thing.

there are a couple of different matters. if you are lecturing journalists about their business, there's a saying don't pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel. taking on the cloak of a journalism professor and lecturing are collated is not a way to win over the press or voters. there is this abortion thing which is not about thinness of skin, is about unpreparedness. you're running for the republican nomination and you have some ambiguity on where you stand on one of your parties defining issues. you must have it answer button down and deal to give it in 35 seconds. he can answer that question. it goes not only to temperament, but also the preparedness. >> if he has changed his position, just explain it. i think most people would find it refreshing. he can't pretend that he is not subject to the rules of political journalism. and the voters which says you , need to explain yourself. the fact that his reaction to it

is to not give a bad answer, but a prickly answer -- i will say it again, if there is something standing between him and a strong candidacy, it is this. the fact that he put it on display in the first round of interviews is quiet something. >> it is this, and also the actual substance, which is that he has changed his position on things. there was a time when he wanted to get rid of all for. you have evidence when nation for that. you can't fight reality and gravity. moving on. >> angry weasel answers don't win. >> angry weasels don't win. on ted cruz of boulevard, there is enough money to dive in head first scrooge mcduck style. according to exclusive reporting by my friend mark halperin a handful of pro ted cruz super pacs have $31 million in the bank by friday, just in time for a real blowout at coachella.

i have to say to coin a phrase this sounds like a bit of a game , changer to me. do you think it is? if so, how big is it? >> is a huge game changer. in two ways. first of all it gets people who were not taking ted cruz's candidacy to focus on him. it's not that long ago that $31 million would have been a budget for an entire presidential campaign. it shows that he can play the super pacs game. he may be the best funded republican before new year's eve, and that's a big deal. second, i think it emboldens every other campaign. they were saying we will wait to see when we get our super pac money in, but they will now go for multimillion dollar checks. it's hard to catch up the text that ted cruz. >> when you think about the implications of this, if you think about the anti-establishment bracket and the people competing in a bracket. there is no one i can think of who can do anything like this. i think it comes as a surprise to a lot of people who underestimated ted cruz. it also puts the fear god and everybody who is competing in a

bracket that they will be able to keep up with him. this is huge. it puts him at a different place than mike huckabee or rick santorum or ben carson and terms of his ability to get his message out. >> it puts pressure on rick perry. >> yes. i wonder if there is any money left for governor perry. speaking of candidates not named jeff, john kasich never cared for what they say and games they play. on making kelly -- megan kelly show last night, governor kasich for it with the idea of running for president. more openly than he has in the past. if you take all the other things going on around the anti-bush world, i'm just what you think. is there a dynamic that's developing that could be called anybody but jeb. >> look they are all going to be the anti-bush. they are going to go to the low

hanging fruit is. that is his weak spot, being a bush and family legacy. i think it will not stop it until jeb bush finds a moment to put the thing in the back of the cam, it will be a problem for him. >> it's funny. he got such credit for all of us for jumping out early with the egg fundraiser getting out ahead , of everybody. now that the announcements are starting, it has flipped on its head, and all these other people are getting their moment to take up the big stage. we will see marco rubio on monday. jeb will have another time to seize the stage, until that moment comes, he's going to look like he is under siege. that is how he has look for the past month or so, i think. >> if he is not a republican nominee, it will be easy to second guess and say that you spent most of the first three months of the year raising money with very few public events, while the other republicans were trying to define you. we will see how long they wait. i don't know that it is a mistake, but if he's not the

republican nominee, he could end up looking foolish. >> moving on. we have to congratulate our friend rahm emanuel. former undersecretary of go f yourself. once again, the mayor of chicago. today, the mayor held a news conference that mark attended an educational center, where he talked about lessons learned from the election. >> the challenges we have are hard. they don't need to be made harder if i have a stylistic issue. solving a pension issue, solving a fiscal challenge reforming our , education to make it better serve all of the children in chicago, if i said in the campaign that my style contributed i own that. >> some were casting his in danger meant as a national story.

the question i have for you, some people were casting his endangerment as a national story. now that he is safe and sound, is this bigger than a local story? >> it's a great chicago political story. he was super well-funded. he was shaking hands of voters this morning. he was -- there were a lot of people hugging him and wishing him well. he's not unpopular by any means. there is a national story. given that he had to say he was somewhat brought down a little bit and humbled by having to fight for reelection, he -- does he continues to fight for pension reform in school organization? it is stuck that he pursued and thought made sense. he still needs to do it if he wants to put the city on sound footing. >> if his opponent had won this race, it would be easy to see -- say that we are seeing a waiver of urban progressivism. there's something happening here. with rahm emanuel coming back

it puts that story to rest. it looks to me more like a local story than a national story. we are going to take a break. when we come back, coming up when i said bernie, you say sanders. bernie. >> sanders. we will be right back. ♪

>> our guest tonight is a fan of socialism and independence. this is the third time he has been here. senator bernie sanders of firman, thank you for coming back on the show. we will not make you do your monster imitation. >> i have been rehearsing it. i have not been talking about unemployment and distribution of wealth. you know why? i said on this program, what do we want? my grandchildren and the monster? you don't want to talk about it? >> give it to me again. >> did i scare you? >> you scared the hell out of me. >> and now we will talk about

the serious issues facing our country. >> we will. you will like it. in the boston bombing trial, dzhokhar tsarnaev was found guilty in that case. as you know he is eligible for , the death penalty. you are a person who has been against the death penalty. would you like to see the death penalty for that man? >> what he did was beyond horrendous. but i think in a world as violent as our world is today, i just don't think the state should be in the business of killing people. my hope is we put this guy away forever. and that's it. >> ok. mark is here from chicago. mark, come on in. >> another situation involving death. walter scott, killed by police officer in south carolina. the police officer has now been charged with murder. what is your reaction to that case good what would you like to see happen next there? >> obviously what took place is

a tragedy. i happened to see the video. it is beyond words. i applaud -- and this is south carolina, and you have to take your hats off to the officials who said that when somebody is -- is shot in the back eight times, that is murder. and if a police officer does it that is murder. i applaud the officials for acting decisively on that issue. look i was a mayor for eight , years. police officers have an enormously difficult job. they need to have our support, but i think we need to make it clear that when police officers act badly, and it appears in this case that this officer acted very badly, he should be indicted. >> senator, we had a public figure recently who has been talking about some issues you care about, rebuilding american cities, economic opportunity. he gave a talk yesterday

and i wanted to see if you know who it was that said it. it is a person who's quoted saying, can you imagine what a billion dollars stimulus could do for detroit or for appellation -- i'm convinced that most americans want to work. i want us to create american prosperity. you know who that person is? >> rand paul. >> he was talking about not building bridges abroad, and instead putting that here in infrastructure could you find kinship with him? >> it is election time. and candidates will say things that they think appeal to voters. i introduced legislation recently which would put a trillion dollars into rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure for five years. create and maintain some 13 million jobs. rand paul is not a cosponsor. i would love to see him support it. we need to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. at the end of the day, after we get beyond the nuances of the

republican candidate, i think they come down in the same direction, that is more tax breaks for billionaires, more tax breaks for corporations, massive cut's to medicare, medicaid, education, food programs. >> mark? >> we reported this morning that one of your colleagues, ted cruz, has a series of interlocking super pacs supporting him. they were established this week. and by friday, they expect to have $31 million in the bank in total. i was just wondering what words would you use to describe what senator ted cruz's super pacs have done. >> it's not just ted cruz. it is american politics to let me be -- it is american politics. let me be very clear about that. i think what citizens united did will go down in history as being one of the worst decisions ever from the supreme court. i think american democracy, the foundations of american democracy, are in serious danger. what has -- what citizens united

has opened up the floodgates for billionaires to be able to spend as much money as they want to elect candidates. frankly and we saw this in chicago the other day with rahm emanuel's reelection, or remains to be seen whether candidates represent working families can win elections when the beginner classes prepared to spend unlimited sums of money. it is a very frightening situation. citizens united has got to be overturned. >> let me ask you about iran. this is a big thing now facing the country, maybe facing the senate. you have been in favor of negotiations. you have been critical of the letter that your republican colleagues wrote. i'm curious what substantial concerns you have about iranian compliance and why you think congress should have to authorize any deal? >> of course i am concerned. iran is not been the most honest and honorable partner in terms of nuclear issues. they have not been honest.

i think -- in my view, the war in iraq was probably the worst foreign-policy blunder in modern american history. it destabilize the entire -- destabilize the -- destabilize the -- destabilize the region. as everybody knows, we have been in two wars for over a decade. i want to see us do everything that we can to make sure that iran does not get a nuclear weapons and we have to do it in a way that does not put us in the middle of a war. i think the president and secretary kerry are doing a good job in that direction. >> congress should have a vote? yes or no? >> no, the president has the legal right to negotiate the agreement. >> having fun out there being a candidate? yes or no? give me the monster. >> jesus. >> that will scare you into doing silly things. now you want to talk about real issues. >> thank you for scaring the the jesus out of me.

after the break, the book that details all the crazy stuff that has gone down in the white house. that is when we come back. ♪

>> there is a new book that is filled with white house gossip tawdry details, and scintillating sniping. in other words, the exact type of book that we love around here. kate anderson brown, thank you for coming on the show. i want to get right to the heart of the matter. in all of this book, what is the juiciest, raciest most compelling can't not read it mark halperin -- thing in it? >> the thing that is getting the most attention is the fact that one of these staffers told me that they were called up to the second floor bedroom to find

blood on the president and first lady's bed. >> which administration? >> the clinton administration. the gossip was that mrs. clinton must have tossed a book at the president. this was during the monica lewinsky scandal. one of the florists told me that it was like a morgue. there was very little laughter a lot of tension, hard to track down hillary clinton. >> was this a lot of blood? godfather horse had level of blood? -- horse head level of blood? >> that's not the most interesting part. this humanizes the first family. hillary clinton asked one of the ushers to help her get a few hours of peace by the pool before the president admitted to the affair with monica lewinsky. he helped her do what oh people take for granted, which is set -- set by the swimming pool and

read. she thanked him and said it meant the world. it shows that relationship. >> mark? >> you talk to so many people who have worked in the white house, what is their attitude toward serving the first family? >> they take pride in their jobs. they are fiercely loyal to the first family. >> one of the things that is most compelling is that these people do see the humanity of these presidents and first ladies in a way that no one else really does. there is a level of intimacy that none of the top aides have could talk about the stories you have about richard nixon. you have a couple of incredible antidotes. >> specifically one story about him after he announced his resignation from the oval office, there were only a small handful of people allowed into the room. one was the head electrician grade i interviewed him. he told me that after this announcement, president nixon walked out onto the colonnade along the rose garden to go back to his office in the basement of the white house. he heard footsteps behind him. he stepped aside to let president nixon go around him. president nixon said, what with me, bill.

they walked for a couple of minutes. bill said you did the best you could. president nixon said that he wished a lot of people felt that way. he had tears in his eyes. the president went up to the second for that is a telling and about that human moment. they did not know the nixon's leaving until pat nixon called asking for packing boxes, which is a funny aside. >> incredible. we have a number of employees who are african-americans. talk briefly about how they have dealt with and been inspired by having our first african-american first family. >> i interviewed the first social secretary, and she said that on inauguration day that she could tell how proud these butlers were. a couple of them told me they would keep working as long as they could. one of them is still working at the white house. he said he would never have thought he would seen this david -- this day. president obama himself has said that these people look at his daughters and think that that looks like my daughter or my granddaughter. there is the unique bond there. >> there are so many stories in this book. we could not touch on all of them. literally every single

administration you write about. there is some incredible compelling anecdote or detail. they should reid this book and -- should read this book and dig into it. the book is called, the residents, inside the private world of the white house. thank you for coming in. after the break, we have rahm emanuel and children. we will be right back. ♪

>> big day in chicago at the education center where rahm emanuel read to children a kinder gentler rahm emanuel. today at the carroll robinson center for learning, it was a festive day. he is good at reading. we are only on the air 30 minutes a day. go ahead john. >> that looks like fun. >> it was fun here. finish up. bring it home. we are always on the air on

bloomberg politics.com. coming up next is taking stock. on the radio radio it is bloomberg law. thank you for watching. sayonara. ♪

pimm: hello. this is what i am "taking stock" of on this wednesday, april 8, 2015. guilty on all counts. a jury found dzhokhar tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts in the 2013 boston marathon bombing case. he now faces a possible death sentence. the twin bombings on april 15 killed three people and injured 260. a fourth person was killed during a six-day manhunt. the penalty phase begins next week. the latest fomc meeting minutes from march. they show a divided federal reserve on the issue of a june interest rate increase. those who favored raising interest rates cited recent