for years hispanics in east haven, connecticut have been complaining about police harassment and racial profiling. a justice department report last month found a pattern of bias against latinos. and this week, four of the town's police officers were charged with civil rights violations and obstruction of justice. the town's mayor's response, outrageous. >> what are you doing for the latino community today? >> i might have tacos when i go home. i'm not quite sure yet. >> i might have tacos. these four officers are accused of beating handcuffed suspects,

arresting people on false pretenses and trying to cover up their actions. and in response, you might have tacos? the mayor has since apologized, but is still facing major critici criticism. an editorial entitled, the mayor is an idiot and an immigration group is bringing 500 tacos to the mayor's office. the main thing here is the mayor revealed the kind of bias that hispanic residents have been complaining about for years. the justice department is investigating 16 other law enforcement agencies for racial bias across the country. i hope officials in those towns have a more appropriate response. the most rewards of any small business credit card. it's hard for my crew to keep up with 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. 2% cash back. that's setting the bar pretty high. thanks to spark, owning my own business

has never been more rewarding. [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? this guy's amazing.

do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest americans or do we want to keep investing in everything else? like education, like clean energy, like a strong military,

like caring for our veterans who are coming home from iraq and afghanistan. we can't do both. we can't do both. >> president obama rallied the crowd in las vegas earlier today and his message appears to be working. the just released nbc news/"wall street journal" poll has the president's favorability jumping 5 points up in the last month. in the head-to-head matchups, he leads mitt romney by six points. tripling his lead from a month ago. and against newt gingrich, he's in command with an 18-point margin. 55% to 37%. but there's a long way to go, and president obama's ready to make his message and take it out of washington and to the people. joining me now is bob shrum, democratic strategist and a professor at nyu and bill

schneider, a resident scholar at third way and an opinion contributor for politico. he's writing about president obama's state of the union rallying his troops. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> happy to be here, al. >> now let me start with you. does the president have the momentum to carry him to november? >> well, he's beginning to get that momentum. i think people aren't convinced yet. but they think that the economy is getting better. that's reflected in the numbers. i think in the state of the union message, he not only set out an argument about what we ought to do in terms of a vision for the future, but he also drew some dividing lines and set a basic question for this election. who is going to fight for the middle class? who is going to fight for ordinary hard working americans? i think you're seeing that reflected in these poll numbers. at the same time, romney has taken on a lot of water during this process. his favorable/unfavorables are now upside down.

and i think the president is on a -- not on a glide path. it's going to be a bumpy road but he's on the path who what's going to be a real victory in november. >> bill, let me show you this. the president if you deal with his positive ratings, 11 points above his negative ratings, whereas romney's negative ratings are 5 points above his positive. gingrich has negative ratings that are 22 points above his positive. the president's positive and negative ratings in detail. now he's at 50%. negative 39%. just last month only at 45, negative 42. so this looks good. but tell me you know this better than most in the analysis world. where are the dangers? what should we be careful of, those of us that are favorable to the president? >> well, the biggest danger is that we've seen this happen before. it happened at the beginning of

2010 and 2011. people were becoming more optimistic. americans always want to be optimistic. they see hope out there. then those hopes were dashed by some dramatic event like the bp oil spill and the economy began to take a tumble and people lost faith. we hope that doesn't happen again this year. certainly obama hopes that. but we've seen the ratings rise and then fall again at the beginning of the last two years. >> now bob, independent of any unforeseen problem, one of the things that we're seeing is the president has a much different message, and a much different orientation to the american public and voter than the republicans. and today he talked about his positive version of america as compared to the republicans. listen to this. >> whether it's mr. romney or mr. gingrich or mr. santorum or whoever else they might decide to select, they represent a

fundamentally different vision of america. and it's not the bold, generous, forward looking optimistic america that i think built this country. >> is the different view of america, the optimism that the president so dramatically displayed in the state of the union, is that contrast part of what's helping to drive a more favorable view of the president? >> sure. especially when combined with what bill calls the sense of well-being that people are beginning to feel. there could be some exoginous event that put the economy back in the wrong place instead of this path to recovery. i think what the president has done and he's done it well, starting in that speech in kansas, is he's identifying with mainstream america, with ordinary middle class americans, with people who have gone through some tough times in the last few years. and he's campaigning for fairness. i think that is a powerful

argument, especially this year. i think when you look at the reaction to romney's release of his tax returns and how people are reacting to the swiss bank accounts you have this whole sense that there's this huge pent-up desire there for people who play by the rules, people who do their part, people who contribute and that includes the wealthy. and the president is speaking to that and i think he's speaking to it very effectively. >> now let me ask you, bill. when you look at the numbers of -- on the national level of the republican candidates, you have gingrich at 37%, romney 28%, santorum 18%, paul 12%. so it appears that gingrich in the national poll has a comfortable lead. why do you think that's the case? >> because he shows fight. that's what partisans want to see. democrats want to see it, too. they want a candidate who shows fight. nominations are controlled by partisans. gingrich showed a lot of fight when he picked a fight with the press in every debate and mostly in the recent debate with fox

news and with cnn. they love that. they want to see gingrich stand up to obama. they dream about a debate between newt gingrich and barack obama because newt gingrich will get in obama's face. what do they worry about? the numbers you just showed, that newt gingrich would lose badly to obama. if the polls show romney would lose to obama, too, then gingrich would say, i'm losing, fellow? you're losing, too, why don't we go with the candidate who shows more fight. >> bob, when you see the poll between romney and gingrich, newt's lead is even bigger. with that reality in the debate tonight and the swiss accounts, if newt wins in florida, you've run a lot of campaigns. how does romney turn it around? can this establishment stop him if newt gets away in florida next tuesday? >> i haven't seen the republican establishment in this much of a lather since barry goldwater was headed for the nomination in 1964.

they are going to do everything they can. their assumption is that even if he loses florida and right now romney in most of the polls in florida, has polled ahead. looking at these national numbers he better pray he wins florida. they are going to depend if he loses on money, on organization, on the notion that they can just wear gingrich down over a long period of time. i think there is something happening inside this republican primary. it may get short circuited by florida. but these voters want someone who, as bill said, expresses fight. i would put it someone who expresses their anger. someone who is going to carry their case. and almost apocalyptic terms. if you watch this debate tonight, i don't think you'll see a laid back newt gingrich. i think you'll see a fast and furious newt gingrich and maybe the same thing from mitt romney. >> bill, for whatever reasons, mr. romney decided not to run on his record as governor. he ran as a businessman. and now he seems to be fumbling as a businessman in terms of

forgetting to make disclosures. it doesn't smell right. it just doesn't fit right when you say i know how to run a business, oh, i forgot to make disclosures. what has to happen tonight for him to try to make this a one-day story? what does he do if bob is right and newt comes hunting for bears, as they say, tonight. >> he's got to be able to defend himself in simple direct terms that will connect with people. he has a lot of trouble doing that. you know how many business executives we've elected president? just two. both of them were named bush. we don't normally elect business executives. mitt romney's job is head of bain capital was not to create jobs, which is what he likes to argue. it was to create wealth. now sometimes that helps create jobs but often it doesn't help create jobs. so his special expertise, particularly if he did not play by the rules. that's what president obama talked about in his state of the union. he targeted china. he targeted wall street. he said the fairness issue is

about playing by the rules. and if there's increasing evidence that mitt romney doesn't play by the same rules as everybody else, he'll be in very big trouble. >> bob, bill, thanks to both of you for your time tonight. coming up -- chris christie has become such a darling of the gop. but now he thinks he's an expert on the civil rights movement. i'll respond. and next, jan brewer disrespects the president. and why it's part of an ugly pattern. on my journey across a, i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer.

geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

secretary of state hillary clinton told state department employees today, she plans to leave her post once president obama is elected to a second term. >> i think after 20 years, and it will be 20 years, of being on the highwire of american politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would be probably a good idea to just find out how tired i am. >> and there's one part of the public life that secretary clinton is already skipping. >> it's a little odd for me to be totally out of an election season since, as secretary of state, i cannot participate. but, you know, i didn't watch any of those debates. >> isn't that funny. she doesn't seem to miss hearing

what republicans have to say. madam secretary, i can understand that. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other? go to e-trade. they got killer tools man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. two golden crowns. you realize the odds of winning are the same as being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day? frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] ♪ [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works at e-trade. [ female an nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious. the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's

going to provide it for you. and now, the company that redefined sleep is redefining memory foam. save $400 on our all-new memory foam bed. and at our white sale, stock up and save on our exclusive bedding collection. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. a living, breathing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work.

rethink possible. let's get to the picture everyone is talking about. this picture. arizona governor jan brewer pointing her finger right at the president of the united states, president obama just moments after he landed in arizona yesterday. their heated exchange was reportedly centered around her portrayal of the president in a meeting two years ago as condescending. according to reports, they were talking at the same time over each other. i don't care what differences you have. the pointing is unacceptable. it's flat out disrespectful. but she's not apologizing. >> he's very thin skinned. i thought he was thin skinned. he walked away. i was in the middle of a

sentence and he walked away. i wasn't angry at all. i felt a little bit threatened, if you will, in the attitude he had because i was there to welcome him. >> thin skinned? you felt threatened? what does that even mean you felt threatened? by the president of the united states? this is yet another example of disrespect and delegitimatizing this president. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> he is an avowed muslim and he has no legal right to be calling himself president. >> well, i'm doing my best to try to get him out. >> i just don't think that president obama understands america. >> this kind of casually ugly talk is rare against a president. as for governor brewer, there is a history here. in june of 2010, she met with

the president at the white house to discuss the arizona immigration law. here's how she described the meeting immediately afterwards to the press. >> it was a very cordial discussion. >> what was the tone like? >> very cordial. very, very cordial. >> i feel that it was a successful meeting. i'm encouraged by that. >> a very cordial and successful meeting. but then in november, she released her book "scorpions for breakfast" and described the meeting in a different light. "after a few minutes, the president's tone got serious and condescending. he proceeded to lecture me about everything he was doing." so governor brewer, when were you telling the truth? when you just walked out of the meeting and told the press in front of the white house with a smile on your face how it was cordial and how the tone was very good, positive, or when you

wrote a book saying it was condescending and he was lecturing you? what your trying to sell? books or were you acting in front of the white house? and then let me ask this. you showed up yesterday at the plane with a letter to give the president. and you wanted to hand it to him. here's a lady that had written a book attacking the president. a lady that is fighting the president on immigration who the justice department has hit her state on racial profiling. you showed up with a letter. i met with the left three met prts, one i marched on. in fact two of them. clinton and bush. but i never showed up with a letter because if you show up with a letter, you are looking for a confrontation. you are a governor. if you want to invite the president somewhere, you are talking to him. the only reason you bring a letter is to dramatize and confront. joining me now is joe madison, host of "mornings with madison" on sirius xm radio.

what do you make of brewer's disrespect? >> i guess both of us have been in some of those marches. i've been with you. presidents, republican and democrat. you know that we both have been at the white house to discuss all kinds of things and sometimes we've disagreed without pointing our fingers at the president. look. let me tell you what my topic. i people say everything from he should have bent the finger to the secret service should have had her face down on the tarmac because of pointing a finger is a threatening gesture. but here's what is so sad. right wing radio and the other network are praising the governor for, what, ill-mannered behavior. ill-mannered behavior. we all have been taught, your mama taught you, my mama taught me you never point your finger at people and put it in their

face. and i give the president of the united states credit for doing what? walking away. and i think that he proved himself a decent role model for when you do have confrontation with unreasonable people, the best thing to do is not argue with them. i'll close by saying my grandmother taught me that, joe, sometimes when you argue with a fool, people begin to wonder whose the fool. he did the right thing, and he's the one that should be the role model. >> your grandmother must have known my mother. she told me the same thing. but the thing that i also want to point out and my radio show today, three hours ihad the same thing. but the other thing that i think we've got to deal with is the pattern. that's why i've showed others that have disrespected this president. there's a pattern of disrespect. there's a pattern of trying to act like he's not really the

president. and we definitely should deal with brewer but we should deal with all of them. and i think if we just act like brewer is an isolation, then we are not being honest about this whole climate of disrespecting this president. >> you were 100% right. and let's add two more to your list. and that might be the thing to do on our shows, reverend sharpton is just start listing these things. for example if you noticed, newt gingrich never refers to him as president obama. you never have the rush limbaughs, the sean hannitys. they won't do it. they won't do it and they are doing that deliberately. here's the other thing. i was on a debate show the other day debating somebody who there's another list to add to your list. brought up his grades. and that was donald trump who started that foolishness. excuse me. what 50-year-old-plus man has to provide his grades. what, getting elected as the president of the harvard review

is not enough? graduating from your college with honors? this is nothing more, and i'll just say it straight up. there are some people, not all, in this country who cannot stand the fact that this is an african-american who is now one of the most powerful individuals on the planet. and there are those who cannot consciously and subconsciously handle it. i know people don't want to hear that, but that's the truth. and so you -- >> you know you're not going to get a debate from me. they brought race in. they put a race deck on the table. if you pull a card, it's a race card because they set the deck. i'm talking about those on the other side of this argument. joe madison, thank you for joining us tonight. >> we'll be right back.

we're back with some great news about a friend of the show. today we learned congressman barney frank and his longtime

partner will get married in massachusetts. a state where gay marriage has been legal since 2004. it's another sign of progress we're making toward equal rights in the country. but some people just don't get it. this week, new jersey's republican governor chris christie vowed to veto a gay marriage veto and said it should become a voter referendum instead. he then said this about civil rights. >> the fact of the matter is that i think people would have been happy to have a referendum, you know, on civil rights, rather than fighting and dieing in the streets in the south. >> you need a history lesson, governor. in early 1964, just 20% of white voters in the south approved of the civil rights act being debated in congress. and later that year, 57% of all americans said racial integration was happening,

quote, too fast. so governor christie, do you really think civil rights should have been decided by referendums in the states? you said people would have been happy to have a referendum. i'm sure they would have because blacks couldn't vote in those states during the civil rights movement. so not only did the majority of whites oppose civil rights, they would have been the only ones that could vote. you either need a lesson in history or are you trying to tell us how you really feel about civil rights and the achievements of those bills? i think you need to think about what you say