when voters asked who they would vote for if the election were held today that, is the first time mr. romney has led president obama in fox polls since last november. but the biggest story may be the gap between the two men when it comes to the highly sought after independent voters, 43 percent now say they support mitt romney, 37 percent backing the president. chris stierwalt is our fox news digital politics editor. chris, what does that tell us? >> well, it tells us that mitt romney is in a happy crossroads right now. part of it is that the republicans have started to coalesce behind him, they've come together, the process is ongoing but this poll reflects that time with rick santorum out of the race, mitt romney having sewn it up, so that is romney's improved performance among republicans, but the other thing it reflects, troubling for the president, it reflects disappointment with the president over the supreme court's handling of

the arguments on the signature health care law, it also reflectings the hot mic moment he had when he was overheard transmitting a message through president dmitry medvedev for vladimir putin. the president has had a couple of weeks and i suspect if the polls were in the field now it would probably be lower given what happened yesterday with the democratic strategist talking about ann romney. megyn: he's been off message, but mitt romney meantime has been taking a pummeling not only from the democratic party but his rivals -- i mean, rick santorum just dropped out, prior to doing that he had been all about taking down romney, newt gingrich has been doing the same in recent weeks, although less so, but the messaging on him has been almost uniformly negative. how can he possibly be pull ing ahead with the independents? >> well, a lot of people do not like president obama's job performance. they do not think that he is good at his job. and mitt romney is what republicans had hoped he would be, which is a

plausible opponent. that's really what the republicans are hope to go get out of mitt romney, somebody that americans look at and say he's plausible, he's a plausible president and an improvement over the guy that's in there, let's take a chance and make a change and that's what the republicans are looking to get out of romney and so far it appears that's what they're getting. megyn: one of the things the pundits look to in forecasting elections is the interest level that each respective party has in the contest, and fox polls on that as well, they asked how interested are you in the 2012 presidential elections. look at that chris. democrats, 32 percent say they are extremely interested, 42 percent of republicans say that they are extremely interested. about even when it comes to the number who are very interested. and again, there is a decifit showing that those who are not interested, only somewhat interested, higher number among democrats than republicans. the bottom line seems to be that the republicans are more interested in these elections than the dems.

that could spell trouble for the democratic party. >> yeah, and all the way down the ballot, too, that's a reflection of folks wanting to get to the polls and certainly if you were a senate from a swing state like missouri, claire mccaskill or from ohio or florida, one of those senators, you would not like to see that number. because remember this, the numbers, the extremely interested numbers are going to get higher for both parties but the republicans having the advantage now means that they will probably have the advantage when you get to election day, and that means that folks are going to go out and vote and that's trouble not just for the president but the other members of his party. megyn: it's interesting, too, because the president and democratic party have spent a lot of time focusing on the war on women, they've called and other issues, the theory was gin up support among the democratic party and his supporters to view the republicans, demonize the republicans, and those numbers suggest, you know, some are fiery, still not at the levels they need. chris, thank you. >> you bet.

megyn: the president's reelection campaign is trading shots this afternoon with the romney camp over the issue of tax returns. the president released his today. the documents show the obamas earned nearly $790,000 last year, and paid about $162,000 in total taxes. that is an effective federal tax rate of 20.5%. 20.5%. coming up, we'll show you the fight that this has touched off between the two political camps in a live report from the white house. fox news alert now, breaking developments right now in the political firestorm created when a democratic insider accused ann romney, a stay at home mom, of never having worked a day in her life, hillary rosen, a repeat visitor to the west wing, tweeting a short while ago that she is now skipping a previously planned appearance on "meet the press" this sunday. the democratic consultant, writing, quote, i deeply apologize, again, that's a

new phraseology for her, to work, in-home moms, mrs. romney, and the president of the united states, and quote, she writes, not going on meet the press this weekend, i'm going to be mom who stays home. chief washington correspondent james rosen has more. james? >> reporter: megyn, good afternoon. yes, we may now count david gregory and the book o'clock desk at "meet the press" among the losers in the fallout over hillary rosen's attack on ann romney. a former lobbyist for the human rights campaign, the lesbian-gayby sexual gender advocacy group, rosen is raising adopted twins with her lesbian ex-partner. shf a catholic made note of the sexual orientation a top official at the committee rose to her event, a chain of events that rosen herself calls surreal. the catholic league, treated the director said be encouraging adoption not

demeaning parents who are blessed to raise these children, the catholic's league president, bill donahue, shot down so the rnc is lecturing me to encourage adoptions? i do but kids deserve a father and mother. rnc is a joke, anyway, unquote. backers of mitt romney today include an entirely new category, the momney, the coinage of radio show host laura i think a.m. it's not lost that the last of the republican nominees john mccain lost the vote to barack obama by seven points, even as white women broke for mccain by the same margin. that the rosen-romney rouseabout is rooted in electoral politics is the observation. one republican woman with long experience in the minefields of gender politics: >> let me share with you a quick text that my sister had sent to me, she said oh wait, didn't these people slam you who are the same ones slamming ann romney, because she stayed at home with her five kids, didn't they slam you for not

staying at home with your five kids. my sister goes on to say it's obviously not a mom thing they're slamming, it's a conservative thing. >> reporter: it was, in 1984, that women first outnumbered men among total voters in presidential elections and it has stayed that way in the three decades since. megyn. megyn: james, thank you. we wanted to go to the front lines of the so-called mommy wars, so we put together a panel of nine moms to get their thoughts on this debate. here's just a little sample of that from moments ago. >> i think the problem is if you look at what's gone on in the media for the past three or four-months regardless of whether or not you're republican or democrat such as myself, it has become a war on women. the entire -- i mean, everything we see in the media is this manufactured war on women, and we're attacking each other. if you're a republican, somehow you want women to stay home and be in the kitchen, and that's not reality. it's not what is true. megyn: more from our great group of moms next hour of "america live". new revelations today in

the growing controversy of the general services administration. the gsa maintains government facilities across the country, but employees found time to attend lavish parties, paid for by you, and they shot videos of themselves mocking the routine waste of your money. now we're learning the agency also sent its interns on a pricey junket to travel to palm springs! joining us live with more, fox business network's liz bit mcdonald who has the exclusive details. hey biz. -- hey liz. >> reporter: hi megyn. this conference was for interns at the general services administration and we found out the name of the resort and suprait was held at, it was at the palm springs rivera resort and supra, a week-long conference, about 120 interns were flown in from around the country, at taxpayer expense. there are other details coming out about this conference. by the way, this was an annual event for gsa interns. we're also finding out that the palm springs conference

for interns, not a top gsa official actually had a room at the resort and spa where the room had not one but two fireplaces and the room had its own spa, so this comes in the wake of more disclosures about the lavish, extravagant expenses that taxpayers paid for for the las vegas trip. this palm springs intern conference was separate from the las vegas conference held in october 2010. there are a number of hearings coming up next week on ul of this. we're going to be covering it for you. back to you megyn. megyn: object the one hand, you have to hand it tom, liz, it was representative of the life the interns would lead if they should wind up working for the gsa! >> that's a good point! on top of all this, megyn, we're also seeing evidence of a whistleblower, high up in the ranks of the gsa. she was a deputy administrator, who blew the whistle on this. but apparently was ignored and instead the people responsible for these conferences got bonuses, instead. back to you megyn. megyn: as our viewers know i

used to practice law for years, i worked at top law firm, jones day. at jones day, we took them to the ballfield! we were not going to palm springs and staying in the double fire room -- fireplace rooms, i'll tell you that! >> new questions about the president's reelection campaign and whether the president's team is blowing the first inning of the general election ballgame, speaking of the ballgame, between the russian remarks off mic, attacks on the supreme court and what conservatives are calling the democratic war on moms, we'll look at the troubles for the reelection effort. and new development necessary iran's nuclear showdown today, the country's foreign minister writing an opinion piece saying iran doesn't want nuclear weapons. is that enough to convince the west? former ambassador to the u.n., john bolton, is here live, next. and when did your right to free speech begin and end in the workplace? a flight attendant, in his flight with his airline, which you've probably flown, and what he's saying about you on the docket, in

kelly's court. >> truthfully, i stopped looking at the company as me and the people. and i've started looking at it as me and the enemy. at times, i even wondered if the passengers and the company were working together to make my life miserable. c'mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i g heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilos isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw!

[ technician ] are you busy? management jt sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese.

by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazinbikes. with xerox, you're read for real business.

megyn: right now president obama making remarks about trade at the port of tampa before he heads to colombia for the summit of the americas. if you'd like to hear the president's remark necessary their entirety, head to foxnews.com where the president's speech is streaming live. fox news alert. now diplomats from iran and six world powers, including the united states, arriving in istanbul, this ahead of tomorrow's restart of talks over iran's nuclear program. meantime, iran's foreign minister has an op-ed in

today's "washington post", insisting his country was enrichment of high grade uranium is only for peaceful purposes and that iran has no desire for nuclear weapons. joining us now, someone who is for more than a decade worked on efforts to keep nukes out of iran's hands, john bolton, former ambassador to the u.n. n and fox news contributor. i guess they can just cancel the trip because the iranian foreign minister is letting us know it's all for peaceful purposes! >> if only i'd known that before i could have spared wasted effort i suppose! megyn: you blew it! >> obviously. this is part of their charm offensive propaganda campaign, they're going to use these negotiations to play for time, proposing compromises that don't really compromise much, and ideas that will simply drag the negotiations out. that's my prediction for what they'll do tomorrow. megyn: president obama had a stern warning for the iranians this time saying it's your last chance, or else, and the answer to that

or else wasn't filled in, but he has used that language. are they to take it seriously? >> i don't think they take the united states seriously. i don't think they take the threat of military force from the obama administration seriously. i do think the president's statement was accurate to this extent, not because of anything his administration will do, but because of the likelihood at that point that israel would have to come to that very difficult decision one way or the other, whether they would use force, and they might well consider a breakdown of these talks, the last straw, really. megyn: there has been discussion about whether this will postpone israel in its quest to strike iran's nuclear facilities now because we're engaged in diplomatic talks about ending the program at least in part if not in whole, the nuclear and uranium enrichment program. the administration says more time is a good thing because the sanctions are working. the administration has been saying the economic sanctions are working, and there was the director of

iran, studies at stanford university came out and said the sanctions are seriously punishing iran's economy, they're desperate right now, so we should believe in the sanctions. what say you? >> well, i think that's just contrary to reality. certainly iran wants the negotiations to continue because this does give them political cover to argue with the united states and the europeans to put pressure on israel not to act. but you know, the director of national intelligence, obama's own director, said a few months ago that all of the existing sanctions had not caused iran's behavior or polices on the nuclear front to change at all, and as long as oil prices remain high, whatever costs are imposed by new sanctions that are coming into play, it still doesn't fundamentally affect iran's nuclear weapons program. let's just take the case of north korea, one of the most sanctioned nation on earth, people desperately poor. it's still spending hundreds of millions of dollars on failed long range missiles

and its own nuclear program. so the sanctions themselves i think are not going to have an effect nearly in time enough to have any impact on the nuclear weapons program. megyn: so if we need to convince iran that we really will back an israeli strike on iran's nuclear facilities or we would do it ourselves, you know, that the military option is real and we mean to use it if they don't back off their program, what exactly should we be defining back off their program as? because there are reports that president obama is reversing himself on exactly what he's demanding of the iranians, you were critical of him earlier for suggesting to the iranians, look, the real problem is the fordaeu facility and you're not going to get a pass on everything else but that's what we're worried about. the administration seems to have been listening to you and come out later in this week saying no, we're looking at the whole thing. >> well, they have to say that in a sense, because that's what the sanctions resolutions passed by the u.n. security council have

said, that iran has to stop all enrichment activity. but if you look at statements by former administration officials and indeed, even people in the administration, the deal they see with iran would allow the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, would allow uranium enrichment. i think that's crazy. i think this regime is dangerous, i think it's announced its intention to destroy israel. i wouldn't trust them with sharp objects, let alone a civil nuclear program. megyn: but we have to go -- if this is a ruse, don't we to go through it but the american people don't want another war, they don't want to start bombing iran, they don't want iran to have a nuke but don't want to bomb iran, either, so don't we have to go through this ruse, if that's what it is, before we exhaust every effort or make it appear as if we're exhausting every effort before we go the military route? >> well, there have been almost ten years of negotiations led by the europeans first as the e.u. three, and then the five permanent members of the security council in germany,

ten years of negotiations to try and find some way to get iran to give up its nuclear program, and they've failed. so the argument that we've got to try it again, i think, ignores the reality that iran has used these ten years to very good effect from their perspective, getting closer and closer not only to a nuclear weapons capability, but establishing a very broad, very deep nuclear capability. and i think the real risk here, given that we know our intelligence on iran, is less than perfect, is that they may actually be much closer to a nuclear weapons capability than we know. they may have many more facilities than we know about. and so the longer we play this game, play iran's game of extending these negotiation, the more secure their program becomes, the more in danger the rest of the world becomes. megyn: ambassador bolton, thank you sir. >> thank you. megyn: see you soon. well, there have been fierce exchanges in the last 24 hours after a woman high up in the democratic party

attacked ann romney for being a stay at home mom when she said, quote, never worked a day in her life, but when dr. keith ablow saw what she said about mrs. romney, he heard something else. just ahead, a look at what she said, how he said it and how he makes a case for what he says are deeper issues. plus new fallout for a florida congressman and tea party favorite after he said there are dozens of members of the communist party in congress. and, new jersey governor chris christie saying america is turning into nation of couch potatoes, sitting around waiting for the next government check. over the top? or right on the money? we debate, coming up. >> when the american people no longer believe that this is a place where only their willingness to work hard and to act with honor and integrity and ingenuity determines their success.

>> now, how do you define max car theism? >> the detail oh worker originated the phrase, it's their phrase. we let them define it. one columnist said frankly, mccarthyism means calling a man a communist who is later proven to be one. megyn: well, that was senator joe mccarthy, fielding reporter questions in the '50s about how he would define mccarthyism, his name came up again this week after florida congressman, a republican, alan west, told constituents at a town hall meeting that he believes dozens of house democrats are members of the communist party. trace gallagher, live in our west coast bureau, trace,

now they're claiming it was taken out of context. we offered a chance to come on this show and explain themselves outright. they declined. what's the story? >> reporter: that's the first thing, congress west came out and said he was misquoted. when the palm beach post ran the story they didn't use his entire quote so they did take him out of context, what he said was the following, he was asked, quote, what percentage of the american legislature do you think are card carrying marxists or international socialist, he answered no, it's a good question, there are 78 to 81 members of the democratic party that are members of the communist party. he then paused for 27 seconds, to let the audience react, and he ended by saying no, they actually don't hide. it's called the congressional progressive caucus. well now congressman west certainly isn't bagging off those comments. in fact he's expanded on those comments today. he issued this statement, again quoting members of this caucus, lavished praise on fidel castro, following a

2009 visit to cuba. you can call them whatever you want, but the point is, they opposed free markets and individual economic freedom. well, many members of the progressive caucus have now shot back at the congressman, saying that they are not communist, and they are knocking his comments down, that he is certainly no -- but he is certainly no stranger to controversy or conflict. remember this on the o'reilly factor? >> i'm here as the modern day heiret tubman to lead people on the underground railroad away from that plantation into a sense of sensibility. >> reporter: he also had a very public battle with the democratic national committee chair deborah wasserman-schultz, also a congresswoman, calling her despicable, among other things. he's not backing down, megyn. in fact he's promoting the comments he made at that town hall. megyn: she fired a few shots at him as well in his defense on that one. trace, thank you. >> reporter: okay. megyn: new questions today about the president's reelection campaign and whether president obama's

team is in trouble. in the first inning of the general election ballgame. between the off-mic remarks to the russian leader, the attack on the u.s. supreme court and what conservatives are now calling the democratic war on moms, we'll look at the growing troubles for that reelection effort, right after the break. plus, when did your right to free speech begin? and end? when it comes to the workplace. a flight attendant, finding out the hard way that not everyone thinks his video blog about passengers like you is really funny. in today's kelly's court. >> a fly-by is when i come in real close and i kind of swoop in, just graze right over him, then right when he thinks that he's got my attention, i fly by! i'm off. so i did those kind of things for the whole flight. i mean, i wore myself out torturing this man. ettlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years?

call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

megyn: fox news alert. new reports just in that convicted lockerbie bomber, abdul megrahi has been taken to a hospital in libya, his brother reportedly saying, quote, his health is deteriorating quickly. you may remember megrahi was freed in 2009 after doctors said he had prostate cancer and had only months to live. megrahi was convicted in 2001 of the bombing of the bombing of pan am 103 as it

flew from new york to london, all 250 people were killed, 11 others on the ground died from the falling wreckage. now he is headed to the hospital. and to the campaign trail, a rocky start to the president's reelection effort, not one, not two but three major issues leaving the campaign team off message in recent weeks. let's go to the tape. >> this is my last election, after my election i have more flexibility. >> at four years, what we've heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activision or lack of judicial restraint, that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly stud and passed law.

>> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. and when i listen to my wife, that's what i'm hearing. yes what? -- guess what? his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of women in this country are facing. megyn: joining me now for a fair and balanced debate, mike gallagher and leslie marshal both fox news contributors. panel, so this is interesting, whether you agree that these are -- that the president said the right thing or the wrong thing, the white house has been having to deal with this, which has put them off message. but is that a real problem for them, mike? >> well, it's a huge problem. i mean, anybody in politics will tell you that any time you're on the defensive and having to go off message as you so aptly put it megyn, it's a problem. listen, if this was a

baseball analogy and this is the bottom of the first inning, of the reelection effort for barack obama, the starting pitcher is getting shallacked and any good manager would pull him out of the game. this is a train wreck. and it's one thing after another. it's not just one incident. i'll tell you one thing that i'm surprised about is the mainstream media jumping all over the hillary rosen issue in a very powerful way. they're leaving out a little bit -- one of the things that's laughable is the president referred to her as simply someone on television. that just someone on television happens to have apparently visited the white house at least 30 times. if she was a frequent flyer in terms of white house visits she'd be the executive platinum club! so he's going to try but i don't know that he suckly distances himself from this attack on not only, you know, people who are financially successful, but stay at home moments. megyn: leslie, there's plenty of debate about hillary rosen and what she said, but it's an issue that the vice president had to comment on, the president had to comment on, axelrod,

messina had to comment on. down the line they've been focused on hillary rose been in the last few days and before that they were focused on the comments -- president's comments about the supreme court and he had the off mic moment with medvedive. that's the past two weeks that he hasn't been talking about what the democrats term the war on issues that drives this election. >> that's what's going to happen in an election year. if he sneezes that's what we'll talk about next week and let's talk about sneezing. right now romney is being shown as the head of the president -- or really neck and neck. it's a tie when you look at the 3-4 percent margin of error in a poll. last week "the washington post" basically had the president ahead, week before that, president ahead in swing states. that's what's going to happen, it's a roller coaster ride pollwise. i think and i've always said and mike will agree with me, this is going to be a very tight race and a very exciting race, a nail biting race, but are these a bit of distractions, yes, is it

expected in an election year, absolutely. we're going to see more of this between now and november on both sides. megyn: i say this with due respect to president obama but he had trouble when he was first president and when he was running for president, when he was off prompter, when he was off script, and there were reports that his team, then, said to him you need to stick to the prompter, so you know, you don't get in trouble or say the wrong thing. two of the three things we showed were the president -- what appeared to be off prompter, although dana perino theorizes, a former white house press secretary, he wouldn't have said that about the supreme court if he hadn't run that by his team. i don't know about that. but is this the danger a politician runs when they go sort of on their own and off the prepared message from the campaign? >> listen, i think, megyn, it's fair to say this has to be a president who sort of feels under seige. i mean, yesterday he hosted a round of local tv interviewers, who came into the white house, one of them just cornered him basically and said my viewers are

saying that you're off jetting around the country on this expensive vacations while americans are suffering, and the president just appeared completely flubboxed and surprised at that. listen, let's face it, mitt romney has been said to have had a problem with women voters, republicans were falsely accused of this so-called war on women over the contraceptive issue, now you've got this completely turned around and it's liberal democrats who look like they are -- have declared a war on women, specifically working moms. this is not good for president obama, and if this keeps coming, from now until november, it won't be a nail biter, leslie. with all due respect, there's no way president obama stands a chance this side of haites of being reelected. >> when he comes back reelected, you can come back and say leslie, you were right! >> we'll see. we'll see. megyn: guys, i got to leave it at that. thank you very much. >> thanks ladies.

take care. megyn: coming up one of the top economists with the federal reserve is saying he sees now trouble for our economy this week, matt mccall, just ahead on what has this guy so worried. plus democratic insider hillary rosen setting off this political firestorm with her comments that stay at home mom ann romney never worked a day in her life but dr. keith ablow believes those remarks reveal something more about her, and he'll tell us what that is, right after the break. >> what you have is mitt romney running around the country saying well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues, and when i listen to my wife, that's what i'm hearing. guess what? his wife has actually never worked a day in her life! ♪

[ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wideange of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering.

since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪

megyn: new reaction now for the political firestorm over remarks bay high powered female democrat, hillary rosen on wednesday started the controversy when she described ann romney as,

quote, never having worked a day in her life, because she's a stay at home mother. rosen had the opportunity to back down from her bold statement yesterday morning but instead she doubled down: >> this isn't about whether ann romney or i or other women of, you know, some means can afford to make a choice to stay home and raise kids. most women in america, let's face it, don't have that choice, they have to be working moms and home moms. megyn: rosen eventually apologized for her remarks. our next guest says the original remarks are very vealing. psychiatrist don keith ablow is my guest, member of our fox news medical a team. dr. ablow, maria bartiromo. what do you mean? what do you think those remarks say about the way hillary rosen thinks? >> well, i think that they reveal her antipatty, not only for ann romney, but for what ann romney represents, a woman who chooses a lifestyle wherein she is at

home, she creates a very nurturing environment, she invests in the qualities stereo tippicly feminine and focuses on child rearing. i think that that really irks this woman. megyn: i think there a lot of women can relate to feeling, you know, despite themselves, the need to downplay or denigrate another woman's choice because they feel so guilty about their own choice, but you actually suggest it goes beyond that for her. there is a hatred, you used the word despise in your piece, about how she must feel about stay at home moments. where do you get that from? >> you know, i think this is a gut level thing for her and it speaks also to her connection to the obama administration, because it seems to me that if you can't class yourself, if you can't see yourself as a disenfranchised, put-upon segment of the community, whether it be because of your lifestyle choice, or

because of your background in terms of feeling as though you were prejudiced against, or stigma tized, those are the people that the president seems to speak for and this woman seems to want to speak for, hillary. and so for those women who say no, i actually feel okay with what has been the traditional way that america was formed, you know, women had been at home, men had been the breadwinners. i don't feel crushed by that. i think i can operate in that kind of world. that, i think, lights a fire inside people like hillary rosen, who say well, that's what we're trying to end, that kind of terrible american traditional lifestyle, and you represent it, ann romney, and you're going to be my target. megyn: well, it's an interesting -- if true, it's an interesting theory, because in particular, i think, liberals pride themselves on being very tolerant and very accepting,

and in particular, accepting of alternative lifestyles but this isn't an alternative lifestyle, it's sort of a traditional lifestyle and your theory is that's a problem for her. >> exactly. see, she has an alternative lifestyle, hillary rosen, and everyone wants to be accepting of that, however, what has happened is the tables have been turned, so those who see themselves as having been oppressed, given their lifestyle choices or their race, now look at the way america has been and demonize it. that's why the president went on an an apology tour, apologizing for the bad father, apologizing for the fact that america has sub ju gated everyone. so if you say no, listen, my company is thriving in america, no, i think i can make money here, no, i actually free pretty good, i'm not home, i know my husband makes the money, but we have five kids, it's a lot of work, those are the enemies. public enemies number one

for hillary rosen and barack obama. megyn: obviously, we don't know what's really in hillary rosen's head, she says look, i was trying to make an economic point. >> i do! megyn: she says don't tell me that she understands women's economic problems because she doesn't have any. she said that's all i was trying to say. i have two children, i wasn't trying to denigrate moms who stay at home, i was just trying to make the point how could she be an economic adviser when she has no economic troubles. could it be as simple as that? >> listen, the idea that people who have financial wherewithal have no economic stress, no economic trouble, that they're not thinking about the next generation, that they're not thinking about whether their children will thrive, number one, is folly, because i don't know anyone from any socioeconomic stratum -- i know that the pressures are different, but hey look, we're talking about a woman who has faced illness, who has had to think about whether her kids would have to say goodbye to her, who has had to think about

whether her kids look at her husband and say will i ever measure up. look, every family has life issues they cope with. the question is do you look at other people and say you're less than because you decided that you'd let your husband work and support the family. that's what i really think irks hillary rosen. ann romney is the worst kind of stake through her heart because she is a traditional woman, traditional having things the way they used to, let's say, who seems content. that's a psychological gauntlet thrown down at hillary rosen and barack obama that they must march against. megyn: it's interesting we had former first lady barbara bush on the program yesterday, she chose to be a stay at home mom and wound up not only marrying a president, raising a president and a governor. there are so many examples of stay at home moments that have incredible families.

>> it's not just a gender-based thing. i have men and women in my practice and believe me, a lot of the men, if their wives made the money that mitt romney has been fortunate enough and blessed enough and talented enough to make, they wouldn't go to work, they'd be walking the dog, going to hockey games, baseball games, and they'd be invested -- maybe they'ding writing poetry but they sure wouldn't be on the assembly line if their wives were michelle romney. >> well, thank you so much. dr. ablow, appreciate it. >> all right megyn, take care. megyn: dr. ablow wrote a column on this issue posted on foxnews.com. you can check it out. and earlier, we had a chance before the show to debate this issue with a focus group of nine mothers, some who work by raising their children at home and some who work outside of the house as well. here's a little sneak peek: >> i think the main thing is that we need to stick together, and i think one thing that's happening in this debate is that women

are starting to say look, no matter what you're doing, no matter what choice you make, we honor these choices for our fellow women and we need to stick together and rally to our friends who are working -- >> it feels like we're in middle school again! we just got passed the damage from those years! >> megyn: our next hour we'll have more from those moms and hear whether they think washington has their best interests at heart. stay with us. also ahead, there are some very upset parents after an elementary school teacher encourages a classful of students to become penalties with an accused child molester, sitting in jail. what's even more remarkable is how the administrators handled this whole thing when the parents complained. that's next.

mig we are hearing now about a story out of texas where one teacher reportedly encouraged her fourth grade students to become pen pals with a man accused of molesting children. he was later convicted and now the parents say they fear for their children's safety. trace gallagher has more live from our west coast newsroom. trace. >> reporter: the sex offender's name was ricky ray rallett, convicted of raping a girl under the age of 14, sentenced to 50 years in prison. the teacher at houston's trinity lutheran is family friend who believes he was wrongly accused so as a class project she had students become pen pals with him, exchanging letters back and forth. the students shared information with him like their full names, what they look like, and their favorite things to do! all of this only came to light when investigators found the letters in rallett's cell and as you might imagine, the parents of the students are livid. here's one: >> i have two little boys

who now are very aware of how horrible adults can be. i hope that awareness comes out and that parents just look deeper into what's going on and not blindly trust, because it's an administration, because it's a church, that these people are protecting you or your kids. >> reporter: clearly, that mom did not want to be identified. the school is now in damage control, calling it unacceptable. they have beefed up security. the teacher has been fired. the principal has been placed on paid leave. and the local district attorney is baffled. listen: >> you know, a simple search on the internet, 30 seconds, you could locate that the man was in jail for an offense dealing with child molestation. i can't understand why any person would think it's appropriate to allow students to write a person accused of, let alone, without that child was parents' permission. >> reporter: megyn, one of the parents' biggest concerns in this is that rallett may have shared the

information in those letters with other sex offenders who are currently serving prison time. megyn: trace, did the administration defend this teacher initially, is that what happened? >> they didn't know about it. as soon as they found out about it, they fired her. this all came to light when investigators found these letters inside rallett's cell, they notified the school, the school fired the teacher, notified the parents. the parents were never asked if the kids could participate in this assignment. they all found out about this and very quickly fired the teacher, put the principal on leave. megyn: wow. unbelievable. trace, thank you. the president releasing his tax returns today as his reelection team trades shots with the romney camp over taxes. a live report with what the documents reveal. plus some comedy at 30,000 feet got this flight attendant fired! fair or not? in kelly's court. >> overhead bin, think i'm available for him and right when he's ready to ask me for something, i'm off!

those years were crazy. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule.

♪ [ male announcer ] help brazil reduce its overall reliance on foreign imports with the launch of the country's largest petrochemical operation. ♪ when emerson takes up the challenge, "it's never been done before" simply bemes consider it solved. emerson. ♪

megyn: a fox news alert. a new battle unfolds over who pays too much in taxes. the white house releasing mr. and mrs. obama's 2011 tax returns. the first family making $800,000 and paying an effective tax rate of 20%. >> reporter: the president's income is down but so is his effective tax rate. that's the big story because it may complicate his tase against mitt romney. they are pushing for the buffet rule. which is named for millionaire warren buffet.

it turns out based on the president's tax return he probably pays a lower rate than a lot of secretaries. he paid $162,000 in federal taxes. that's an effective tax rate of 20.5%. some independent analysts say that could complicate the democratic argument against mitt romney paying 14%. >> relative to romney the president isn't making all that much. but relative to the majority of mayor cans the obamas would be considered wealthy and they have to show they are in touch with the average american. >> reporter: there is also political vulnerability. the obama campaign saying now the president put out his tax returns that mitt romney should follow suit not only with the 2011 tax returns but go back a

decade to show the american people how much in taxes mitt romney has been paying. the romney campfired back with a statement. it's no surprise with the worst job creation record in modern history that president obama would try to distract the american people with a series of side shows. mitt romney will release his full 2011 returns when it is filed. what the obama campaign is precious is they believe romney is hiding something and some tax dodges. they made accusations about that. until mitt romney releases the returns this will not be settled. megyn: doesn't it feel uncomfortable, we know exactly what president obama made. we'll know what the romneys made. it's one of those things you are not supposed to talk about.

>> reporter: you have got to put it on the table if you are running for public office. the democrats have done that for a decade in terms of the tax returns for the president and vice president. they are demanding governor romney do it as well. how much did you make last year, ed? very uncomfortable. >> reporter: you tell me first. thank you, ed. we did some digging and found the first family's income dropped from year to year because of declining book sales. they paid $454,000 in taxes. their check had more dollar signs in 2009. they reported an adjusted gross income of $1.8 million. one of the top economists with the federal reserve is warning about troubling signs on our

economy. his remarks come after a sudden jump in this week's unemployment claims. while the unemployment rate fell in march to 8.2%, economists say it's because many people stopped looking for jobs. joining us with some perspective, matt mccall. what's this guy from the federal reserve warning us about? >> reporter: we are recovering from where we were a few years ago. but the recovery has slowed down. and the trend that moved higher to positive numbers has slowed as well. we saw more people filing for unemployment. megyn: isn't it only 13,000 more. >> it's not a huge number, but it shows the trend is ending.

we are not seeing that anymore. coinciding with march's number of creating 120,000 jobs is troubling. people stopped looking for work. 88.2 million people are not in the labor force. if we put them back into that force the unemployment rate goes from 8.2% to 11%. we are playing with numbers the government is doing. megyn: i get so confused. we have democrats on the show all the time saying there are real job creation numbers, then we have others come on and say, no, it's not real, the unemployment rate is only going down because people are leaving the workforce all together, giving up on the search. how are we supposed to know what is true? >> the way i look at it is look

around, ask your neighbors, family and friends how you feel. there are a lot of people watching your show and they are able to do that because they are out of work. to me it doesn't feel like the unemployment rate went to 8.2%. the people i talk to are still out of work. we are not in a re bust economy. -- we are not in a robust economy. how does it feel to you? to me it doesn't feel that great. megyn: this guy dudley left the door open to additional stimulus measures. what does that mean? >> you hear quantitative easing. next you will hear is qe-3. they have a printing press in a basement in d.c. and they continue printing money. the last time the fed did this

the market rallied, jobs were created the economy looked good. but when it ended both times the economy slows down, the stock market fell. we are doing something operation twist. when that comes do an end this market probably falls once again. which raises unemployment. takes the economy with it. the fact that we are talking about a potential qe3, it's artificial. once the government gets out of the way, there are no jobs unfortunately. fox news alert on syria's fragile truce facing its first major test. activists say government fired killing at least three people. but they said forces stood back as demonstrations went on elsewhere. the u.n. is hoping to end the

assad government's deadly crackdown on no democracy forces. that's how we are loosely treeferght other side. the conflict started more than a year ago. diplomats are meeting at the united nations over north korea. world leaders coming together to condemn the test of a long-range rocket last night. the defiant move blowing up in north korean space. the rocket breaking up and falling into the sea minutes into the flight. now it's drawing attention to the brutality inside north korea. jennifer griffin has the latest live at pentagon. >> reporter: to understand north korea you must understand its but lag system. only 3 people have ever escaped

the death camps. i interviewed one of them. he told me the first rule was you couldn't escape. he claimed over the back of another prisoner to escape. his friend was electrocuted. he explained how he turned in his mother and brother. >> i was 14 years old when my mother and brother were publicly executed. i felt i was relieved that it was not tied to the wooden stake to be executed. >> reporter: his escape has been highlighted in a new book. how guards used starvation to control the prisoners. >> is a was walk on the ground i saw two kernels of corn that was in the cow dunk that was on the

ground. so without giving it much thought i took the two kernels of corn and the best way i could wash it or clean it up i did and i ate that base was so hungry. >> he grew up without emotion. he grew up being raised by guards, an was always hungry. everything he did was to position himself so he could get more food. his parents were chosen for him by the guard as the result of a reward marriage. he was raised by the guards to be a kind of farm animal. >> reporter: north koreans don't just punish political dissidents, they punish relatives three generations later. megyn: that's terribly disturbing. unbelievable. moving on and much later news. a flight attendant getting his wings clipped for blogging about

his airline and at passengers on it. among his claims? that executives received special treatment at the customers' expense. and his tactics when a customer irritates him on the flight. what can you say about your boss and what can this buy say about you? if mom is not happy, no one is happy. we are assembling a firey focus group of moms over the brouhaha on ann romney. our real life panel of moms weighs in. plus governor chris christie making his own treefl comments. why he says we are becoming a nation of couch potatoes sitting around waiting for our next government check. >> people wonder why? i think it's simple. ok! who gets occasional constipation,

diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person abouter care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. itedhealthcare.

megyn: new jersey governor chris christie causing some controversy. he says government handouts are turning us into a nation 6 couch potatoes. >> i have never seen a less optimistic time in my lifetime in this country. people wonder why. i think it's simple. it's because government is telling them stop dreaming, stop striving, we'll take care of you. we are turning into a paternalistic entitlement society. that will not just bankrupt us

financially, it will bankrupt us morally. because when the american people no longer believe that this is a place where only their willingness to work hard and to act with honor and integrity and ingenuity determines their success in life, then we'll have a bunch of people sitting on a couch waiting for their next government check. megyn: joining me now christopher hahn and radio host chris plante, host of the chris plante show. chris, let me start with you. does he have a point in your view that there is a shift, a fundamental shift underway in this country about how we think about success and our ability to capture it? >> absolutely. the president of the united states, barack obama is directly responsible for this shift. he promised the fundamental transformation of the united states of america and no one

bothered to ask from what to what. but governor christie * said he has never seen a less optimistic time and he's correct. they demonized us who are the most successful from mitt romney to generic bankers and hedge fund managers and they are telling everyone else we are here to take care of you, they are bad for you. we are going to pay for your college and give your kids breakfast, lunch and dinner, we are going to raise your is -- raise your children in the school system because you are not capable. we have more people on foot stamps and government assistance than ever before. and the president is encouraging this. >> i expect chris christie to use mitt romney's talking points. i never expect it from chris plante. he usually has original

thoughts. there is a lot of crisp going on. but that is what the republicans want people to fear. that this president is somehow different, that he's promote be a welfare state. we hit a bump in the road in this economy and we are doing what we can to get out of it. one of the things we have to do is get our deficit spending under control. republicans would like to cut things like the pell grants. but what the republicans want to do is give all the breaks to the people who have had all the breaks in this country and not produced anything for it. megyn: barack obama struck back against this narrative preemptively. he said the republicans believe that it's -- it's an you are on your own society. you see chris christie taking i

different view, it's not that it's a you are on your own society, it's that you, democrats are creating an entitlement society. >> listen, that's part of the broader narrative. it's -- the premise is we live in an unfair society. the most successful and prosperous society in the history of humankind is fundamentally unfair. in order to correct that the president is engaging in class warfare. the buffet tax is going to save us from all of our problems. completely absurd. the president ought to lead on that front. his deficits are larger than some of bill clinton's budgets. we spent more in 3 1/2 years in

deficits. megyn: we can argue about that another time. i want to stay on chris christie's point. the business about he doesn't remember a time in his lifetime when we have been less optimistic. do you agree with that? >> i don't agree with that. and i don't even think chris christie agrees with that. he's carrying mitt romney's water. i have seen chris christie be optimistic about the future of this country. now it's election time and he's trying to paint this scare everyone narrative. it's not going to work this time. they don't believe this rhetoric and we are moving forward as a nation. this economy is creating jobs. people are starting to get back to work. now we have to fix our deficit problem. i think the rift should give back the bush tax cuts and pay more than their secretaries.

>> the democrat message is the message of division and warfare. we have class warfare, race warfare, gender warfare, war against the church, war between the branches of government that we have never seen before. right track-wrong track. people are not optimistic and you know it. >> the republican message is everyone is out to get you. megyn: we'll have to argue about chris isly another time, good-bye. there are new charges about the trayvon murder case. when does your right to free speech begin and end. one flight attendant in trouble after creating this parity document. >> i show up a few hours before my sign-in just to let people look at me.

e-trade 360 is the world's first investing homepage that shows you where all your investments are and what they're doing with free streaming quotes, news, analysis and even your trade ticket. everything exactly the way you want it, all on one page. transform your investing with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard.

feeding your lawn need not be so difficult neighbors. get a ld of this bad boy. whoa. this snap spreader system from scotts is snap-crackin' simple -- just snap, lock, and go. [ scott ] feed your lawn. feed it!

megyn: new questions in the case of the murder of trayvon martin. one man you will recognize calling the prosecution's case thin and irresponsible after reviewing the documents behind the charge. >> reporter: that prominent lawyer is allen dershowitz. this is the prosecution's viewpoint, but legal experts say without putting new evidence in that the conclusion it draws may not be support by the current evidence. the affidavit says zimmerman disregarded the police dispatcher and continued to follow martin who was trying to return to his home.

but during his call to the dispatch zimmerman agrees to stop pursuing him and says he lost sight of him. >> do you live in the area? >> yes. >> what is your apartment number? >> it's a home. i don't want -- >> reporter: legal experts say what's most important is what was left out. details about the struggle and it makes no mention at all of the eyewitness who saw trayvon on top of zimmerman. here is former federal prosecutor doug burns. >> a prosecutor must disclose information that's favorable to the defense. that's why professor dershowitz is so up in arms that they left out the fact that there was a

fairly significant struggle. doug burns does think this case will get by the preliminary hearing. dershowitz called this politically motivated. megyn: they appear to make some assumptions in that document that go to the heart of the case. trace, thank you. the mayor of a major u.s. city is being hailed as a hero after rushing into a burning building to save a woman's life an doesn't want any credit for it. we'll show what you happened. plus, weighing in on the war on moms? is that where we are now? stay tuned for a special focus group as nine mothers debate what working really is and how it feels to be in the middle of this fierce political debate. >> i think the main thing is we need to stick together. one thing that's happening in this debate is women are starting to say, no matter what you are doing, we honor these choices for our fellow women and we need to stick together.

it feel like we are back in middle school again. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar, on december 21st polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd, and you still need to retire. td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans? when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). pull on those gardening gloves. grab the nearest spade. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advise to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing.

that's the power of the home depot lay down a new look, with earthgro mulch, now three bags for just $10. who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel.

serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. fohalf the calories plus vgie nutrition. could've had a v8.

it doesn't look risky. i mean, phil, does this look risky to you? nancy? fred? no. well it is. in a high-risk area, there's a 1-in-4 chance homes like us will flood. i'm glad i got flood insurance. fred, you should look into it. i'm a risk-taker. [ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. visit floodsmart.gov/risk to learn your risk. megyn: the fallout over the so-called mommy mom. reasons, a democratic strategist and frequent white house visitor taking a swipe wednesday at moms

saying mitt romney's wife ann never worked a day in her life. take a his to the ladies of the view on it. >> it was a mishandled sort of quote. the wife of a politician. very few of them work for a living. she is talking economic issues and she is not the one putting bread on the table. >> women work in partnership with their spouse. i think it's wrong to marginalize and discriminate whether she is working or home with kids. >> you are talking about earning money. >> she is talking about any woman who may be home with their kids. >> i don't like what she said because women who stay home and

raise their children are working. this is something that we have had to deal with for years. try to explain to a man about what raising children is like. for me i just thought it was -- she spoke before she thought. megyn: joining us live in our studio. a group of moms. some stay-at-home moms. republicans, democrats, independents. we have everybody represented mere. claudia, you are a stay-at-home mom. did it strike a chord with you what this woman said? >> yes, i did. i think it's a very noble profession whether you are work or not working. it's a hard job. i can't think of anything better to do with your time than to raise your children. megyn: did anyone feel offense at what she said. >> yes. >> for me it's completely struck a nerve. i have been home.

i have two boys, i have an 11-year-old and 6-year-old and loved it. recently divorced. i'm a transition mom in graduate school, trying to find a balance. it strikes such a nerve because everybody is working. i don't know any woman whether you are -- you have a wonderful thing being able to be home with your kids or for whatever reason you are in the workforce it's all finding a balance. megyn: she is saying if you are a stay-at-home mom you may not appreciate what a working mom goes through. >> it was a very poor choice of words. but i think she was trying to make a point about women's jobs and the economic recovery. and, you know, clearly, staying at home is a very important job. and you are accomplishing a tremendous amount by staying at home raising your children. by the same token, women make

their choice with their families to go out into the workforce. it's very often economic. megyn: do you think there is an inability -- she seems to be suggesting a stay-at-home mother doesn't understand what it is to be a working mom. >> it's class warfare. it was because of economic reasons she wasn't out there. and i feel like the democrats are trying to make the election about the rich and the poor, and they were dividing the country at large. i just think it was unfair. also women attacking women. my generation. i have a 28-year-old, 25 and 15. we were told we could have it all, and you can't do it all. some of us try to do it. i have been on both sides of the workforce, working at home, working out of the home. when i went into my workplace and spoke with the men there they said you are coming back to work. i said are you kidding?

i'm here for a break. megyn: coming back to work on monday morning can be like getting into a warm bath. just the pitting of women against -- don't we have it hard enough whether you are a stay-at-home mom or working mom, to pit us against each other as one better or one understands more. it felt devisive. you tell me what you think. carolyn you are a single stay-at-home mom. >> we talked amongst ourselves and we all agree i don't think she was trying to fan the flames of the mommy wars. it seemed like it was an economic issue. and grants it was totally poorly worded what she said. but i think everyone agrees whether you are a stay at home mom * or working mom, i work from home. i think talking about class warfare, i'm a liberal democrat and i don't want to have to feel

sorry for a rich lady with five made and six houses. megyn: does she make you feel sorry for her? >> no, ann romney has had to do a lot of work. she has a husband who requires unzipping every day. we are not pitted against each other. it's about helping women make more money. megyn: can you not relate to the financial troubles that america is having if you have money? president obama has a lot of money. does that mean he can't relate to men or women who are struggling? >> i stay at home with my son, and it's a choice, but i'm lucky to have that choice. and i think ann romney is lucky to have that choice. so when we talk about it, it's like a lot of working moms can't stay home with their kids. i appreciate that this is being brought up. i think we need to talk about the policies that are at play

and how these policies affect women. megyn: a lot of working moms can't stay tomorrow with their kids. a lot can, they could, but i choose to work. i can say for women like me, you don't want to be made to feel guilty about that. i think if you are a stay-at-home mom you don't want to feel like you are contributing less to society because you made the choice to be with your kids full time. >> i think the problem is if you look at what's gone on in the media the past 3 and 4 months were regardless of whether you are a democrat or republican, it has become a war on women. the entire -- everything we see in the media is this manufacturerred war on women. we are attacking each other. if you are a republican somehow you want women to stay home and in the kitchen and that's not reality. it's not what's true. so this has been -- i'm happy this happened yesterday because i think this allows us to go

back to the core focus of what people care about in this presidential election. they care about the economy, they care about jobs. they care about being able to provide for their families. all of this other manufactured noise is just that. megyn: elizabeth, do you believe there is a republican war on women? you are an independent. >> no, i don't. megyn: do you believe this woman's comments on the democratic side reflects how the democratic party thinks? >> no, i don't think that either. i think it's largely an effort to move along a debate and create some kind of controversy. i think cooler head prevail generally after elections. i think the main thing is we need to stick together. one thing that's happening in this debate is women are starting to say, no matter what

choice you make, we mano honor these choices and we need to stick together and rally to our friend who are working. megyn: it feels like we are back in middle school again. >> i am both for the past year i have done stay at home mom full time and worked full time in real estate. i have the flexibility of going to the office. the days i go to the office i feel a sense of relief. megyn: then you feel guilty because you feel relief. >> i felt like it's equally as difficult. i have friend who stay at home full time and i have friend who go to work full time. doing both, you learn how to balance it. megyn: the reason this woman's comments became such a big deal, it is -- it's a narrative people

have heard from some democrats before. hillary clinton saying i guess i could have stayed home and made cookies. now we have a democrat who is a frequent visitor to the white house. the question is does this prolong a narrative that some people believe about democratic women and the way they feel about the choice to stay home? >> i don't think that about women. but i think there is a war on women and it's the policies. policies who say if you have a child with an illness an insurance company can take aware way care for your child. these do affect women. >> i'm a part time mother.

i'm lucky that i am able to bring my daughter to work. sometimes i have a nanny sitter that comes two days a week. so it depend on if i'm able to take her to work. megyn: do you think there is a mentality among some that if you stay -- if you choose to stay at home you are offering less. that that is somehow -- i could have stayed at home and baked cookies by chose not to. >> it's the raising of that person. it's not democratic or republican. if you are a democrat you don't believe it. you are a republican and you don't believe it. i don't think it's democrat or republican. but the politics is making it out to be one or the other. megyn: i think some of us who make certain choices start to feel guilty about our choices. and then that devolves into

something that's negative. you make yourself feel better by putting count other. got to leave it at that. thank you all so much. we appreciate it. we are taking your thoughts on it on twitter. follow me at megyn kelly. did it ever seem like your flight attendant was trying to avoid you? american airlines flight attendant says he was not only trying, he was successful. then he blogged about it and wound up in "kelly's court." >> i realized --

:

megyn: "kelly's court" is back in session. a former american airlines employee make parody videos about the passengers and posting them on the web. >> a fly-by is when i come in

real close and just graze right over him. then right when he thinks he's got my attention i fly by. i'm off. so i did those kind of things for the whole flight. i mean, i wore myself out torturing this man. megyn: after he posted allegedly passenger's personal information he was not only fired, but he's getting sued by american airlines. do they have a case? joining me now is lis weihl and jonna spilbor. i think i had that guy. he talks about how he will punish you if you don't behave properly on the flight or he doesn't like an outed it all online and american airlines apparently wasn't too happy about it. do they have a claim against him? >> he had a 2-second rule.

if you didn't get your order in in 2 seconds he would walk by and not talk to you. pair did, bad form. but we did which is illegal, is he went into with other people apparently into saber which is the system american airlines uses, he posted confidential information about passengers, i have got it right here. it's very specific about where they will be flying. mr. so and so will be on this flight or that flight. look out for this one. megyn: it seeps like what he was trying to do -- he's complaining the american airlines executives what boot passengers out of first class so they or their wives to have the seat. mrs. so and so got booted back

to coach because mrs. so and so wanted to sit in the first class seat. is that improper or whistleblowing. >> he was only outing the corporate executives who were giving it to the consumers. he will be the guy all of us love to hate. he's appealing to the consumer exposing the corporate greed for lack of a better word and he's appealing to the consumer because we all experienced him. where he crosses a line is he should not divulge the private information. but he's doing it to parody and the parody is protected. they have a case, not a big money case. they can stop him from accessing the confidential information. megyn: he claims he did not access any confidential information. he claims he has got some other means of getting this info that we'll all be surprised at at some point. i read what he wrote -- he says

on march 8 he had a posting saying mrs. so and so uses american airlines as her own private airlines that won't fly until she is ready. he says the flight left over an hour late causing scores of passengers to miss their connections to europe. he's calling out people for misusing american airlines flights to the disadvantage of passengers. >> maybe some of that is allowed under whistle blog. but you have also got breach of fiduciary duty. infringement on confidentiality. that's private property of american airlines. megyn: we have to get to breaking news. >> they will make him stop gathering the confidential

information but the blog stays up and it's funny. megyn: mitt romney is speaking at a conversation off the campaign trail at the nra women, leadership luncheon at the four seasons hotel in st. louis. >> a new beginning. i'm running for president because i have the experience and vision to lead us in a very different direction. we know what barack obama's vision of america is, we have lived it these last 3 1/2 years. mine is very different. my course restores and protects our freedom. as president the constitution would be my guide. the declaration of independence would be my compass. and today i want to talk about this administration's assault on our freedoms. first our economic freedom. then our religious freedom. and then our personal freedoms. and i want to share my own plans to return america to the first

principles of the nation. the american economy, it is fueled by freedom. free people and free enterprises are what drive our economic vitality. the obama administration's assault on economic freedom is the principle reason why the recovery has been so slow and so tepid. and why it is it couldn't meet their projections let alone our expectations. the president's assault on economic freedom begins with taxes and his tax hikes. of course, by their very nature taxes reduce freedom. the only role in a free economy is to fund those things that are absolutely essential. education and care for those who can't care for themselves. yet this president proposed raising the marginal tax rate from 35% to 40%.

the vice president wants a global business tax. and the president's touring the country touting a new tax on investment on the wealthy. congress does not need more money to spend, it needs to spend sphonl what it has. [applause] the dodd-frank law is another example of the president's attack on economic freedom it's an 848-page document that will be followed by thousands and thousands of pages of new regulations. regulations of course are necessary. but burdensome regulations serve only to restrict freedom and i am peril enterprise. the victims of the regulation are not nameless, faceless

banks. they are employees, business owners, and customers who rely on banks that ultimately lose out. now under president obama bureaucrats are insinuating themselves into every corner of the economy, undermining economic freedom. they prevent drilling rigs from going to work in the gulf. they keep coal from being mined. they impede the supply of natural gas. they even tell farmers what their children can and can't do to help on the farm. remember that old line from will raj officers he said he worried whenever congress was in session. today our freedom is never safe because unelected, unaccountability regulators are always on the prowl. and under president obama they are multiplying. the number of federal employees has grown by almost 150,000 under this president.

for centuries the american dream has been the opportunity to build something new. some of our greatest success stories are people who started out with nothing but a good idea and a corner in the garage. today americans look at what it takes to start a business, and they don't see a promise, an opportunity, they see government standing in the way. the real cost of this isn't just the taxes that we are paying and the money spent complying with all the the rules, it's the businesses that are never started. the ideas that are never pursued. and the dreams that are never realized. we once built the interstate highway system and the hoover dam. today we can't even build a pipeline. [applause] we once led the world in manufacturing and exports, infrastructure investment.

today we lead the world in lawsuits. we once led the world in educating our kids. today half the kids in our 50 largest cities won't even graduate from high school. if we continue along this path, we'll spend our lives filling out forms and complying with excessive regulations and pleading with political appointees for waivers and subjects does and permission. that path erodes freedom. it deadening the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom is the victim of unbounded government appetite and so is economic growth and job growth and wage growth. andf as government takes more and more, there is less and less incentive to take risk and invest and innovate and hire

people. this administration thinks our economy is struggling because the stimulus was too small. the truth is we are struggling because our government is too big. [cheers and applause] i'm running for president because i have the experience and the vision to get us out of this mess. my agenda takes america in a right direction. it preserves freedom. it encourages risk taking and innovation. it fosters competition. it promotes opportunity instead of expanding the government, i'm going to shrink it. instead of raising taxes i'm going to cut them. [cheers and applause] the answer for a weak economy is not more government, it is more

freedom. [applause] now, economic freedom hasn't been the only one of the obama administration's targets. our first freedom, our religious freedom has also bind attack by this administration. you may have seen in a recent labor regulation case the government claimed that a church should not be free to determine who qualifies as a minister under the law. it claimed that the government should instead interfere with that decision. the government. the constitution came to the rescue. we wonder what the court would do. they rejected the obama administration's attack in a 9-0 unanimous decision. [cheers and applause]

of course now the obama administration decided it has the power to mandate what catholic charities and catholic schools and catholic hospitals must cover in their insurance plans for their employees. it's easy to forget how often candidate obama assured us under obama-care nothing in our insurance plans would have to change. remember that one? here we are just getting started with obama-care and the federal government is already dictating to religious groups on matters of doctrine and conscience. in all of america there is no larger provider of private healthcare for women and their babe why is than the catholic church. but that's not enough. that fact doesn't satisfy the obama bureaucrats. they want the catholics to fall in line