hello, high noon here in the east, 9:00 a.m. in the west. here are the first ever fi stories trending this hour. new twists in the trayvon martin case. president obama's north korea warning. over easy in the big icy. tim tebow gets wicked. and a lyme disease warning. you'll hear more throughout this hour. but first -- new twist in the trayvon martin case today. for the first time we're hearing from a friend of admitted gunman, george zimmerman. also today, a more recent picture of george zimmerman from a mortgage firm where he worked as a loan review analyst. >> through his family members, i learned that right after the shooting, he couldn't stop crying. he's at the point now where he's just now realizing not just how big this is for him, but how big this is for the country.

>> it's always been my opinion that he's been in danger from someone, for the whole time. and i think to not take that seriously would be a mistake. and i think he's been advised by law enforcement and by me to keep a low profile until you know, we get something resolved. because i believe his life is in danger. >> nbc's ron allen is live in sanford, florida. hello to you. that is an issue with this man having to hide out now for safety concerns. >> exactly, alex, he's afraid for his life, according to his attorney and his friend there. and the passion, anger and outrage continues to boil here and across the country. people demanding his arrest. but there's now a are very aggressive counteroffensive, a pu push-back from the zimmerman camp, trying to dell the other side of the story. they insist there's a lot to this case that the public

doesn't know. insist that he's not a racist and that he was acting in self-defense that night. one of the main aspects of that self-defense claim are the injuries that they say zimmerman sustained in they way was an attack by trayvon martin. here's more from the attorney and zimmerman's close friend. >> what i can reveal right now, i don't want to litigate the case in the media. >> sure. but george zimmerman suffered a broken nose, an injury, a gash to the back of his head there were grass stains on the back of his shirt. he claims that trayvon martin struck him and he went down and he was acting in self-defense. >> the sanford police department is trying to make sure they did everything right and i think that's why you saw them pass it on to the state's attorney general. who passed it on to another state's attorney. now that's why we have this grand jury hearing. sanford has a history of racism. >> and that's why he says that the police thoroughly investigated this case.

because of that past history. at least that's their point of view. they also point out that trayvon martin is 6'3", 140 pounds, a tall, very slim kid. and they say that zimmerman was looking up to him, in their confrontation. now again, we can't confirm all that and we don't know exactly what happened there between the two of them. but this was the story that the zimmerman camp is trying to get out there. that he is an innocent victim and that the public just doesn't really know what happened there that night. alex? >> ron, clearly there's always two sides to every story and i'm curious, the extent to which you think people there locally are hearing the george zimmerman side of things. is that resonating at all? >> i think people are hearing what they heard on the tapes. and a lot of what people heard on the tapes seems to contradict or contradict what the zimmerman side of the story is. basically, people, the question is, why did he get out of the car? why did he confront trayvon

martin? the answer to that is really not been told by the zimmerman camp. they say that if trayvon martin had identified himself and said that he was going to visit family in the complex, there wouldn't have been a problem. but i guess the question that so many people have, and the perception that so many people have is that here was a man who was armed with a gun. who was a neighborhood watchman, who was acting at best, over zealously. and that that action initiated the confrontation. and that's the hard part that a lot of people just can't seem to get by. and they can't seem to understand how that leads to self-defense. >> indeed. that's the question being asked. thank you very much for bringing it up, ron allen. so what is next in this story. protesters plan to gather outside the sanford city commission meeting tomorrow night where trayvon's parents will address lawmakers. also tomorrow, rallies planned across the country, including a solidarity rally at the u.s. department of justice. and a task force is preparing to

review the state's stand your ground law. here's a question for you, are you concerned about vigilante justice in the trayvon martin case? talk to me on twitter. i'll read your tweets throughout the morning here on the broadcast. from there now to front page politics and the white house trying to hit mitt romney where it hurts, his massachusetts health care law. an adviser making comparisons to the president's law passed two years ago. >> mitt romney's the godfather of our health care plan, okay? if he's president, remarkably he's running away from that past. and he's going to say he's going to try to throw all of this away. we're going to have a big fight about health care again. we know we have to do it for our economy, for the deficit, for the health and safety of the american people. >> rick santorum is celebrating a big victory today, he swept to an easy win in the louisiana republican primary on saturday, taking the state by a wide margin. the final results here, santorum received 49% of the vote, mitt romney finished with 27%.

we'd love to see the numbers, but take my word for it, 49-27, followed by newt gingrich and ron paul. santorum was campaigning in wisconsin last night and thanked supporters. >> we talked about how we had a candidate that didn't have their public policy positions sketched on an etch-a-sketch. but it was sketched on our hearts, because i'm not running as a conservative candidate for president. i am the conservative candidate for president. >> again with the etch-a-sketch. anyway you see the numbers, 49 to 27% santorum over romney. joining me now a reporter for real clear politics, erin pie. first up you heard the president's senior white house adviser calling mitt romney the godfather's president's health care plan. objectively first off is it true? and then is this the kind of attack that can work in the general election?

>> yes and yes. the national health care law was based largely off of what mitt romney was able to get done in massachusetts. so yes, he did create the model for national health care. that's true. and will it be an attack in the general election? yes. because they don't want mitt romney to be able to galvanize the right on that issue. though they already are. they want neutralize that issue going into the general election. so health care, comes off the table and they can talk about other issues. so, yes, it will be an issue. >> okay. let's take a look at louisiana. what really doesn't move the needle too much in the gop race. but as we look ahead, the next primary is taking place april 3rd, in washington, d.c. maryland and wisconsin. where do we stand right now in this competition? >> i think it's coming to an end. mitt romney looks like he's going to wrap it up eventually. but rick santorum is still in the race. newt gingrich and ron paul are out there, they're not getting

much attention. it's pretty clear that newt gingrich and ron paul are not going to be the nominee. rick santorum probably won't be, either. it's probably going to be mitt romney. but he has to finish out these contests with rick santorum at least for another month or so. >> i know that rick santorum took off from louisiana, headed you will to wisconsin the does he have a chance in any of these three upcoming contests? >> only wisconsin. he's not even on the ballot in the district of columbia. he could try to campaign in maryland, but that's looking like a mitt romney stronghold. so his only shot is wisconsin. but even that might be tough for him. because the republican electorate in wince wsconsin is as conservative in some states he's been winning like alabama, mississippi and louisiana. >> in your latest article in real clear politics, you write about the endorsements being key for some of romney's narrow victories. tell us about that. >> well a couple of those endorsements were erin shock in illinois, and also, rob portman

in ohio. and the real reason behind that is that the romney campaign did not expect the primary to go on as long as it has. so what they've been able to do with these endorsements is get these figures, these political figures to tap into their own organizations and help bring out the vote in some of the areas. rob portman is originally from cincinnati, ohio, which was supposed to be an area that was strong for rick santorum. but with portman's help, romney was able to overperform in those regions. same thing with aaron shock in eorria, illinois. downstate, more rural region of illinois outside chicago, he's been using these people to help get out the vote. >> and the romney campaign following their advice, as you describe it, just down to the tee. okay, thank you so much aaron, see you again. next coming up on the campaign calendar, those primaries in washington, d.c., maryland and wisconsin, they happen april 3rd. connecticut, delaware,

pennsylvania, april and rhode island. at this moment, former vice president dick cheney is recovering after undergoing a heart transplant. mr. cheney has been on a transplant list for 20 months and doctors say his prognosis is good. nbc's chief medical editor, dr. nancy snyderman is speaking to me by phone. this is a far from routine operation for anybody, let alone a man of dick cheney's age. how long does it take to perform this sort of surgery and how long is it? >> the difficulty, frankly is finding the appropriate match and that's why he was on the list for 20 months. which is little longer than the average. and then as you well know, getting the right tissue type. because you want to minimize any chance of or minimize the chance of rejecting this organ because it really is a foreign body from one person to another. the technical aspects of taking a heart out of one person and sewing it into another interestingly, is, is rather routine at this point and only takes a few hours.

but then the critical time of the intensive care unit, making sure that the fluids are balanced, no risk of infection and long-term, cardiac rehabilitation. and putting vice president on anti-rejection medications. and that's a life-long bout of medicines to minimize the chance that he will reject this heart. >> dr. nancy, with regard to the heart problems that he has suffered, with this new heart, does all of that go away? or are there some long-term complications that, that are there that will never go away? because of the issues with the heart? >> when your heart is diseased for as long as it was this his case, he had his first heart attack at the age of 37 and was in end-stage heart failure. there was no other option for dick cheney at this point. the long-term problems for him may be wear and tear on other organs because his heart was pumping so effectively. but because he has superb care and was in otherwise decent

shape, people are estimating that he has a 70%, five-year chance of surviving. that's markedly better than his 0% chance, you know, given his current status. so it was either this or nothing. and most people are pretty optimistic that he should do well. >> well dr. nancy snyderman, we appreciate your keen insights, thanks. more on the death of trayvon martin, we'll hear from philadelphia mayor, michael nutter. who has characterized this as an assassination. [ female announcer ] the best things in life are the real things.

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the calls for justice in the trayvon martin are growing louder. tomorrow is the one-month anniversary of his death. there's calls for change in the gun laws in the so-called stand your ground legislation and many

say the laws target minorities. for reaction i'm joined by philadelphia mayor, michael nutter. mayor nutter, thank you for your time. i'm glad you're here. >> thank you, alex. >> i would like to get your overall take on the incident, some 29 days since the shooting. >> alex, let me first say that all of us certainly here in philadelphia, regardless of who you are, sercertainly we want t address our deepest sympathies to sabrina and tracy, trayvon's parents. i'm the father of a young girl and young man, and it's unimaginable what they must be going through. these kinds of incidents are certainly outrageous. president obama has spoken about this. i agree with his statements. i've called this nothing short of an assassination. there was no reason for that individual, zimmerman, to do what he did. trayvon was not doing anything. was not a threat based on all

the information and evidence and nine one one tames that have been released. it's inkprees hencomprehensible individual would do something like this. >> may i ask you, sir, the word "assassination" there are those who will hear that and think that is a very strong term. why do you use that term specifically? >> he, this individual zimmerman, followed trayvon for some period of time. again, trayvon was not a threat to him. he wasn't doing anything to him. and here's a young boy out, he had skittles and a bottle of iced tea. clearly, zimmerman was told not to continue any kind of pursuit. that's the police are for, if you have that kind of incident. so in my view at least, he tracked him done. he followed him and shot and killed him. and so, i said what i said, i

meant what i said because i do feel that strongly about it. and the police down in that city certainly need to get to the bottom of it. and i know there there are a number of investigations. and i'm pleased that attorney general eric holder and folks at the department of justice are taking on this matter. we need to know what happened. why it happened. why this individual has not yet been arrested. almost a month to the day of this incredible trajsdy. he's still running around free. and trayvon martin is dead. >> i'm going to ask you to project. and should george zimmerman be arrested, should there be a trial and should he not be convicted of some type of murder charge, do you think that the unarrest would be quelled in this country as a result of having gone through the legal system? >> well, there were of course a lot of if's in there, alex and i understand we have to try to

look into the future. i think a lot of it depends on what happens during the course of all of those scenarios. that you laid out. what's the quality of the investigation? what was the trial like? what did the police do or not do? there are a ton of unanswered questions. but the reality here is that there is unrest because what hasn't happened. this individual, based on all the information, clearly should be in police custody. that's the first failing in the aftermath of his actions. and so that's a part of the reason why there is so much unrest of the because no one can understand why a person like that is running around the streets, over there in the first place. >> and mayor nutter, what do you think the racial tension in sanford and the national reaction says about the bigger picture of race relations in our country? >> well, alex, i mean unfortunately, we cannot and should not, must not ignore the

racial elements of this or the fact that race is just an issue. here in the united states of america. don't forget that you know, four years ago, then-candidate senator barack obama made an historic speech on race right here in philadelphia. and so we should confront these issues head-on. these are the kinds of issues that really do rise to the level of national debate. the issues of crime and their impact in specifically in the african-american community. and black on black crime. that's why i'm so focused on that particular issue. there are unfortunately any number of young people and not so young who are killed in our streets, almost on a daily basis. whether in philadelphia or in new york or los angeles or chicago, anywhere across the country we must come to grips with the issue of violence, its disproportionate, negative impacts on african-americans and specifically, frrp males. >> i want to focus on that.

because it's been a topic relative to cities united, with which you've been affiliated and i know you're the vice president in the u.s. conference on mayors. you're the leading voice on violence and illegal firearms, what are you doing with that? >> cities united and open institute society. the knight foundation, a number of great mayors across the country, including mitch landrieu from nurns and myselne orleans focus on violence targeted to african-american males, often by other african-american males. we're trying to get to the heart and soul of what's going on with violence and use of illegal weapons. you can look at every major city in the united states of america all of which strugle with issues of violence and specifically in

the african-american community. most often with illegal guns and black-on-black crime is a significant component of that crime. it is almost a genocidal kind of behavior. which we also need a national discussion about. there should be congressional investigations about these issues. and so cities united is about stopping the violence in our country. but again, do not ever want to take any attention away from there was a young boy who was minding his business, a young african-american male, 17 years old, no bad history, good kid, based on everything that we know. and this guy, on his own, shoots him down with no logic, no reason. and no response from the law enforcement officials down in florida. and people are not going to stand for this. and all of us have to speak out. let our voices being heard that

guy needs to be arrested. he needs to be in police custody and go through that particular process and people will not rest until there is some justice on behalf of that young man. trayvon martin, and many, many other young people across the united states of america. especially african-american males. >> philadelphia mayor, michael nutter, i want to thank you very much, sir, for your thoughts both on trayvon martin and sharing the latest with cities united. appreciate it. now number five on our first five stories trending list, it is lyme disease. blood-sucking ticks spread the disease, they are normally dormant this time of year. but a new report from scientists says the mild winter we've had combined with a bumper crop of acorns has a lot of ticks out of hibernation early. white mice love acorns, they feed off the mice, which means the tick population in the northeast could explode. heads up, everyone. ♪

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it's time now for another edition of number ones, first, i-village.com's rating the best and worst states for women in america the the most important factors include access to health care and the economy. the best state? connecticut, scoring particularly well in employment and on the number of women with health insurance. and the dubious distinction of being the worst state goes to mississippi, the highest rate of female poverty in the nation. more statements, if you will, georgia is the most corrupt state in a new ranking by 27wall street.com. the least corrupt, new jersey thanks to some of the toughest ethics laws in the land and illinois becomes the first state in the nation to let you buy lottery tickets online. but you have to be from illinois to do that. speaking of tickets, "the hunger games" earned $68 million on friday for the best opening ever for a film that's not a sequel. on pace to make $160 million

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out again to continue the shooting spree. defense attorney john henry brown tells us this has been the government's theory from the beginning. and of course, brown says that bales has no memory of the incident. he can remember things before the incident. he can remember things afterward. but he has no memory of the incident itself, alex? >> okay. so from there now to the money. how did we get that money and do we know where it came from? how much they got? what are the details on that? >> there is a fund. i mean there has been a fund in afghanistan, the military has been paying compensation to people for not only for injuries, for deaths, for damage to property. that sort of thing, we're being told that they're paying about $50,000 each to the families of the dead. there's 17 dead. and about 11,000, $12,000 to the

victims who were shot, but have survived. there were six in that category. and this is something that's important to them culturally. that there is compensation made in the afghan culture. and as i say, it's something that the you state has been doing all along in these sorts of cases and not only these cases where someone has died, but in the case where someone's property has been damaged. alex? >> okay. so i mean do we, i'm curious, how this all happened. do they bring these families on base and literally hand them cash? checks? i mean it's -- >> in the past, i don't know about this particular case. but if it follows the pattern in the past, teams go out into the field and visit these people. and make an apology in person, and then deliver the money, i've seen reports on the wires, we have not, don't, can't confirm this directly. from the villagers themselves, they're being told this money is

from president barack obama, to help them and to compensate them and in a way to apologize to them for what has happened. alex? >> thank you very much. john yang there outside of fort leavenworth, in kansas. well president obama is in south korea today, talking about north korea's nuclear program. today the president visited the demilitarized zone between north and south korea. he got a look through binoculars as north korea right on the other side of the dmz. at a press conference later, mr. obama and the south korean president called on north korea to cancel a planned rocket launch. >> last month, north korea agree dodd a series of steps including a moratorium on long-range missile launches. this month, north korea announced its intention to conduct a missile launch. as president lee mentioned, this would constitute a direct violation of pyongyang's own commitments and its international obligations, moreover, it would deepen north korea's isolation, damage further its relations with its

neighbors and seriously undermine the prospects of future negotiations. >> starting tomorrow, the president attends a summit meeting on nuclear security that will happen in seoul. and while he was at the dmz, the president signed a brick in the american soldiers dining room. let's go to strategy talk on nbc's "meet the press." david plouff took aim at the achilles heel. >> he's the godfather of our health care plan. if he's president, remarkably he's running away from the past and he's saying he's going to try to throw all of this away. we know we have to do this for our economy, for the health and safety of the american people. >> the latest national poll shows president obama ahead of republican front-runners, mitt romney and rick santorum. but we have only seven months until the election. karen finney, former dnc

communications director, and susan del purse yoe, an msnbc contributor. i'm going to ask you both to take a look at this picture from 2006. you're going to see here, this is then-massachusetts governor, mitt romney, signing the state's health care reform law as ted kennedy looks on approvingly with a smile there. national health care now is headed to the supreme court. that happens tomorrow. so what role do you think it would play in a president obama-mitt romney election? i'll let you have first crack at that karen. >> yeah, mitt romney doesn't look like anybody's twisting his arm, does he, to make him do this. he's smiling, it looks all good. i think david plouffe said it best, he's the godfather of this plan. it really takes a lot, many of the core criticisms of the right off the table. despite the fact that mitt romney has continuously tried to say well, it was just for, in my state and i think every state should you know, do what they

think is best, you know, this idea of the individual mandate, which was parts of his law, which will be one of the pieces that will be discussed this week. i mean that is really a core issue for conservatives. and the truth is, mitt romney cannot run away from the fact in his record of the things he said and the things that he did as governor particularly when it comes to romney care being a precursor to the affordable health care act. >> susan, your thoughts on all this, how is it going to play in an election? >> i think it's not going to be the central part of the election. everyone has been talking about whether it's gas prices or the economy or a combination of both. i don't think anyone walked into this thinking it's going to come down to obama care for the presidential race. but it is an issue for romney and has been for the primary. and it will potentially continue to be, unless he really kind of clarifies his position. but let's face it, the supreme court case will really set the tone going forward and we don't know what we're going to see there. so until june, we really can't decide how this issue is going to play out.

>> tell me, susan, if not obama care, what are the vulnerabilities of the gop will be focusing on? >> i think they're still going to go to the economy. my guess is you're going to see gas prices and we know that it's not necessarily the president's responsibility to keep gas prices low. but it always does fall on the president of the united states, regardless of each party. but it's this country going in the right direction. >> okay. karen, your thoughts on that? how the campaign fights back against those, the economy, gas prices? >> you got it. look, a couple of things, number one, for mitt romney, the other problem about the health care debate, is that it plays into whether you want to say flip-flop, etch-a-sketch, pick your campaign to you, it undermines his credibility. because he said one thing, then he did another. then he's saying this thing, but yet he had done another. that's really a fundamental problem. one of the things that's important to remember, it's the issues that matter absolutely. voters want to feel like can i trust you? are you honest and trustworthy,

do i believe you're going to-day do what you say you're going to do. whether or not you agree with president obama, he's done what he said he was going to do. when it comes to the economy, all of the trends are moving in the right direction. and all that mitt romney is offering is really the same policies that got us into this and there's no sort of parallel universe where you can say, see, if we would have done it there way things would be so much better. instead what we know is by following those policies we got ourselves in trouble. i think that's where the fundamental argument is going to come down. >> susan, wath to look at virginia, because until 2008 that state had not voted democrat in a presidential election since 1964. there's a new poll out that gives president obama an 8% lead over mitt romney in virginia do you think we're seeing a demographic shift in the south that dooms the gop there? >> we've been seeing a demographic shift in the south for the last five to ten years. i think we're going to see a lot

of things change in the next seven months and virginia may become problematic for romney if he's the nominee. although he would probably have the best record going in there. >> okay. karen, susan, ladies, many thanks, good to see you both. >> for more analysis, head to nbc politics@msnbc.com. a massive demonstration on behalf of trayvon martin is expected outside the sanford, florida city commission tomorrow. trayvon's parents and their attorneys have met with the florida special prosecutors recently assigned. the parents say they may file a civil suit against the homeowners association. so far, martin's girlfriend has not given a statement to police she apparently was on the phone with him at the time of the shooting. meanwhile, a more recent picture of zimmerman has surfaced from a former employer, florida officials say they know where he is hiding but they won't say where. and for the first time we're hearing from a friend of zimmerman. here's what he said on the "today show." >> no one knows what actually

started the altercation. we know that george was working as a neighborhood watch captain in a neighborhood that had a rash of burglaries. he's at the point now where he's just now realizing not just how big this is for him, but how big this is for the country. >> joining me live from miami is "miami herald" correspondent, frances robles, thanks for joining us. you heard from zimmerman's friend there on the "today show," what's your reaction to what he's saying? >> it surprises me about that is that we haven't heard those voices before. it's been nearly a month and really there was only one neighbor sticking up for george zimmerman all this time. for me, it's telling because in the past these kinds of incidents, these racially-charged incidents have divided our society. in this case, you're seeing the opposite. you're seeing it uniting our

country. >> you make a good point there. do you think because of what you're saying, that the clamor was so loud, and so one-sided, this those other voices didn't have a venue with which to be heard? >> i think they had a venue. i know i personally knocked on every door in that neighborhood. so certainly they could have come forward. i think sure, you're absolutely right that there is a sense at least that i have as a journalist, that the accepted narrative that we went into this in the beginning has somehow got muddled. in the beginning, it was an accepted narrative that these two got into a fist fight hustling on the floor and trayvon was winning and that's why george took his gun out. somehow in all the weeks and talks and all the pundits, that went away and it turned into a george zimmerman was a vigilante who hunted this boy down. i think we need to take a deep breath and say, what happened here. even if it happened in the way that george zimmerman said it

happened, was it justifiable homicide. >> how damning do you think for george zimmerman the 911 tapes are one when hears in his own words, that he is following trayvon martin and you hear the operator say, sir, we advise you not to do that. >> i think it's going to be terribly problematic for him. he is going to argue and he has argued to the police that when they say don't follow him any more. that he stopped following him. so who is to stay that he continued. and who's to say that he didn't. but the fact of the matter is that the entire scenario is borne of george zimmerman. so the question that's going to be duked out in a courtroom is, does stand your ground apply when you created the situation where the altercation took place, even if the other guy took the first punch. >> frances, zimmerman's legal adviser spoke and this is what he said. >> i think he's been advised by law enforcement and by me to keep a low profile until things,

we get something resolved. because i believe his life is in danger. >> he is in a place that law enforcement can find him and speak to him. >> i'm able to make contact with him and law enforcement has as well. >> have you seen him in person? >> i have not seen him in person. >> nobody has said that george zimmerman is in the sanford area or still in the country. there's rumors that he's fled the country. what do you know of his whereabouts and the best-case scenario of where he is. >> the police chief told me they know how to reach him. what struck me about some of the early interviews that the attorney gave, i got the sense he has no idea where george zimmerman is. he said i don't know where he is. and he said, well, he's in the area. you got the sense he thinks he's in the area because he's reachable. when i'm in haiti, i'm still reachable. you call my cell and it rings and i answer that. i don't think there's anything wrong with that. george zimmerman has not been charged with a crime and he's a

fugitive and i think he's well-advised to be laying very, very low. there's some very irresponsible chatter out there in the community in terms of putting a bounty on his head. it's a good idea for him to stay put wherever he is. >> frances robles of the "miami herald." the return of the mad men. and the supreme court tackling health care reform. this week a guide to what we can expect after this. ok, guys-- what's next ? chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one. small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon.

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♪ ♪ ♪ did you miss me while i was gone ♪ ♪ did you want to kiss me when you were alone ♪ >> well, "mad men" returns for its fifth season premiere. we head into the heart of the '60s, viewers can still expect a healthy dose of cocktails, lucky strikes and all the rest. joining me, michael hogan, executive he hadder for the huff huffi huffington "post." >> it's two full hours, it starts a bit slow. you kind of getting reacquainted with these characters. and then it takes off. the second hour is really fun and funny. but i'm not allowed to say anything about it beyond very general stuff. i think people will be happy. >> we know that matt winert is very controlling, he doesn't want certain things let out. a question that was posed in the

makeup room were if we haven't watched it before this season, can you start watching it now and figure it out pretty quickly? >> i think you probably -- are going to be a bit confused. you're not going to get all the levels that are happening on it. i mean it's still an enjoyable show. you can have friends say, that's a don and he's drinks too much and but everybody loves him, anyway. and so on. but i think it does reward that long-term watching. which is pretty easy to do now. most episodes are on netflix. and these will be eventually. it's also a great show to watch like a lot of these great recent shows of recent years, a great show to watch in five, six-hour bursts on netflix. like close the shutters and go nuts. >> hone in on it all. with regard to all the topics, the culture of the 1960s, this show does a pretty good job of capturing that. do you see it changing and being accurate with the time it will reflect, mid '60s as opposed to

the beginning of the '60s. >> matt winert and his whole team are so meticulous, they even removed a song from the end of the episode. because someone pointed out it didn't come out until six months after the timeframe of that episode. but they do it very subtly. one of the great things about the show is it's a new take on the '60s, we're so used to seeing these kind of, it was a wild era of assassinations and woodstock and hippies and all that stuff. and that's certainly part of the '60s. but this is almost the establishment's view of those changes. you see don and roger, a lot of the countercultural people are presented as almost kind of callow and silly. and yet at times, you know that there's a reason why this world ended. and maybe why it had to end. >> are you going in front of the tv, 9:00 to 11:00? >> absolutely. >> me, too. >> i'll see you on twitter. now number four or our first

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tomorrow the u.s. supreme court will start considering the constitutionality of president obama's health care reform. it's been two years since the president signed it into law. the high court justices will start hearing oral arguments monday in a case that may decide the future of the landmark legislation. joining me is legal analyst lisa greene, good to have you back. the court has three days of scheduled hearings. what parts of the law will they likely consider? >> this is a 2700 page law, it's exceedingly complex, the court will focus on four issues, tomorrow, a threshold issue, can the court even determine the

constitutionality of the law. tuesday they move to the heart of the matter, the so-called individual mandate. the requirement people buy insurance. is it constitutional or not? on wednesday, two more issues, first, if that's unconstitutional, can the rest of the law be enforced? and finally there's a provision in the law to expand medicaid, is that constitutional. >> is there any chance at the end of monday, things could be wrapped up because they could find not being able to make this decision? >> that's something that they're going to reserve judgment on. and both of administration and the opponents of the law both agree that the law should go forward, the supremes should continue to decide whether or not it's constitutional. >> the individual mandate is what's at the heart of the law overall. what are the arguments before and against the mandate? >> this is the fundamentally-fascinating issue of the scope of the law. opponents say congress does not have the authority to force you to buy insurance if that is something you wouldn't ordinarily do. people who support the law say

wait a minute, no matter what, buying insurance or not buying insurance, we're all purveyors of health insurance. >> i know you're not going to predict the case, but are there clues based on how well you know the supreme court justices as individuals that you can tell which way they'll vote? settle here's another way to look at that. you're right, i don't have a crystal ball. a couple of the decisions in lower courts that have supported the constitutionality of the law, both came from conservative judges. so this may be one of those cases that doesn't fall along the usual 5-4 liberal versus conservative lines. >> what about the states in which there have been 28, i believe, who filed suit over these laws? how does that play into it? >> everyone is waiting for the supreme court. it's almost as if all of these states have wildly different views of what should happen and the supreme court, like parents are going to come in and solve this fight amongst all these states. >> i know you'll be watching averilly. you can come back and wrap it for us when it's done.

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justice and the florida special prosecutors who were recently assigned. the parents say they may file a civil suit against the homeowners association. nbc's ron allen is live in sanford, florida. ron, another hello to you, good day, what's the latest from there? >> well, we're hearing about a lot of protests. popping up around the country and here as well in sanford. people still voicing their outrage, their concern, there's been a lot of talk about this in black churches throughout the community. throughout the country today. about the demand for justice for trayvon martin. but you're right, the story of the day is also about the zimmerman camp, speaking out more forcefully, insisting that he acted in self-defense. here's what his attorney and friend had to say this morning on "today." >> what i can reveal, i don't want to litigate the case in the media we'll litigate it in court. but george zimmerman suffered a broken nose, an injury, a gash to the back of his head there were grass stains on the back of his shirt. he claims that trayvon martin

truck him and he went down and he was acting in self-defense. >> the sanford police department is trying to make sure they did everything right. i think that's why you saw them pass it on to the state's attorneys general and now another state's attorney and sanford has a history of racism. >> zimmerman supporters insist there's a lot of evidence out there that the public is not aware aboutth and they insist that the public has not known about zimmerman. they're trying to figure in gaps and paint a different portrait of him. alex? >> nbc's ron allen, thank you very much. coming up in 15 minutes from now, we're going to speak with florida representative, fredricka wilson. martin was killed in the congressional district that she represents. a big win in the big easy for rick santorum. he placed first in louisiana's republican primary. the former senator celebrated last night in wisconsin where he is now campaigning this weekend.

>> you don't believe as the pundits have said that the race is over. you didn't get the memo that the -- that the -- we're still here. we're still fighting. >> here's a look at the final results, rick santorum at 49%. mitt romney at 27%, followed by newt gingrich and ron paul. here's the updated delegate totals, mitt romney has 490, rick santorum has 203. newt gingrich, 137. ron paul, 34. more front page politics and a new report today, president obama's senior white house adviser drawing mitt romney into health care reform. >> there's no question that our health care plan, his experts were involved in it. it's a model that was utilized. >> joining me is national political reporter for politico james holman.

you heard david plouffe. do you think this is going to be the line of attack for president obama if mitt romney becomes the gop nominee? >> it is. the white house thinks they can muddle ground enough that there won't be a clear contrast. they think that the godfather line is going to stick. and that will be their line of attack through the summer. and frankly, this just isn't an issue that mitt romney is comfortable talking about. that's what his republican rivals have been saying on the campaign trail. if you nominate mitt romney, health care or obama care isn't going to be a general election issue. >> well, we know the supreme court is going to get down to business tomorrow and hear the health care reform case. oral arguments begin in the morning. here's what david ploueffe had to say about that. >> the health care reform signed by the president ever going to be rolled back? >> we don't think so and shouldn't be. we confident in the

constitutionality of the health care law? >> how do you see this playing out and what are the implications in the general election for president obama? >> president obama ultimately, there's arguments to be made. that's lot of spin going on that plifically he's okay either way. that the court is sort of expected to ultimately uphold large portions of the bill. if they struck something down, it would be one or two portions that they would consider unconstitutional. and that the obama campaign thinks it's not going to hurt them as bad as it did in the midterm elections, that some of the benefits will start to go into effect. that the republicans won't have a lot of ground to attack and ultimately, the election is not going to be about health care, it's going to be about other issues. so they feel pretty good going into the home stretch. >> speaking of the home stretch, maybe we're getting there in the gop race here because rick santorum won the gop primary in louisiana saturday. but nit mitt romney still has a commanding lead in the delegates. the next primary is taking place in april 3rd in d.c. and maryland and washington.

no one is getting out right now. and wisconsin. where do we stand right now in this kpet snicompetition? >> at this point we have a lot of senior republicans, hailey barbour said the only way mitt romney doesn't become the nominee is if he steps on a landmine. that's the sense among republicans, is he's going to get the nomination. the campaign is starting to look beyond the contests in april. that's a challenge for them, every time they've done it in the past, it's blown up in their face. but wisconsin is the next big battleground on april 3rd. it's a good state for santorum demographically, a lot of blue collar voters and evangelicals. so if romney can win in wisconsin, that's going to be the beginning of the end. >> politico's james hellman, good to see you. you can watch the entire

interview with white house voyeur adviser, david plouffe at the top of the hour. president obama got a closer look at north korea today than he has ever had. mr. obama went to the demilitarized zone that's separated the north from the south since the end of the korean war and met with south korea's president. nbc's kristen welker is in seoul south korea with more. >> good day to you, alex. soem and south korean president, lee myung-bak sent a strong message to north korea, they won't tolerate the north's provocations. north korea had planned to launch a long-range rocket. it would derail a deal in which the u.s. would provide food aid to the north if it hats its nuclear testing programs. president obama said north korea risks further isolation if it moves forward. >> i'll say that north korea

will achieve nothing but threats. or by provocations. north korea knows its obligations and it must take irreversible steps to meet those obligations. on this, the united states and the republic of korea are absolutely united. >> south korean news agencies are reporting that north korea has moved that rocket to the launch pad. although the white house hasn't confirmed that report. meantime, president obama visited the demilitarized zone, which separates north and south korea. a few hours before the news conference. he said looking at north korea was like looking 50 years into the past. president obama is in south korea for a two-day summit on nuclear security aimed at keeping nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. tomorrow president obama will meet with the leaders of china and russia. north korea and iran will undoubtedly be the main topics of discussion at those bilateral meetings. alex, back to you. >> nbc's kristen welker in

seoul. three other citying u.s. presidents have visited that great divide between the koreas, known as the dmz, demilitarized zone. george w. bush was the last president before president obama to go to the dmz. president bush went there in february of 2002, less than a month after singing out north korea, iran and iraq as an axis of evil. president clinton did like wise nine years earlier during the first year of his administration. back in november, 1982 president ronald reagan set the precedent, becoming the first president to go to the demarcation area. rest and recovery is on the schedule for former vice president dick cheney who underwent a heart transplant yesterday. we're live in falls church, virginia, with more. what are doctors saying about the former vice president's prognosis? >> well we haven't heard anything from the doctors. there's precious little information here. this operation came as something of a surprise.

but really it's not a surprise when you look at both dick cheney's history and his recent history and the one device he had inserted about 20 months ago. he's been on a waiting list since then for a heart transplant. only from a statement from the family that came out last night, that he underwent the procedure here in suburban virginia. it was yesterday morning. that, that they are grateful, forever grateful, the family says, for the life-sustaining gift from an anonymous donor. you look at dick cheney's history with his heart problems, five heart attacks starting at the age of 37 when he was first running for congress way back in 1978. he's had five heart attacks, a number of procedures, a stint. a pacemaker, about two years ago he was at another hospital here in the washington area after suffering his most recent heart attack and after that, alex, he had what was call called a left

ventricular assist device, a device he to take with him wherever he went. he had end stage heart disease, he was on a waiting list for a transplant for the last 20 months. we understand since december he's been at the top of the list. yesterday he got the transplant. we assume he's recovering inside this hospital. there's no information from the family or the hospital. >> nbc's mike have a cara, thank you for that. some home owners in southwest virginia will be putting a call into their insurance agent. there's a storm that whipped through there yesterday, leaving behind several inches of ice. it was such pounding storm, it shredded vinyl siding on at least one home, but fortunately no reports of injuries. ♪ ♪

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prayer in the shadow of god is how devout catholics in mexico are describing today's open air mass by pope benedict xvi, it's being held at the foot of christ the king statue. the pope travels to cuba later. many believe the pontiff's message of peace and unity will help mexico rael from the recent drug-related gang violence. the trayvon martin tragedy happened close to home for our next guest, fredricka wilson. who is demanding action and she joins us now live. welcome, thank you so much for joining us, representative

wilson. >> thank you so much for having me. >> well i know you have promised to track each and every day since trayvon has been killed. how frustrated are you as time goes by without an arrest? >> i am extremely frustrated. they keep using this law, stand your ground. this has absolutely nothing to do with stand your ground. this has to do with the gentleman who is a vigilante. who went hunting for black boys. hunted him like a little rabbit. shot him down, and then they said, he was acting in self-defense. all of the 911 tapes point to what i've just said. all of the eye witnesses point to what i've just said and i am extremely devastated and disappointed with the justice system as it stands today, as it relates to trayvon martin's case. >> representative wilson, have you been able to gather any information that would indicate

what happened and your assessment, your angle on this, whether it was an isolated incident on behalf of george zimmerman, or did he have any sort of a past of this type of thought, this type of action? >> he has a past 689 he has called the police headquarters over and over, about suspicious behavior in the neighborhood. he's always tracking black boys. it's almost, it's racial profiling. that's what it is. >> you have, you have proof or some sort of documentation that shows he is actually targeted black men in his community before trayvon martin? >> this is not, not actually targeted black men in his community. i said he has called the police office, offices so many times

about what he considers their suspicious behavior in the community. and many of them have been black boys. and trayvon was a little -- >> i'm sorry, go ahead. >> trayvon was a little black boy who was walking down the street. and the police actually said to him, the dispatchers said to mr. zimmerman, stand down. leave him alone. stand down. instead of standing down, he got out of his truck. he chased him. he hunted him. he lost him for a moment. and then he found him again. and he shot him. tell me what does that have to do with stand your ground? >> i wish i had that answer, i don't, however i would like to ask you what do you think will happen if nobody is arrested in this case? if george zimmerman is not

arrested, let's just be specific. >> well, i think that, i would hate to think. but i know there are different people that are, you know we have the new blank panther party has put out, they want him arrested. they're offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who finds him. i hope it doesn't come to that. i hope with the many police agencies that are part of this investigation, including the fdle, the justice department, the state attorney's attorneys and our attorney general has put together a brand-if you force of people to investigate with all of these people involved, i'm hoping that thrill be an arrest soon. >> ms. wilson i know you have a 20-year-old mentors group for african-american boys. what is your advice for them?

>> my advice for them is to always be aware of their surroundings and there's this real tension between black men, black boys and the police. it's a nationwide problem. it's a nationwide issue. and so we say to them freeze, never run from the police. always make sure that they can see your hands. and mr. zimmerman was a quasi- want to be policeman. we would put him in that same kind of category, when we teach the boys. so it's education. education over and over again and it's also education for the police officers. i have a great working relationship with the police officers all over the nation. and this is something that we teach children. and we make sure that they understand and know that that tension is there. and we have to ease the tension. we have to make it more palatable for our children to be

safe. i have a 30-year-old son and when he got his driver's license, the first thing i did was buy him a cell phone. so that he could be in touch with me. because i knew he was going to be profiled. and of course, he was. >> florida representative, fredricka wilson, i thank you for your candor and for your thoughts on the trayvon martin situation, thank you. up next, a new study about going to church and how it might make you feel. [ female announcer ] the next generation of investing technology is now within your grasp with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard. e-trade 360 is the world's first investing homepage that shows you where all your investments are and what they're doing with free streaming quotes, news, analysis and even your trade ticket. everything exactly the way you want it, all on one page. transform your investing

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2010. time for some trend tracking in today's ups and downs. for a third straight year, the number of millionaire households in america has increased. a new study by a financial services company showed there were 8.6 million millionaire households last year, nearly two million more than in 2008. fewer women are tying the knot. a new government report shows 40% of women in this country have never married. and 36% say they're in their first marriage. which is decline of 8% since the early '80s. going to church might make you happier. a new gallup study finds attending any kind of religious service puts people in a better mood. researchers say those who don't go to a house of worship are more likely 0 to experience the blues. oprah winfrey is probably bummed out, a new industry study claims her oo.w.n. network could loses $140 million this year.

i could take off, live in the woods. >> they would catch us. >> maybe not. >> we wouldn't make it five miles. >> thanks to successes like "the hunger games," the hollywood box office has rebounded this year with revenue and ticket sales up 20% for the year. and rick santorum was knocking them down at a bowling alley. talking pins. after a campaign rally in wisconsin yesterday, santorum threw three straight strikes. you would call that a turkey. and those are today's ups and downs. you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i know is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too.

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not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent but i found myself using three times more than you're supposed to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. thanks, honey. yeah. you suck at folding. [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] just one dose of tide original liquid helps remove food stains better than an entire 40 load bottle of the leading liquid bargain brand. that's my tide. what's yours? new details today about the attacks that kill ed 17 afghan viflians. official says they believe that robert bales split his attacks in two separate parts. john yang is outside fort leavenworth, kansas. let's get the new details on how he might have conducted these attacks. >> well it really does in a lot

of ways add to the mystery of sort of what's behind this what triggered this. they say the prosecutors believe that he had two waves to these attacks, that he went out, started this shooting spree, started this rampage and then went back to the base after a while. and then snuck out again. snuck out off the base to continue the killing spree and to continue his attacks in these villages the as i say, it just adds to the mystery to try to understand and explain exactly what was going on and what was happening. alex? >> so, john, i understand that the united states has paid some money to the families of these 17 victims. i'm most curious, the details of how that happens. >> it was at a meeting, a gathering of village elders, a gathering of the victims. the families of the victims and those who were wounded. army, or military officials came and made the payments. these sorts of gatherings are

traditional waves in afghanistan, especially in this area, in this region of settling big, discussing big issues, making big decisions. they're called loya jurgas. this was a traditional way to approach the families and victims. the payments are something that's important culturally in afghanistan. and something the u.s. military has doing. these payments were $50,000 to the families of those who died and about $11,000 to those who were wounded. these are substantial sums, especially when you consider that the average household income in afghanistan is only about $300 a year. alex? >> that is an incredible perspective you paint. thank you very much. nbc's john yang in for the leavenworth. no disciplinary action will be taken on u.s. troops over the

deaths of pakistan soldiers, u.s. forces made a cross-border attack in pakistan. officials say american soldiers only responded after pakistani soldiers fired first after using information given to them by pakistan. new today, house budget committee chairman paul ryan defending his budgets plan that's drawn severe criticism from democrats. >> we think we owe the country solutions. we think we owe the country a path to prosperity to get the american idea back, get people back to work and get this debt under control. the president is making it worse and the senate hasn't passed a budget for 1,000 days. >> representative ryan went on to say that he believes mitt romney supports the plan and a president romney would see it passed. joining me is myia mcginness, president for a responsible budget. myia, nice to see you again. >> i know you've run the numbers, is the ryan budget the

path to getting people back to work and tapping the nation's deficit. >> in terms of what the budget that paul ryan has put forward for deficits and debt, it stands out there as one of the boldest plans that would bring our deficits and debt down to a sustainable level. he deserves credit for getting a specific plan to move news the right direction. that said, he really has been one of the leaders in putting this issue on the table. but it's a very conservative budget. and the time now has moved from just understanding that we have to make changes in our budget, which we do, but to be willing to compromise on how we do that and the budget that he's put out there is so conservative and it's really more of a statement than something that could move the ball forward and what could be passed. that doesn't help for the moment we have. what we need is republicans and democrats to be willing to get specific. but also to be willing to compromise. because if we don't put out budgets that actually have an ability to garner bipartisan support, we're going to keep on

fighting and this fiscal problem is going to mount and potentially cause a crisis. i think real leadership now is about putting out plans that are possible and that look at both what republicans and democrats want to see in a budget reform. >> with regard to specifics, his budget plan looks at about a $19 billion level below what the president and speaker boehner had agreed on during the debt limit talks. do you think we're looking at a repeat of last year and the possible government shutdown just before the election? >> there's a big question of what's going to happen and how we're going to fund the discretionary parts of the budget. where we're going to turn to fund those as we go forward. whether the budget will be passed this year. it's not likely that it will and we have a lot of things that are about to actually come to an end. both before the election and certainly at the end of the calendar year. where we face what ben bernanke has called the fiscal cliff. so i think there is going to be a fight on the discretionary level.

the biggest question and what will be a fight, but i would rather have it be a discussion, is what are the bigger reforms we'll look at on the entitlement side of the budget and the tax side of the budget. which is where the biggest changes need to happen. we keep focusing on the discretionary parts of the budget, but that's not going to fix the budget. what's going to fix it is entitlement reform and tax reform. at the end of the year we have the fiscal cliff and the broad southwester which does not phase in. but hits all at once in a blunt way is going to hit and things like the fix for medicare or a lot of policies that we don't want to let hit, but we can't just ignore them. we need to push forward for a big fiscal deal. i hope that the fight becomes the moment, the action forcing moment that has us put in place a big plan like paul ryan has talked about to stabilize the debt, but something that reflect as compromise and both parties could pass and buy into.

>> paul ryan's plan has no provision for increased revenue, slash tax hikes? >> no, it unfortunately continues this idea that can you get to a sustainable situation without looking at revenues as part of the budget. i commend him for getting specific. but the spending levels become so low, lower than many members of his own party would be willing to buy into, i think it makes the case for why revenue has to be part of the solution, you can't get there on spending cuts alone. >> would you go so far as to describe it as being unrealistic? >> it's unrealistic in this political environment. it's very useful in that congressman ryan does get specific. he says we have to make changes to medicare and anyone who tells you differently is not facing up to the facts about where we are. what it isn't is realistic in terms of that a budget that reforms our fiscal situation and saves four to six $6 trillion like we need to is going to have to be something that has more

broad-based support. he's put out a budget very far to the right. i assume there will be democrats that put out a budget very far to the left. that's okay to put the book ends out there. but we don't have the time for firmly partisan fights, we have time for a coming together and compromising between those two book ends. >> maya is there a point at which you could see us going the way of greece? >> what's so terrifying if you had said that a couple of years ago it would have sounded like we were exaggerating and scare-mongering. but the real concern right now is our political class able to come together and govern and make these really hard choices that we know after years and decades of borrowing too much, we have to confront. we have to cut spending, we have to reform entitlements and we have to raise revenues and those are not politicians favorite things. but if we don't make those choices, credit markets will lose confidence in the u.s. as soon as they stop focusing on the problems in europe it will become all too a parent that we

have those same problems here and markets will not treat us kindly if we haven't put a plan in place. >> maya mcginness, a pleasure to talk to you. we talked with the executive editor and founder of the grio.com, and we talk about the trayvon martin shooting and the warning his parents gave him about growing up as an african-american man. >> we had a discussion in the office about this. we started talking about things that we do and things that we were taught by our parents about how you talk to police, you always want to be kind, no matter what. you don't want to run anywhere too quickly. >> that's addressed to you by your parents? they go through that? >> yes. and the other thing is, there are certain things that you just pick up. we talked about the fact that when you go into a convenience store. sometimes you don't want to go into a convenience store with your hands in your pockets. or sometimes you feel a bit of

anxiety when you leave a convenience store and not making a purchase. because you think that they're going to think that you came in there to steal something. these are the sort of you know, i think jonathan capehart put it great. it's carrying the burden of other people's suspicions. i think when you are an african-american, i think particularly an african-american male, you're always conscious of how other people view you. and you learn how to react to that suspicion. you know, smile sometimes, to disarm people and make people think that, feel more comfortable around you. sometimes some people may change the picture or the tone of their voice. or eliminate some of the bass in their voice, because that may be seen as being aggressive. something that we do not just when we're dealing with police. but sometimes in our day-to-day interaction with our co-workers. because we know the perception, we know the stereotypes

surrounding black men and so we try to combat that. so it's something that is you know, this story sort of brings that up. but it's, it's something that we do subconsciously and sometimes consciously. >> trayvon martin, give me your take on this and how the grio is covering it. >> we have a couple of people on the ground in sanford, florida. we've just been looking at it from almost every angle. there's so many in this particular story. it has a huge, it has a lot of ramifications and interests. with our audience. we did a piece together on whether or not trayvon martin is the emmet till of our generation. we looked at the law. the stand your ground law. we looked at you know, it from almost every angle that i think you can. and so it's been a huge story for us. our audience has been really tapped into the story. they've been wanting every bit of information that they can get their hands on. we did a piece together looking

at the systemic issues and problems with the sanford police department. there's so much that has to be done in this case. and just overall with the police department. i think it's sort of indicative and representative of a lot of police departments around the country. many african-americans feel. >> i want to thank david for his candid personal revelations there about how he was taught as he grew up. and also let all of you know that the sanford police chief temporarily stepped down last week and the city is now searching for an interim chief. read more news and perspective on the subject at the grio.com. up next, health care reform and voters. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota.

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time for this sunday's big three. mad men edition. today's topics, march madness, will the supreme court overturn the health care mandate. stop the madness, will the gop primary ever end. and just plain madness. our contributors, keith boykin and republican strategist, george watkins, who served in the george h.w. bush administration. the supreme court starts hearing the case against the president's affordable care act tomorrow. we're talking health care. how critical a role is this battle going to be in november? >> it will be a big deal because health care is such a large part of our budget and as you know, this legislation is not very popular. i mean only about a little more than a quarter of americans like it the way it is and a lot of people want to see mandate done

away with they say how can you force americans to have health care and a lot of people want to see it done away with completely. >> the latest "washington post"/abc news poll asked americans what the supreme court should do with this. 26% said uphold the entire law, 25%, throw the mandate, but keep the rest of the law and 42% said throw it out entirely. what's your reaction to numbers like that and what kind of challenge does this pose for president obama. >> when you you look at the auto bailout, that was unpopular. but once it sunk in there was a benefit, people started to appreciate it. i think that's what is going to happen. when people are asked about specific elements of the health care law, they like it. they like the idea about getting better summaries from the insurance companies about what their benefits are. they like all the different elements, they don't like what's been sold to them by the other side. i think they'll come around

eventually. >> what about mitt romney. he says if he becomes president on day one he's going to repeal the so-called boobama care. does obama care equal romney care, what he did in massachusetts and technically speaking there's no way he can strike it down on day one, is there? >> obama care borrows from some principles of romney care, including the presence of an individual mandate to purchase health care and an exchange for insurance providers. so some of those came from romney's legislation. as far as what mitt romney can do on day one. what he talks about on the campaign trail is he wants to grant waivers to each of the 50 states so they can opt out of certain provisions. but he can't repeal the entire legislation, he would need congress to do that for him. >> eel stay with you as we look to the next gop contest, we have april 3rd, wisconsin, and on

april 24th. connecticut, delaware, new york, pennsylvania and rhode island, that brings in 231 delegate totals. do you think, erin, that april is going to be the end of the line for everyone but mitt romney? >> in terms of media coverage, very likely. these candidates have all said rick santorum, ron paul and newt gingrich, that they're going to the convention, they're going to stay in. as long as they have the money to continue doing so. once the media decides that it's likely that yes mitt romney is probably going to be the republican nominee for president, we'll just focus on him and the general election. so in that sense, yes, did could be the end of the line for everyone. >> okay. joe, even leading conservative voices who had doubts about romney, they're now coming out and saying, okay, it's over. it is what it is now. what kind of damage has the romney camp sustained during this really cannibalistic primary and what do you think the impact will be on the general election? >> it's been a hard-fought campaign, no doubt in the

primary elections. i think kanye west makes a-month, what doesn't kill you makes you mitt romney will be stronger because of the hard fought primaries. going forward i think he'll set his sights on the mark which is winning the fall election against the incumbent president. i think he has a good chance to do that. >> you have good taste in music. >> hey. listen to what white house senior adviser david plouffe said today on "meet the press." >> this is going go a close race. i thought that last year. i thought that now. i'll think that in four months. presidential elections are close. we won by what's considered a landslide, but we still only got 53% of the vote. it's going to be a close race. >> do you agree, keith? do you think it will be a close race or he's being careful? >> you don't want overconfidence at this point though obama is doing well in the polls. i worked for mike dukakis in 1988. he was up 18 points in the polls in august and he lost to george bush.

i don't think you can be too confident running a presidential campaign. you never know. it will be a close race. maybe not as close as the 2000 election, but a close race. >> with that personal experience, say no more. we've got it. loud and clear. you have to talk more after the break. we we're going to talk "mad men" with the big three. stay with us. i'm bill karins with your sunday forecast. what a beautiful weekend in the middle of the country. your sunday will be fantastic with warm weather from texas to minnesota and chicago. the problems are on the coast. rainshowers continue in new england. thunderstorms possible in the midatlantic area. california has been wet this weekend. that's headed for los angeles. have a great weekend. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually

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gentlemen, shall we begin? ♪ tell me, did you miss me ♪ while i was gone ♪ did you, ooh, want to kiss me ♪ ♪ when you were alone >> this segment is an homage to my "mad men" producer nick who loves the show. the premiere is tonight. we are back with the big three, the "mad men" edition.

keith, i will start with you. why do you think this series has become such a phenomenon? >> we were talking during the break. i have never watched an entire episode. i have seen bits and pieces. i have a cousin visiting me now. he insisted that i tape the show tonight -- or be home so he could watch it. he's really into it. i think part of it, for me what i'm attracted to is the idea of the fashion behind it. i love the suits they wear and stuff like that. there is also an appeal to nostalgia. i saw melissa harris-perry talking earlier and the desire to go back to when things were simpler. as a black person, the '60s don't sound great to me. >> melissa wore the cutest red dress. so cute in the '60s dress. joe, why do you think it's popular? >> great acting. you can't ever underscore talented the people are that are in front of the cam rarks especially when you have a hit

series. this is a hit series. it's the acting that's absolutely excellent. so my hat is off to the actors, male and female. i wish i could say it was me. >> i'm going to say writing plays a huge role. the writing the excellent. what's your take, erin? >> for one thing it's very entertaining. also, it shows how alarming the level of sexism was back in the '60s. for younger generations, it's instructive to see what it was like in a time that we are not really aware of. >> i don't know if you saw eleanor clift. she worked at newsweek in the '60s. it was remarkable talking with her about the difference then to know. she's now one of the celebrated writers. she started as a secretary. absolutely fascinating. she was talking about the culture there. anyway, i wish we had time for your must reads, but we don't. thank you erin, keith and joe. appreciate it. >> thanks. >> that's a wrap of the sunday

edition of "weekends with alex witt." up next, david gregory with "meet the press." have yourselves a great day. i'll look for you next saturday, 7:00 a.m. eastern. time out. sweet. [ female announcer ] with charmin ultra soft, you can get that cushiony feeling you love while still using less. charmin ultra soft is designed with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent and you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. ♪ ah. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft. the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol.

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