here's video from the square and security remains high with more than 36,000 people expected to run in the race up 10,000 from last year. thanks for starting your morning with us. happy easter to you. >> "inside politics" with john king starts right now. the president sees 8 million reasons obamacare should be a democratic asset this campaign year. >> i don't think we should apologize for it. i don't think we should be defensive about it. i think there is a strong, good, right story to tell. >> why then are republicans doubling down? why are most vulnerable democrats ignoring the president's advice? plus, joe biden shows off his shades on instagram, tweets a selfie with his best buddy boss. >> it's good to be back in pennsylvania. that other guy's coming. he's coming. >> joe and i decided it was time

for a guys' trip. >> does this big vp week carry a 2016 message? and what to make of mitt romney's wait at the tax day wait at the post office. and then? >> mark and i are very excited we have our first child arriving later this year. >> the once and perhaps future president are about to be grandparents. inside politics. welcome "inside politics." i'm john all

the attack ads. >> they still can't bring themselves to admit that the affordable care act is working. they said nobody would sign up. they were wrong about that. >> want to talk about anything but despite the advice, the suggestion, the nudge from their party's leader. why? >> well, because it so happens that the very people that would most be benefitted by the new health law are the least likely to vote in a midterm election. i have a story in the paper looking at that very fact in midterm elections, john, as you know you get less minority voters. some of the data, those tend to be the demographics. democrats have this conundrum,

do we risk angering independent voters and spiking turnout by talking about the health care law? or do we take the gamble and see if we can fire up our base of young voters by promoting it? so far, they're doing the former, but how big of a risk is that in the sense that think of this not as a campaign but a trial? obamacare and the president is on trial. and the republicans are prosecuting it. they're saying it's going to raise your premiums. what about if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. blame it for the rain, traffic, just about anything. if the democrats won't fight back and finally, again, the republicans have rebuttal. they will say how many are paying their premiums or, you know, raise other, but democrats at least now finally have something to work with. 8 million people have enrolled. the medicaid expansion is more than 3 million more. the congressional budget office says it's not going to cost as much as they thought a few months ago. why are democrats so reluctant? >> there's a novelty factor here. they haven't had a strong argument on this for a while now. but now they can point to 4

million people in medicaid, 8 million in the exchanges and lower costs than they expected. just, i think it was just a couple of days ago, maybe a week ago, the cbo cut the cost of the deficit by another $100 billion. and they're getting used to have this argument to make. and i know this sounds weird. but the law hasn't been in effect that long and they haven't had a lot of good news coming out of it. >> and that's why republicans are still running against it. >> the opponents are more motivated than the proponent. >> that's right. i interviewed in north carolina a couple of days ago in raleigh and i asked him about the cbo numbers specifically, and he said he's still for a full repeal.

not even the popular things, he wants to repeal the whole thing. >> that's the question i have going forward, in the sense that republicans are >> i think the leaders of the republican party are aware they do need a positive agenda, as well, and this summer we're going to see the house try to grapple together some sort of actual replace. but that's risky, too. whenever you put your own ideas about health care, they all have down sides, too, and they'll get picked apart and the republican plans for health insurance for extending health insurance to more americans have major down sides, like obamacare does, as well. difficult issues. >> and i think there's also going to be, you're going to start seeing from the white

house more and more of what they've already started doing, saying look at all these families. this mom found out she can't be denied coverage for pre-existing condition. there's going to be this emotional appeal that like we need to do this as moral imperative. it's been hard for them. >> but the question is -- >> this campaign did come out with an ad that did exactly what annie was talking about. a woman who seats and the democc

majority for the first time in 40 years. that's one of the reasons the democrats look at this president and also look at history. >> i think the important question to ask and we don't know the answer yet is how many does much like in 1994. the democrats took a pounding and the republicans captured the house again. and then we saw it play out in a different way in 2012. i think it looks like we're in more of a 2010 type year this time. we'll have to see. you can't ride the flaws of this law until the end of time. but there may be one more

election left. >> one more issue that comes up, this past week, the administration was supposed to decide some time in the late summer, early fall about the keystone pipeline. and it decided on friday to quote unquote indefinitely postpone its decision. indefinitely in washington means after the election. how big of a deal is this? the republicans pounced on this saying, mr. president, here's your chance to create american jobs, here's your chance to further reduce america's energy independence. why are you beholden? >> the cynical politics on this are so obvious. they don't have to answer any of those questions now. they're saying the process is ongoing and it's going to be ongoing until very conveniently after the 2014 election and then possibly 2016 after that and 2018. >> both sides -- both sides went on this. republicans get to say the president's anti-business and job creation. this is a real nonnegotiable lightning rod issue. i remember being out, the liberal blogger conference last summer. that, the keystone pipeline and

deportations were two issues that these activists confronted organizing for america about when they came out there to talk to these liberals. and they said, you cannot support this. and tom steier, the big environmentalist donor came out and said this is rotten eggs for transcanada. so, yeah, this is something that's going to really keep democratic base alive. and also, one more thing on this, president obama has a fundraiser in silicon valley in a couple of weeks. it would be hard for him to go out to the san francisco lefties and say, oh, you know -- >> so this year of action the president promised in his state of the union instead become a year for both parties, not just the democrats, but both parties to appeal to the base, don't get anything done. everybody sit tight, up next, just coincidence or pieces of his 2016 political puzzle? and in this week's installment of "politicians say the darndest things," why politics has nothing to do with why the house speaker john boehner is not welcome in his

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welcome back. our puzzle this week explores joe biden's big week. the vice president was everywhere in social media, at big events and often with a best buddy side kick. let's look at it. over the weekend, last weekend, the white house announced joe biden would be traveling to ukraine, high-stakes diplomacy on the part of the president, that will happen in the week to come. then, on tuesday, the vice president was up in boston representing the president and the administration at the memorial service for the victims of last year's marathon bombing. >> america will never ever, ever

stand down. we are boston, we are america, we respond. we endure, we overcome, and we own the finish line! >> then on wednesday, the latest installment of what has become a selfie sensation, i guess. the president and vice president in the back of the limousine on a trip to pennsylvania. two smiling guys, you read into whatever you like. then, if you woke up thursday morning and tuned in, listen to this testimonial. is the president being nice? or is this the boost for joe biden in 2016? >> i've got somebody who i think will go down as one of the finest vice presidents in history. and he has been, as i said earlier, a great partner in everything i do. >> and then later that day, the vice president again along with the president outside of the white house. this is a great event every year started by george w. bush. you see the vice president greeting servicemen at the finish line there. so the big question is, as we go forward, is this just a good week for joe biden in 2014?

is the president trying to help him out in some way? maybe trying to make up for what the vp and the staff believe are a lot of slights from team obama? >> yeah, i think there might be a little bit of that. there is the sense they've got the thumb on the scale for hillary clinton and biden subpoena an afterthought. there have been a lot of slights along the last couple of years where biden has felt bad about that. and he's been clear he's seriously considering running for president. he hasn't said he'll do it, he's thinking about it. he won't be influenced by what hillary clinton does. so i think that this week was a little bit of that where the white house was joust throwing him some bones, making him feel good. >> the president does have to walk a fine line. they ask the 2016 question. he says, yeah, we also have a really accomplished former secretary of state also, you know, so he's got to be sensitive to both. >> being careful. but listen to what the vice president said. not only was the president asked about that, but asked the vice president. >> if i decide to run, believe

me, this will be the first guy i talk to. but that decision hasn't been made for real. and there's plenty of time to make that. we have a lot of work to do between now and november. >> a lot of work to do between now and november. >> why are they, again, in pennsylvania? >> because they're trying to do some messaging now on policy. and there are many races that the two of them can show up at. where in the country, looking at the u.s. senate map would a candidate for the senate, a democrat want to have joe biden and barack obama there at the same time. well, there's not a lot, there are some, but not a lot. >> it wasn't just joe biden's big week. at the end, we found out the title, knew this book was coming. found out the title, "hard choices," that will be hillary clinton's book about her days as secretary of state. and then, after this came out, also chelsea clinton announced to the world that hillary clinton and bill clinton are about to be grandparents. the book will have a lot to do

if hillary runs in 2016. because in this book, annie, she's going to have to talk about benghazi, iran, the middle east and her job as secretary of state. how important -- that's now with the editors if they've got an announcement date. how important is the book to a future clinton campaign? >> it's very, very important. and i think the same sort of divisiveness is going to get henpecked by republicans. and i think what she's going to try to do with the book is make the case to democrats she's her own person, she has executive experience and she's a real manager. i think there's a lot of questions about what she really did as secretary of state. to what extent different sort of accomplishments can be ascribed to her. but i think it's fascinating you're seeing joe biden kind of lean into barack obama and you've seen hillary clinton lean pretty far away. and i think the extent that she sort of stakes herself out as her own person and not just a member of team obama is going to be interesting. >> the republicans will read the book to see what she says about benghazi and other things. democrats will read until that

point to see where she's trying to separate from the current president? >> absolutely. and the timing of the book release and book tour itself, by the way, pretty convenient. it gives her an excuse to delay having to be on the campaign trail. a lot of democrats calling her, e-mailing her, writing her, carrier pigeons, all of the above to try to get her on the campaign trail. and now she has a ready excuse that she has this book and that the book tour. and then maybe in the fall, she'll be available. had a good story on this this week. apparently that signal has been sent. don't talk to us until the book tour is over, apparently. >> she gets the campaign, effectively. she gets to get out there. >> talking about her accomplishments. >> but remember then how senator barack obama used his book tour. i remember going on a book signing tour on his trip to new hampshire. does she use it for her or for her party? >> if she does, imagine the events. >> that would be an absolute zoo. >> having a grandchild -- an

absolute zoo. that's a gross understatement. the grandchild to me is happy family news and good for chelsea. i remember back in my a.p. days when they were moving out of the arkansas governor's mansion, she was this awkward 12-year-old and now she's about to be a mom, they're about to be grandparents. is that it? people out there, we'll just convince her, more likely to run in 2016, less likely to run in 2016? >> i agree. i think it's happy family moments. ridiculous, you never see a man running for president and anyone asking whether he's just become a grandfather whether that will affect his decision and much less a father. barack obama -- >> people make the point about grandmother, you think it's sexist? >> i think it applies a different standard. barack obama ran for president with two small children. bill clinton ran for president as you said with a 12-year-old daughter. no one said anything. >> i don't know how many grandchildren -- >> 22 grandchildren now. i mean, it's absolutely absurd. >> speaking of mitt romney, grandpa mitt. look at this, his son josh decided to tweet out of mitt

romney in line at the post office. boy, could i go on about this. i think somebody did mitt romney's taxes. and they have this thing called e-file. >> why did he wait until the last minute. >> this was done for a point. harry reid suggested mitt romney didn't pay taxes. this was to poke back at harry reid. but mitt romney clearly wants to be in the spotlight. and some people say they get calls from staffers and he's like, well, could i do it again? >> yeah, part of this, he's bored, out of the spotlight. he likes to be -- >> he's a young guy. >> this is another thing for the republican party. >> third time's the charm. >> he's not running again. i think we can put that aside. >> thank you. >> here's the thing, though, he is the most famous republican in the country. maybe john mccain, maybe sarah palin, chris christie are in the mix. he's the most famous in the country. >> is this related to christie's been wounded by bridgegate. is this mitt romney saying if the establishment needs somebody, here i am? or is it just a place holder and

who else is it? if it's not general bush and not chris christie and not mitt romney, who gets the establishment? >> if you look at primary republican, primary polling nationally or in iowa, you know, the front runners are at 14%. people are still making up their minds. i think you're right, he's a place holder because he's a famous person. he's able to fill that space. he can throw a punch at the president and people know who he is. >> also wants to weigh in on the future of the republican party. he's coming in on the side of this grand debate going on of the establishment versus the tea party, much more conservative, more radical wing. and he is putting his chips on the establishment doing what he can to help those candidates. he wants to be a player and involved and in the arena even if he's not on the ballot again himself. >> everybody stay put. tomorrow's news today is next. surprising word one key republican maybe has not given up and another possible at immigration reform.

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we close every week helping you get ahead of the big political stories to come by asking our great reporters around the table to share stories still in their notebooks. annie, you go first. >> it's fascinating to watch how obamacare gets implemented in the various states. as a general point, though, it's a little bit complicated, but the bluer the state, the better the law is going. they're putting their shoulder in, expanding medicaid. so instead of having one law to

point to say it's going great, poorly, you have 50 state examples of how well it's going. i think this is fascinating how this plays out over the remainder of the year. >> it is fascinating. >> spent time late last night in georgia. a lot of national buzz about the democrat running for the senate down there. but talking to folks locally, they think that jason carter, president carter's grandson who is running for governor may have as good or perhaps better shot to win than michelle nun, probably because it's easier to win a governor's race than a senate race. her prospects depend so much on the primary. and if one of the candidates emerges, it's going to be harder for her to win. >> it's a great point. >> i can break the news here on easter that jonathan martin has traded in his blackberry for an iphone. but that's not why i'm here today. marco rubio and ted cruz, two 2016 republicans quietly decamp to naples, florida, for the

leadership retreat. this is one of those sort of quiet, under the radar, invisible republican events. to be on stage the moment kathleen sebelius resigned. when he broke the news to the crowd, it went over very well and a heritage member made a joke at the expense of chris christie's weight that went over well in the room. >> contrary to popular opinion, immigration reform may not be dead after all. john boehner is telling people, including donors at his events, he's hell bent on getting this done. there's a window this summer, june/july where he could bring it forward. the major issue, he has a lot of consensus within his conference on the policy about whether it's a smart idea about whether to go ahead in an election year. >> another big-name republican going to new hampshire. and when he says it's all about

2014 and not about 2016 this time, maybe only this time, you can believe it. mitch mcconnell, the senate republican leader will be there for a fundraiser. kelly ayotte helping him. he has a tea party primary challenge back home. kelly trying to rise up through the republican leadership by helping the leader. that's it for "inside politics" again. "state of the union" with candy crowley starts right now. on easter sunday, prayers for modern day miracles from the depths of the indian ocean to the chilly waters of the yellow sea. today, in jindo, south korea, bitter anger and heartbreak among families waiting for news as heavy currents hamper efforts to find 250 passengers missing since a ferry capsized wednesday.