we have a lot of virginians here in chicago helping us work. we feel good about what we're building. the next path is midwest. we've done more work on the ground in ohio in 2011 than any other state in the country. our goal is to win ohio but shouldn't the only way there and that's why these other pathways are important to us. the last spaunt important remind toempb. we shouldn't have anyone's old map including our old 02008 map. we need to win states that weren't pathways in 2008. a best example of that is arizona. arizona was not a swing state last time because senator mccain there was. there's thousands of eligible voters who are unregistered. we're excited about our opportunities. last month the poll came out surprised everyone showing the president leading bay few points there. we believe we can put arizona into play and we're getting the work on the ground to do that. >> that's the president's campaign manager and pochtd on

the barack obama website outlining how the president will get to the all-important 270 electoral votes. nbc keeping close track on all of this and joining us live from the nbc washington bureau is the senior political director, mark murray. thanks for being with us. >> thanks. >> as we look at your map and look at the math right now you're saying that the edge is with the democrats. let me again repeat numbers. the new electoral scorecard courtesy of your network, nbc, barack obama 227, the democrats 197. 114. to be determined. those are the numbers. >> steve southeast biggest changes have to do with the midwest. southeast big public polling that's come out in michigan as well as wisconsin showed president obama with double digit leads there. we moved from our last map that we took in november, we moved that from toss up to lead democrats. we moved new mexico from toss up to lead democrats. we moved new hampshire from lean republican to toss up.

we moved iowa from toss up to lean republican. after "des moines register" poll showed president obama not faring that well in the hawkeye state. that's where the situation is right now. you look from our last map that we had in november which is essentially a tie between the democrats and republicans on the electoral scorecard in which transpired since november we've had a very competitive republican primary season. you've seen better economic numbers and improved approval ratings for president obama. >> by the way, the president today was in new hampshire. vice president joe biden was in iowa today. any coincidence? >> no coincidence. in fact if you look at all the presidential travel pretty much from 2009 to now a lot it has been in battleground states and of course iowa and new hampshire are incredibly important and as i mentioned the obama team feels like they need to shore up their situation a little bit in iowa.

and as well as new hampshire. it's worth noting that both iowa and new hampshire are two states where the republicans have campaigned for the last three, four, five months and so team obama actually needs to start catching up to the mitt romneys and the rick santorums that spent several months in those states. >> let's talk about two case studies. let's go back to michigan. last year in the state of michigan the president was not doing very well. he was unpopular. the economy was in the tank. unemployment rate at 11%, 12% or 13%. it seems on following in that state the president and based on your reporting has turned things around and michigan is a state that might have gone for a republican now liens towards the democrats? >> that's right. right before the republican michigan primary we had a poll showing president obama with an 18-point lead over mitt romney. a lot has to do with the auto

bailout. it was seen support by 63% of folks in michigan including 61% of independent voters as well as even more than 40% of republicans. and so you can really almost point to that and that decision and the state of automobile industry in the midwest but particularly in michigan with a lot of that president obama turn around. not only is it in michigan but also there was recent polling in wisconsin that showed president obama doing much better than he was in 2009 and 2010 in that state. >> by the way, this survey is available online at msnbc.com. let's look at two other states that the democrats have an eye on. virginia and north carolina, site. democrats convention in early september. but republicans also with a keen eye especially on virginia, a state that has a primary next tuesday. >> those mid-atlantic states are very important as jim is letting out. that's one of their paths to be able to get to 270. so essentially the obama campaign can end up losing the

traditional battlegrounds of ohio, they could end up losing florida, they can end up even losing some of those western states like colorado and new mexico, but all president obama has to do is take the 227 votes that are lead democrat right now in our map, add pennsylvania, add virginia and north carolina and you get to 270. so that's why that virginia and north carolina strategy is important to them because somehow if things don't look good in the traditional states like ohio and florida they have a path through the atlantic. >> we're talking with mark murray who is the senior political director for nbc news. let me say something that jim said in that posting at barack obama.com and something chuck todd has been talking about which is that these states are very different even from what we saw in 2004 and in 2000 when george w. bush narrowly winning the election against vice president al gore. >> a lot of it has to do with

demographics. democrats never contested colorado all that much. john kerry make one stop through there but that was pretty much the end of the campaign during the general election. but you look at states like colorado, new mexico, nevada with the heavy latino votes and that's changed so much if you think about from 2000 or even 2004, and democrats really believe that those demographic changes helped them tremendously. >> mark murray of nbc news. thanks very much for being with us here on c-span radio. >> thanks, steve. >> this is "washington today" heard coast to coast on xm channel 113 and streemd at c-span.org and simulcast on c-span 3. matt drudge on his website the drudge report has this to say. dear reader in the first decade of the drudge report andrew was a lover of the news.

there was not a single day during that time when he did not finish each other's thoughts or laughs with each other or challenge each other. i still see him in my mind at venice beach running. he was and is always there. wonderful, a loving family man. we feel great sadness for them today. he passed away suddenly shortly after midnight in los angeles. he suffered from an apparent heart attack and tributes flowing in for the conservative blogger and the impact he had on the media. back in april of 2001, armstrong williams sat down with him for c-span 2's book tv program. here's a portion of that interview. >> i just graduated from college, a place where it was like my bar mitzvah. i thought in my bar mitzvah i would learn an education about judaism but i left empty i just

learned how to chant. i was open for a religious experience. i didn't get it. i felt the exact same way in college where i was an american studies major. the stuff i was reading was incomprehensible and it was jargon. there was a lack of comprehension to a person who doesn't understand that language. it was demoralizing. and i graduated less skilled, less motivated, and i was a waiter. >> you robbed yourself? >> i did. my education was a lack of an education. and so i was waiting tables right after graduating college. i fimpbished my lunch shift -- >> you're friends would say why are you doing this. why are you doing this? >> it was embarrassing, humiliating, it was the best thing. it was the humiliation of having to work and looking up the people i was trying to impress.

i started to pay for my own shoes -- >> your parents cut you off. >> they cut me off. it was brutal. that's why i dedicated the book to my father who cut me off and clarence thomas at the same time, both of their guidance in my life coincided. >> that's a good segue back to the hearings. >> yeah. i went from my wait job and i started watching the hearings wanting to wait for the take down of clarence thomas. i watched the television set and the television set told me this was a bad man and the newspapers told me and he was bad man. and i remember eleanor schnell, patricia showed her saying we'll take a stance against this guy for serial sexual harassment. i watched these hearings wanting

to see somebody mauled. i watched the entire thing. i went from wanting him to be taken down to wondering where's the beef? what's going on here? i don't understand what i'm watching here. i don't understand the color commentary that's on the screen. where they are saying oh, this is outrageous. i didn't understand the bumper stickers that were going by me on the street saying i believe anita. i said i believe anita what? what's going on here? i don't understand what's going on here. everything i knew, everything i picked up at college in my american stew deficit reduction cultural marxist, black people are always right, white people are always wrong, i didn't understand how ted kennedy, the ted kennedy of chappaquuddick and these men could sit in judgment of this man of parents

who were share croppers. he did everything right including allowing for anita hill to rise through the ranks of the legal profession through jobs with him where she never had a sexual relationship with him at all, he did nothing untoward and she was party to this take down and i did not understand how it could be that these white people of privilege were attacking this black man who was in this historic position while the mainstream media took him down, while the naacp and the urban league and other liberal leaders sat. >> from our interview conducted last year by armstrong williams for c-span 2's book tv. eric was 43 years old. he collapsed near his home in the brentwood section of los angeles. he oversaw a number of sites including big hollywood.com, big

government.com and big journalism.com. and helped to start the hufrgton post. some background in 2010. he post ad video of an address by shirley, an official with the department of agriculture that she had given a speech to the naacp. now in that clip, who she had appeared to show a bias against whites she was african-american she was later dismissed from her job as a result. however the full version of the speech later showed up with the remarks indicating that they had been heavily edited. "l.a. times" and the "wall street journal" among those writing extensively about the death of conservative publisher andrew and tributes today on the floor of the house of representatives from representatives. >> i can't help but think his devotion to truth, to preserving liberty will have inspired so many who will pick up that

banner and potential ly as was the ways with john quincy adams. he did great service to himself, his family and his nation. it's my prayer that his greatest contribution to this, the greatest nation with the greatest freedoms in the history of the world will not be those specific but amazing accomplishments he achieved, but that his greatest accomplishment will be the inspiration he was and is to so many who saw his devotion, saw his commitment, saw his goals and will just as did john quincy adams and accomplish more through those he inspired than those he could ever have accomplished individually. at a time like this, there's

sometimes a temptation to blame god and ask why did god take such an individual so soon? i direct comments to our creator should instead be thank you, dear god, for the gift of andrew. we wish we could have kept him longer. but thank you for this marvelous gift. >> the comments of congressman gohmert on the house floor earlier today paying tribute to andrew who died suddenly today. ted mack is following the story for politico. thanks so much for being with us. >> no problem. >> first of all, politico has indicate this death sudden and shocking many people in washington and around the country. the impact that you think he's

had on the field of journalism and also online journalism. >> i think it's fair to say he has had a mixed impact. certainly has activate ad lot of conservative journalists, has been a mentor to a lot of conservative activists and been able to pausch lot of stories into the mainstream, maybe not as explosively as some of his more well-known work but he certainly was a well-known figure and helped promote conservative ideas and helped promote conservative journalism. on the other hand he was also, you know, someone who sometimes didn't follow the same standards of journalism as more mainstream journalists and as such found himself trapped in some controversy. >> rick santorum calling him a powerful voice. mitt romney saying that ann and i deeply saddened by the passing of andrew. and sarah palin calling him a quote warrior who stood on the

side of what is right. >> yeah. i mean he's a guy that is very much respected in the conservative movement. among conservative activists he's charmed a lot of them. he's personally friends with a lot of people in the conservative blogosphere. he's much loved among these conservatives. >> what's his legacy? >> it's come olympic indicated. he was one of the pioneers, helped started the "huffington post", major actor in the drudge report which is well-known for being a place that since a lot of hits to media outlets when they link. so he's definitely a pioneer in the field of new media and online journalism and he'll be leaving that with us. >> us a heard a moment ago some

emotional tributes, including those from representative gohmert and the drudge report a banner above the fold indicating its respect and admiration for andrew. just let me ask you to conclude asking what impact do you think, what his role has been over the last ten to 15 years in journalism and especially as we heard him at the cpac conference for the conservative movement? i think it's to bring a more brazen voice to conservative journalism. he was someone who wasn't afraid to fight. in fact very much enjoyed doing so. and brought that tone and style, something that was telling is he said most recently at cpac conservatives just usually put up with things. they just put up with attacks from the left, and he's not going to let that happen any more. he's going to be part of the right's push back and that's what people will remember him for. >> tim mack who is following this story for politico.

his work available online at politico.com. thanks very much fork with us. if you're interested watch the entire interview as part of c-span's book tv program. our interview with andrew and old of our coverage available on our website, part of the video library. check it out at c-span.org. the chair of the federal reserve, ben bernanke reiterating his concerns about long term chronic unemployment and its impact on affecting the nation's economy also reducing the nation's supply of skilled workers. it was the second day of congressional testimony by the fed chairman noted that the economic recovery has been slower than normal but he said he doubts the great recession will permanently reduce the economy's growth potential. ben bernanke was on the house side of the capital yesterday today taking questions from the senate house committee including daniel akaka. >> chairman bernanke, this is a

question which is a followup on your discussion with chairman johnson and senator grapple. in your testimony you note there's been some modestly encouraging data recently including slightly better performance in the labor market, improved consumer sentiment and some increases in manufacturing. but these signs of economic recovery are not necessarily reflected yet in the experiences of our workers and their families in the communities. putting aside the crash in the eurozone, what possible set backs concern you the most with respect to in our economic recovery, for instance could

action to cut critical investments too quickly send the economy back into a slow down? talked about in my remarks was there still is a little bit of a contradictions between the improvement in the labor market and the speed of the overall recovery in terms of growth, in particular, i mentioned that will income had been flat for consumers in 2011. the revises data from yesterday said it was a little bit better than flat but still less than 1%. so you've still got consumers, consumption spending growing relatively weakly. you've got the fiscal issues there hanging over our heads. so in order to make this a really sustainable strong recovery, we need to have both declines in unemployment and strong growth in demand and production. i think that's something we have to watch very carefully. in terms of the risk to that, i

do have to mention europe because i think that's important. another is the oil prices. we've seen a number of movements up and down in energy prices. to some extent, a little bit of the movement in the commodity prices is essentially inevitable because if the economy is growing and the world economy is grow, the demand for commodities goes up. that's going to create some tendency towards higher commodity prices. when you have shocks to commodity prices arising from geopolitical events and the like,meion fiscal policy which h

in the short term in terms of the uncertainty about where physical policy is going to go over the next year and in the long-term in terms ofnot congre administration will work together to have a sustainable fiscal path, i think both things are creating some uncertainty and concern that will do pose some risk to the economy. so there are a number of different things, but overall, of course, there has been som ns welcome. >> the testimony of the fed chair ben bernanke before the senate banking committee. again, this is day two of hisim. yesterday appearing before a similar house committee assessing the state of the u.s. economy. again, expressing concerns about the unemployment ra expectations that the unemployment rate according to the fed chair could go back up again into the summer and early fall. peen while on capitol hill again today, shaun donovan, the

secretary of the department of housing and urban development talking about budget issues before a number of commg toesme banker, he told members of congress that e broken. one of the exchanges with senator richard shelby who's the senate banking committee's top republican asking without any qualifiers can you assure this committee that the american taxpayer will not need to bail out the fhsa fung iish i had a crystal ball. the fact is i am confident and i remain confident that we are taking responsible steps to protect the fha fund. as a way of this month the obama administration projecting its budget proposal for key fha accounts which h that exceeds the expected losses could be depleted sometime next year. so that's why the issue came up today with shaun donovan, the hud secretary. here's one of the exchanges with senator patty murray, democrat

from washington state. >> let me begin by asking you about the status of the fha's mutual mortgage insurance fund. given the seriousness of this housing crisis, it's not surprising that fha has sustained significant losses notice capital reserve account has served its purpose by covering those unexpected losses. but i was concerned when the president's budget stated that $688 million would be neededed to cover fha losses in fiscal year 2012. both the recent settlements and announced premium increases are expected to improve the mmi fund's financial position. i wanted you to update us this morning on the financial condition of the fha's mmi fund. >> as you correctly stated, the information that was in the budget was outdated on the day it was published and in fact, we were wait to make final decisions about premium increases till we knew the outcome of the settlement.

i wish that had been resolved before the budget was finalized but it wasn't. and that's the reason for what was shown in the budget. having said that, with the $900 million that i described that is the result of our work to recover for bad loans in the fha program that are in the settlements and in addition the premium increases that we've announced this week, we do expect that the fund will remain positive this year. nmpl addition, because of those steps that we've taken, the fund will be in a stronger position when the next actualtarily study is done in the fall. that's the most comprehensive look as you know looking forward. we do expect that it will put us, these changes we've made will put us in a significantly better position come fall, but again, we have to be vigilant and we will take additional

steps if necessary. the singlemost determinant of the health of the fund is where house prices go this year and beyond. and so we will continue to be vigilant and watch carefully to make sure if we have additional steps that we need to take that we can work with the committee to take those. >> so what are the risks look at, the housing prices this year? what other things? >> specifically, for the reestimate this year, the only things that will affect that number are the premium increases and so implementing those very quickly is critical and the levels of loan volume that we have this year. our estimates are that it would take loan volumes that are more than 20% below our expectations to threaten the fund through the reestimate this year. more importantly, for next year as we go to do the new actuarial

study, the single most important factor is house prices. our estimates last year showed that it would take greater than a 4% reduction in house prices this year. it would take a more than 4% reduction in house prices this year to push the fund negative. that was before the premium increases that we've implemented. so in fact, our estimate now is that it would take a much larger decline in house prices much larger than that 4% to put the fund in a negative position for the reestimate next year. >> and you decided to increase the up front and the annual premium. can you tell me how that will affect worthyre trying to access credit? >> as you know, congress made the decision to include a ten basis point increase in our single family programs as part of the bill that extended the payroll tax deduction. in addition, we included a 75 basis point increase in the up front premium.

the ten basis points equates for the average loan to about $9 a month for a borer. and the upfront premium increase is about $5 a month for the typical borer. the only places where those increases are significantly larger is for jumbo loans. those over $625,000 where we thought it was prudent to include a larger increase and for -- so for those borers, because the average size of the loan is much larger and because the increase is more, the increases would be significantly larger. >> okay, thank you. >> shaun donovan is the housing secretary testifying earlier today on capitol hill. again, according to "the washington post," most of the fha's losses caused by unusually risky loans that the agency insured before 2009 and some background on what the president's budget includes giving some fresh ammunition to critics of the plan, but there is a projection that the fha will soon exhaust its capital because of mounting losses on

its mortgage insurance portfolio which would require the infusion of nearly $690 million from the treasury before september 30th of this year. officials saying that is a one-time event officials at hud and that the capital cushion is projected to be $8 billion by 2013. but members of congress critical about this infusion of more government dollars to help bail out the federal housing administration. this is "washington today" on c-span radio. >> listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. four audio streams of commercial free public affairs programming, congressional hearings, white house briefings and speeches from national leaders, supreme court oral arguments, book tv, the sunday talk shows on the weekends. and podcasts of some of our regularly scheduled programs. the c-span radio app free at the itunes app store. >> coming up at the top of the hour, this is c-s