candidate in a second. but i want to get your reaction to jeb bush throwing his weight behind mitt romney. this has to be a relief of sorts but also a disappointment for your campaign. >> well, i appreciate the opportunity to come on the show, thomas. congratulations to the romney camp for yet another endorsement. that's great for him. jeb bush and the bush family certainly have been supportive of romney. but as far as our campaign, we're doing this without the big name endorsements, without the establishment endorsement. rick is out there to get the endorsement of the american people. and he's doing very well doing that. it's not all about the endorsements from the people who represent the establishment. it's about going door to door, person to person, and that's what rick's doing. that's the important thing here. he's in louisiana right now launching off the big campaign effort there. we're expecting to do very well in louisiana. and that's what it's about, it's about winning over, as you said, the hearts and minds. it's about win over the hearts and minds of the people of this country, the conservatives. rick's the true conservative in

this race. he's doing that despite the fact that he's been outspent. we were outspent 21 to 1 in the shilg chicago area. but given the fact that mitt romney has the name id and the money manage, he should be talking away with every state. but he's not energizing the base, not rallying conservatives, not rallying the tea party groups. he's the one that had the advantage here. but he's not winning over the hearts and minds of americans and rick santorum is. >> is this a relief that jeb bush is not going to be entering this race? >> that's not a factor. it's not something that we've considered. rick is running his own race. he's doing very well -- >> you're not concerned about late entry after a candidate like jeb bush, people out there on the right said they wanted someone like him to throw his hat into the ring to give a contender to president obama. he'd have the power. >> rick's running his own race. what we're expecting to happen in short order is this is going to be a two-man race between mitt romney and rick santorum. what's going to happen is the real conservative, rick santorum, will come to the forefront.

we're urging conservatives and tea party groups to rally behind the conservative candidate in rick santorum because we need someone like him that will fight for limited government and reduce spending, not someone like mitt romney who is the prototype for obamacare. who stood for cap and trade and supported the wall street bailouts. those issues will be taken off the table if we elect mitt romney. we can't do that. we need someone like rick santorum who will fight for reduced spending and limited government. he will do that. >> alice, coming off of last night in illinois and now getting this jeb bush endorsement, the romney camp seems to have a lot of momentum moving forward, as you say, there's still a long way to go. however, it could start this parade of other voices coming out to urge your candidate to drop out of the race and newt gingrich was first to lead this charge. take a listen to him last night. >> governor romney had a pretty good day today. i think he took a step towards clearly proving he was the front-runner. senator santorum did not have a particularly good day.

this is the third time now he's tried out an industrial midwestern union state and not succeeded. >> alice, granted, newt has his own campaign issues. but talking about how your candidate is doing and like he brings up, in those industrial states and talking about the financial disparity between the santorum campaign and the romney campaign, do you guys have the momentum to take this all the way to tampa like you want? >> we certainly do. we're at the halfway point. this is the halftime of this long process. no one has gotten near the 1,144 required delegates. we are on tapped to do that. we've got our own map. you have to consider the fact that if this does go to an open convention, rick's got the advantage. the convention is going to have more conservative-leaning people as opposed to the regular primary voters. and that will sway in his favor. we've got many unbound delegates out there. those will go to the conservative candidate in rick santorum. we're optimistic.

we're a far cry from this -- anyone receiving 1,144. we feel that we'll give mitt romney last night. but as he gave us mississippi and alabama last week, we're looking ahead. we're doing well in louisiana. we've got rick's home state this pennsylvania coming up on our primary calendar. we're encouraged. this is a marathon, not a sprint. we're going to continue to do what he's been doing. get out there and reminding people he's the conservative candidate. heck not afford to elect a moderate to go against barack obama. we can't do that. mitt romney in particular, coming bon the anniversary of obamacare, we wouldn't have obamacare as we know it if it were not for mitt romney. he wrote the prototype for that and he advocated for it being on the national level. we have him in part to thank for having obamacare. we need to make sure that people understand that and rally behind rick santorum who is going to repeal and replace obamacare. >> alice stort, great to have you on with us this morning.

a little construction work going on behind you there? >> we're at the gettysburg location. they're breaking down the event from last night. >> they need to be a little more quiet around while you're skyping. thanks so much, alice. joining me is alicia menendez, tony fratto and john ralston. as our own mark murray. mark, let's talk about how this changes the dynamic with jeb bush coming out to give his endorsement to mitt romney. it answers a lot of questions about where this race is going. >> thomas, i'm not sure it changes the dynamic. but it's almost a cherry on top of his victory in illinois last night, very good news for the mitt romney campaign. but as alice was just mentioning to you, mitt romney hasn't had a problem with the republican establishment. they've been behind him. important to note that jeb bush's father has already endorsed mitt romney.

but i was actually struck by jeb bush's statement where he said that it's time for the republican party to unite around mitt romney. as we've seen, polls have shown that this republican primary season has taken a toll on its candidates, including romney. romney only has about $7 million in the bank. so you're seeing people saying, look, it's time to end this race. let's go to the general election. >> cherry on top, as you're saying. politico reporting today that party leaders have counseled mitt romney to focus more on the president, less on the people around him. the republican infighting. can mitt romney stay on message, get into april and through april, slow, steady, gaffe-free? >> he has not shown any message disciplined to date. it would behoove him to return to a focus on the economy rather than some of the social issues he's been dragged into. the more the republicans go back and forth between themselves, the less voters like them. >> tony, i want to talk to you about rick santorum, last night asking his supporters to stay

the course when he gave his own form of a gettysburg address after losing illinois. take a listen. >> so i ask each and every one of you to join us, to saddle up like reagan did in the cowboy movies. we're going to be back here in pennsylvania and we're going to pick up a whole boatload of delegates and close this gap and on to victory. thank you all very much. >> tony, how does he rehone the message, not to just get evangelicals on board and those are more socially conservative republican views, but more independents that want to get behind his message to see him go forward and be on mitt romney? >> if he wants to do that, he really needs to do it and talk much more strongly about the economic message. it's going to be a tough climb for him at this point even if he takes some delegates out of pennsylvania. pennsylvania's a lifetime away from now. it's a month away. there's a lot between now and then. it's a tough challenge for him and people are consolidating now

around romney and we're seeing that with the bush endorsement today. >> john, newt gingrich was coming out last night throwing some rotten eggs toward the santorum campaign yet he didn't pick up any delegates. however, he's got the biggest casino magnet in sheldon adelson cutting checks to his super pac. why does adelson continue to keep gingrich going in this one. it looks like gingrich is more and more like the little engine that can't. >> newt gingrich has received $16.5 million, that's the right number, from sheldon adelson and his family. they go back all the way to 1995 when adelson was in washington lobbying on the jerusalem embassy act and he and newt gingrich bonded over israel. after newt left the congress, adelson and he became closer. and adelson gave him about $7 million for his pac at the time. israel is the big issue there for adelson with gingrich.

but i can't imagine that those checks are going to keep flowing when gingrich is finishing in fourth place in the latest contests in illinois. i just don't see any more money coming from adelson, although i will say, thomas, that for most of us, $16.5 million might be a lot of money. for a guy with $25 billion, not so much. >> yeah, it's a night out on the town. as we talk about the money, romney, gingrich, both spent more than they collected in february. santorum ending the month with about 2 million bucks. as this goes on, the candidates becoming increasingly reliant on the super pacs that have formed behind them. but this money, will it continue to be unlimited or will it begin to dry up as candidates look less viable? >> as candidates look less viable, it will continue to dry up. but on the flip side, as it becomes clearer and clearer who will be the nominee, we all agree that's most likely to be mitt romney, you'll also see his supporters beginning to double down on his race, more money flowing in, that becoming competitive once again. >> tony, you agree with that?

>> i do. it's going to have to stop at that point. at that point, newt gingrich becomes less something like a nominee and a lot more like a nuisance. i think even newt gingrich for his own sake will not want to continue that. >> our political power panel this morning, thanks to all four of you. i appreciate your time. so there's still a lot on the agenda this morning. this specifically is catching attention of a lot of people across the country. calls for a police chief to be fired after the death of a florida teen. plus, what the victim's mom is saying about the alleged shooter and potential charges. to france, the suspect in a schoolhouse shooting remains in a stand-off with police. what the suspect has told police about a possible surrender. we take you there after this. h. let's go. from the crack, off the backboard. [ laughs ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up! oh! oh! so close!

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are holding a meeting with local florida residents looking into past alleged abuses by the sanford police department as the outrage grows over a young african-american teen's death. they're demanding the chief police in sanford be fired in the wake of trayvon martin's shooting, allegedly by a self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman three weeks ago. grief now snowballing into complete anger. this morning, despite the promise of grand jury and federal investigations, trayvon's family is in new york where they will participate in a million hoodie march later today demanding justice for trayvon. earlier on the "today" show, his mom said she can't eat or sleep until the alleged shooter, george zimmerman is arrested. >> this guy has not been arrested. i just feel like the sanford police department decided to decide if he -- they decided on the scene to be the judge and jury. i just want this guy arrested so he can be brought to justice.

>> just to recap, 17-year-old trayvon, by all accounts, a beloved and model teen was shot and killed while walking home from a 7-eleven, carrying skittles and an iced tea. a horrifying incident that was all captured on 911 tapes. >> 911, do you need police, fire or medical? >> maybe both, i'm not sure. there's just someone screaming outside. >> is it a male or female? >> it sounds like a male. >> you don't know why? >> i don't know why. i think they're yelling help, but i don't know. >> you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- >> there's gunshots. >> the alleged shooter, a self-appointed neighborhood watch leader remains free, yet his conduct, yet his motives, they're being questioned >> something's wrong with him. yeah, he's coming to check me out. he's got something in his hands. i don't know what his deal is.

>> okay, just let me know if he does anything else, okay. are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay. we don't need you to do that. >> he had no intention of getting back in his truck doing what the police instructed him to do. he kept pursuing trayvon martin. >> nbc's ron allen and joy ann reed join me live now from sanford, florida. ron, i want to start with you. bring us up to speed with where the case stands right now. >> we were just at the scene of the crime and there are some investigators from the state law enforcement division who were here. the first time we've seen them at the scene. they are stepping up their part of the investigation. the justice department, as you reported, is also going to become involved in this as well, the fbi. so that is encouraging to people in this community who feel that they've been betrayed by the local police department. there is a long history of animosi animosity, if you will, between the black community and law

enforcement here. and some people see this as not an isolated incident. the bottom line is that the investigations seem to be stepping up a bit. it's going to take some time. there's a long series of town halls and protests planned by this community trying to keep this on the agenda. >> as we talk about this being such a tragedy, it is launching a larger conversation for that area. joy ann, we know you're going to be attending this 12:00 p.m. meeting following a packed naacp town hall held last night. let's talk more about the tensions between the police department in this area and the sanford community as a whole. >> right. thomas, the incident that happened a year ago is resonating now with people who are looking at this incident as the continuation of a pattern. in that previous incident, the son of a police lieutenant got into a fight with and beat up a homeless man outside of a bar. he was then not arrested. actually the only way that that incident came to light was that the video leaked on youtube.

when the young man was questioned by police, he was not detained after he had called his father and the commander on the ground, the person who was the lead officer, negated the idea of taking him into custody. so there is a sense among a lot of people here that people who have some ties to the police get preferential treatment. there was also an incident in 2005 in which a security guard shot a black teenager and killed him. so there are just various instances where people here feel that the police or police connected to them get preferential treatment and the people within the african-american community are not valued, their lives are not respected. >> talking about the history and with the pressures that are mounting, not just only from the community but from the media pressure, the spotlight that's being put on this now, ron, what are the chances that george zimmerman will be arrested because of police pressure? >> it's hard to say, thomas. but i think those 911 tapes are the key to this case.

they were just released over the weekend. and remember this incident happened some three weeks ago. and nobody was really paying attention to it back then. the tapes really reveal a lot about what happened. the last part of the tape that you played where the dispatcher tells zimmerman not to follow the guy, that we can take care of this, essentially, that for many people is the most damning thing. zimmerman claims self-defense. people ask, how can you claim self-defense if you pursue someone and apparently initiate the contact because by every account, the young man was trying to get away, he was trying to go home to where his father and his father's fiancee were living, about 70 feet from where he died. that's the heart ft of the case. because those tapes are public, that's why there's so much anger and so much pain here. i have to believe that law enforcement has to respond to that in some way. >> ron allen and joy ann reed, thanks to both of you. we'll talk more about this. joining me now is charles ramsey, he is the police commissioner of philadelphia.

he was also d.c.'s police chief during the d.c. sniper shooting case. sir, it's nice to have you on with us this morning. as we talk about this and more of the details come to lightning, certainly it's a nightmare scenario for any parent. in law enforcement, this is certainly serious for them to face, considering what the community is now thinking about how they handled this. we've got a young black man walking on the street minding his own business, yet seen as suspicious by others and now this is the result. what's your reaction to the circumstances as we unearth more about this case? >> well, first of all, let me offer my condolences to the martin family. i can't imagine what they are going through right now, losing a child. i don't have a case file. so i don't know everything that took place. but i do know that this is beginning to take on a life of its own. and it's very important that the people responsible for the investigation get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible,

that there be good lines of communication between the public and the investigative agencies. so that we can somehow keep this from getting beyond where it is right now in terms of people getting involved in this particular case. you've got a lot of information spinning around, some may be fact shl, some may not be factual. >> george zimmerman, the man who allegedly pursued trayvon martin, he's on tapes with police. but he's basically being told to back off but he didn't. he kept pursuing trayvon. police say that he's made some 46 calls to police over the past 15 months. we have a sample of that. i want to play it for everybody. >> is he white, black or hispanic? >> black. >> what do they look like? white, black or hispanic? >> black males. two black males in their late teens.

there's two suspicious characters at the gate of my neighborhood. i've never seen them before. i have no idea what they're doing, hanging out loitering. >> can you describe the two individuals? >> two african-american males. this gentleman was walking in the neighborhood. i've seen before on trash days, going around picking up trash. i don't know what his deal is. >> is he white, black or hispanic? >> he's black. >> sir, as you hear this and learning that he's had this contact with police over the last 15 months, again, this self-appointed watch commander for his neighborhood, is this a guy that's looking to be a hero or an overzealous vigilante? >> i don't know the answer to that. we have neighborhood watch in many of our communities and they work very well with police. the bottom line is that police undergo hundreds of hours of training. much of that training revolves around use of force, whether verbal persuasion or deadly force, for that matter.

citizens don't get that kind of training. that's one of the problems when you look at gun laws and people being able to purchase guns and there's no requirement for any kind of training or anything and then you wind up with a tragedy and we wonder why. he's not a police officer. he is a civilian. and we train people that are involved in neighborhood watch, if you see something, call 911, let the police handle it. >> philadelphia police commissioner, charles ramsey. sir, nice to have you on this morning. >> thank you. on a very different note today, as we look into the technology world, the new ipad is pretty hot. we mean really hot and not just because of its record sales. news about the ipad coming up. carfirmation. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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talking about energy and domestic production. the gop super pac american crossroads is bombing the airwaves in those states with an ad targeting president obama. >> the president's playing politics. tell president obama, bad energy policies mean energy prices we can't afford. >> politico is reporting that protesters from both the energy industry and environmental groups plan to greet the president at stops along his tour. so of course we are keeping our eyes on the breaking political news right now that former florida governor jeb bush has thrown his support behind mitt romney. is this race all but over on the gop side? "the daily rundown" host chuck todd weighs in. and marriage equality opponents changing tactics. are they embracing civil unions? we'll talk about that after this. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

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i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions.

it had been put on hold and there were some significant figures. we keep pointing them out. s a first it was jeb bush, haley barbour, mitch daniels, the most powerful folks left in the establishment that hadn't picked a candidate. haley barbour saying, i voted for newt and sort of howled, open conventions, it's okay if the process is a little more opened. that sent a rough mixed signal. this potentially could be the beginning. i think you still -- you talk to even some of the romney folks,

they get that maybe santorum needs to see how he does in wisconsin. i think we're seeing there is a push among some republicans to simply end this thing. i would note, thomas, how jeb did this. no rally, no big event, a release and a tweet. >> do you think, though, chuck, that this is, while it's a relief to the gop contenders in this race now, it's a disappointment to people on the right that were hoping somebody like a jeb bush would still enter this race, even though it would be late? >> i think certainly there's some that are concerned about that. but i don't think jeb was ever going to be that candidate. i think the two names i always hear first are christie, daniels and then actually a paul ryan. you hear that first almost more so than jeb. the media was pushing the jeb angle more than anybody else on that front. but i do think -- i'll tell you this, did anybody ever think jeb was going to be for santorum and not romney? that's what was sort of odd about waiting.

i think jeb was waiting for a moment here. but, again, i find the way it was done fascinating. i'm picking up and i'm hearing this through other republicans that you have some of these major leaders of the republican party who may have an eye on running for the presidency someday want to be careful on how much they embrace mitt romney if the mitt romney support becomes a liability with republican voters someday. >> it's all about, what about me in the future? >> i know, itay it? >> "the daily rundown" host chuck todd. thanks so much. you can watch chuck every day, 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on msnbc. less than 30 minutes from now, naacp leaders will meet with sanford, florida, residents demanding justice for 17-year-old trayvon martin. the case is raising serious league issues about the conduct of the man who allegedly killed him and police actions right after the shooting. police released george zimmerman under what is known as a "stand

your ground" law, which experts say cuts wide legal slack for a person slaming self-defense. state legislators are now calling for a reexamination of that law in florida. one of 22 states to enforce such laws. edward hales joins me now. this is obviously a case that is gaining national attention. but it is amazing to see how many states carry this law, 22 in total. what are the immediate legal challenges that this sort of law will pose in trying a case like this? >> this is a painful and very ugly episode involving this young man, trayvon martin. and the law should be interpreted in such a way that it's looked at on a factual base. the facts in this case as they appear to be so far to those of

us who have heard the tapes and heard witnesses talk about what they saw, this "stand your ground" law does not appear to app apply. this appears to be a person who's a violent vigilante, prewired for racial profiling, stalking, hunting down an innocent young black male and shooting him to death. and so after being told by police dispatcher to stand down, as opposed to standing down, he actually got out of his car and stalked and hunted trayvon martin down. so the only person in this case that seems to have been -- to have this "stand your ground" defense available would have been trayvon martin. >> right. >> but trayvon martin did not have the deadly force to repel the force that was used -- >> no, he was carrying skittles and an iced tea. do these laws take control away

from police from trying to go after someone like george zimmerman, because this law exists, is this basically a "get out of jail free" card for him? >> in one sense, it is. but police have an obligation to investigate fully to see if deadly force was, in fact, what caused the person to take the action that they did. i think the most ardent supporters of these laws would agree that innocent black youth should not be killed by persons who use the law as a license to kill. these laws are not intended to protect people who are prewired for racial profiling. and that's what appeared to be the case with trayvon martin's tragic death. >> sir, thanks for joining me today. we appreciate your insight. here's a look at some other stories topping the news right now. the main suspect in a deadly

shooting at a schoolhouse in france remains barricaded inside an apartment in toulouse. he is identified as 24-year-old mohammed merah. he has kept hundreds of police at bay for hours now, talking with negotiators through a front door. he is suspected of several shootings that killed three jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers in the recent days. the suspect claims he was trained by al qaeda in pakistan and police in kandahar are refuting earlier reports that he spent time in prison there. the man has promised to surrender and threw a gun out of a window. but, again, negotiations do continue at this hour. attorneys for an army sergeant accused of killing 16 afghan civilians will journey to kandahar to question witnesses. the suspect, staff sergeant robert bales, sits detained in ft. leavenworth in kansas. bales' attorney discussed this case and how the war factors into his possible defense. >> there's no forensic evidence. there's no medical examiner's evidence. i think the war is on trial. i think the war should be on trial.

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>> right now as it stands, we have the freedom to marry in new hampshire. as a former marine and someone who served in iraq, i tell you i don't take freedom lightly. for me, this is a very personal fight. i have a gay brother who happens to be my best friend. the godfather to my daughter. and when i got married, he was standing right there next to me as my best man. and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. and i want to be there for him when he has that very same experience. >> the great thing about new hampshire, the model being "live free or die," new hampshireites believe in that. now, the organization does support civil unions for the state of new hampshire. explain the switch. >> the reality is that this bill takes us back to the status quo before special interest groups

from out of state put a lot of money into the new hampshire legislature to redefine marriage. so what this bill does is simply take us back to the status quo before where you did have civil unions. we support the legislature writing this great rung. the people of new hampshire did not want same-sex marriage. this was bought and paid for by a lot of money. and the fact is that many of those legislators who voted for this are now out of office. the people voted in the ballot box and had a historic change there where the republicans took over, 119 legislators were booted out and they were booted out because they took it upon themselves to redefine marriage. this bill will allow the people to have a vote through a referendum and will right this great wrong that was put on new hampshire not coming from the people but coming from out-of-state interest groups who tried to buy and pay for same-sex marriage in new hampshire. >> craig, how do you respond to that, going back to the satista

quo? right now the status quo is equality in marriage. what are the people of new hampshire saying to this? >> i think it's kind of funny when somebody out of state sits here and tells me how i should live my life in new hampshire. it really is an interesting thing. and i think that today you're going to see a real bipartisan push, republicans and democrats, that are on the side of freedom and liberty and understand that this is the "live free or die" state and what they're really voting on here is taking away rights from loving and committed couples. >> for the national organization of marriage, we've interviewed you before, you are in favor of civil unions. is this a white flag of surrender in a certain aspect, realizing that the flow, the tides are changing and that marriage equality is a reality? right now, it is a reality in eight states and the district of columbia. >> well, you refer to eight

states. two of those states will have r ref referenda coming up in november. every single time a state has had the chance, they've rejected same-sex marriage. there is no right to redefine marriage. it doesn't expand liberty to give the state the prerogative to redefine something as basic and common sense is that it takes a man and woman to make a marriage. that isn't about expanding liberty. that's giving the government to redefine something it doesn't have the right to redefine. i expect we're going to have a majority vote. i think it's going to be historic to have a state vote and have a majority vote to say, this was wrong, we made a tragic mistake two years ago and we're going to right that wrong. and i expect that we're going to see a victory today. governor lynch will likely override. we'll work to try and override -- governor lynch will

veto. we'll try to overwork that veto. but to have a majority vote, to set things right will be a great victory for those of us who know that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. >> brian, is it sometimes just exhausting for you and what the national organization of marriage does to try to stand against the tide of equality? is it exhausting? >> well, again, i see the tide moving in the direction of protecting marriage. when you've had 31 -- >> marriage is already protected. i don't see anybody from new hampshire coming on here saying over the past two years that their marriage broke up because marriage equality became legal in the state of new hampshire. how is marriage for new hampshireites been interfered with? >> when you redefine marriage, you redefine it for everyone, not just for that couple. you change what's taught in the public schools. there are plenty of people in new hampshire -- you can get representative bates or the folks from cornerstone to come on and talk about the very real

effects of what's changed in marriage. religious organizations have attempted to coerce them, shutting down catholic charities, adoption agency in boston because it cannot according to its religious beliefs place children with same-sex couples. these are fundamental constitutional questions. redefining marriage is not an expansion of liberty. it's a direct attack on the first amendment. >> craig stowell, brian brown, gentlemen, thanks for joining me today. we'll keep our eyes on what happens in new hampshire. happy 43rd anniversary and congratulations to mitt romney. it's now time for the sidebar. he stopped into the company's chicago offices yesterday to participate in a google plus hangout session. then during a tour where he met some of the employees, he had this to say -- >> how are you doing? >> nathan, pleasure to meet you. >> that's a big lava lamp. >> are you just looking at

things in the office and saying that you love them? do you really love the lamp or are you just saying it because you saw it? >> i love lamp. i love lamp. >> bad comparison but life imitating art, maybe? remember this scene from "anchor man." robert dinero says he didn't mean to offend anyone over his joke that america might not be ready for a white first lady. newt gingrich jumped all over that saying it was inexcusable. >> what dinero said last night was inexcusable. and the president should apologize for him. it was at an obama fund-raiser. it is exactly wrong. it divides the country. >> no direct response from the president. but his election campaign called the remark, quote, inappropriate. but de niro said, my remarks were not meant to offend anyone. in america, we believe in a future

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the sponsor of an idaho bill mandating ultrasound before abortions as ignited a firestorm with comments about rain and pregnancy. and it happened as idaho state senator chuck winder was addressing opponents of that bill who said it provided no exemptions for cases of incest or rain. winder said he hoped a doctor would ask a woman "was this pregnancy caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by rain?" state representative sher re-buckner webb who has been openly critical of winder's comments joins me live this morning. as we talk about the statements that winder made, he has since said he didn't mean to question the truthfulness of rain victims, but i do understand that you're saying that doesn't diminish the incense activity of his comments or the basis of his

comments. >> absolutely right. thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk with you. it's those kind of comments that continually put women on the defensive when they have been raped, going through this terrible situation and someone says was it really rain. i mean, it just goes to the core of a second assault. >> so hot button issues around the country have been concerned with these ultrasound mandates. a new quinnipiac poll in virginia found that 52% opposed that state's new law. what's your reaction to so many states debating that legislation about abortion and women's rights? >> i have to tell you i'm really, really really concerned and disappointed from the standpoint of women are perfectly capable to make very difficult situations -- make decisions on their own. they're competent, they're capable. we've been doing it for a long time. it's like stepping back into the 1960s. >> in a state where this is actively a conversation and you being on the forefront of this,

on the ground there especially in the state legislature, do you feel it's correct to say not only in idaho but around the country, there is a war on women? >> i absolutely concur. >> idaho state representative cherie buckner webb. thanks for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> that's going to wrap it up for me today. i'm going to see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern every weekday morning. till then, you can follow me on twitter @thomas a roberts. now with alex wagner comes your way next named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month.

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mitt romney takes illinois, and finally gets an endorsement from jeb bush. ladies and gentlemen, let the coalescing begin. it's wednesday, march 21st and this is now". joining me steve kornake of salon.org, the legendary former rnc chair michael steele,

formerly of the jon 2012 girls, abby huntsman livingston and hugo lind gren of "the new york times" magazine. four hours ago, the headline was mitt romney won illinois. so what? that was the washington post. but in the last hour with jeb bush now in romney's pocket, the party appears to be coalesce. joining us now from washingtoning is "time" magazine senior political analyst the cheshire cat of american politics mark halperin. thanks for joining the program. >> meow. thank you, alex. mark, this morning your headline in "time" magazine read, romney's illinois victory signals an end to the gop primary. very final. it was changed a few hours later to say romney's illinois victory may signal an end to the gop primary after jeb bush's endorsement. are you guys ready to change the "time" magazine headline back? >> we are not. the internet is not that