water. >> if anything had been different she might not have made it. >> brock royal was the emergency room doctor who saw lily when she was rushed in. >> you can see just how pale she is and how cold and stiff her arm is. >> reporter: four days later baby lily playing along as her father sings old macdonald in the hospital. the best reward possible for those who fought so hard to save her. shasta darlington, cnn, new york. >> we hope that gives you good smiles to get flew the rest of your day. make some good memories. >> "inside politics" with john king starts right now. an explanation that satisfied almost no one. >> i opted for convenience to use my personal e-mail account. >> hillary clinton on defense just when she had hoped to jump start her white house bid. >> there is no classified material.

plus, throw out the old washington rule book. >> regret. i would send another one tomorrow. >> republican senators have a new pen pal, iran. >> unusual coalition. >> a brash gop attempt to undermine nuclear talks. democrats call it treason. "inside politics," the biggest stories sourced by the best reporters now. welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. with us to share the reporting and inn sites, maggie hag german, julia pace and robert acosta of the new york post. hillary clinton will make it official sooner rather than later. look for an april launch from brooklyn. what else did we learn this past week? well, for one, she thinks you can and should trust her to decide what e-mails to delete and what to make public.

>> i am very confident of the process that we conducted and the e-mails that were produced. >> like her husband in times of crisis, she shares information only when forced to do so but then tries to suggest it was her idea all along. >> i've taken unprecedented steps to provide these work-related e-mails. >> and we were also reminded she will do it her way, even if it annoys the media and stokes what she has long called the right wing conspiracy machine. >> i believe i have met all of my responsibilities and the server will remain private. >> maggie haberman, not her best week, not the week she wanted but does it matter? if you talk to people inside team clinton, it's a media frenzy. will it be forgotten? >> the first race i covered was

after kissing su'a arafat. that was going to be the controversy that was never going to go away until she won by ten points the following november. i think this is not going to be what voters vote on. i think it has, however, put her on the defensive at the start of her campaign. it has basically made her a candidate now a couple of weeks before she was going to. i don't think the timing changed because of the e-mails. it was always going to be april. it was going to be a rollout of a soft launch, a video, a couple months later. she does not want a long campaign. she has never wanted a long campaign. it's frankly never been clear how excited she is about another campaign. i think the e-mail thing is significant because it is going to come up and up and up but it is not going to be what voters make their decision on at the end of the day. >> there's an interesting contrast with jeb bush and the way he's been behaving. i think a lot of people can look at bush and understand what it is he may run on.

he has this slogan, right to rise. he's talking about republican issues in other ways than other campaigns have. you have a sense of what jeb bush is about. i'm not sure if voters and i have a good, clear sense of what hillary clinton intends to run on and stand for. when she gets in trouble, that's all there is. people don't have any framework to put that in. >> that is really i think what is driving this focus on april. there were still people holdsing on to this hope that she could announce later, do a soft launch. the reason to do a launch in april is to have a pro active agenda, roll out economic messages, foreign policy messages, otherwise you're just dealing with whatever the controversy of the day is. if it's e-mails this past week, something else next week and something else the week after that. >> the question is did you learn anything new about her? we've all known that she's a pretty controlling person. some see that as a pretty good thing, some people don't. she's pretty secretive.

did anything change? martin o'malley, one of the democrats who may run against her. if you thought this would create an opening, martin o'malley, all of the democrats are saying, i'm tired of talking about this. >> look, every year there is -- most years there's the inevitable front-runner and that inevitable front-runner is inevitable right up until he or she is no longer inevitable. >> i think even he thinks she is inevitable. >> she was inevitable once. but it's just not there. >> the only person who can run to her left in a serious way i think is elizabeth warren. martin o'malley is trying to do that. he's not going to hit her on this. he's doing, it's business, not personal kind of contrast. i don't see an obama-like figure on the horizon right now. i do think this is hillary clinton's not even to lose, it is hard to see otherwise. >> the party is so invested in her. they can't get their money back. all the staff, the fundraising,

apparatus. >> there's not. you're not seeing anyone make any move. while they want him to run, he's not making any moves. will duvall patrick come in? he's talking about having a robust primary. there is no move being made. >> an important point i think has not gotten focused on. we focused on how aggravated the white house was and yet they did not save her but they certainly didn't throw her over. the important thing is how much of the white house apparatus is sort of moving over to the campaign and past obama advisers. they see her as the best hope for preserving his legacy. >> so do voters. when you go to iowa and new hampshire, they're still with secretary clinton. there's not a zbround swell towards governor o'malley or towards senator webb or anyone else. yes, maybe o'malley could have used the moment better this week to go after clinton, but there's not really an appetite, at least at the moment in the electorate.

>> there's no democrat to jump in to say this is my moment. >> that's right. >> let's look at the gallup p l poll. she's a plus 11 favorability. 59% favorable, 39% unfavorable. so she's 100% known. everybody knows hillary clinton. 20 years ago you'd say 50% approval, not so great. in today's polarized electorate, that's pretty strong. >> 40 is the new 50 in terms of approvals and approval rating. you needed to be at 50. now you're seeing people because it's a complete race to the bottom, all of these campaigns. there is something to be said for the fact that she is so known. this will end up being a campaign, assuming she is the nominee, which i believe she will be, coming down to four states. she's bretty known. who will get the voters out. >> general election campaign already. republicans are running a

general election campaign about secretary clinton. that's what it's about. >> interesting switch between targeting obama to targeting clinton. that is the clear sign that they are now running against her. >> they were slow to do it. >> yet, as they get to their debates, one of the reasons team clinton feels strong is the republicans have done nothing to solve their demographic issues. if it comes down to african-americans, latinos, young voters, there's nothing on the table to say that the republicans have fixed their numbers. >> that's why people talk about jeb bush or marco rubio. there was something early on. i do not think jeb bush is come panel in his position and i don't think polls suggest that. he's not clearing the field. his numbers in iowa are upside down. he has a real race, but there was concern about him early on. there is now generally a feeling among clinton insiders that he's not a bad candidate for her to

oppose and once again this will be a lot like 2000 and come to florida. >> it would strip away what they could do going after the dynasty. >> one other interesting point of data, as this is all playing out, younger voters are more used to this technology, they think everything should be simple. would they be mad that hillary had a private server? look at the pew numbers. among republicans and democrats, younger republicans and democrats, a smaller percentage of younger people think this is a big deal. i suspect that's because they want help with their college costs or they want a job. i think there are other things more important than if hillary clinton has a private e-mail server. >> i was with senator paul, the lib ber tan strain among younger voters, they are more sympathetic to clinton's argument without having to reveal everything. >> lucky to have a private

server. >> she had a line that said i think my private e-mails get to be private and i think most people want to have their e-mails private. >> controlling that. >> private server in every pot. everybody sit tight. up next, forget about rewriting the rules of washington, republicans are just shredding them. first, this week's politicians say or do the darndest things. it's a joe biden plug from michelle obama's fitness challenge. >> yeah. yeah. i do a million of these a day so just give me five. yeah. yeah. yeah, i do a million of these day so just give me five. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187.

life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

welcome back. rules were mostly made to be broken. the new motto of the no rules republican party. what do i mean by that? well, house speaker john boehner used to go by the hastrid rule.

you don't bring a bill to the floor unless a majority will vote on it. another rule, don't invite a foreign leader into the well of the united states house of representatives to criticize the president of the united states at a time that very same president of the united states is conducting very sensitive negotiations with a foreign country, but as we saw with prime minister netanyahu's visit, that rule, broken. and this past week, this letter to the leaders of the islamic republic of iran, you don't see that, signed by 47 republican senators there. they said directly to a foreign nation essentially saying, hey, if you want to cut a deal with president obama, but we, the united states senate, won't abide by it. we will ignore it. it was authored at first by a freshman, tom cotton, just in the united states senate. among the 100 united states senators, he's in the bottom 10. the old rules, you checked in with your chairman, that would be bob corker or you check in with majority leader, mitch

mcconnell. tom cotton didn't do that. it reminds me if you've covered this town for a long time you tend to process stories by the rules. but is the new rules especially with the republicans. besaw it in the house with the rise of the tea party, maybe the new rule is there are no rules. >> it's a constant political cycle now and it always has been. one thing on my mind is unemployment is 5.5%. here we are talking about foreign policy. i don't know that iran is among the leading concerns of americans right now, but it is a deep concern to some republicans. i don't mean to say that all 47 senators were insincere in signing that letter, but they signed it. they signed it perhaps without thinking a lot. i say that as one who has traveled a lot of times, covered the story. there seem to be two messages of that letter. one is saying to iran, we don't think you're very smart. two, we're going to say it in a

way that doesn't make us look smart. i don't know that it was the most thought out gesture necessarily, but they did it because they had to talk about something. >> not that the republicans care too much about what president obama thinks about them, it's pretty clear. before they wrote this letter and one of the reasons they wrote this letter but listen to the president's take. >> i'm embarrassed for them. for them to address a letter to the ayatollah who they claim is our mortal enemy and their basic argument to them is don't deal with our president because you can't trust him to follow through on an agreement. that's close to unprecedented. >> this was tom cotton's idea. he just came over from the house. one of the younger members of the new republican majority in the senate. he's a veteran. john mccain said, we did this, we're getting out of town for a snowstorm. ron johnson said at a bloomberg breakfast, maybe we shouldn't have sent it to the leaders of iran. maybe we should have sent an

open letter. do they still think it was smart? >> i checked in with several top republican senators and said what happened here? in the answer of politics, no one wants to be to the left of tom cotton. he's a favorite of the talk radio. you have all of the hovering over the senators. with the hawkish drift in the party, even rand paul seemed to sign it. >> at the white house do they think it was a gift in an odd way? >> in an odd way. they are more angry or frustrated about this letter than about pretty much any issue that i have seen them come up with in the last few years. this deal to obama is so central to his leglegacy. he wants this so badly. the idea that they would try to jeopardize it for political reasons says it all in his eyes. you could see movement this week on the deal and to have one

after another with the netanyahu and now the letter, they are just fuming about this. >> in fairness, on the substance they're not out of line to oppose the president or criticize the president. that's their job. democrats might remember in the run up to the iraq war when many on the left were so upset that congress wasn't questioning the president so ferociously. the substance they're perfectly within their style. >> to have the debate but to send it to iran? >> this is superfluous. we can undo it. someone else can do it. you know better than me, but i think from the white house's perspective, to your point that it's been one after another, the netanyahu speech, this, there's a feeling about the rules, that the rules tend -- historical rules tend not to apply with dealing with this president and there's a lack of respect and i think that's part of it. >> is it personal or is this a new generational thing? if you're marco rubio, jeb bush

or any republican who wants to be president, if you win the election, trust me, the democrats are going to watch what -- >> that's really right. that's an interesting line that the president had after the netanyahu incident. there is a misunderstanding that foreign policy runs through the executive branch and not the legislature. if you're a republican and you want to be president you have to own foreign policy. you have to take positions and want congress to step aside as well. there is a little bit of a lesson. >> a lot of the older senators are concerned about the protocol. if you're a senator, you should not give a speech. ted cruz is doing the shutdown, now tom cotton on the foreign policy. mitch mcconnell and corker, they may not sign the letter, but they don't have the power. >> can't stop them. >> they can't stop it. the question is, does it work for them going forward as a legislative party which they've been successful at. they've built the house majority. can they say in 2016 let us keep what we have, keep the big

house. >> this is one of the reasons why i think republican governors are going to argue, see, it's right not to be a part of washington. that doesn't work. >> when you talk about the rules i'm thinking about a story in a robert carol book involving richard russell, the great senator from georgia. eisenhower made a move that russell dpisisagreed with. russell sends word, i believe the president is making a huge mistake, but if he goes forward, i won't say a word. that's a bipartisan relationship. >> now it's tell the president if he goes forward, i'm tweeting about it. our reporters get you ahead of the big news to come including a glimpse at some surprising diplomacy by scott walker. meet the world's newest energy

superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. supporting millions of new jobs. billions in tax revenue... and a new century of american energy security. the new energy superpower? it's red, white and blue. log on to learn more. just stay calm and move asno sudden movements..

google search: bodega beach house. ♪ when i didn't worry about the hepatitis c in my blood. ♪ when i didn't think twice about where i left my razor. [ male announcer ] hep c is a serious disease. take action now. go to hepc.com or call 1-844-444-hepc to find out how you and your doctor can take the next step towards a cure. because the answers you need, may be closer than they appear. ♪ bladder leak protection.u-want may be closer than they appear. new always discreet underwear for sensitive bladders. from always, the experts in feminine protection. only always discreet underwear has soft dual leakguard barriers

to help stop leaks where they happen most. plus, always discreet has a discreet fit that hugs your curves. you barely feel it. new always discreet underwear. now bladder leaks can feel like no big deal. because, hey, pee happens. curious? go to alwaysdiscreet.com for coupons and your free sample. dovisit tripadvisor new york. tripadvisor not only has millions of real traveler's reviews and opinions, but checks hundreds of websites, so people can get the best hotel prices. to plan, compare & book the perfect trip, visit tripadvisor.com today.

lets fwgo around the "insid politics" table. >> scott walker was at meet and greets and he met hedge fund executives who were impressed by him. jerry kushner was on hand. he made a solid pitch. it was respectful and about issues. he was asked about how he would beat jeb bush. he said, jeb bush is the front-runner. that is his sale to people to give him money. he's the front-runner but i'm the slow and steady guy who will come up behind just like when i ran track when i was younger. >> diplomatic, lett ejeb catch e

harpoons. >> i've been following israel. benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister, who got so much notice here is close to losing. doesn't mean his party will lose but higgs party is in grave danger in the election which is coming up on tuesday. now israel's political system is so complicated that even if his party ends up not being the leading party, there are scenarios where he could be the governing coalition. we don't know that he's going away. it's interesting to note that isaac herzog wants to change israel's approach to the world, has been talking about trying to end israel's isolation in the world which would suggest changing a lot of policies that have infuriated this white house or frustrated this white house in the last several years. there could be a change if the election results go in a certain way. >> president obama has said how he'd like them to go. >> i don't think a lot of people would be crying in the white house. >> see if he gets his wish. julie?

>> there's been a lot of discussion about the lack of robust primary challenge would have on hillary clinton's candidacy. in some of the early voting states this is not just a political story but a money story. you have television ads, hotels, campaign stops. they're not going to see that this time around. it's a reminder that politics has become a big business beyond the campaigns of the super pacs. >> that's right. especially in the early states. you're encouraging democrats to get in. open a headquarters. open a headquarters and spend some money. robert? >> senator marco rubio has been watching the fast decent of governor walker and governor bush carefully. he's been wondering, how do i get to the top tier. he's been interesting. he's reaching out to mitt romney and mitt romney's inner circle building those relationships.

he's spoken to romney twice since he decided not to get in the race. he's had a lot of meetings with the former advisers. you'll continue to see him rise in the donor community. >> i'll close with this. new hampshire is literally awash in would-be presidents today. ted cruz is there tomorrow. rick perry got decent grades last week. there was a ton of buzz about two firsts, scott walker and jeb bush visiting this weekend for the first time as presidential contenders. one major first, one more first just ahead, and getting some important behind the scenes help. ohio governor john kasich will be in new hampshire on march 24th. the politics and eggs breakfast. watch to see if he adds anymore important meetings. he's getting help from john sununu and his son, the senator. they're urging kasich to get more active. former senator judd greg is a

very important republican described to me as a fan of kasich adding his voice to the republican debate. that's it for "inside politics." we'll see you soon. "state of the union" starts right now. nuclear war of words. the senate majority leader defends a letter to iran, and who's guarding the president. more scandal with the agency in charge of protecting him. this is "state of the union." senate majority leader on a letter he signed to iran's leaders. what's going on with the president's protectors. blow back on hillary clinton's e-mail scandal and jeb bush's debut in the granite state. good morning from washington. i'm dana bash. the u.s. is preparing for a new round of talks with iran. those talks are being over shadowed by an open letter to