you don't really say that stuff ever. >> we raised $18,000 for the kind fund. about 1,000 kids. that's about how many kids in malawi will have desks in school, and those desks will last for years. so thousands and thousands of om the fun we had and i got to till i loved being at gw. thanks, will, very much for joining us. will gets the last word. >> link to the kind fund through our website. >> good evening americans welcome to "the ed show." tonight from new york. rush limbaugh's fake apology was rejected by sandra fluke. the king of conservative talk is bleeding advertisers. conservatives are attacking me over this controversy? i say bring it on. i'll set the record straight

tonight. this is "the ed show" let's get to work. >> those two words were inappropriate. they were uncalled for. >> rush limbaugh has issued an apology and the woman he victimized isn't buying it. >> i don't think a statement like this issued saying that his choice of words was not the best changes anything. >> now's terry o'neill on rush limbaugh's attempt at an apology. democratic strategist krystal ball on the latest on the boycott, plus salon's joan walsh and richard wolffe on the sorry republican response to limbaugh's sorry remarks. ohio governor is refusing disaster relief for his state, democrats accused him of playing politics. ohio congressman tim ryan will weigh in. it's super tuesday-eve, mitt romney's campaign keeps getting goofy. >> born on mountaintop in

tennessee. >> we'll have the latest on the state of the race with the nation's john nichols and political analyst howard fineman. >> he killed himself a bear when he was only three, davy, davy crockett. good do have you with us tonight. breaking news off the top tonight, a second station has just decided to drop the rush limbaugh radio show, could it be the tip of the iceberg? for the last three days of last week, rush limbaugh has had no remorse about attacking a 30-year-old law student, sandra fluke. he called her some of the worst names imaginable and assaulted her character. when rush started losing sponsors, he finally said he was sorry, but he didn't really apologize for what he had actually done. today, he said he attacked sandra fluke because he was using the strategy of the left. >> this is the mistake i made. in fighting them on this issue last week, i became like them.

against my own instincts, against my own knowledge, against everything i know to be right and wrong, i dwent to ther level when i used those words, that was my error. >> the words were slut and prostitute. as if it was a slip of the tongue? >> the two words were inappropriate, uncalled for, they distracted from the point that i was actually trying to make. and i again sincerely apologized to ms. fluke for using those two words to describe tur. the apology to her over the weekend was sincere, it was simply for using inappropriate words in a way i never do. >> folks, let's remove all the

political spin and look at the facts. this was no slip of the tongue. it was not a one-time mistake. this was a three-day attack for nine hours of broadcasting. >> 30 years old, student at georgetown law, who admits to have so much sex she can't afford it anymore. i will buy all of the women at georgetown university as much aspirin to put between their knees as they want. you know people -- i offered to pay for aspirins. i -- i thought i was quite compassionate here. if we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it and i'll tell you what it is. we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch. >> really? the right wing out there wants

to compare my comment last may to that? i'll have more to say about this at the bot to the many hour. there is a thing in radio broadcasting we call show prep, here is what happened. rush limbaugh went home on wednesday, after day one. probably had dinner, couple drinks, cigars, whatever, went to bed. then he woke up the next morning and he went right back at sandra fluke, all over again for day two. and of course now for three days, to the point where the president of the united states thought you know what i'm going to call this lady, she is under attack. he's a repeat offender who deliberately mischaracterized her testimony. she was speaking about the need for contraception to deal with various medical issues, not just pregnancy prevention. but 23 times over the course of three days she wants contraception because she has so much sex. rush is blaming others for his decision. he said an article by cns news

provided him with misinformation and yes, that would be brent bozel's outfit. he repeated this misinformation three straight days. >> i use satire, absurdity to illustrate the absurd. the story the cyber cast news service character rized a portion of her testimony as sounding like, based on her own financial figures, that she was engaging in sexual activity so often she couldn't afford it. i focused on that because it was simple, trying to persuade people, change people's minds, i'm huge on personal responsibility and accountability. >> oh, yeah, he's the guy who stands for personal responsibility and accountability. rush is finding a lot of people to blame for his own words, don't you think? he's blamed the left, a right wing column, and his advertisers for giving him the boot today. so far, 12 companies have pulled their ads from limbaugh's show. rush says it's their loss.

>> they have profited handsomely from you. these advertisers who have split the scene have done very well due to their access to you. i reject millions of dollars of advertising a year. so, what we're going to do is replace those that leave, those that no longer want access to you. those advertisers who no longer want your business, fine. we'll replace them. >> rush may replace his advertisers but he may have to replace his affiliates as well. here we go, kpua in hawaii became the first affiliate to drop the rush limbaugh radio show. they said the most recent incident has crossed a line of decency and a standard we expect of programming on kpua. another station in pitsfield, massachusetts plans to drop the

program as well. as for sandra fluke, she handled herself with grace and dignity throughout all of these attacks. she spoke about limbaugh's apology today on "the view." >> i don't think that a statement like this issued saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything. and especially when that statement is issued when he's under significant pressure from his sponsors who have begun to pull their support. this was not something who made one accidental statement, this was three days of significant portions of his three hour show. he insulted me and the women of georgetown who have received no apology. he insulted us over 53 times. >> sandra fluke is one gutsy woman, don't you think? she is not going to be bullied by rush limbaugh. for the first time in his career, limbaugh may be getting bullied by the social media. 12 advertisers and two stations said we're done. you think it's going to stop

there? we'll see. limbaugh arrow ganltly said that there will be just other advertisers there to replace them, really no worry, they will profit as well. really? at what rate. i'll have more to say about this at the bottom of the hour and something to say about the right wingers comparing my issue with laura ingraham last may coming up at bottom of the hour. get your cell phones out. tonight's question, would you listen to a radio station that continues to carry the rush limbaugh show? a for yes, b for no to 622639. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. i'm joined by terry o'neill, president of the national organization for women and krystal ball democratic strategist and msnbc contributor and pushing boycottrush.org. thank you for joining us. terry, should rush limbaugh be fired? >> oh, absolutely he should be fired, ed. you might want to add a third

option to the question, hell no could be one of the answers. he shouldn't be on the air. the issues about what kind of services, insurance companies should be required to provide in employer-based health care plans is a serious issue and needs to be debated in a serious way and when rush limbaugh decides to attack an individual woman in the incredibly aggressive way that he attacked her and really, honestly overtones of violence in this on-going three-day attack on sandra fluke. when he does that he makes it impossible to have a serious conversation about these important issues. he should be off the air. >> krystal, what about the effort to remove limbaugh, the website you have going, boycottrush.org. >> we launched boycottrush.org includes a petition to call on his sponsors, the people spending their advertising

dollars during his show and on his website to support his hateful program, asking them to withdraw support and we launched it on friday. we're coming up on 100,000 signatures, hugely successful and more importantly as you have been reporting we have seen advertisers and now the affiliates starting to drop off. this has had a real impact on him and forced him to give sort of weak haelf-hearted apology ad trying to walk things back a bit. >> terry, isn't it going to take more than a website, isn't it going to take the social media being organized at the local level to go after stations that carry rush? if women in this country really want to change and move this kind of broadcasting off to the side, what do you think? >> i think it, i think social media has played a huge role in getting the advertisers to back off and i think social media will continue to play an enormous role in getting the stations to begin to drop him. it also, however, would be very

useful if the leaders of the republican party would step up and condemn rush in no uncertain terms but the problem is, in a number of senior republican commentators made this point, rush limbaugh is one of the most powerful power brokers in the republican party. >> i have to say i think his ratings are are overstate and you will see a lot about that in the industry coming up. i think there is this facade surrounding rush that he is the big king and he has diminished dramatically. if there is a time to get him off the air, this is the push if women are are serious about what they hear on the free air waves america there is no better time. rush says his comments were not so bad when you compare them to others. here he is. >> you talk about the double standard, one of the greatest illustrations of it is, that rappers can practically say anything they want about women. and it's called art. and they win awards for it. >> krystal, what is your

response to that? >> his whole approach is to make excuses rather than taking responsibility for his own actions. in his apology to say that this was a poor choice of words and he has only apologized for using the word slut and prostitute, which calls in question which alternate words would he have used, would harlot or lady of the night been better? there is a complete failure to take responsibility for the hateful words that he has been spewing, not just over the past week, but really over the past 20 years of his career. if this was an isolated incident it would be one thing, but clearly there is a pattern. >> there is a pattern. >> that needs to stop. he's not used to apologizing. on his radio show today i listed -- i listened to some of it. he's in unchartered territory. rush limbaugh argued, terry, that sandra fluke is a

contraception activist. and that this was an attempt by democrats to change the subject from religious liberty tonight. moments ago bill o'reilly made the same argument. is this new line of attack on sandra fluke going to work? >> no, it's not. what they are doing is engaging in tactics that bullies all engage. in attack, attack, attack, when called to account, you back up and say oh gosh, i was joking that is one of the things he says, or oh gosh, look at her, she wasn't hurt because she is really strong. she is an advocate. therefore she deserves to be attacked, as if she is the same kind or same level of public figure that rush limbaugh is. it is absolutely false but it is clearly the bullying tactic and you see it at every level you see it from junior high school to high school to rush limbaugh you see it all the way up and it won't work this time, i think he's going down. >> terry o'neill, krystal ball, thank you for joining you tonight.

-- joining us tonight. >> answer the question at the bottom of the screen, share thoughts on twitter. next, the republican candidates proved once again they are not ready to lead. even conservatives are asking how these guys can stand up to iran when they can't stand up to rush limbaugh. richard wolffe and joan walsh will weigh in. democratic and republican governors asked for relief after tornados, but not tea party republican john kasich. tim ryan will join me, he's not real happy about it. stay with us we're right back. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting,

initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ than leading regular juice drinks. because less sugar is a better way to fly. ♪ just not literally. capri sun. respect what's in the pouch.

coming up the republican candidates response to rush limbaugh and my commentary on the difference between a real apology and rush's apology. later, ohio was hit hard by tornadoes over the weekend but governor john kasich is refusing government aid. i'll ask ohio congressman tim ryan if the governor is playing politics. the republican establishment is rallying around mitt romney

just in time for super tuesday. howard fineman and john nichols will preview tomorrow's primaries. share your thoughts on twitter using #edshow, we're right back. [ tom ] we invented the turbine business right here in schenectady. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building is gonna do something for the world. when people think of ge, they typically don't think about beer. a lot of people may not realize that the power needed to keep their budweiser cold and even to make their beer comes from turbines made right here. wait, so you guys make the beer? no, we make the power that makes the beer.

so without you there'd be no bud? that's right. well, we like you. [ laughter ] ♪ welcome back to "the ed show." the republicans running for president say barack obama has failed this country, as a leader. but when true leadership is needed instead of rising to the occasion the gop is running away from the issue. literally. >> governor romney do you have a comment on rush limbaugh's comments on contraception, sir? >> later, mitt romney came up with his lukewarm response to

limb because's remarks. >> i'll just say this which it's not the language i would have used. i'm focusing on the issues i think are significant in the country today. >> not the language he would have used. rick santorum attempted to diminish limbaugh's enormous influence on the republican party. >> he's being absurd, but that is an entertainer can be absurd. >> entertainment, that is what it is? newt gingrich used the controversy as an opportunity to defend limbaugh and attack president obama. >> he is the comma not the com- commander in chief, the issue ought to be behind us. i know everybody is desperate to protect barack obama that is silly. the republican party has four people running for president, none of whom are rush limbaugh. >> one conservative called out the nonsense, here is george will.

>> was depressing because what it indicates is that the republican leaders are afraid of rush limbaugh. they want to bomb iran but are afraid of rush limbaugh. >> let's turn to joan walsh editor at large for salon.com and richard wolffe, great to have both of you with us tonight. are republicans afreig freighfr limbaugh? what do you think, joan? >> i think they are absolutely afraid of him, ed. i think rush has been like crack for the republican party and they need more and more of it to get them high and he personally noo needs more outrage to get excited. they keep tolerating it when president obama became president and he wished that he would fail and he said he didn't want to have to bend over backwards and forwards and got in all sort of sexual weirdness about the president, people wouldn't say anything about it then. every time he says something horrible, republicans are asked to separate themselves, and they

refuse. they need him to rile up the angry base and have been living with it and he is seriously hurting them now. >> the only candidate calling him out is ron paul. take a look. >> i don't think he's very apologet apologetic, he's doing it because people were taken advertise mens off his program, it was his bottom line that he was concerned about. >> richard wolffe, why can't the republicans unequivocally say this was horrific use of air waves for nine hours, it's not the words i would have used, that is the words of mitt romney. what do you make of that in. >> they are all tripping over themselves in their weakened position to try to convince their skeptical voters they are conservatives, that what is they think rush can bring them. by the way, isn't it curious to pick up on george will's point,

all these candidates with the notable exception of ron paul beating their chests about going to war against iran and saying this president is weak and yet they cannot stand up to this tin pot talk show guy. it's pathetic and they have to understand that if you look at the polls, the question of leadership, look at how mitt romney has squandered an advantage with women over the president and now is almost 20 poinls behind him among women. he could have gone out there, smart politics would have been to say not only the words were wrong but the sentiment has no place in public discourse or in our politics, that is a missed opportunity, bad morality, bad politics, too. >> here is john mccain on rush limbaugh, listen to this. >> he's an entertainer but his remarks are totally unacceptable, totally and completely unacceptable and no place for it. >> john mccain, who has been down this road before, running for president, saw that obviously you have to distance your self from comments about

that but none of the republican candidates did, joan, what does this mean to women voters in this country? >> i don't know, rick santorum should be ashamed of himself, because i'm sorry i guess i expected more. he has daughters and talks about women, even though he's conservative, i always thought he had a better heart than that. and to just dismiss it as he's an entertainer is so course, it's so degrading to women and the republican party as richard said, the polls are devastating on this, ed, not just at the presidential level. in the last few months, suburban women shifted from wanting republican to take back congress by 10 points to now wanting democrats to run congress by about 10 points. so it's hurting them with independents and republican women. >> and with this limbaugh situation, it's amazing to me some righties out there just falling over themselves trying to defend limbaugh on friday bill o'reilly spent a good

portion of his program attacking sandra fluke and defending limbaugh. here's what he had to say moments ago on his program. >> this was a brilliant maneuver by whatever democrat thought this up, because it was thought up, that woman, ms. fluke did not get in front of that committee by accident. >> he's framing it as a liberal conspiracy. richard, your thoughts? >> you don't have to be that smart to outsmart rush limbaugh. here is a guy who thought it was funny to have a white comedian record a jingle called "barack the magic negro" and accused everyone else whether they said it was racist of being racist toward him. he has set the tone and path and strategy. not just for other talk show guys, not just for presidential candidates but for the leaders in congress. when he told speaker boehner he should not go to the joint session of congress for the job

speech at the end of his show the speaker's office was saying they were busy. he has run things that are strategic, if there is a conspiracy that one called rush limbaugh who has been pulling strings. >> what about bill o'reilly, he has taken it down an entirely new avenue by saying it is liberal conspiracy, what do you make of it, how does that excuse limbaugh? >> right, we set a trap for him and oh my god, he actually departed from the normal respectful ways that he talks about women and democrats and he said something inappropriate. that is exactly what happened. bill o'reilly has his own problems about women, ed. it doesn't surprise me one bit. >> no doubt. no liberal anywhere, no democrat told rush limbaugh what to say. joan walsh, richard wolffe, thanks for joining us tonight. >> thanks, ed. buildings down, trees down, power lines down, debris everywhere. it looks like a war zone. >> john kasich is turning down

disaster aid in ohio, democrats say he's playing politics, i'll ask tim ryan what he thinks. in south carolina, people who have had sex before they are married are banned from running for office as a republican. the political purity test is not a joke. that report ahead. bad poll numbers of harass ras backtracking. >> it was characterized the president said we should go to four year colleges if it was an error i agree with the president many. >> mitt romney back singing. >> he killed himself a bear when he was only three. >> we preview super tuesday with john nichols and howard fineman. [ male announcer ] the draw of the past is a powerful thing.

but we couldn't simply repeat history. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor... [ tires screech ] ...night view... and heads-up display. [ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. the all-new 2013 lexus gs. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead.

in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. ♪

[ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

i'm not going to wait for apologies from the left ever. and you shouldn't, either. they won't come. don't expect apologies they're never going to apologize to you or me or any of us. that is the difference. between them and us. >> really? rush limbaugh is trying to defend himself by claiming liberals never apologize? as usual he's flat out wrong. but there are a lot of right wingers out there comparing rush limbaugh's ugly tirade for nine hours against sandra fluke to an inappropriate statement i made for 12 seconds last year about laura ingraham. drawing a moral equivalence between me and rush is not only

inaccurate, but diminishing the outrageous nature of limbaugh's prolonged attack on sandra fluke. limbaugh has completely offered -- failed to offer an adequate apology. a statement on a saturday afternoon, a much lower profile being used? he's offered up a series of exclusions. and his so-called apology only came after a bunch of advertisers cut and run. now the station list will get short. when i made an inappropriate comment last year on my radio show, i took it to a much higher platform, i went to management here at msnbc and i said i've made a mistake i need take myself off the air without pay. and while limbaugh apologized on a website, i apologized on msnbc, a much bigger platform and where i made -- i -- i'm sitting at home over the weekend and looking at twitter, and this is how low it can get.

people having fun in the social world, you've got to drop ed too because of what he said about laura in gragraham. really? this is how i handled my apology. on my radio show yesterday i used vile in appropriate language when talking about talk show host laura ingraham. i'm deeply sorry. i apologize. it was wrong, uncalled for, and i recognize the severity of what i said. i apologize to you, laura. and ask for your forgiveness. it doesn't matter what the circumstances were, it doesn't matter that it was on radio and i was ad libbing, none of that matters. none of that matters. what matters is what i said was terribly vile and not of the standards that i or any other person should adhere to. i stand before you tonight to take full responsibility for what i said, and how i said it and i am deeply sorry. and the only way i can prove my

sincerity in all of this is if i never use those words again. tonight, you have my word that i won't. laura ingraham, i'm sorry. very sorry. and to this day, i haven't. that went on for 9:00. i played you a short clip. this weekend laura ingraham was waiting for president obama call because of a comment i made a year ago. she got a call from me, she accepted my apology on fox news and we moved on. i did restitution, i was off the air for a week. now she is using it as an attack on president obama. once again the right wing making a false comparison between myself and rush limbaugh. rush's statement said he sincerely apologized to sandra fluke. a sincere apology is unequivocal and accepts complete responsibility for the offense. mr. limbaugh, we are still waiting for you to take personal responsibility for your actions.

but we all know you don't have the character to do it.

are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers.

welcome back do "the ed show." when a tornado or any other disaster hits a state, a good governor gets help that is available right away. all of it, as soon as possible. but not tea party republican governor john kasich of ohio who has refused federal disaster aid. he said "i believe we can handle this we'll have down there all the assets of the state." he said he would not rule out asking for federal assistance later but governor kasich is missing the point. he could be denying aid to businesses, governments and individuals, the residents of his own state. the democratic party chairman of clairmont county said i requested his judgment it would appear at first blush he's probably playing politics. the republican governor of indiana mitch daniel declared 11

counties to be disaster area. the governor of kentucky well copped federal workers in the state. kasich said no thanks. as one ohio resident put it, a normal governor with a minimal sl shred of competence or compassion would coordinate with fema and other agencies on the recovery. but here in ohio, kasich responded to the disaster with the type of leadership we've come to expect from him. joining me now is ohio congressman "time" rtim ryan. what is going on here and you're somewhat and other federal representatives are somewhat at the mercy of kasich's decision, are you not? >> the governor needs to ask for help it's not just me it's conservative republicans like jean schmitt in southwest ohio one of the most conservative people in the house of

representatives saying government get on the stick we have people that are hurting. so yeah, we need to be asked by the sitting governor. >> well, this just in, we just received word late today that governor kasich reconsidered his decision and has asked fema to respond, what do you make of it? >> well, i mean the bottom line is leaders are paid to make those decisions when the time is presented, and he completely dropped the ball. how could you be in an area where citizens of your state have gotten killed, where there has been hundreds of homes and businesses that were damaged, and your first instinct isn't to ask for all the help possible? last i checked ohio was in the united states of america, ohioa inchs pohioa ohioans pay taxes. indiana gets help, kentucky gets help, but ohio police, fire getting laid off but we can handle it, yet we get an opportunity to get federal help

and he doesn't take it. this is consistent with his behavior. >> well it's very strange behavior, there is one of two things. number one he didn't know how bad it was or number two he's put his political ideology ahead of people who pay federal taxes. i have never heard of a governor where there is death and destruction in the millions say we won't take the federal help we won't do that. it's outrageous. >> one constituent said it's mind boggle, anybody in a leadership position or not your first instinct how to get help to the people and come out and with the level of bravado. we're looking in 2012, ed, for mature leadership, not seeing it in the republican primaries, not seeing it with the governor here in ohio. you're in an emergency situation. take an assessment of the landscape, look around, see what is going on and then make a decision but to go down after

this happened friday night and go down on saturday and say no, we don't need anybody's help, there is a little of arrogance we don't see often. >> i was waiting for him to talk about offsets. republicans take money but we have to have offsets, we have to go after the big three to help out people hit by a tornado. b before you go, want to ask you about super tuesday. mitt romney seems to be somewhat of a slight surge in ohio, is it -- number one, what is your pulse on this in ohio? >> i think romney at end of the day he takes it, it won't be a big advantage, probably end up splitting the delegates with you the big winner will be barack obama, they are running around ohio saying the same insane kind of comments they were saying in michigan about the autd toe industry and someone asked romney about he will help them go to college he said don't count on the government do help you join the military. those kind of phrases in ohio where people are trying to get a

hand up, not a hand out aren't helpful so barack obama will be the big winner in the ohio primary tomorrow. >> congressman tim ryan of ohio, good to have you with us. >> always a pleasure, ed. when we come back, the republican sex pledge in laurens county, south carolina. a brand new way to vet candidates you won't want to miss it, stay with us. [ amy ] ? mr. greene? yeah? want my downy unstopables? laundry smells good for a long time. nmm mmn. really, you can have it! take it joe. ♪ downy unstopables [ sniffs ] see you around. hey kid, catch! wow! no thanks, mean joe. ♪ downy last time i'm doing this. the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?"

and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams. up next, one south carolina republican group has a strict set of rules for potential candidates. in the big finish tonight, republican leaders are rallying around mitt romney, but will voters? i'll ask john nichols and howard fineman coming up. don't forget to tweet us using #edshow, we're right back. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota.

in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪

welcome back do "the ed show." some republicans in south carolina put their their ultimate litmus test involves one of their favorite subjects, sex. republican party leaders in

laurens county, south carolina have written a brand new pledge for all potential candidates to sign. you must favor and live up to abstinence before marriage. you must be faithful to your spouse. your spouse cannot be a person of the same gender. you cannot now from the moment you sign this pledge, look at pornography. wow. look out, republicans, laurens county gop are watching you. an operative responded by saying it sound like a little porn might do these folks some good. the pledge included 28 principles, not all about sex, some of it was very predictable like you must uphold the right to have guns, all kinds of guns. but the sex pledge was the biggest eye opener especially since potential republican candidates must submit to an interview. candidates must meet in person with the candidate qualification committee of the laurens county

republican party. wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall in those interviews? probably fair to say former governor of south carolina, mark sanford, well, he would probably have a hard time getting a stamp of approval in laurens county. good thing david vitter of louisiana is not from laurens county, south carolina. a darned good thing that senator john ensign is from nevada, the other side of the country, no longer a senator at all. the romneys are trying hard to appeal to joe six pack. mitt's quoting davy crockett. mrs. romney says she doesn't feel rich. howard fineman and john nichols tell us all about super tuesday, coming up. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually

all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business... protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. than leading regular juice drinks. because less sugar is a better way to fly. ♪ just not literally. capri sun. respect what's in the pouch.

not anymore. fiber one is bringing brownies back. at 90 calories, you can have brownies again. ♪ fiber one 90 calorie brownies. in the granola bar aisle. ed show survey i asked would you listen to a radio station that continues to carry the rush limbaugh show? 6% said yes, 94% said no. coming up, howard fineman and john nichols preview super tuesday. if mitt romney has the momentum for a big win. does he? stay tuned. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently.

tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial.

please welcome mitt and ann romney. >> hello there, shepard. >> thanks for having us. >> how do you feel about the michigan win? >> we feel great, they looked at us and said "eh, i guess." >> as saturday night live pointed out mitt romney is win because they are settling. he's better than rick santorum. john ashcroft and eric cantor and tom coburn endorsed romney over the weekend. fox news is doing its part this weekend chris wallace hammereds rick santorum in an interview,

pressed him for saying president barack obama thinks everyone should go to college. >> we looked back the president has never said that. we looked back at your 2006 website when you were running for reelection in 2006, weren't you then right where barack obama is now? >> well, all i can tell you is that i support people being able to go to and have the opportunity to go wherever they want to go. >> that is what the president said as well, sir. >> again, maybe i was reading some things that -- i've read columns it was characterized the president said we should go to four year colleges. if i was in error, if you say you haven't found that, i've read that, if it was an error, i agree with the president. >> and so much for the snob comment. the republican establishment has settled for mitt romney, but it's not going to be an easy sell to voters. the latest nbc news poll shows 28% of people have a positive view of romney, 39% have a

negative view. during the 2008 presidential campaign, barack obama's negative ratings never got that bad in an nbc poll. romney is plugging away, out on the campaign trail how to figure out how to connect with the regular folk in tennessee. here he is in the volunteer state this weekend. >> this place always has a special feeling in my heart, because when i grew up, i was thinking about davy crockett. remember the song, born on a mountaintop in tennessee, greenest state in the land of the free, raised in the woods so he knew every tree, and he killed himself a bear when he was only three. davy, davy crockett. >> davy, davy crockett, i know him well. you have to give romney credit, he knows the words to a tennessee song, he should have put the hat on, mitt. i'm joined by howard fineman and john nichols, washington

correspondent and author of the book "uprising." gentlemen, i couldn't have two better people on the face of the earth talking about super tuesday coming up. howard, is davy crockett, is this song working for romney, to connect him to the regular folk in tennessee? >> ed, first i have to say you look remarkably comfortable in that coonskin cap. >> we used to put that on to get squirrels and such. but whatever. >> look, mitt romney is mitt romney, and he's equally sort of plastic and impenetrable wherever he goes, he's running a big machine like walmart compared to the mom and pop operations he's up against. you saw rick santorum in a classic example of amateur hour there, back pedaling and giving up on what had been a central strategy of rhetorical strategy of his campaign with the four

year college comment. similarly he doesn't have a staff to carefully look at delegates, didn't feel all the delegate slates in ohio, he's making it up as he goes along. mitt romney as mechanical as he is, is consistent, strongly organized on the attack every where and basically forcing the republican party to surrender to him. >> i want to play ann romney's response to a question about whether she and her husband are out of touch with middle class americans. here it is. >> we can be poor in spirit, and i don't look -- i don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. it can be here today and gone tomorrow, how i measure -- how i measure riches is by the friends i have and loved ones i have and people i care about in my life. that is where my values are, that is where my riches are. >> how well does that play for the romneys? >> when you have to say it's an interesting thing you don't

consider yourself wealthy you've probably got a problem connecting with ordinary folks, because obviously she is wealthy. and every time the romneys try to reach out to ordinary folks to sort of play it real, if you will, it always comes apart. can you imagine going to tennessee and saying, yeah, i know this state, i feel for it, i used to watch a tv show about it. this guy does not connect. >> in ohio, howard fineman, it's so big, tomorrow night. if mitt romney wins ohio he would have won, michigan, florida, ohio and arizona, probably virginia, how could he not get the nomination? >> i think it will help him enormo enormously. i was in ohio yesterday in steubenville, a town along the ohio river whereby the way rick santorum is going to watch the tuesday super tuesday results tomorrow night. and in steubenville i talked to

a lot of conservative catholics before mass at the big conservative church, conservative catholic church there, all for santorum but said look, we'll accept romney, if it's him or barack obama, we'll accept romney, and we know that rick santorum has his flaw, we like how strongest on our issues. i think they will turn out for santorum but i didn't detect the sort of fiery passion that is going to necessarily be enough in enough places to carry rick santorum in ohio against the withering barrage from mitt romney. >> john, i don't hear the rejection type comments about mitt romney that i used to hear after michigan. as howard says there seems to be a level of acceptance. can he win a southern state? >> romney will win southern states, it will take him until november to do it. the problem that romney has got is people still, republicans still want to get their real

desires out before they have to settle for them. and so in georgia they will vote for newt gingrich and they may vote for newt gingrich next week in alabama and mississippi. but at the end of the day you're right there is a great settling going on, and i think it has much more to do with the fact the wheels have come off santorum's campaign, it looks like amateur hour at this point and newt gingrich just is not transferable beyond the south. so romney's on a very good roll right now but it's more of a roll because the other guys have sort of collapsed and fallen off to the side than because he's accomplishing anything. >> is it a given newt stays in it by winning georgia? >> i think he will stay certainly through the other southern states and i agree with john, rick santorum had his big chance, blew it in the debate, didn't win michigan, had no theme, no comebacks, no endorsements, doing it all on his own and will go out in a