>> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and politico, reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> thank you to wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c. >> this week on "inside washington," romney it racks up three more. now it is all about obama. >> we just got to get him out of office. the president >> attacks the ryan budget and mitt romney for backing it. >> he says he is very supportive and even called it marvelous. >> the president also takes on the supreme court. >> ultimately i'm confident that the supreme court will not take

what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected congress. >> who will mitt romney choose as a running mate? >> it doesn't matter if that person has national level experience or not. they are going to get clobbered by the lamestream media, who does not like the conservative message. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> it turns out after all the commentary, mitt romney was inevitable after all and everything else was just noise. ofer this week's trifecta wisconsin, maryland, and washington, d.c., it is all but in the bag for mitt romney.

romney was never comfortable trashing fellow republicans anyway, and now he can go after his favorite target. >> years of flying around on air force one is surrounded by an adoring staff telling you you are great is enough to make you think he might be a little out of touch. >> time to plug the book. evan thomas, co-author with mike allen of the politico e-book "inside the circus." as you know, the challenge for romney's inner circle is to make the fabulously wealthy candidate connect with the average voter. how does he do it? >> tall order, but what you will see is romney talk about helping people. he will feel awkward about it. he does have some good stories. he and his partners in bain

shut down the office in new york to find a missing child wants. but he does not feel comfortable talking about that. >> mark, how does the team teach the candidate to get voters love him? >> the problem is you have got to let mitt romney the mitt romney and accept him with his awkwardness. he is not easy, he is not emotionally available. you try to turn that into a virtue. the person who will do that for him is an romney -- ann romney. >> nina? >> the awkward this can be in a hearing. there was a story in "the washed and post" that romney used a loophole to conceal this fabulous wealth. that is a red flag to the

journalism profession. get it out of the way. live with it. >> electability factor, charles -- the electability factor, charles. >> want to first, and you for squeezing in sarah palin, who you miss greatly and you are experiencing with rawls. -- withdrawals. where were we? mitt romney. nina is right, but he can be responsible, up be sober. he is not the charisma diet like we had in 2008, but he can say, "how is that charisma working out for you?" >> there is apparently an exception in the federal ethics laws. it is legal, but i.t. has a hard

sell for americans struggling. >> they should have gotten all of this stuff out. if you are running for president, all this stuff is coming out. if you let it dribble out slowly, it is asking for trouble. mike and i write about this in the book -- he is a pretty good boss. his campaign is well run. that, i think, comes from the top. he is a fair minded, evenhanded boss. that is not an insignificant thing. that sort of gets lost. >> the unemployment rate for march went down to 8.2, but only 120,000 jobs were gained. that is an issue for him. >> it is the economy, stupid.

we don't know what it is going to be. the economists have managed to be wrong in their projections. they underestimated growth last time, overestimated it this time. if the unemployment rate goes up again, it is a boon to romney. if it goes down, even slowly, it is a problem. >> each campaign is accusing the other of rising gasoline prices. not reassuring to the white house. >> gas prices are on the watch of who was in power. we know rationally that they can little affected, but it is on their watch. >> also, gasoline prices --

mark is right -- are not directly influenced by the incumbent. but they remind people of the policies of the obama administration, the keystone pipeline. we are in the midst of an incredible boom of gas and jail in north america, and the obama administration with its left wing allies is doing everything we can to minimize its. >> [laughter] >> he claims there is more drilling -- >> on private and state lands. the amount of drilling on federal lands is down. there is no way to justify keystone, the perfect example an analogy for what obama is doing on a fossil fuels. epa issued a regulation -- >> ok, charles. >> i am going to give you a

fact. the epa issued a regulation that would make it impossible for the construction of pickle plant in the future -- a coal plant in the future. >> my understanding is that there is more drilling, but the extreme non-environmentalists won't be happy until there are oil rigs at arlington cemetery. >> the war in the middle east would drive oil prices through the roof. >> the romney not squeezing through a loophole is a big issue, and the fact we won't have the coal industry and which several states of the union depend is not an issue at a. not seen any coverage of that whatsoever. >> the president is in full campaign mode.

>> it is it really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country, thinly veiled social darwinism. >> we have another day with the president was really good at keeping big speeches. the problem is that he is not good at leadership. >> that is congressman paul ryan, chairman of the house budget committee. "the wall street journal" says that the white house team must feel president has not hit it with his comments. social darwinism, charles? >> accusing ryan of trickle- down social darwinism. who writes this rubbish?

he and the democrats have not presented a budget in three years. here are the republicans, presenting a budget which is serious. it has its flaws, but it a tax entitlements, the problem of tax reform. this president has spoken about it but has not done anything about it. he has decided he cannot run on his record and cannot run on a mission -- a vision. he will run against the republicans as the republicans were the ones in office. he has been president for one term. what has he offered on the budget? >> it is hard to know whose budget is a bigger joke, obama's or the republicans'. they are irresponsible in the extreme. >> how?

tell me how the ryan budget -- >> cuts in discretionary spending -- would shut down the fda went date a week -- faa one day a week. >> increases in defense spending while obliterate a small piece of the budget by, discretionary spending, everything from headstart to enforcement of securities laws. >> is was a political week . mitt romney is the most unpopular nominee in the history of modern polling, either party. he is more unpopular than his party is. you want to make mitt romney the republican party.

republicans in congress are less popular than the democrats in congress and the president in the white house. you want to make the campaign about budget and budget cuts and tax cuts for the best off? that is where obama wants to fight the campaign, not on unemployment. >> fight it and student loans. he wants to fight it on an end to stallone's -- student loans -- >> safety net. >> scientific research that has made the country great. that is the thing to sound the alarm bells on. conversely, republicans want to make it about fiscal default. >> obama will win the argument

if the electorate is as well as nina and mark and evan. [laughter] you just said cutting student loans. the ryan budget keeps the level of progress exactly where it is. obama wants to keep inflating the amount of spending the government is doing. it is the highest since the second world war. he is now 25%. what he calls a cut the not increasing of a budget he has inflated radically. >> he says if we enacted the ryan budget that it would deal with the budget? >> absolutely. >> do you say that? it does not say anything about

loopholes. >> look, i find it interesting that you're defense of the administration -- >> i am not defending the administration! what loopholes is the closing? >> he is going to leave it to the house ways and means committee. party has not -- >> not my party -- >> what have the democrats offered on medicare? >> i think the democrats are irresponsible on medicare. i think the democrats are terrible. >> it will be capping of the mortgage interest rate deduction. that will be -- >> let me bring this up and go to mark and nina. >> evan is right.

paul ryan has a budget where there is none of the spinach. it is in general and vague. charles apparel has some pipeline -- apparently has some pipeline t. knows what is in paul ryan's mine. $5 to end in tax cuts -- >> -- $5 trillion in tax cuts -- >> that is false. on social security, he has offered to raise the retirement age. democrats have offered zero. on medicare, for which paul ryan and republicans have got slaughtered, the idea is to go to a premium support system. the democrats have offered zero except demagoguery.

on discretionary spending, rya andn has all kinds of cuts. -- ryan has all kinds of cuts. i agree come in 1 area, he spoke about lowering rates but he did not specify where the local cuts are going but having gone out on a limb, you are asking the republicans to commit suicide by spelling out in advance cuts. democrats have offered nothing on anything to . >> absolutely true that he is more specific on entitlements and then the democrats. it is also true that the democrats are shamefully non- specific about that. but both sides are guilty of pretending we don't have this unbelievable problem staring us in the face. they are not willing to tell voters what they would do about

it. >> the people who pay the most are between $60,000 and $125,000. they pay about 30% in income taxes across the board c. cuts go down for people who make more than that. this budget would give all that to unearned income. salaried people would be paying more and more. people who made a lot of money would pay less and less. >> tough sell for the middle- class. >> you are talking about cutting tax rates, and the assumption democrats was make is that it is equivalent of a cut in overall taxes. if we have a loophole reform --

we saw it in simpson-bowles and we know what it entails. it reduces -- >> what makes you think that will happen? >> the only way to do tax reform is the way it was done in 1986 -- >> there is nothing in the proposal -- >> because republicans are not suicidal. >> the gang of six, simpson- bowles -- which patrols just spoke approvingly -- and alice rivlin and the damage she -- pete domenici. they all have entitlement cuts and tax increases. >> simpson-bowles reduces rates 23% -- >> and increases -- >> revenue. >> eliminating loopholes.

>> i will have to eliminate this discussion of the time being. >> it is not just my opinion, it is the opinion of a whole lot of constitutional law professors, academics, judges, and lawyers who defended this law even if they cannot said that it to this particular -- even if they are not sympathetic to this particular piece of legislation, presidency. >> "the wall street journal" editorial page -- "the president needs a lesson in traditional remedial work you." >> it was approved by congress, but not by a huge margin. number one. no. 2, congress is offer an

overturned an act of congress. -- has often overturned an act of congress. >> isn't it unusual for the president to attack the supreme court before they can down the decision -- handed down the decision? >> he is sending them a message to of allave a chance listed as missing of the court by upholding this -- upholding the legitimacy of the court by upholding this decision. >> it could have a backlash, and i judge went bonkers saying "i want a letter saying he still believes in judicial supremacy."

>> he talked about unelected judges. that is the exclusive a phrase of right-wing critics of the court. is he suggesting we elect judges? i don't think so. but "unelected judges" is not a contribution to a more rational discussion. >> charles, i've a feeling you did not care much for what the president said. >> what can i add to my liberal colleagues have so discerningly scene? i would have thought john roberts has a sense of legitimacy of the court, and he is, of the five conservatives on the court, most resistant to overturning. but when you get it president challenging you in public, attempting to delete the court,

i would think it would make him inclined to disregard that issue and to judge unconstitutional merits. >> -- a judge on its competition merits. >> like to think they are above that. >> they are human beings. >> they should not be totally above it. the constitution is not frozen in stone. it has to bend to the times. >> that is impressive. >> the independent judiciary it is the crown jewel in this democracy. you saw the present and that judge -- you saw from the president and that judge how it can develop. it is gets them in terrible trouble. >> oliver wendell --

[laughter] >> if he wants to criticize the court, he should get somebody else to do it. rolling start the ball on the vice-presidential sweepstakes. >> i think he will be the next president of the united states, mitt romney. >> there is paul ryan teaming up with romney in wisconsin. marco rubio keeps saying no. >> they are comfortable with each other. do you go macro or micro? i want to carry estate, that is why i want rockport and. or do you go macro, make a statement about who i am, and he picks somebody outside of the political arena -- david petraeus. paul ryan brings with him a lot

of conservative columnists and it certainly the editorial page of "the wall street journal." >> governor of new mexico, governor of south carolina? >> if politicians have learned anything from palin, it is you have to have somebody who is bent in the world a bit -- has been in the world a bit. if you choose somebody who is a relative novice, you are asking for trouble. >> the person he would like to pick, i think, is rob portman. his kind of guy. >> safe choices -- pawlenty, mitch daniels, john thune. >> all safe. lcomplete anti-charisma at ticket.

[laughter] might work, considering who we elected in 2008. marco rubio -- look, i am sure there are a lot of people in that have been looking at his past. i think he is the perfect candidate. hispanic, florida is a critical state, and he has a great story. >> romney is gone on hispanics. remember how romney ran against rick perry. rick perry had been too compassionate because he wanted the dream act and had supported it. somebody brought here against his or her will, joined the military, went to college, once citizenship. the problem with rob portman is bush. to director, a trade

negotiator, and you don't want washington under ticket. >> see you next week.