mitt romney has to think about which side he's on, rush or the woman he was insulting, just a minute i'm thinking. my guess is the woman will remember, all women will remember. that is "hardball" thanks for being with us. "the ed show" starts right now. good evening americans, welcome. rush limbaugh's fake apology was rejected by sandra fluke. the king of krif talk is bleeding advertisers, conservatives are attacking me? this is the "the ed show," let's get to work. the 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 that 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.

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 john kasich is refusing federal disaster relief for his state and democrats accused him of playing politics. ohio congressman tim ryan is furious and he will weigh in. it's super tuesday-eve, mitt romney's campaign just keeps getting goofy. >> born on a mountaintop in tennessee, raised in the woods so he knew every tree. >> all the latest on the state of the race with the nation's john nichols, and analyst howard fineman. >> he killed himself a bear. davy, davy crockett. good to have you with us, thanks for watching. breaking news off the top, a second station has 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 he started losing sponsors, he 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, again my own knowledge, against everything i know to be right and wrong, i descended to their level when i used the two words to describe sandra fluke. >> the words were slut and prostitute. rush is pretending these are the only two things he called sandra fluke?

as if it was just a slip of the tongue? >> those two words were inappropriate. they were uncalled for. they distracted from the point that i was actually trying to make. and i again sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for using those two words to describe her. 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. 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 to you have sex, we want something for it. and i'll tell you what it is. we want to you 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 a lot more to say about this at the bottom of the 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 thought i'll call this lady she is under attack. he's a repeat offender who deliberately mischaracterized sandra fluke's 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, rush said fluke wants contraception because she has so much sex. rush is blaming others for his own decisions. he said an article by cns news provided him with misinformation and yes, that would be brent bozel's outfit. he repeated this misinformation for three straight days. >> i use satire, absurdity to illustrate the absurd. the cyber cast news service, characterized a portion of her testimony as sounding like based on her own financial figures she was engaging in sexual activity

so often she couldn't afford it. i focused on that because it was simple trying to change people's minds, i'm huge on personal responsibility and accountability. >> oh, yeah, he's a 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? let's see blamed the left, blamed a right wing column and blamed 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 row place 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 crossed a line of decency and a standard we expect of programming on kpua. another station in pits field, massachusetts plans to drop the limbaugh program as well. ask for sandra fluke, she has handled herself with grace and dignity throughout all of these attacks. she spoke about limbaugh's apology 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 whether 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 luke is one gutsy won't be bullied by rush limbaugh. for the first time in his career, he may be getting bullied by social media. 12 advertisers and two stations said we're done. you think it will stop there? we'll see. limbaugh arrogantly said that there will be just other advertisers there to replace them, really no worry, they will profit as well. at what rate? we'll see. i'll have more to say about this at the bottom of the hour and something say about the right wingers comparing my issue with laura ingraham last may at the 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? text a for yes, b for no, to 622639. go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com, we'll bring you results later on in the program. i'm joined tonight by terry o'neill, president of the national organization for women and krystal ball, democratic strategist and msnbc contributor and also pushing a website boycottrush.org. terry, should rush limbaugh be fired? >> oh, absolutely he should be fired, ed. you might want to add a third option on your question, held, no could be one of the answers. he should be fired, he shouldn't be on the air. these issues about what kinds 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 there were 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 it, includes a petition to call on his sponsors, the people who are spending advertising dollars during his show and on his website to support his hateful program, just asking them to withdraw their support. and we launched it on friday. we're now coming up on 100,000 signatures, it has been hugely successful, as you have been reporting we've seen advertisers and now the affiliates starting to drop off. so this has had a real impact on him and forced him to give a sort of weak half-hearted apology and spend today trying

to walk things back a bit. >> isn't it going to take more than a website, isn't it going to take the social media, organized at the local level to go after the stations that carry rush, if women really want to change and move this kind of broadcasting off to the side, what do you think? >> i think it is and i think social media has played a huge role in getting the advertisers to back off. i think they will get stations to drop him. it also 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, and a number of senior republican commentators have 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 overstated. you will see about that coming up. i think there is this facade surrounding rush that he's the

big king and he's diminished dramatically. if there is a time to get him off the air, this is the push. if women in this country are serious about what they hear on the free air waves of america, there is no better time now rush says that 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 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, what alternate words would he have used, harlot or lady of the night been better? there is irresponsibility for

the hateful words over the past 20 years of his career. if this was an isolated incident it would be one thing, clearly there is a pattern that needs to stop. >> he is not used to apologizing. in fact on his show today i listen to some of it i'm on the air at the same time, i listened to some of it and he's in in chartered territory. he's unstable how he should handle this because he doesn't know. rush limbaugh argued, terry, that sandra fluke is a contraception activist. and this was an attempt by democrats to change the subject from religious liberty tonight. moments ago bill o'reilly made the same argument. is that going to work? >> no, it's not. they are engaging in tactics that bullies engage in. you attack, attack, attack and when you're called to account you back up and say, oh, gosh, i

was just 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's clearly the bullying tactic and you see at every level, junior high school, high school to rush limbaugh you see it up and it's not going to work this time, i think he's going down. >> terry o'neill, krystal ball, thank you for joining us tonight. i'll have more to say at the bottom of the hour of the broadcast. answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen, share thoughts on twitter @edshow. republican candidates proved they are not prepared to lead. richard wolf and joan walsh weigh in.

tea party republican ohio governor john kasich didn't ask for federal funds. tim rye is an with us we're right back. [ elevator bell dings ] ugh, great. you may be going up, but those roots are bringing you down! try root touch-up by nice 'n easy. to extend the life of your color. nice 'n easy has 50% more shades, so you can find your seamless match. with root touch-up by nice 'n easy. to put more giddy-up in our get-along. it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's...

... and mix a little more hop in our hip-hop. with the energizing support and cushioning of dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles ... you'll want to get up and go.

the republican candidates response to rush limbaugh and my comentary and my comment on a real apology and rush p's apology. ohio was hit hard by tornadoes by the governor is refusing government aid. i'll ask 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 the #edshow. we're right back.

welcome back to "the ed show." the republicans rining for president say barack obama has filed the country as a leader. but when true leadership is leaded 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 luke warm response to limbaugh's remarks. >> i'll just say this, which is it's not the language i would have used, i'm focusing on the issues that 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, that is an entertainer can be absurd. >> entertainment, that is what it is? after calling the president's

call opportunistic, newt gingrich attacked president obama and defended rush limbaugh. >> his apology didn't do anything world wide, he did the right thing, that issue ought to be behind us. i know everybody is desperate to protect president barack obama. >> one prominent conservative called out the republican nonsense, here is george will. >> depressing because what it indicates is that the republican leaders are afraid of rush limbaugh. they want to bomb iran but afraid of rush limbaugh.n tooan editor at large for salon.com and msnbc political analyst richard wolffe, great to have you both here tonight. are republicans afraid of rush limbaugh? what do you think, joan? >> oh, 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 needs, he personally needs more and more outrage and more and more abuse and misoginy to get himself excited they keep tolerating it, when president obama became president and he wished that he would fail and said he didn't want to bend over backwards and forwards and got into all sort of sexual weirdness about the president, people wouldn't say anything about it then, and 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 they have been living with it and he's really seriously hurting them now. >> the only candidate calling out limbaugh is ron paul. take a look. >> i don't think he's very apologetic, he's doing it because some people were taking their advertisements off his program, it was his bottom line he was concerned about.

>> richard wolffe, why can't the republicans unequivocally say this was just 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? >> they are all tripping over themselves in the weakened position to try to convince their skeptical voters they are conservatives. that what is they think rush can bring them. ron paul doesn't need to prove his credentials, doesn't -- isn't so fearful about rush's judgment. isn't it curious to pick up on george will's point, all these candidates with the notable exception of ron paul beating their chest about going to war against iran, saying the president is weak and they can't stand up to this tin 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 points behind him among women. he could have gone out there, smart politics would have been do 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. >> i'm sure he's an entertainer but his remarks are totally unacceptable, totally and completely unacceptable and there is no place for it. >> so john mccain, who has been down this road before, running for president, saw that obviously, you have to distance yourself from comments like that. but none of the republican candidates did. joan, what does this mean to women voters in this country? >> 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 thought he had a better heart than that. and to just dismiss it as he's an entertainer is so coarse, so degrading to women and to the republican party and as richard

said, the polls are devastating on this, ed, it's not just the presidential level. in the last few months, suburban women have shifted from wanting republicans to take back congress by about 10 points to now wanting democrats to run congress by 10 points. so it's hurting them with independents and with 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 the program attacking sandra fluke and defending limbaugh. here what is he said 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 the committee by accident. whoever got assigned that campaign is smart. >> 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 who have a white comedian record a jingle called barack, the magic negro and accused everyone else of being racist toward him. he set the tone and the path and strategy, not for other talk show guys, not just for presidential candidates, but leaders in congress. when he told speaker boehner he should not go to the joint session of congress for the president's job speech, the speaker's office said they were busy. he has run things strategic, if there is a conspiracy, someone called rush limbaugh has been pulling strings. >> joan, what about bill o'reilly, he has taken it down a new avenue by saying it is liberal conspconspiracy. 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 liberal, no democrat told rush limbaugh what to say. joan walsh, richard wolffe, thanks for joining us tonight. >> thanks, ed. building is down, trees down, power lines down, debris everywhere. it looks like a war zone. >> governor john kasich is turning down disaster aid in ohio, democrats say he's playing politics. skiel ohio congressman 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 have rick santorum backtracking.

>> mitt romney back singing. we'll preview super tuesday with john nichols of the nation and howard fineman.

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 to me or any of us. that's the difference. between them and us. >> really? rush limbaugh 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 in appropriate statement i made for 12 seconds last year about laura ingraham. drawing a moral equivalence between me and rush is not only inaccurate but diminishes the outrageous of limbaugh's prolonged attack on sandra fluke. limbaugh has completely offered -- completely 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 excuses. 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 and look 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 grads ham. this is how i handled my apology. >> on my radio show yesterday, i used vile and inappropriate language when talking about talk show host laura ingraham. i'm deeply sorry and 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 mats. what i said was vial and not of the standards eye 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. >> to this day, i haven't. that went on for nine minutes. i played you on short clip of it. this weekend laura ingraham was waiting for president obama's

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, 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.

welcome back to "the ed show." whether a tornado or any other disaster hits a state, a good governor gets help that is available right away. all of of it, as soon as possible. but not tea party republican

governor john kasich of ohio who has refused federal disaster said. he said i believe we can handle this. we'll have down there all the assets of the state. he would not rule out asking for federal assistance later but governor kasich is missing the point. but not getting the ball rolling now, he could be denying millions of dollars to local governments, small businesses and residents of his state. the democratic party chairman said i question his judgment it would appear at first blush he's probably playing politics. the republican governor of mitch daniels declared 11 counties to be disaster areas. the governor of kentucky welcomed federal workers in the state to make assessments of damage. but kasich said no thanks. as one ohio resident put it, a normal governor with a minimal shred of competence or compassion would immediately declare a disaster area and coordinate with if people and other agencies on the recovery. here in ohio he responded with the type of leadership we have

come to expect from him. joining me now is ohio congressman tim ryan. congressman, good to have you with us tonight, appreciate your time. is what going on here? you're some what and other federal representatives after the the mercy of the decision, are you not? >> well, the governor needs to ask ask for help and it's not just me it's even conservative republicans like jean schmidt in southwest ohio one of the most conservative people in the house of representatives saying governor, get on the stick here, 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's re considered his decision and asked fema to respond. what do you make of it? >> 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, they pay taxes to the federal government, in times like thes indiana, kentucky will get help, ohio teachers, police, fire getting laid off and yet an opportunity to get some federal help and he doesn't take it. but this is consistent with his behavior. >> it's very strange behavior, one of two things here, number one he didn't know how bad it was, or number two he's putting his political ideology ahead of people who pay taxes. >> i have never heard of a governor where there is death and destruction in the millions say we're not going to take the help. it's out rain us.

>> mind-boggling as one constituent said mind boggling. you think of anybody whether in a leadership position or not your first instinct how do we 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 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 just several hours later and say no, we don't need anybody's help, there is a level of arrogance we don't see very often. >> i was waiting for the governor to talk about offsets, you know how they are famous about taking money. we have to have offsets, we have to go after the big three if we help out people hit by a tornado. we go, want to ask you about super tuesday.

mitt romney seeps to be somewhat of a slight surge in ohio. what is your pulse in ohio? >> i think romney at the end of the day will take it. won't be a big advantage, probably split the delegates, but 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 auto industry, someone asked romney about how he will help him go to college, don't count on the government to help you, join the military, those phrases in ohio where people are trying to get a hand up, not a hand aren't helpful, barack obama will be the big winner in the ohio primary tomorrow. >> tim ryan, good to have you with us tonight. >> always a pleasure, ed. when we come back, the republican sex pledge in south carolina, this is a brand new way to vet candidates. you won't want to miss it, stay with us. [ male announcer ] that. right there -- reminds you why you fell in love with her in the first place.

and why you still feel the same. 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.

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. tweet us using #edshow, we're right back.

welcome back to "the ed show." some republicans in south carolina have put together their ultimate litmus test and it involves one of their favorite subjects, sex. republican party leaders in laurens county, south carolina, have written a brand new pledge for all the 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 can't now from the moment you sign this pledge, look at pornography. wow. look out republicans, laurens

county gop are watching you. it sounds like a little porn might do these folks some good. the pledge included 28 principles, not all about sex. some predictable like you must uphold the right to have guns, all kinds of guns. but the sex pledge was the biggest eye opener since candidates must submit to an interview. candidates must meet in person with the candidate qualification committee of laurens county, republican party. wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall in those interviews? fair to say former governor of south carolina mark sanford, he probably would have a hard time getting a stamp of approval in laurens county. good thing senator david vitter of louisiana is not from laurens county, south carolina. it's a darned good thing that senator john ensign is from

nevada and 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

what makes the sleep number store different? the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good.

it's hugging my body. it works in a minute. i can get more support. if you change your mind once you get home you can adjust it. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. at our semi-annual sleep sale, save $400 to $700 on our most popular bed sets. sale ends soon. only at the sleep number stores. where queen mattresses start at just $699. ed show survey tonight i asked you 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 and if mitt romney has the momentum for a big win. does he? stay tuned.

please welcome mitt and ann romney. hello shephard. >> thanks for having us. >> how do you feel about the michigan win? >> we feel great. michigan was another case of voters taking a look at mitt romney and saying "eh, i guess." >> that is saturday night live pointed out, mitt romney is winning because republicans are settling. they don't like him but he's better than rick santorum. former attorney general john ashcroft and eric cantor and tom coburn endorsed romney over the weekend. fox news is doing their part. chris wallace hammered rick santorum in a wide-ranging interview, pressed santorum for saying president obama thinks

everyone should go to college. >> we looked back the president 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. >> maybe i was reading some things that i've red some columns where at least it was characterized the president said we should go to four year colleges, if i was in error, i'll certainly if you say you have not found that i've red that. if it was an error, then i agree with the president. >> 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 on the campaign trail how to figure out to connect with the regular folks 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, greenest state in the land of the free, raised in the woods so knew every tree and killed himself a bear when he was three. davy, davy crockett. >> davy, davy crockett, know him well. you have to give romney credit, he knows the words to a tennessee song but davy crockett should have put the hat on. howard fineman, and john nichols washington correspondent in the

nation magazine, author of the book "uprising." gentlemen i couldn't have two better people on the face of the earth talking about super tuesday. howard, is davy crockett -- this is song going to connect him to the regular folk in tennessee? >> ed, first i have to say you looked remarkably comfortable in that coon skin hat. >> we used to put that on to get squirrels and such. >> mitt romney is mitt romney, and he's equally plastic and impenetrable, he's like walmart against mom and pop stores. you saw rick santorum in amateur hour back pedaling and giving up what had been a central strategy of his recent campaign, with the four year college comment. he doesn't have a staff to go

carefully looking at delegates, didn't file all the delegate slates in ohio. he's making it up as he goes along, mitt romney as mechanical as he is, is consistent and strongly organized and on the attack every where. and he's basically forcing the republican party to surrender to him. >> i want to play ann romney's response to a question 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 consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. it is it can be here today gone tomorrow how i measure riches is by the friends i have, and the loved ones i have and people i care about in my life and that writes my values are and those are my riches. >> john, how well does that play for the romneys? >> when you have to say it's an interesting thing that you don't consider yourself wealthy,

you've probably got a problem in 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 really know the state, i feel for it, i used to watch a tv show about it. this guy does not connect. >> in ohio, howard fineman, so big tomorrow night, is it not? if mitt romney wins ohio, he will have won michigan, florida, ohio, and arizona, and probably win virginia as well. how can he not get the nomination? >> i think it will help him enormously. i was in ohio yesterday in steubenville, where rick santorum is going to watch the tuesday super tuesday results tomorrow night, and i talked to a lot of conservative catholics before mass at the big conservative church, they are all for santorum, with you they

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 flaws, 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 he's under 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 is 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's got is that people still -- republicans still want to get their real

desires out before they have to settle for him. 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 this great settling going on, and i think it has much more to do with the fact that 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. >> howard, is it a given newt stays in it by winning georgia? >> oh, i think he will stay through the other southern states. i agree with john, rick santorum had his big chance, blew it in the debate, two weeks ago, didn't win michigan, had no theme, no comebacks no endorsements, no nothing in ohio, doing it all on his own and will go out in a blaze of glory. >> always a pleasure.