good afternoon. it's monday, march 12th, and here's what's happening. happy birthday, mitt. >> happy birthday on the road. i'm hoping for a real big present tomorrow from alabama and mississippi. >> not if these good old boys have say. >> we're going to be the nominee. >> governor romney will not make it. >> romney is probably the weakest front-runner since 1920. >> thems fighting words. >> two can play at that game. >> if i'm a weak front-runner, what does that make newt gingrich because i'm well ahead of him? ♪ we have a long way to go we start by extending the our warmest birthday good wishes to one willard mitt romney born with a silver spoon in his mouth

65 years ago. polls show he is in a tight race. in both the alabama and mississippi contest is up for grabs. national polls are also conflicted about whether he or rick santorum has a four point lead. mitt is predicting a victory in the alabama contest. that's a reversal when any were giving him a fighting chance in the deep south. he's managed to turn on the southern charm. >> last night i was in mississippi, by the way, i had cat fish for the second time. it was delicious. we're going get this thing won. >> it's not just with his fellow good old boys. mitt may have saved his best line for the beautiful bells well down yonder. >> please give us a big hug,

that's the girls. i've been getting hugs from the southern girls. i mean from 12, well a lot more than 12. >> 12-year-olds. have some more grits. while he hits the cheesy grits, the race is so tight. they're taking the up against each other. >> why would the republican party in the most critical election about this very issue of government control nominate either of them who are uniquely unqualified. >> yes, he's the front-runner. he's not a very strong front-runner. almost all conservatives are opposed to him. >> on his birthday he reached into his bag of insults and pulled out this old chestnut

from the fourth grade. >> they're saying what wish was the case. if i'm a weak front-runner, what does that make newt gingrich. >> the old i know you are, but what am i. rick santorum, meanwhile, has his own problems. his dream would be for newt gingrich to set off for a greek extended holiday and make this essentially a two-man race. dream on, rick. the former speaker is taking a page from the outlaw josey wales that says he will never surrender. >> on wednesday for affect the nineth time the news media will be reporting a new race. with your help, i believe question go onto tampa and win the nomination. >> where does that leave mr. santorum? believe it or not waxing about the ups and downs of his

campaign. >> i've had my highlights and low lights. we get fired up and say some things i wish i had a mull began on, if you will. >> i never noticed that. do you have any examples in mind. >> the poorest people in america would be the richest, even 50 years ago. >> at least he didn't mention 12-year-olds. joining us is karen finney, an msnbc political analyst, alex wagner, host of msnbc top rating now with alax wagner show and jonathan capehart for the washington post. good afternoon. karen, we couldn't think of what to buy mr. romney for his birthday because what do you buy for a man that has everything and $250 million. if you look at the washington postpolling, it has romney ahead of the president. do you think he will get two

belated birthday presents from alabama and mississippi tomorrow? >> it sounds like me might get one. the pander fest that's been coming out of his mouth has been pretty stunning. cheesy grits and southern belle hugs. having jeff foxworthy there along with him, he should have just shut up. what he is is not what the voters want. that's why he hasn't been able to seal the deal. the problem he's gotten is, he may pull out a win. the problem will continue to be even as we have seen over the last week, every one of these instances reenforces the thing that they don't like about him. he changings his stripes based on who he is standing next to. he's still not going to be able to seal the deal with the party. >> alex. at least rick santorum is being candid with the electorate.

he said some people say that would mean he has no ideas. >> he's just a guy running for president. that a kneecap president obama as a visionary and no action policy or skills. i guess the businessmen is a dig at mitt romney. rick santorum is the ultimate al ternive candidate. his campaign says it's all about his economic policies the the only anchor we have is this manufacturing tax credit. the rest is just clouds and thin air. much doesn't make sense or is illegal. >> i thought rick santorum was about less sex and no higher education. >> and then those points. >> john, public policy polling is a democratic affiliated firm. it's had horrible numbers.

52% of mississippi republican voters get this think the president is a muslim. while only 54% believe intermarriage should be legal. physical it were illegal i would be in a criminal court. >> me and you both. >> i think what it says sort of confirms what we all probably thought to begin with. the birther issue is still alive in states like south carolina and arizona. it's not surprising that people in mississippi believe that the president is a close et muslim. it didn't surprise me. it doesn't surprise me at all. it's in keeping with the line that the far right extreme of the republican party has been using against the president to try to make him this other.

two things i want to bring up because you asked the question on alex and karen. my mother, yesterday, we had brunch and she said that rick santorum he always sounds so angry. in that clip -- >> you're mother's an astute woman. >> if there's anybody that would be inclined to be receptive to a republican message, it's my mother. with regard to mitt romney, poor guy, the only second time he's had catfish ever and cheesy grits and a biscuit. it's almost as if we're watching him on safari in his own country. >> all righty then. >> karen, follow that. >> i'm going to let that sit on the table for just a minute. >> karen, aside from the 2012 campaign, the other big story that's been out is the release

of the movie game change. given the staggering portrait of this ill equipped, ignorant vij, can we agree she will never hold it will highest office in the land. she does say she will be at the convention. >> the republican party, this cycle, could not prove that it was in -- it was still capable of potentially nominating or following a pair of other idiots in donald trumpb and herman cain. i don't think they learned their lesson. maybe we can stop that from happening in 2016. here is sarah palin. it was worse than we thought. i remember clearly when she spoke at the convention as the movie so well portrays, she very impressive. it all unravelled so quickly. it was very clear she was not ready for prime time at all what

so ever. however, there is is still a base of people in this country who love her, support her. >> no, please, no. i just don't want to hear this. >> i'm sorry. >> karen. how is it possible she will carry on? she was seen looking at a map of the world and introduced to the notion that germany with this man by the name of hitler was responsible for provoking if second world war. she thought her majesty the queen is the head of the government in the united king m kingdom. >> didn't realize that saddam was the once that launched the 9/11. this is the big question over the republican party in general. you and i were talking about this before the show. they are doubling down on people, policies and positions that make no sense. not only do they make no sense, but they're bad for the country.

whether it's the conspiracy theories about the president not being born here, whether social problems -- fiscal policies. this the not a policy thinking toward the future, their future or the country's future. they are ignoring hispanic, lat latinos and hispanic, young people, black people, brown people. >> women. >> don't forget the gays. >> people that have higher education. >> john, do you agree with alex that this is party rooted in a period, i guess, not the last, but the last century, i guess. >> it's sort of saddled with candidate that are more than willing, to turn the clock back on a lot of gains that the country has made on decades. i think what they are hoping and i'm talking b about establishment republicans that the damage done by the 2012

campaign will not be fatal. that the "a" team of candidates will come out in 2016 and lead, assuming that president obama wins re-election but when they run in 2016 they will lead the party to resurgeon si. all the "a" players decided to take pass this go around. >> do you think nowithstanding what john said isn't it the case that the republican party it may take much longer to recover from being damaged by the kind of rhetoric that we've heard really for the last year? >> i think it's less a matter of republican than the republican party recognizing that the country has moved on. all of these things they are talking about when they talk about access to contraception and the way they talk about black and brown people and

latinos and gays and lesbians. it does sound like the last century. i thought i woke up in 1850. that's not where the majority of people are. this process is working. it's showing the deep divides within this party which is part of why nobody can seem to get a good swath of voters and a real base of support. i think what they're going to have to do is go back to the drawing board and say who are we. who are we going to be as party. >> with respect to the republicans, i have to apologize because our viewers have said they have enjoyed this conversation so much, they want alex, karen and jonathan capehart to stay with us. all three are snobs and two are women. we have much more ahead. please give us a big hug, that's the girls. i've been getting hugs from the southern girls today.

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we're back with our expert panel, karen finney, jonathan capehart and alex wagner. no doubt an issue that will very much a part of the 2012 race. let me play something that newt gingrich said today on the gulf coast energy summit in mississippi. listen to this. >> one of my goals this fall is to run as president drilling versus president algae. not too many people choose between $10 a gallon and $2.50 a

gallon. i think it will make for a clear race. >> do you think he realizes that crude oil comes from algae that's fossilized over the years or has anyone heard his plan getting down to $2.50 a gallon. >> don't ruin it for him. this is a prime issue when democrats are out of power, they do it to republican president. republicans do it to democrats. this is a great issue to hit on. anybody that can tell you they can get the prices down is probably selling snake oil. coming from newt gingrich that sounds like snail oil. that's why the president has -- i give him credit for saying it's not going to be a single magic bullet solution. we've got to do multiple things.

>> 65 of americans disapprove of the president's handling of gas prices. despite that no president has been able to control the price of a gallon of gas, this president is suffering. >> it kientds nd of comes as -- americans paying at the pump is pal paable. the folks dissatisfied tends to be lower income americans. >> those earning less than $50,000. the republic >> the republicans are taking to this. beholding to e rat cal environmentalist agenda. that's outrage us. it's a very convenient narrative for them to have at this time. >> john, what's surprising is the president is pointing to the fact we have decreased dependence on oil in this

country from eight -- excuse me 11 million to eight. that's a 16-year low but it doesn't seem to wash the electoral. >> this is an emotional issue. when people go to the pump, they doe don't care about imports and exports. what you have here is a president who is trying to talk to the american people in real terms about what's happening with the nation's energy supply and what he's trying to do about it. hearing mantres like $2.50. newt gingrich is listening too much to herman cain 9-9-9 and

it's becoming 2-5-0. >> thank you very much. don't forget to watch with alex wagner. we'll be right back. plap

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afghanistan is relatively calm the day after a u.s. soldier shot dead 16 afghan civilians. the soldier serving a fourth tour of duty is being questioned as is the entire military mission. the latest washington post poll americans no longer believe the conflict in afghanistan is worth fighting. is it possible to understand why a soldier may have done this? >> i'll tell you what's really difficult for me to understand is how somebody can live with

people 24 hours a day as soldiers do and somebody, his fellow soldiers, chain in command didn't see a problem. when the investigation is completed, we will probably discover that in fact, there were plenty of clues. when they go through e-mails, letters home and kmpgss with us. i think they will discover the fact it was a preventible tragedy. >> beyond this, in january we had video of marines urinating on afghan insurgents. in february we had the accidental burning of korans. now we have this. does this suggest that within the military as in this country, there's just a lack of commitment to this project that discipline as it were is beginning to break down because people feel it's a meaningless exercise? >> at the pointy end of the spear where things are

accomplished, at the bottom of the food chain, there's a great commitment to do the job and get done what needs to be done, i've spoken to a lot of troops on the ground. people that were there and people that came back, there's an enormous commitment. the problem is one of supervision. this staff sergeant worked for a captain, these people are very, very close. they should know. i think that the biggest negative impact of this incident and the kinds of incidents you're talking about is not on the afghan people and not on the troops. i think it's on the american electoral. you've heard from republican candidates, people on the right side of the aisle who are saying pretty much the same thing a lot of people on the left side oth aisle are saying, it's probably about time to come home. >> stay with us. the weekend's top lines are coming up. this entire process for them

has become corrosive. i think it's become destructive. as you see them roll out tax plans that cut taxes for the wealthy and adds trillions to our deficit, it drives independent voters away. it's fascinating process to watch. ♪ [ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet, cleaning better, doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac. ♪ you gotta believe ♪ yeah ♪ believe in yourself ♪

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three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. grits, kin, catfish and whole lot of delegate math. here are today's top lines. you know you're a red neck when. >> happy birthday on the road and i'm hoping for a real big present. >> they think y'all have amnesia. >> you don't understand risk. >> like cheese grits. i like grits with gravy. >> one of my competitors, i have had grits before. >> i got cute here in mississippi. >> i was in mississippi, by the

way. >> i got my whole yet go. >> i wouldn't give advice to republican particularly, mitt romney, but as a southerner, i would tell him that kind of stiff doesn't go over well in the deep south. >> it should be illegal to read off a teleprompter. >> say some things i wish i had a mulligan on. >> romney is probably the weakest front republicaner. >> what does that make newt gingrich. >> i know you are but am what am i? >> i didn't ask speaker gingrich to get in, i'm not going to ask him to get out. >> expected to do well in kansas because it's also a giant square. >> he's repeatedly gone out and told the public he didn't do the things he did.

>> you're calling him a liar. >> 12 pack of bud, 11 wrestling tickets. >> the two, two and a half time delegates as he has. >> governor romney trying to teach delegate math. >> this isn't about math. it's about vision. sgr the math is not the issue. the issue is vision. i'm not a visionary. >> let's get right to our triple panel this afternoon. dr. james peterson. dana milbank and ken vogel. dana, i start with you. i want to quote for a rare and remarkable interview given today by ken griffin. in responding to the question do the ultra wealthy have enough influence post recession, he

said, quote, i think they actually have an insufficient influence. those who have enjoyed the benefits of our system more than ever now owe a duty to protect the system that is created the greatest nation on this planet. dana, isn't that like putting jack abram in charge of lobby i ing? >> right. he's got donald trumpb serving as his national spokesman. if there's one group in american society that's been under represented and underprivileged. >> and lacking influence. >> that's the group we're talking about. it's not helpful to mitt romney because he's already seen as this gordon gecko character. it's happening to him over and over again. hiss own sentiments are lined up

for that image. >> speaking of the candidate, how much more on newt and rick going to make romney and his spuper pacs spend. they don't appear to have a clear path poth nomination. they can make it expensive for mr. romney, can't they? >> that's exactly right. that's one of the reasons why the gop establishment, folks here in washington are so nervous about this primary going on and on and on into june is because mitt romney has not really thrived on big donors as well as his super pac. there's only so much he can raise and many of them are already maxed out. they have given as much as they can for the primary and already given money that has to be allocated toward his general election effort. he can't go back to them anyone.

even the super pac donors. they can give an unlimited amount if they feel they are li they can raise. these people do not have bottomless wells that they are allocated toward political spending. there's a risk here that all this spending now will be spending that romney as a general election candidate cannot do against president obama. >> dr. peterson, it almost seems that romney is losing the spirit while racking up the delegate wins. how does he breathe life into the persona he has. more grits? what does he do? >> he never really had the spirit of his party to begin with. he's not been able to coalesce any coalition of republican based voters to support his

candidacy. it's interesting that griffin is talk b about insufficient influence because the way that you get a romney candidate, that's a candidate that not a lot of people like is by billionaire folks supporting his candidacy to have too much influence in the political process. you're saying he's the living example of the kind of financial empowerment and influence that he's moaning about. >> we should add the federal courts apparently agree with his sentiment because in a series of decisions ending with the 2010 citizens united the federal courts have empowered rich individuals as well as corporations to give unlimited amounts to the super pacs that can air ads that directly influence elections. >> if i can put this question to

all of you starting with dana, what do you make of this new data from public policy polling which has only 14% of the gop in alabama believing the president is a christian with a similar amount in mississippi saying the same? >> well, martin, i think this indicates that not enough people are getting msnbc on their cable network. >> we obviously agree with that. it is disturbing, nevertheless. >> there is this strain through american politics. up towards of two-thirds of the american people believe that hussein was behind the september 11 attacks. people who inclined towards to be against the president in the first place are picking up that sort of information. it doesn't surprise me at all

there's an echo chamber down there. >> dr. peterson your reaction. >> we need leaders on the right to help lead folk into a better understanding that the other ring and this sort of fragmentation politics that people continue to engage around issues of race, gender and class are not useful or productive for the american body. we need leadership to underst d understand. what it does is minor folks that are racist helps to generate that hatred and some of the negative politics that we see sometimes. >> thanks so much. the president is indeed a christian. next, newt's must win or wins. stay with us. >> i like grits. i like cheese grits. i like grits with gravy. there's a number of way you can

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♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. newt gingrich is talking like he'll never, ever leave this race no matter the outcome tomorrow. he's vowing to turn his winter book tour into a spring and summer event as well. if he doesn't fair well new testament in the south and his billionaire backer decides to cut off the cash then this week may prove pivotal for mr. gingrich. judson, what is newt's plan here? if you look at the delegate distribution romney is 377. newt is at 112. i can't find anybody thinks newt

will win enough delegates to win the crowd. >> good afternoon. first of all, this whole primary situation for the republicans has been so volatile. it's been like nothing i've seen in my lifetime. >> you say it's been volatile. >> you say there's no path. >> you say it's been volatile. he's won two states. one was his home state. romney is three times to the better. come on. this hasn't been so volatile as to suggest that newt gingrich has at one point been ahead of the delegate count. he never has been. >> the only count that matters is at the end of the day when if one of these guys can get to 1144. newt has a couple of strategies. number one is win out entirely, which he may win alabama and mississippi tomorrow. if not plan b is he can block romney for getting 1144 delegates. it becomes very, very difficult

for mitt romney to reach that magic number. as far as con sefbtives are concerned, if we can't have gingrich or santorum, if we can block romney, that's still a win. >> wow. the gingrich campaign has started talk of a gingrich-rick perry ticket. the only response for that has to be run for the hills. >> i think it's great. it's some great outside of the box thinking. >> you think it's great. one can remember the promises he makes and the other makes ludicrous promises like $2.50 gas. you think that great? >> down here in real america we look at the idea of $2.50 and think you're not quite ambitious enough. you have stephen chew, the obama energy secretary who has said he would like to see $10 gallon gas and says reduces price s not a priority for the administration. those of us having to pay at the

pumpb unlike mr. obama, we think redousing gas prices is a priority. >> wow. they may be listening. what will newt gingrich's legacy to this campaign be if he does eventually have to drop out? will it just be some coded insults toward the president and the sale of children's book featuring an el p elephant? >> newt's legacy is great ideas. he's the guy that comes out with the ideas. romney, he's not talking about anything. the only thing i've been expecting for the last two weeks has been his joe pesi moment when he goes what's a grit. newt gingrich is the guy that is

getting up there. he's talking about how do we beat iran without the military. he's the candidate of ideas, which is, i'm rick santorum is not there and mitt romney is definitely not there. if you want to talk about what's his legacy going to be, that's what it's going to be. >> thanks so much. i still think you're going to have to buy me that steak dinner because i'm afraid to say that your candidate is not going to make it. that's my hunch. >> we may have to take that from a steak dinner to a big bowl of shrimp and grits. >> all right. game change. sarah palin and the unmasking of an utter fraud. concerns about the price of gasoline at the pump part of a lackluster day. 15 minutes left before the close. looking at the major averages, we see the dow up 35 points.

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tths not just american consumers paying for the high price in gas. president the president's approval rating dipped below 50%. this comes as tensions are mounting after yesterday's massacre, an event which could weaken the strained relationship. joining us now from the white house is nbc's kristin welker. the poll shows that now 54% of people want out of afghanistan. with the rising cost of gas, is

the president feeling pressure to speed up a withdrawal from afghanist afghanistan? >> reporter: the white house isn't admitting it at this point in time if he is. they just were peppered with a number of questions asking that very point. will this impact the timeline for withdrawal from afghanistan? carney insisting it won't impact the timeline. i'm going to read you a quote from him. he says "there are obviously difficult challenges we face in afghanistan. our interest is in not staying any longer than we have to." carney did admit there are a number of factors that will play into the troop withdrawal plan. right now, it's slated for 2014. you mentioned there's war fatigue, so that has to be weighing on this administration. >> looking behind you, i can see there's work going on for the visit of the british prime

minister. >> reporter: as you should be excited. the british prime minister is going to come here to the white house. he will get a formal welcome. a state dinner, the president is going to take him to an ncaa game in ohio. there's a lot of anticipation about that. but you can definitely bet, martin, that the main topic they will be addressing is the situation in afghanistan and looking at the timeline for withdrawal. >> and indeed, the british people are also extremely concerned about ongoing service in that country having seen the americans in relation to baghdad and iraq as well. kristen welker, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. >> next, sarah palin questions how well the president was vetted? wow. we clear the air when we come back. >> i think the notion of sarah palin being president in the united states is something that frightens me frankly. i love that my daughter's part fish.

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it's time now to clear the air. toward the end of last week, almost by coincidence given that the movie "game change" was about to be released, sarah palin went back to that tired old chestnut about the president not having been properly vetted. >> i do appreciate that these men are continuing to duke it out in the arena of ideas and are allowing themselves to be vetted. so thank you, gentlemen, running on the gop ticket. staying in there, allowing yourselves to be vetted by the media because they didn't do it when barack obama ran. >> now, i don't know very much about alaska's street cleaning or sanitation departments. i don't know if it's an entirely

privatized service or whether it's administered through a public/private partnership. but then i'm not seeking to run as governor of that state. if i were, i would take responsibility for understanding how waste disposal operates in alaska. consider sarah palin was on the ticket for the most important position on the planet. and here's just one devastating example of why she wasn't vetted at all. she's being asked in the movie about strains in the relationship between britain and the united states over the issue of iraq. her response is incredible. >> i think the united states has always maintained a great relationship with the queen and john mccain will continue to have an open dialogue with her. >> governor, the queen is not the head of government in england. she's the head of state. >> well then who is the head of

government? >> the prime minister. >> that scene has been confirmed as accurate by the man who was questioning sarah palin. he recalls the horror of learning that sarah palin knew absolutely nothing about one of ameri america's most important and historic allies. a nation that stood shoulder to shoulder with the united states during the first world war, the second world war, the gulf war, the iraq war, and in afghanistan. where one of the most important figures of 20th century history was britain's prime minister winston churchill. but according to sarah palin, it was the queen who governed the uk. and she says that the president wasn't properly vetted? as i said earlier, i know nothing about tdisposal of bodiy

waste in alaska, but i know crap when i see it. and you can flush that down the nearest toilet. thanks so much for watching. ari melber is in for dylan ratigan, who is not well today. i guess according to sarah palin, it shouldn't be david cameron who is visiting the white house this week, as prime minister of the united kingdom. >> we have a good shoi today looking at new film looking at the japan disaster and the incidents in afghanistan. >> go right ahead. >> thank you, martin. good afternoon to you. i'm ari melber in for dylan ratigan today. the big story today is the afghan mess. investigators say over the weekend,