snacks, beer, opening day is days away. >> baseball season is "morning joe" starts right now. >> everybody in new york city is still talking about tim tebow coming to the jets. [ cheers and applause ] >> listen to this. apparently, tebow is looking for a house in the same neighborhood where jets quarterback mark sanchez lives. yeah. right at the intersection of awkward and yikes. strip club here in new york is offering to give tebow his first lap dance for free. it will be the first time where the customer is the one who keeps yelling no touching, no touching. good morning. it's wednesday, march 28. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, we have msnbc

contributor mike barnicle. he just won't leave. and we have donny deutsch. wow. that's all we got? >> hold on one second. we have one more. but hold on. slow rise. he's coming up. we've actually got a car elevator to hoist willie geist onto the set. >> yes, but for different reasons. i mean, really. some car elevators are to consolidate space. >> first of all, i can't afford a people elevator let alone a car elevator. but if i could afford a car elevator, and if i loved cars as much as he loved cars, mitt romney, i would not build a massive house in one of the most expensive neighborhoods on the planet complete with a car elevator to hold my 50 cars. >> in the midst of a recession? >> when people are struggling to get back to work, the same year i'm running for president. >> i think it's a little bit much. >> politics 101, they teach us

that. >> i'm thinking you hold off on your plan. >> or make it just for three cars. four cars, it's as over the top. >> what's great, it all has a lobbyist. >> donnie should recuse himself, because he actually have an elevator in his home. >> i thought it would come from this side of the table. i was waiting. >> full disclosure for the audience. >> it doesn't fit cars, though. and i love cars. >> in romney's defense do, any of us here have any idea of the degree of difficulty in driving from the kitchen to the bedroom? >> that's hard. >> it's a big house. >> you're going to have to move that car at least half a mile. i'm winded going down just to get my dunkin conuts or whatever they eat in california. >> that's a disconnect. >> i don't get it. >> speaking of california. donny deutsch does not want to talk about the supreme court. >> i do. >> because what happened yesterday. because somebody messed their bed yesterday arguing for the administration.

that's some very polite way of saying what that poor, poor guy did, who is going to be crucified by the american left for the rest of his life. he's like the bill buckner. he is like the bill buckner of the american left. it went horribly for the white house yesterday. >> it didn't go well. >> when jeffrey toobin comes out and says, it's over. it's over. we lose. >> they should have sent joe pesci in from "my cousin vinnie." >> he would have done a better job. >> guys, that's not nice. >> seriously. you know, i think we're being a little tough on him. but it's kind of like when we were -- i remember we were watching like george w. bush debate for the first time against al gore. he ended up winning because al gore was even worse, but we were all horrified going, oh, my god, our guy can't complete a sentence. and this happened in front of the supreme court.

we'll get to that in a second. but first, the dodgers. >> oh, yeah. >> i'm thinking maybe because there's inflation in the mlb, the dodgers go for $1 billion, $1.3, $1.4 billion. that would be a record breaker. >> last night after an all-day conference call between the major league baseball owners, the magic johnson group with a bid of $2 billion. >> that's a lot. >> to purchase the los angeles dodgers. >> $2 billion. >> $2 billion. >> let me ask you this. do they get the parking lot? >> that was the key, joe. that was the key to their purchase, that's why they got it, because at the end of the day they threw in an extra $300 million to make it up to $2 billion to buy the parking lots and all the land surrounding dodger stadium from the mccourts, thus they are the winners and the new owners. >> so crazy frank mccourt now takes the gun from the head of

one the most storied franchises in america and turns it over to magic's group. that's great news. >> every sports franchise now goes to hedge fund guys. 20 or 30 years ago, there was a guy from this industry, from that industry. it really symbolizes now where all of the money is coming from. it's annoying to have hedge fund owners. >> you have magic johnson. there could not be a better figurehead than magic. >> everybody loves magic. >> great businessman in his own right. and then stan castin who put all of those great braves teams together. the washington nationals after that. a great baseball guy and a great ambassador in magic johnson. it's perfect. >> from worst to the first. i'm sorry. were you about to talk about what happened yesterday at the supreme court? >> no. i was just going -- >> pooh poohed all over himself in front of the -- >> oh, stop. >> i'm just going to say he's lucky it wasn't on camera. it's never a good sign when the

justices are picking you up halfway through your sentences to finish your sentences for you. >> never a good time when there's a laugh track. >> at one point, ruth bader ginsberg said, donnie, donnie, don't hurt yourself, let me take it from here. and unfortunately, you know, she -- what's so fascinating, if you read "the new york times" yesterday and if you heard some of our guests yesterday, a lot of people thought this would be an a-1 decision for the administration. listen to those arguments yesterday from the very beginning. it's very clear it's going to be a 5-4 or at best a 6-3 if robert switches his vote at the end to be with the majority. this is going to be close to the end. and right now, i think the administration on individual mandates -- they have their backs up against the wall. >> it certainly changed in 24 hours. let's set the scene. the fight over president obama's health care law heads to the supreme court for its third and final day of arguments, but many court watchers say yesterday's

debate over the individual mandate didn't go so well for the white house. >> that's a polite way to put it. >> here is some of the reaction on twitter. jeffrey toobin tweets, as you mention, train wreck for barack obama and the supreme court today. another, well, folks, i wasn't worried after oral arguments yesterday. i am today. the new republic's dan foster adds, wow, did the solicitor general know the orals were today? and "the washington post" ezra klein writes, you can make a point page 14 when the liberal justices decide verrilli is screwing up and step in to make his argument for him. >> ezra was also surprised by the lack of quality of the arguments coming. >> yeah. and also tough moments in the beginning, just physically, you know. it wasn't a great presentation. today, the justices will consider whether the entire law should be overturned if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional. right now, it's still unclear how the justices view that

mandate. but tough questioning yesterday pointed to serious doubts from the court that congress has the authority to require americans to buy medical insurance. justice anthony kennedy, who could be the key swing vote in the case, pressed the administration's lawyer for an answer. >> here the government is saying that the federal government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act, and that is different from what we have in previous stages. that changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in a very fundamental way. do you not have a heavy burden of justification to show authorization under the constitution? >> the court's conservative justices were even more pointed in their questioning, specifically over how deeply the government can influence an individual's choices. >> can the government require you to buy a cell phone because that would facilitate responding when you need emergency services? >> everybody has to buy food

sooner or later, so you define the market as food. therefore, everybody is in the market. therefore, you can make people buy broccoli. >> the administration argues health care is different, and that argument since everyone requires medical care at some point during their lifetime, insured or not, justice ginsberg seemed to defend the president's law wondering why it's ok for the government to compel americans to contribute to social security. >> legal scholars have been saying for years, they have been calling that the barnicle argument. >> i raised it yesterday. >> i heard you. >> yes. >> it's a good argument. >> it is a good argument. because unlike the solicitor general, i pay attention to legal zoom. >> robert shapiro? >> yes. >> he's good. >> oh, my god. >> but the broccoli argument -- >> you don't need a lawyer. just get him. >> the broccoli argument is not relevant, because the difference is i could be desperately hungry -- >> can we hear from the justices

first? >> there was a big fuss about that in the beginning because a lot of people said, maybe some people still do today, i could do much better if the government left me alone. >> that's on the social security. >> now the anti-broccoli argument. >> i could be starving and wander into a grocery store and they don't have to give me broccoli. so i as a consumer don't have to pay for it. the difference is, i wander into an emergency room. if i'm not insured, somebody has to pay for it. there is a difference. >> also, if you don't buy broccoli, that doesn't substantially impact the people -- that doesn't make broccoli more expensive for the most part for everybody else who does buy the broccoli. what's interesting to me is, and i -- first of all, time out. anybody that's followed the supreme court for more than one term knows that you can't tell anything from oral arguments. you can sort of guess, but i think a lot of us -- i know if i were in anthony kennedy's place,

and i was deciding which way to go, i would ask the toughest -- and i thought that i might be lining up in support of the president's health care plan, i wouldn't be playing for the cameras. i would be hammering the administration to make sure that i had it right. and a lot of times justices do that. wait a second. you're saying that -- you know, it's just like -- i do think the law is unconstitutional. but if i were up there asking questions, and a lot of justices do it this way, the question i would ask is, hey, what's the difference between social security and this health care -- and compelling people to buy health care insurance? ok. well, how is it different from car insurance? we force people to buy car insurance. and they would say, well, then it's because they drive their car. and they make that choice to drive their car. and you go, yeah, but we know all americans are going to use health insurance at some point. or use health care services at

some point. let me ask this question. do any of us know anybody that has never been a part of the health care system? >> no. >> does anybody watching at home know anybody that has never been a part of the health care system? >> no. >> i have never met anybody in all of my life that has not been a part of the health care system. everybody does at some point or another. >> so what argument are you making? >> it seems to me that's a stronger argument for the white house, which is that this is even more compelling than the auto insurance argument, because i know a lot of people in new york city that don't drive a car. i have never met anybody in new york city that has never been -- used health care services. i'm just saying, though, if i were -- and, again, i think it's unconstitutional to compel people to engage in this sort of commerce. but if i were up on the bench, i would be forcing somebody to

answer that question for me. >> it's no different than taxes. you pay taxes because we all want to drive across the bridge and have the schools and whatnot, and that's the theory behind this democracy. it's the same -- there's no difference with health care, other than taxes should be optional. it's unconstitutional to make me pay taxes and my fair share. >> well, there's a penalty, though. >> i actually had some supporters from 1994 that made that argument as the irs was dragging them off to jail. it's unconstitutional to pay taxes. so i hope everybody at home gets my point, and the point is this. you can't read too much out of what happened in oral arguments. you know the four liberal justices are going to be with the white house. we're not so sure what kennedy and roberts will do at the end. >> he said at the end this may be different. to your point, he was kind of voicing the other side. and the last words, i don't know the exact words, but i guess, well, it is kind of different. >> who said that? >> kennedy. >> he left it a little open.

>> we've been saying it for six months. i think this comes down to kennedy at the end. >> but isn't it just stunning how bad the solicitor -- i mean, seriously, the communication of this entire law from the get go was rough. so this, you know -- >> sort of encapsulates the problem. >> this moment was really important, and it was just flushed down the toilet. i still think your argument is the bottom line that's going to have to be considered, and it's the broccoli argument. and it's health care for american people versus health care that we are already paying for for the uninsured. that's what they'll be deciding. but the performance, disappointing from the solicitor general. >> there is also a growing trend where especially younger people are deciding, i don't want to buy health care insurance. and part of that, i'm going to pay a doctor $1,000 a year, and i'm going to stay out of health care insurance, and it's going to be fee for service. i'm going to pay dr. willie. he's going to take care of my family for $1,000.

screw dealing with hmo. screw dealing with ppo. screw calling anybody up. if my kid gets sick, i go to that doctor's office and i like it that way. so there is also that argument that a lot of americans are making. >> that's nice until you're in a car accident and in the hospital for two months. it becomes a little bit more difficult. >> exactly. and you can't pay for it. >> other than that, and i have to go to a doctor about -- >> you need a lung transplant. >> but other than that, i was talking to a fellow friday, last friday, and he has a good job. he makes good money. he goes to an online doctor services and pays $200 per visit, per internet visit, to the doctor. gets prescriptions and everything from the doctor for whatever. $200. online. >> is this legal? >> yes, it is. yeah. >> i want to also talk to those people about their constitutional rights who don't think there should be an individual mandate, go into a hospital, and the hospital says, no, can't help you.

you're not part of the system. then hear what they'll say. >> today will be interesting too because they'll decide if they can separate the individual mandate from the rest of the law. because the approval for pre-existing conditions, that you can't throw somebody off or not give coverage because of that, is 85% in this country. so the idea of whether you can throw out the baby with the bath water when you get rid of the individual mandate, if that's what they decide, is another big question to answer today, because there are parts of the affordable care act that are very popular in this country. >> and it seems to me that should be easier for the court because if you want to fund that, the cost that insurance companies are going to have to shoulder because letting kids stay on until they're 26, pre-existing, making things -- insurance more affordable, you can pay for that with taxes. you can pay for that without compelling people to engage in commerce. >> you know, as we have discussed here before, i think one of the elements of the health care bill in terms of communication, in terms of parts

of it being unpopular, are rooted in the unfortunate fact that ted kennedy, longtime champion of national health care, got sick and then died during the first part of the obama administration. had he not been ill and then passed away, his hand would have been much stronger in negotiating this health care bill. i have a strong feeling that because of the elements that you just mentioned, portability, coverage of children, stuff like that, he would have cut a deal six or seven months into that health care debate and said we'll get the rest later. >> yeah. >> so long-term, whether it's split apart, whether it's thrown out, what is the political impact? and is there one ultimately? because the lineage of the individual mandate is based on conservatives who came up with the idea. and championed it. >> david dreier, who is retiring now, his advice to me was great advice, which was, son, when i first got to congress, never get in trouble for voting no.

you never get in trouble. you can always defend a no vote. the yes votes a little more difficult. i was just laughing because i gave that advice to a friend that came to me five years later going, you were right. a no vote is a good thing. so i've always believed like the negative, the no, the supreme court overturning this health care law. i personally believe politically that helps democrats a lot, because i would rather run against a negative, i'd rather run against the extremist right wing roberts court, that it stole -- you know, this supreme court that stole the election from democrats in 2000, and allowed george bush to shred the constitution over eight years and eight dreadful years, even though barack obama is doing the same thing now, and now is taking away health care from 35 million americans. that seems to me to be some great talking points for democratic candidates. that said, over the past 24

hours, we've had one democrat after another after another saying it would hurt their side if we're overturned. it would make the president look bad. i don't think so. >> and also -- >> i think politically it's a big win for democrats. >> in a strange way, if it doesn't get overturned, you start to really gin up the base on the other side. i also think a month after this decision -- >> alex just said in my ear, and then you add citizens united in here and you can talk about the run away supreme court. i'm sorry to interrupt. that's just -- that is something the left would really be energized about. >> but also, once again, if it goes the other direction, then the right is ginned up and say, look what happened to us. i think either way, it will go by the wayside and it will be the economy come november. i think we are talking about that today in march. if it comes through in june. i do not think whether this stays or goes is a deciding factor. >> you know what happens today, mika. yesterday was the supreme court. that's big. that's big. that's not as big as what's happening very soon, mike. >> right now, opening day.

>> right now? >> nine minutes ago, first pitch. >> nine minutes ago? the as, right? >> in tokyo. >> so who is getting sick to leave? >> i'm taking the rest of the day off. >> you've got to be excited. >> i'm not feeling well. >> you have your ipad. you're going to be lying in your soiled clothes for the next six to eight months, watching mlb. >> i just got a little sick. >> how do you guys feel about the little engine that could, those red sox, huh? >> don't you worry about us. >> i'm not worried at all. >> i don't know. >> they look a little weak. and you have to deal with -- >> donney, you have to build them up. >> we hope we get in ahead of the orioles this year. if we can finish fifth -- >> that's an old pro right there. >> that's a good year. >> that's going to be a good year for us. you know, you look at the yankees, man. no, seriously.

>> you have lou holtz over here. >> no, no. i'm looking at the yankees. >> offensive line. >> you look at the 27 yankees and the 12 yankees. half a dozen, blah, blah, blah. >> i agree. >> mike -- >> i'm just hoping to finish. >> seriously -- >> i'm hoping you finish this hour. >> if you can get past the 162-game mark, i tell you what, though, mike, i'm not going to relax until the middle of september. after last year. >> why are you going to relax then? >> well, i'm just going to make sure the fried chicken buckets are left behind, and bobby v doesn't let them do it this time. >> banning just beer or vodka also from the clubhouse? >> no drinking. >> no drinking. >> really? interesting. coming up, we'll talk to senator joe man chin of west virginia. also, larry kudlow. tina brown. and digger phelps.

also, arlan specter about his new memoir. also his standup comedy debut in new york this week. is that true? >> it makes sense. look at him. >> he's funny. >> he's owning it. >> henne youngman. >> he is henne youngman. >> up next -- you stop it right now. >> that was a good one. >> just like that. >> stop. up next, mike allen with politico playbook. but first -- >> you know, tj, you know, hold on a second. let's just stop this. bill karins, do you know what tj said in our ear? he said speaking of a joke, here's bill karins. >> the director is saying that? >> the director saying it. >> i would protest. just don't give him the leather. >> we can poke fun at our friends, but you can't. tj, you're nobody's friend around here, ok? stay in your corner. does everybody agree? >> no. >> get back on your horse and go back to pennsylvania, tj.

>> i'm no longer at the bottom, you're saying. there's me and then there's tj? >> lewis also. >> lewis is down there too. >> you're on top of lewis. >> all right. >> so bill, it looks like a nice day today. we're doing all right. finally not winter. yesterday morning was bad enough. temperatures have warmed up considerably. you don't have to bundle the kids up with the hats and gloves this morning. temperatures in the last 24 hours have gone up 30 to 15 degrees depending on where you are from the ohio valley to the northeast. there was a little snow in maine and new hampshire last night, but everywhere else much warmer. in the 50s from chicago to pittsburgh. and yesterday in the 30s in new england and 20s. now we are soaring toward the 40s. today, there will be some rainshowers out there. not that much. most around albany and boston this morning. maybe a thunderstorm late today in d.c. but washington, d.c., 75 today. very warm. and anyone traveling to the west coast, very important, three storms in the next four days are coming onshore. that's where all the worst weather will be in the country. middle of the nation, maybe a thunderstorm for kansas city.

but look at chicago. beautiful weather there in the great lakes today. and down along the gulf coast, temperatures in the 80s. that's where the warmth continues. and it still feels like early summer. sun going to be poking up here sooner or later. looks like some clouds too. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here.

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♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, that's logistics. ♪ an election update. yesterday, newt gingrich said he's not backing out of the gop race. you could tell, when gingrich backs out, you usually hear this. [ beep, beep, beep ] >> ok. 27 past the hour. time for a quick look at the morning papers. we'll start with "the washington

post." after several disappointing primary losses, newt gingrich replacing his campaign manager laying off nearly 1/3 of his staff. a spokesman says the campaign is being redesigned to make it, quite, convention ready. earlier in the day, gingrich suggested he still has a shot at the nomination. >> well, i would be the republican nominee. if we get to june 26, and governor romney does not have a majority, i think you'll then have one of the most interesting open conventions in american history. it will be a 60-day dialogue on television, radio, the internet, all the way up to tampa. and the question will be asked, who can best beat barack obama? and at that point, i think most republicans agree that i would probably do a better job debating obama than any other candidate. and i think it becomes a very viable, very lively campaign. >> now before you laugh, you think about it. if romney doesn't get the delegates he needs to lock it

down, the speaker is right. you're going on have 60 days between the last primary contest and the convention. that's going to be -- >> i said nothing. i believe others at the table laughed. >> anything can happen. the financial times. rupert murdoch facing fresh allegations over his business practices. an australian newspaper says they have evidence that they paid a security firm to uncover thousands of private emails used to sabotage competitors. the australian government is calling for a criminal investigation into the claims. >> all right. >> really, if i'm not mistaken, politico does this every day. this is standard fare. >> standard operating procedure down there with mike allen and company. it's not pretty, but it's the way business is done. >> everybody does it. >> with a look at the playbook, mike, good morning. >> good morning. we have to note at the top here it say birthday today. papa brazinski. >> is it? your dad's birthday? >> did you just realize that? >> yes. >> wow.

>> madeleine albright told me. oh, man. >> the former secretary of state always calls me the day before my birthday. >> mad line albright. >> i call her maddy. >> most of us have a calendar. mika has secretary of states call her up. >> she has a mind like a -- it's amazing. she remembers everything. >> we saw her a couple of nights ago at joe biden's place. >> yes. >> and first thing she said to me, happy birthday to your father. >> your dad's birthday is coming up. >> and then she goes, march 28. happy birthday, dad. you should hear him sing happy birthday. >> he's the best. >> he throws a little joke in there. >> can i just say that the brzezinskis, they are not good at birthdays. >> no. we don't do birthdays. if you say happy birthday, mom, she'll go, is it my birthday? how old am i? >> i can understand that. >> on mika's birthday, she got

just a scream from a family member about how terrible she looked, how ugly she dressed, how ugly she was and all of that. so mika emails her mom back and says, yeah, thanks. it's my birthday. but they are not like the rest of us. >> every time you say brzezinskis, i picture a bravo show, don't you? >> no. because they would kill any family that follows them around. >> mike, you beat me. i was trying to remember this year. >> early for next year. how about that? >> they have a wonderful family. they just don't really -- the birthday thing, it doesn't -- >> we don't do birthdays. >> they are different cats over there. >> my mother doesn't even remember the day i was born. >> stop that. >> i was an accident. >> your mother is sweet, and you know it. she loves you. >> you just take back those words. or at least add a tinge of sarcasm. >> your mother is so sweet.

>> tell me what you really think about my parents. how would you characterize my family? especially my parents. >> i think they're wonderful. i think you're very lucky. what is this? >> he calls them awful names. >> i do not. >> yeah. yes, he does. >> wait, wait. stop that. your parents may be watching. >> i never speak disparagingly of your family. >> nothing that's not true. >> i have called your brother a bastard before, because -- and i have to say this now, and mike, thanks for bringing this up. >> thanks, mike. >> i don't think you can -- >> yeah, you can say the word. so we go -- we go to the russerts, and i meet ian. it's a christmas party. i meet ian. and it's the first -- the show is just kicking off. and i said, you know, your sister is great. and she's smart. and willie and i think she's wonderful. she just gets it. she gets it. and he just stares at me and he goes, you know, mika had the

lowest s.a.t. score in the history of williams college. >> i did. >> i'm like, it's a christmas party. six months later, we're on a book tour. and it's the end of the book tour, mika has written this book, dedicated it to her mother. so it said politics and prose. her mother walks up. everybody gives her a standing ovation. the book is dedicated to you. can you stand up and tell us something about your daughter? everybody is clapping, and we're ready to cry because this is the end of a long book tour. she thinks, and she goes, you know, mika had the lowest s.a.t. score in the history of williams college. i'm like, what is it with these people? >> wow. >> they are a great family. they're tough, but they're great. >> they're tough. >> and mika is just as tough with them too. >> i think mike allen has done a great job today, by the way. >> mike, this is all your fault.

>> by the way, happy birthday dr. brzezinski. >> happy birthday, dad. >> he had the highest s.a.t. score in the history of the world. >> that's why i am such a grand failure. >> tell me about the new ebook, right now. [ laughter ] >> 10 seconds. >> you have 10 seconds to pitch your own book "inside the circus." go. >> last night, we closed the book. this is the old "newsweek" project done in real time, edited by john meacham, written with evan thomas. we go behind the scenes of the campaigns. and we have a great look at the unraveling gingrich campaign. the most unusual campaign ever run from the bus. joe, you'll enjoy this. one of the people who works on the campaign described it to me as a think tank with yard signs. it's the biggest book tour ever for newt gingrich, last night as we heard about them firing 1/3 of their staff, getting rid of their campaign manager. we saw the beginning of what looks like an unraveling of that

campaign. >> just explain, mike, for people who haven't been paying attention how you're doing these. you're rolling them out over the course of the campaign. you can get them on the ipad, the kindle, the nook. like an inexpensive book. it's like $3. >> $2.99. >> it's $3. >> get them at a good price. >> get them now at woolworth's for $9.99. >> get them while they last, i'll throw in the floor mats for free. >> it's a great deal. ipad and kindle. and this is the second of four. we did one at thanksgiving. >> can i buy some for my family too? come on. >> is there a bulk rate? >> the wheels have come off. >> what we do, 20 headlines a day, we sit down with these people, the managers, the people driving the campaigns, the candidate. we sat down for two hours with ambassador huntsman to talk to him about what it's like, what these guys are really like, what it's like to be on the road. what rick santorum does when he

is off camera. >> all right. >> thank you, mike. >> and the birthday greeting to dr. brzezinski. >> happy birthday, doctor. >> happy birthday, dad. and for the record, you're very nice to my parents but it is kind of funny. >> i love your parents. >> they were really bad. they were really bad. joe can't believe that they say it openly like that. it's love. that's how they express it. >> it is love. happy birthday, dr. brzezinski. [ male announcer ] if your kid can recognize your sneeze from a crowd... you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space,

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on medicare and social security out from behind closed doors in washington. because you've earned a say.

so you are buying the dodgers, is that correct? >> thanks a lot. >> nice setup there. >> well, the dodgers have an owner. yes. but the fans are not happy. the community is not happy. when i came to los angeles over 30 years ago, the dodgers were everything just like they are now. we must get that situation straightened out. there is four or five different prospective owners or people who want to buy the team. i would love once they straighten the situation out to be a part of that, if one of the groups will have me. >> it would be great for the city and great for baseball. >> yeah. i'm looking forward to seeing what's going to happen. >> man. that was less than a year ago on

this show, donny deutsch asking magic johnson whether he's going to buy the team, and now he has. >> how exciting. >> interviews that make history, and they happen. >> just let it lie. you had one good moment. >> sometimes it good to keep your mouth shut. >> you can't help yourself with women that -- >> what are you talking about? >> should be your daughters. >> what the hell? by the way -- >> no, no, no. just stop. >> don't invoke valerie and don't you dare even insult her name. no, no. >> i want you to read your -- >> all right. let's -- >> no. >> go. >> we mentioned at the top of the show. the mccourt era is over in los angeles. the dodgers handed off to one of the great icons in the history of that city. the group of investors including magic johns the

team from frank mccourt for $2 billion. johnson said, i am thrilled to be part of the historic dodger franchise and intend to build on the fantastic foundation laid by frank mccourt. the $2 billion price tag the most ever paid for any sports franchise. among baseball teams, the next closest, chicago cubs, purchased in 2009 for $845 million. the deal still has to be approved in federal bankruptcy court and could be finalized by april 30. that is, coincidentally, the day frank mccourt is scheduled to pay his wife $131 million in a divorce settlement. >> look how happy they look there. >> mike, can you characterize quickly how bad it was in l.a. for the last year? why this had to happen, why dodger fans are desperate for this? >> obviously, because the dodgers are one of the four jewels of major league baseball in terms of franchises. it had been run into the ground. they had lost a huge season ticket base. they were held in total

disparagement by the fan base because of the money that the mccourts used owned by the dodgers to maintain a lavish private lifestyle. and now he is the saviour. >> and also gangs controlled different parts of the bleachers. >> they did. >> i hope boston is not part of one of those jewels. >> yes, it is. >> by the way, the baseball season has began. top of the third, first hit of the 2012 season goes to ichiro. >> wow. >> infield single, top of the first inning. >> in tokyo. >> there you go. >> i'm sure most of his teammates would like him to stay there. they do not like him. >> they do not. who is up in? >> andy will take us inside "fortune" magazine. >> awesome. ♪

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45 past the hour. look at that beautiful shot of new york city. >> obviously, tj is out of the control room, willie. because we have a nice shot. >> beautiful. >> it's pretty. joining us now, managing editor of "fortune" magazine, andy serwer. we are going to skip must reads and do your greatest entrepreneurs of our time. and what you can learn from them. >> let's go down the list. i have one i want to talk about in particular. who are the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time? >> well, go from number 12 to number one. there are people like mohammed unis. he did microlending out of bangladesh and just changed the world for millions. sam walton. 2.1 million people work for walmart. and herb kelleyher. all the profits in our lifetime have been garnered by southwest. >> and john mackey, whole foods. >> buys from 2,000 farms across the country.

these guys not only created thi businesses, but bbs businesses that support these companies. >> and the top five? >> howard schultz. names like steve jobs. but, you know, we wanted to talk a little bit about fedex. and fred smith. >> let's talk about fred smith. >> he is kind of underknown, you know, the impact of federal express if you think about it. and amazon. they are powered by fedex. >> the guy is amazing. he really is. what fred smith has done at fedex, and just the demand for excellence from the top down. talk about his background. >> you know, he went to vietnam. he was in the marine corps, and he did a lot of logistics work trying to get troops and material all across that country. and he saw that this was something he was good at, and he saw there was something that was needed in the united states. and when you think about what federal express does, it's made thousands -- and again, millions of businesses, national and even

international. so if you know of an eye glass store in seattle, the only way to get those glasses before was to go to seattle or hope that the post office could get them there, which didn't work so well. now you can get any product from any company anywhere in the united states thanks to fedex. the reliability, signing, and tracking the packages. the collateral damage, kind of putting the post office out of business. but what an incredible company. >> they are just so efficient compared to other companies. the thing we always noticed, my family always used them a lot, every time you called fedex, a live operator picked up on the first ring. and you always knew. you just always knew. i put that fedex package in. they're going to deliver it in time. >> it would be there. >> that's right. and you think about it. again, it's sad for the post office. but you put something in the mail, you're not sure it's going to get there. if you really want something to get somewhere, you send it fedex. >> any threads with these entrepreneurs as far as human

beings? anything when you look at their lives? obviously, they are brilliant people. but, ah, this is what goes into their dna. >> you are an entrepreneur. >> i think i was number 13 on that list. >> but they think differently. talk about steve jobs, number one on his list. we know how he revolutionized his business. but one thing also, he resisted and never did market research. it was all about the gut. and he famously said, alexander graham bell did, he test to see if people wanted a telephone? no. you have all of this market research, consultants. we know from our businesses, what does the people want? what do you think they want? you have to go with that. >> research witells you what wa not what will be. >> and no one knew anything about a iphone or ipad. >> mark zuckerberg's business was overnight. 2004, he is sitting in a dorm room at harvard.

a couple of years later, he is one of the richest guys on the face of the earth. >> and we still don't know the impact really, willie. it's so new, so young. we see the privacy issues. we talked about it on this program before. what's going on with facebook and how it powers so many other zinga, you know, the game companies, the music businesses, all of these other things. facebook is in its infancy. but people told him no. got mad at him at harvard. he dropped out. he left and did it his way. and it's hard to do that, but that's what the real successes come from. >> we don't know if facebook is going to be with us five years from now, but we do know amazon is. number four, really quickly, amazon is just swallowing up everything. >> and i think jeff bezos doesn't get his due, because it is the online superstore of america. and they sell everything now. but one thing people don't know, they power so many other businesses. they do the back office stuff and the software for a lot of other online businesses.

they are a giant. he is a brilliant guy. he locks himself away once a year. he goes on self imposed retreats of one. >> i love it. >> and goes away and just kind of writes in a notebook. >> the story of my life basically. >> i don't hear that about you. i don't think you're a lonely guy from what i hear this morning. ok. andy stay with us. the new issue of "fortune" the greatest entrepreneurs of our time and what we can learn from them. wil's "news you can't use" is next. turn left.

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time for a quick "news you can't use." mitt romney on "the tonight show" talking some policy but also playing a little word association. >> how did that go? might have been funny, must have been hysterical. >> chris christie. >> ok. indomitable. >> all right. >> yeah. if you attack chris christie, you're going to get more than you bargained for. he comes back hard and strong. indomitable. >> marco rubio. >> i'm try for smaller words next time. >> marco rubio. [ applause ] >> the american dream. >> ok. that's three words. >> i know. all right. american dream. >> american dream. >> ok. paul ryan. >> paul ryan. creative.

>> creative. >> yeah. yeah. >> nikki haley. >> energetic. >> donald trump. >> huge. >> huge. [ applause ] >> rick santorum. >> press secretary. >> press secretary. >> yeah, yeah. >> that's a good line. so there you go. mika, no? not feeling it? mika is not feeling it. >> all right. i'm sum it up this way. his favorite comedians, laurel and hardy. true story. >> he is not big on the talkies. >> larry kudlow is standing by in the green room. he'll join us next. also tina brown. keep it on "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] any technology not moving forward

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you think he is the worst republican? >> to run against president obama on health care. he fashioned the blueprint. i have said it in every speech. quit distorting our words. if i see it, it's bull [ bleep ]. >> i think the real rick santorum might be more bad ass than we think. i think they started out as sweaters and he just rips the arms off. top of the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." look at the intrepid.

there's an incredible event there happening today. the jobs fair, hiring our heroes. >> i love it. >> taking place there and across the country. take part in it. it is a win-win-win. joining us still "fortune" magazine's andy serwer, and joining us now the editor-in-chief of "newsweek," tina brown, and the host of "the kudlow report," larry kudlow. >> you know, tina knows how to get cheap attention on "morning joe." specifically, the beatles. >> shameless. >> you know, tina, just last week, i was thinking, oh, my god, everybody in america is transfixed on the beatles coming to america in 1964. but i was like, this is 50 years since "love me do," their first single. 50 years. >> it's unbelievable. >> and that's what you're commemorating. released in england. got up to 17. but the next song, and the next after that, just caused the explosion. >> i know. and the incredible thing is,

these boys were 17. now i have a 21-year-old daughter. and i just think, you know -- >> i didn't realize they were that young. >> they were young. >> they were little boys. >> babies. >> makes me feel really old. >> my childhood. >> i was just going to say, it's a coincidence we also have with us here today the person known throughout the 1960s as the fifth beatle, larry kudlow. >> that's what i was thinking. >> larry introduced them to dylan, marijuana, and of course he is here celebrating 50 years. >> those days. >> we loved them. loved them. >> one of the fun things i think about some of the stuff in here is also the reexamination of the dynamic for instance between lennon and mccourtney. we all assumed it was john who was the edgy one, but actually paul, you know, he conceived sergeant pepper. and for two years at a time in the mid 60s there, john was totally out of it and sort of sleepy and kind of stoned. >> when you say sleepy.

he was actually on lsd from 1967 to 1969. >> exactly. and paul was exploring the cutting edge arts scene and really getting into the sort of very edgy material. >> but you look at the stuff that the critics still go crazy about 50 years later, and it is sergeant pepper that he and george martin put together. also the backside of abby road, which people still consider probably the greatest backside of any album. and it was all mccartney. and of course, lennon, a genius, but, you know, the beatles -- i heard john lennon say one time he always found it remarkable that critics said the rolling stones were cutting edge, when in fact everything the rolling stones did they did six months after the beatles did it. it's the same thing with lennon and mccartney. everybody always thinks of lennon as cutting edge and mccartney as the cutesy one. but you look at the things that still take critics' breath away, it was mccartney pushing everybody else. >> they had a competitive

dynamic actually. they knew each other. so they would sort of compete, which was part of their dynamic. >> let's go from great to grim and talk health care. larry kudlow, yesterday not a good day for the white house. they sent somebody out to argue a case that apparently didn't know they were having oral arguments. >> again, communicating the point was the challenge. >> yeah. i think on the end of it, on the mandate, the administration case is thin. i think that's the biggest problem. of course, it's real hard to figure out whatever questions justices may ask, that does not mean that's the way they are going to vote. >> exactly. we don't know how it's going to go. >> but in terms of individual freedoms or changing personal behaviors by government mandate, that's a very contentious, controversial point of view. and what the conservative justices, and interestingly kennedy, who is supposed to be a swing vote, he basically said, you're going to change the relationship between the federal

government and the individual citizen, ok, that's something we've never done before. and people like justice roberts said, look, even if it's for health care purposes, do i have to buy a cell phone? and scalia says, you know, even for health care purposes, you're going to tell me what kind of food to buy, including broccoli. so those questions are difficult philosophical questions. >> and you just can't read how the justices are going to vote based on oral arguments because a lot of times they will ask their own side the toughest questions to sharpen up their arguments. >> you got guys trading the market. this is crazy. and my pal jim cramer talked about this on our show last night. you can't do that. >> don't do it. >> guys are buying hospital insurance costs based on the questions asked by the justices. >> do you know when we're going to know? june or july when they release the decision, and not until then. >> yes. >> talk about the business community, though. it's very interesting that a lot of progressive people in the business community who believe, though, that the overturning of the health care bill actually

helps the economy. >> well, businesses for the most part on the sidelines here, because this has become so politicized. and you make it this 5-4 vote, republican, democrat. and when i talk to people, they say -- ceos say that something has to be done. a lot of them support the mandate because they know that we have to cover these 35 million uninsured people. and the thing is, we have a mess right now. uncertainty is the worst thing out there. i also think, though, to larry -- speaking to larry's point, the reason that it's at the supreme court is because health care is different. health care is not cell phones. health care is not broccoli. it's something that every american uses, period, end of sentence. >> but i just want to weigh in. outside of hospitals and insurance companies who would benefit enormously from the cash flow from the mandate, so many businesses, first of all, have already asked for waivers and received waivers. they don't want to pay the higher insurance premiums. so many of them are going to put their employees into this

so-called health exchange pool because they believe it's cheaper to pay the $2,000 fine than it is the $10,000 or $12,000 premium. premiums are going up because they front loaded a lot of one size fits all benefits, including the most difficult of all, which is the precondition, the illness problem, and that's very expensive and a lot of businesses don't want to go there. they'd like to get out of the insurance business altogether. >> larry, you say the case is thin, and that's where i beg to differ, because it just seemed like it should have been easier for the solicitor general to make his point yesterday. >> it is ironic that this was a heritage foundation idea. >> exactly. >> 1989. >> it was a conservative concept from the get go. tough questioning yesterday. pointed to serious doubts from the court that congress has the authority to require americans to buy medical insurance. justice anthony kennedy, who could be the swing vote in the case, pressed the administration's lawyer for an answer on that. >> here the government is saying that the federal government has

a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act, and that is different from what we have in previous cases and that changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in the very fundamental way. do you not have a heavy burden of justification to show authorization under the constitution? >> the court's conservative justices were even more pointed in their questioning, specifically over how deeply the government can influence an individual's choices. >> can the government require you to buy a cell phone because that would facilitate responding when you need emergency services? >> everybody has to buy food sooner or later. so you define the market as food, therefore everybody is in the market, therefore you can make people buy broccoli. >> obviously, the administration's argument is that health care is different, and it's different because the people who don't buy it end up going to the hospital or going to the doctor, and then putting costs back on the system. it's already happening.

the broccoli argument makes absolutely no sense to me. >> well, what scalia is saying is, will the government for the first time not simply regulate a market, which we've done before and they have the power to do that. congress has the power to economically regulate a market. they're saying the government wants to force you to enter the market. this is new ground. this is new ground. we've never said, you must behave in a certain way. you must buy this. >> but, larry, help me out here. let me just say where i'm coming from. i hope the court overturning the individual mandate. i think it's unconstitutional. but let me play devil's advocate. everybody enters the health care market. wouldn't conservatives actually like an individual mandate? because if somebody goes to an emergency room, all of us have to pay in that emergency room. and the costs all get shifted back to us anyway. why should you be a free loader that can go into an emergency room because you don't want to buy health care insurance?

why should we pay for your health care? >> i think the system has to be reformed, don't get me wrong, but i think there are better ways to do that. >> i'm talking about the legal argument of this. because the argument that the conservative justices are making and that i make is that people are being compelled to engage in commerce. >> that's what i'm saying. >> they are already engaging in commerce. do you know a single person that has not used the health care system of america? >> yeah, i do, actually. >> who? >> younger people don't want to have to pay the insurance costs because they have other cost priorities in their lives. >> and then they get in a car accident and use it. >> that may be the case. but i'm just saying a lot of people can afford it but choose not to at that particular time in their life. they may not come into it until their 30s or 40s. that's a matter of personal choice, and we have never forced them to make that choice. >> well, taxation could be a matter of personal choice. i think the idea that health care has to be a part of our national system is a radical notion, and that's what the obama administration is trying to do. >> you open up the tax box, ok?

that's very important. the administration argued throughout the debate this was not a tax, it was a penalty. if they had said up front that this was a tax, they might have much better legal standing. but they didn't want to stay that for political reasons because it would have cost them more votes. they are stuck in that tax box. >> what's the difference between forcing somebody to buy private health insurance and as barnicle asked yesterday and forcing you and me and everybody in america to take part in social security, which is also insurance? >> well, remember, i'm paying in social security. i'm paying in and i'm getting a benefit. >> you have no choice. >> and that's an insurance system. well, in some theoretical sense, i have a choice. i can opt out of it. and there are some people -- >> do you not have to buy car insurance? >> car insurance, perfect example. if you choose not to buy a car, you don't buy car insurance. >> you can't do that with health care. >> you can't choose not to be sick. nobody can do that. when i read today in "the new york times" a guy saying, you know, i'm not ill.

i'm never sick. that's so arrogant. tomorrow morning you can develop cancer. tomorrow morning you can be hit by a car as you rightly say. in 2007, mitt romney described it as ultimate conservatism >> it's a matter of choice. that's what it is. a matter of when you buy the insurance. and that's what the revolt has been. and i think it's a very important constitutional principle, by the way, because the federal government can't do it. there are enumerated power here that's at stake. the states could do that. that's mitt romney's argument. the states can mandate that every person buy insurance. that's what they did in massachusetts. but that has never been a federal prerogative. >> do you agree with rich louery that this is james madison's last stand, that if we compel americans to engage in commerce, if we compel americans to buy health insurance to be part of this bigger federal health care system, that we are crossing the rubicon? >> i basically do. rich being my editor, i am a

contributor to "national review." what we are asking is, are there any limits to what the federal government can do? is there any balance between the federal government and the states at all? >> why is that such a third rail for you, federal versus the states? >> it's a constitutional issue. a very important issue. a 10th amendment issue. >> but what's the different? >> i think the constitution has served us very well the last 225 years. >> you're not answering the question. why is it different if i'm in massachusetts if the state mandates i do this versus the federal government? >> well, the states are given plenary power. it's stated clearly that those police powers -- you asked why it's a difference. because for 235 years, these powers that have rested in the states. and the constitution specifically says, these are the things that we're going to do, hold on, you ask a question, it's important that people understand the answer to the question at home.

because the constitution very clearly says in the 10th amendment, it says that everything that we've talked about here in this constitution, it's what the federal government can do. all other powers, the plenary powers, are are you served to the states and the people. this is a big step away from 235 years of precedent. >> and these are enumerated powers, and it said so in the constitution. and that's a very important principle for the united states. very important. >> that's right. but there's tension between states rights and federal power is times. the madison question, right? >> this could be done in different ways. we didn't have to go down this road. this could have been done. you could have had interstate insurance. you could have had tax credits. you could have refundable tax. there are a lot of ways to do this that would not have violated the states versus federal government problem. >> and here is the bottom line. and this is the truth that the administration may not want americans to know. they would like to make this a story about how the supreme court, the conservative supreme court, is going to stand in the

way of 30 million people getting health insurance. the white house could have done so many things without using an individual mandate on a federal level, but they didn't want to because they were unpopular politically. because they couldn't get the votes in the house and the senate. so it's not an all or nothing proposition. if the individual mandate is taken out as a funding mechanism, they can pass a tax. >> the individual mandate must be some sort of very difficult end point that everyone gets to when you're trying to deal with the health care crisis. but correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't it back in '94 when bill clinton was launching his health care overhaul, wasn't the individual mandate what the republicans were using to counter it? >> yes. >> so everybody has gotten behind this after struggling with it at some point. >> ultimate conservatism is what romney care is. >> it was originally done as an antidote to single payer government-run health care.

>> but if it's unconstitutional now, it was unconstitutional then. >> that's right. it wasn't well thought through, and they didn't envision the kind of system you have here with the central rationing board and all the bells and whistles. look, i'm for health care reform. there's a lot of things that need to be done, and that whiches hewhic includes helping people with pre-existing conditions. but you can reform the tax system. you can give tax credits to everybody. let them cross state lines and pick the right plan, the cheapest plan, the cadillac plan, whatever. you don't have one size fits all. that wouldn't violate any mandates. wouldn't violate any states rights. so many ways we could have done this. i think the supreme court could do us a favor. if they rule that the mandate is unconstitutional, people go back to the drawing board, come up with a much more efficient system. >> you could argue it's politically helpful to obama if they don't pass it. he doesn't have to argue about it on the trail. >> i think a loss in the supreme court may lead to some victories

at the election. you talked about the hypocrisy of republicans, and they have supported individual mandates back in the '90s. there's hypocrisy on the other side too, which american cross roads points out. barack obama once an opponent of the individual mandate. let's look at the ad that cross road size going to be airing. >> i want to take responsibility for meeting this challenge. everybody. including employers and individuals. if a mandate was the solution, we could try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody buy a house. a system where every american bears responsibility for owning health insurance. what are you going to do about it? are you going to fine them? are you going to garnish their wages? >> hillary clinton is attacking, but what is she not telling you about her health care plan? it forces everyone to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it, and you pay a penalty if you don't. >> you don't have an individual mandate, then what would everybody do?

if the government does not force taxpayers to buy health care, that we will penalize them in some fashion. i disagree with that. we do have a philosophical difference. what do you think of that idea? >> oh, lord. >> hypocrisy on both sides. >> oh, sound bites. >> those are some deadly sound bites. >> i didn't say they were hypocritical. i said that the individual mandate must be some sort of difficult solution that each party or each side on this argument ends up at, because this crisis is so difficult. >> why do you think the president was against the individual mandate before he was for it? >> i don't know. i mean, why do i think the president was against it? what was his argument against it? probably the same argument that larry is making right now. >> it is. >> it actually was. >> exactly. which is bizarre. both sides are -- >> he took the conservative view.

he took the investor view, and hillary, as you recall, pushed hillary care, single payer care under her husband's presidency, took the liberal view. very interesting. >> it is. but again, i made the point of actually not in this specific case of calling the republicans hypocritical. there are times they are. on other things. >> no, no, no, they have been hypocritical. let me help you there. >> but this is a real struggle for our country in terms of how to handle obligations versus a crisis. >> it's not a struggle if barack obama had told americans this. everybody, i think it's a moral imperative everybody has health care. and i understand we're going to take care of pre-existing conditions, make things more portable. i understand that the 26-year-olds and people younger need to stay on health insurance with their families until they become 26. and i know this is going to cost money. that's why i'm going to be implementing a tax. so we all as a country have a moral responsibility to make

sure everybody has health care reform. that is constitutional. >> shift the tax. >> that is constitutional today. it will be constitutional tomorrow. and it was constitutional two years ago when they were debating this. >> i would just add to that, change the game so that the business, the employer, is not in that business anymore. they get a tax deduction. they get a tax write-off. most of them want to get out of that. give the same tax free expense to the individual, and let them be responsible for their own health care purchases on a pretax basis. do you follow me? >> yes. >> right now, a small business person or an individual that doesn't work for a big corporation, if he or she wants to buy health care, they have to do so in after tax dollars. they don't get the tax benefit. >> you know, larry, that's impossible. >> that's a huge wedge against getting them insured. >> larry, as a small business owner, i can tell you, health insurance costs too much. >> well, that's -- >> people cannot afford health care insurance if they have two, three, four people working for them. i couldn't.

it was hard for me to pay for it for my family 15 years ago. >> it would be easier if it was an after-tax basis. >> it really wouldn't make -- you have to have insurance pooling. these are the things we talked about in '93 and '94. >> here is another point, and it's a great point. i don't know why democrats oppose this point. you should be able to shop around any state in the union and get the best deal you can get. now the insurance companies oppose that. >> they hate that. >> because they don't want to take the competition. they like their little monopolies in new york and new jersey, and that's wrong. and that's a big piece of that. >> i agree with that. we have to go. we want to thank larry kudlow for being with us. also, andy. "fortune" magazine. the 12 most important entrepreneurs of our time. >> it's a good one. >> and also since tina brought pictures of the beatles, we're going to keep her with us for a few more blocks. and talk more about the "newsweek" special on the beatles.

can't wait to talk more about that. all right. still ahead, senator joe man chin will join us on the initiative aimed at putting veterans back to work. up next, arlen specter weighs in on the future of the health care law he was instrumental in helping to pass. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em, with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds, and stops new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control.

the reason we have obama care is because the senator you supported over pat toomey in pennsylvania, arlen specter, the pro choice senator of pennsylvania, that you supported and endorsed in a race over pat toomey, voted for obama care. if you had not supported him, if we had said no to arlen specter, we would have obama care. so don't look at me. take a look in the mirror.

>> i was his colleague in the united states senate. he asked me to stand with him. that certainly wasn't one of my prouder moments. i look back on. but, look, you know, you work together as a team for the state of pennsylvania. i certainly knew that arlen specter was going nowhere. and i disagreed with a lot of the things that he said. and it was something i look back on and wish i hadn't have done. >> ok then. 27 past the hour. joining us now, former democratic senator from pennsylvania articlen specter -- arlen specter. author of a new book "life among the cannibals." >> senator specter, thank you for being with us. we want to talk to you about the supreme court in a minute. but first, rick santorum saying he wishes that he hadn't supported you when you were running for re-election. what do you think of that? >> i think it's too late now. that's what i think.

i supported him, helped him a lot when he first ran. and it was reciprocal. and that's what two senators from the same state do. >> yeah, of course it is. but now of course he is saying he regrets it. do you think -- well, you've said you think he is too extreme. that you won't be supporting him because you think his positions are too extreme. explain. >> well, we worked together on pennsylvania's problems, although we had deep differences philosophically. but if you think women have no place in the work force, if you're against contraception, if you think john kennedy's speech in houston separating church and state was wrong, you're too far out of the mainstream to be president. >> ok. that would be the bottom line right there. i mean, seriously. say no more. >> but this recent election has been all about people reversing every loyalty they have ever had. the fact that santorum is saying these things now, it's like, you

know, everybody is just betraying everybody, reversing where they were, just to sort of make a point. >> but whoever is president, the guy -- the person can't do much if he doesn't have a congress. if you have a gridlocked congress, if you have a congress controlled by the extremes, and that's what i point out in my book, "life among the cannibals." this book is about cannibals devouring senators, cannibals devoured bob bennett in utah, 93% conservative wasn't sufficient. cannibals devoured joe lieberman who wasn't far enough to the left. couldn't win a democratic primary. and this book goes behind the scenes. i know where the bodies are buried. and senator mruczkowski in alaska had the answer, which i'd like to talk to you about when i have a break in the action. >> yeah. so you talk about the end of governing as we know it in the book title. what do you mean by that? >> i mean that if you don't have

compromise, if you run on the tea party ticket, pledging not to compromise, if you're afraid to cast an individual vote against the party line for fear of being challenged in a primary, as we're about to lose dick luger in indiana, you don't have a functioning government. you have a gridlocked government. >> and of course on the left, bob kurie has decided to go back and run in nebraska for senator. a war hero, a man who worked across the aisle. he is now getting absolutely eviscerated by the far left. >> well, that's precisely what i mean. they want to eat bob kurie because the extremes are cannibals. lisa murkowski had the answer. in alaska as, she was goured bye

tea party. she came back and ran again. do you know how hard it is to spell it? if you spell it with a y or instead of an i they threw her ballot out. but she showed that if you informed the electorate, you can do the virtual impossible. unprecedented in american history. and that's what i go into in this book. i am also selling this book. >> are you really? >> let me help you out, senator. >> there are no rules on this show. we're shameless. >> let me hold it up here for you. >> donny is holding it up for you. i think actually this will sell it more. >> don't hide mika. come on. >> there you go. >> get that shot. so do you think that there is a place in america, then, for a third party? do you think an independent could run and win as president? >> no, i do not. i think the two party system is too deeply ingrained. but you can make the two-party

system work. when i was elected to the senate in 1980, we had a wednesday club filled with moderates. people across the aisle. ted kennedy worked with bob dole. we got together. we were willing to pass individual votes. i led the fight against bourque. got into a lot of trouble with the republican party, but i was willing to take my chances. i voted for the stimulus package. cost me my seat, but i thought it was the right thing to do. but after what happened to me, you couldn't get snow and collins to vote for legislation to require disclosure. the supreme court came down with that terrible decision in citizens united. corporations and unions can make unlimited anonymous expenditures. the supreme court left a little avenue. you could require disclosure. 59 senators on one side of the aisle said let's cut off the

filibuster. let's move ahead. not one republican would step forward. there's not a republican moderate in the united states senate. that's not quite accurate because olympia snow is now. she has gone back to being moderate since she is not running. >> speaking of olympia snow, though, what is your forecast for the republican party? what do you think is happening? >> well, the republican party has moved so far to the right, you can't recognize mitt romney. what mitt romney will appear in october? bill ross had it exactly right. he said that mitt romney has changed positions more often than a pornographic movie queen. >> my. >> i did not say that, by the way. >> the great senator from the state of pennsylvania said that. >> sounds like something you would say. great punch line. and senator specter is engaged in more standup comedy. take a look at this. >> this is at caroline's?

>> came by and said, will you have a drink? and i said i'll have a martini. i've got one right here. and newt said i'll have scotch and soda. and the captain tapped him on the shoulder and said, what will you have? scotch, rye, or bourbon? the man turned around and said, scotch, rye, or bourbon? i'd commit adultery first. mitt jumped up and said, i didn't know that. i would have done that first. >> you've done that. that's a tough audience. >> they had a ceo night. just to know how bad i was, i lost a friend of mine, a lovely guy, to john tish. unfuniest man on the planet. >> but the senator getting big laughs. >> listen, i have been in training for comedy for 30 years. it's not -- >> with cannibals. >> it's not standup in the senate when you pay $20 million

for your seat. you like to sit down. but i found that if you make a little humor in, you can get -- if you can get people to laugh, you can get them to listen. >> do you know what's interesting, listening to the senator, when people are out of the office, and you're talking like a statesman, honestly, it's so much more believable. i wish people could talk like you who are still doing it. >> well, i did when i was there. that's what got me devoured by the cannibals. >> to joe's point, you know, so what are we going to do with the system, you say there's not room for a third party. but this two-party system now, if the cannibals have taken over, it's the moderates getting driven out. more and more. what does that leave us with? >> well, lisa murkowski, senator in alaska, write-in vote. she got the last laugh. she got the last morsel. and she proved that if you inform the electorate and you arouse the electorate, you can

beat the cannibals. and that's what has to be done in november. >> all right. the new memoir is "life among the cannibals." former senator arlen specter, thank you very much. >> showing it again. everyone has held it up. >> amazon.com, barnes and nobles, in the bookstore today. >> look at this. >> read it and act on it. >> all right. >> a call to action. >> independent book sellers near you. new polling out this morning breaks out the general election matchup between president obama and the republican challengers in the big three key battle ground states. keep it right here on "morning joe." this one's for all us lawn smiths. grass gurus. doers. here's to more saturdays in the sun. and budgets better spent. here's to turning rookies into experts,

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happy birthday, dad. i've got to go. talk to you later. ok, bye. >> all right. there we are. we just sang happy birthday to dr. brzezinski. newt gingrich is pledging to continue after a major campaign shakeup. the former house speaker is replacing his campaign manager and laying off nearly 1/3 of his staff. with campaign funds at a new low, a gingrich spokesman says that the campaign is being redesigned to make it, quote,

convention ready. gingrich plans to talk directly to the delegates, making the case that he is the best choice to beat president obama. earlier in the day, gingrich suggested he has a shot at the nomination if the republican race continues through the summer. >> well, i will be one of the republican nominees. if, however, we get to june 26 and governor romney does not have a majority, i think you'll then have one of the most interesting open conventions in american history. it will be a 60-day dialogue on television, radio, the internet, all the way up to tampa. and the question will be asked, who could best beat barack obama? and at that point, i think most republicans agree that i would probably do a better job debating obama than any other candidate. and i think it becomes a very viable, very lively campaign. >> ok. >> he always positions himself as a debater. >> exactly. >> it's about the debates. that's what it's about. >> it's going to be him and his

facebook page in the end. >> you know, why -- why doesn't somebody say to him, you're going out like a joke. make a deal with santorum. drop out. maybe santorum catches fire now, and the deal is you become secretary of state of he gets elected. isn't there anybody that can whisper in his ear? >> i don't think there's any upside for newt gingrich to get out of the campaign. >> he is starting to look like a fool. >> i don't think he is starting to look like a fool. >> you didn't think as he was talking there that looked like a foolish man? >> if mitt romney doesn't get the nomination at the end of the process, we have 60 days, and gingrich is right. over those 60 days, imagine in this 24/7 culture what is going to be ginned up over two months' time. romney. we're going to go back and look at all of romney's gaffs. look at all of romney's losses. go back and look at all the times that romney finished in

third place. and go back and look at the head-to-head polls. if you can't nail it down, it's going to hurt. and it's going to be a debate within the republican party about whether 60 days from now in tampa we're going to want to nominate mitt romney, a guy that nobody is excited about, as a republican nominee. >> but it ain't going to be newt gingrich. >> at that point, anything is possible. so if you're newt gingrich, you're sitting there going, they're never going to pick me as secretary of state. what do i have to lose? i will be in the mix at the convention if i stay in this thing. >> yeah. >> plus, there's one other ingredient to your point, why doesn't he get out, why doesn't he negotiate a deal with santorum. i don't think any of us can comprehend the level of dislike that santorum, his campaign, and gingrich and his, what's left of his campaign, have for mitt romney. that keeps them in there. >> yeah. >> i could use that logic why he would broker the deal, though.

so i agree with that. >> you and logic. >> yeah. >> we have some new polls just out this morning showing general election matchups in key swing states in. florida, president obama leads romney by seven points and rick santorum by 13. in ohio, the president leads romney by six and santorum by seven. and in pennsylvania, a tighter race between the president and romney. only a three-point lead for obama. however, the president leads santorum in his home state by seven points. >> give me a read on florida on that number. >> these are predicting states to an extent. historically. >> well, i'm sorry. did i miss florida? what was florida? >> pennsylvania. ohio. >> florida was the first one, wasn't it? >> what was the florida number again? >> right there. >> that's stunning. barack obama has been sitting in the low 40s in the state of florida over the past two years. 2 1/2 years. he's been so weak in florida. it is -- keep that up. it is a republican state.

they have got a republican governor that won going away, even though his approval ratings are in the 30s. the state house, the legislature, is overwhelmingly republican. top to bottom, that is a republican state. and yet mitt romney is getting pounded. mitt romney is not popular in the deep south. that is going to cost republicans if he is the nominee in florida. that's going to make georgia competitive. that's going to mean north carolina goes democratic. that virginia goes democratic. louisiana may be competitive. arkansas may be competitive. missouri will be competitive. kentucky will be competitive. it is a real problem that mitt romney has just always underperformed in the deep south. >> given that politics is not determined by money, i can't imagine that the republicans are just going to sit it out and say, we have a nominee who's not going to cut it. we'll just sit this one out. >> unfortunately, there aren't

enough good republicans left to be able to step in and make a difference. i will say, if you look at those numbers, there's always this belief, and i was actually talking to bill crystal about this a couple of weeks ago. there's always a belief among government types that say we need a good third-party independent candidate, that you need somebody socially liberal and fiscally conservative and they could maybe do well across the midwest. this year, a southern populist would tear through the deep south. >> yeah. >> whin the deep south, win int the plains states. and there's actually a path forward. that way, because mitt romney is so deeply unpopular in the south and barack obama is as well. it's unbelievable. everything is backwards. >> tina, thank you for being on today.

"newsweek's" cover, the beatles, 50 years since the music started. >> 50 years. >> it's so awesome. >> more "morning joe" in just a moment. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there

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was good. it can be again. it will come, come. people will most definitely come. >> there it is. >> you have to wipe your eyes. i'm going to cry. >> some women watching this are saying what just happened and the guys are crying. what a movie that is. >> opening day. it is a man and something that happens on opening day where there is life again. >> the shutters, are you taking the shutters down. >> the storm windows down. >> the van turns around and there is change. right across. >> you saw it. >> it's opening day and the mariners are playing in japan and the game is tied, 1-1.

ichiro is 3-3 batting 1,000 this season. >> if fans are watching, they want the teams to stay in tokyo. wow. >> the solo home run for the mariners. i guess the ichiro thing and japan, how about the yankees and the red sox? >> the american league and anybody on the east coast or anybody from st. louis, they don't want to do that. it crews you up for about a month in terms of jet lag and time travel. it's awful. i have a funny story about time travel. >> we will talk about that later. >> we can relax a little bit. >> so mike, his daughter was out there, but he is going to be leaving there soon? i heard he wants to run an

english premier soccer team? >> he loves soccer and i would think he leaves the a's unless they move to a new ballpark where they are financially capable of competing which they are not right now. i would think he would get sick of it. >> it's money ball and all about getting on base. >> coming up next, college basketball and a special update on new orleans, a place we know well. digger is live. we'll be right back. >> the mets open up on the 5th. we will be there. mike, are you going to come out in. >> he won't. it's going to be fun. we can't wait. all right, let's decide what to

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good morning. it's 8:00 on the east at new yok city. we have mike and donny. >> he does not want to talk about the supreme court. somebody messed in their bed yesterday. that's a very polite way of saying what that poor, poor guy did who is going to be crucified by the american left for the rest of his life. he is like the bill buckner of the american left. it went horribly yesterday when jeffrey comes out. it's over. we lose. >> they should have sent joe

peschi. >> seriously. it's tough on him, but i remember when we were watching george w. bush debate for the first time against al gore. al gore was worse, but we sat there horrified going oh, my god, that guy can't complete a sentence. we will get to that in a second. the dodgers. the dodgers. i'm thinking maybe because there is inflation, the dodgers are going for a billion or 1.3 or 1.4. that would be a record breaker. last night after an all-day conference call with the major league baseball owners, the magic johnson group with stan kaston came in with a bid of $2 billion to purchase the los angeles dodgers.

$2 billion. >> do they get the parking lot? >> that was the key to their purchase. that's why they got it. at the end of the day, they threw in extra to make it up to $2 billion to buy the parking lots and all the land surrounding. they are the new owners. >> frank mccourt takes the gun from the head of one of the most storied franchises and turns it over to magic. >> every sports franchise goes like that. there was a guy from this industry and a guy from this industry. it symbol eyes where the money in this country is. that's something annoying how the hedge fund guys own. >> it is a perfect group. a guy with a ton of money at the top and magic johnson. there could not be a better figure head.

a great business man and stan kaston who put all the great braves teams and the washington nationals after that. a great baseball guy and a great ambassador in magic johnson. >> the worst to the first. >> we got to talking about what happened. he was all over himself in front of -- he was lucky it wasn't you two. he would live in infamy. it's never a good sign when the justices are finishing your sentence for you. >> there was a laugh track coming and at one point ruth begins berg said donny, don't hurt yourself. the "new york times" yesterday and a lot of people thought this was going to be an a 1 decision. listen to the arguments from the beginning.

it's clear it's going to be a 5-4 or 6-3 if robert switches his vote. this will be close to the end. right now, i think the administration backs up against the wall. >> it certainly changed in 24 hours. the fight over president obama's health care law heads to the supreme court for his third and final day of arguments. yesterday's debate over the individual mandate did not go well for the white house. here are the reactions on twitter. train wreck for barack obama and the supreme court today. well, folks, i wasn't worried about the arguments yesterday. i am today. dan foster adds wow, did the solicitor general know it was today? you can mark the point, page 14

when the justices decide they are stepping in to make his arguments for him. >> they are surprised by the lack of quality by the arguments. >> tough moments physically. it wasn't a great presentation. today the justices will consider whether the law should be overturned if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional. it's unclear how the justices got that mandate, but they pointed to serious doubts from the court that congress has the authority to buy medical insurance. anthony kennedy press the the lawyer for the announcer. >> here the government is saying that the federal government has the duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act and that is different from what we have in previous cases. it changes the relationship that

the federal government has in a fundamental way. do you not have a heavy burden of justification to show authorization under the constitution? >> the conservative justs were showing how deeply they can have individual choices. >> can the government require you to buy a cell phone because that would facilitate responding? >> everybody has to buy food so you define the market as food and everybody is in the market and make people buy broccoli. >> the administration argues that health care is different for most everyone requires medical attention in their lifetime whether they are in court or not. the liberal wing of the bench seemed to defend the president's law, wondering why it's okay to compel americans to contribute to social security. >> legal scholars have been saying that is the barnacle argument.

>> it is a good argument. >> unlike the solicitor general, i pay attention to legal zoom. >> sure you do. >> robert shapiro? >> yes. >> but the broccoli argument? >> it's not relevant because the difference is i could be really hungry. >> can we hear from the justices first? >> it was a big fuss about in the beginning because a lot of people said maybe some people said i still do today. maybe if the government left me alone. >> i could be starving and wander in the grocery store and they don't have to give me broccoli. i will not have to pay for it. the difference is i wander into the emergency room i will get treatment. if i'm not inshirted, there is a

difference. >> that are doesn't make broccoli more expensive for people who does buy the broccoli. >> what's interesting to me, first of all, anybody that followed the supreme court for more than one term knows you can't tell anything from oral arguments. you can guess, but a lot of us, if i were in anthony kennedy's place and i was deciding which way to go, i would ask the toughest and if i thought i might be lining up in support of the president with the health care plan, i wouldn't be playing for the cameras, but hammering the administration to make sure i had it right and justices do that. wait a second. you are saying it's like i do think the law is unconstitutional. if i was asking questions and a lot of justices did it this way,

the question i would ask is what's the difference between social security and compelling people to buy health care insurance? how is it different from car insurance? they say it's because they drive the car and they make the choice to drive the car. yeah, but we know all americans will use health care insurance at some point or use services at some point. do any of us know anybody that has never been a part of the health care system? >> no. >> does anybody watching at home know anybody that's never been a part of the health care system. i have never met anybody inial of my life that has not been a part of the health care system. everybody does at some point or another. >> what argument are you making? that are are that's stronger for the white house. this is more compelling for

insurance. there people in new york who don't drive a car. i never met anybody in new york city that has never used health care services. i think it's unconstitutional to require people to engage in the commerce, but if i were on the bench, i would force somebody to answer that question for me. >> let's take it to the taxes. you pay taxes because we want to drive across the bridge and have the schools and that's the theory. there is no difference other than taxes should be optional. it's unconstitutional to make me pay my fair share. >> people have. i had supporters to make that argument. >> it's unconstitutional to pay taxes. i hope everybody at home gets my

point and the point is this. you can't read too much out of what happened in oral arguments. the liberal justices are going to be at the white house. >> we need to go at the end where he said this may be different. to your point he was voicing the other side and the last words, i guess it is different. at the end he said something. kennedy. he left it open. >> we have been saying it for six months and i think it comes down to kennedy at the end. >> it is starting out bad. seriously, communicating with this and the higher law was rough. this moment was really important and flushed down the toilet. i think the point that you make is the bottom line will have to be considered. it's the brunt of the argument and health care for american

people versus health care they are paying for. that's what they will be deciding. the performance, disappointing. >> on the other side of the number, it's a growing trend where young people are deciding i don't want to buy insurance and i am going to pay a doctor $1,000 a year and stay out of insurance and it's going to be the fee for service. i will pay the doctor and he will take care of my family for $1,000. screw dealing with hmos and ppos. if i get sick i go to that office and i like it that way. there is that argument. >> nice until you are in a car accident and in the hospital for two months. >> exactly. >> i have to go to the doctor, but other than that, i was talking to a fellow friday. he has a good job and makes good money. he goes to an online doctor

service and pays $200 per internet visit to a doctor and gets prescriptions from the doctor. $200 online. >> is it legal? >> yes, it is. >> the constitutional right to those who don't think they should have the mandate. no, thanks. can't help you. then we will hear what they say about the constitution. >> that will be interesting too because they will decide if they can separate the mandate. the approval for preexisting conditions that you can put somebody off for not getting coverage for that. the idea of whether you throw out the baby with the bath water if that's what they decide is another big question. there parts of the affordable care act that are popular. >> it seems to me that it should

be easier for the court. the cost of insurance companies we will have to shoulder because letting kids stay until they are 26 and making things and insurance affordable. you can pay for that in taxes and without compelling people. >> as we discussed here before, one of the elements in terms of the communication and parts of it being unpopular are rooted in the unfortunate fact that ted kennedy with the national health care got sick and died in the first part of the obama administrati administration. if he was not sick and passed away, his hand would be much stronger. i have a strong feeling because of the elements you mentioned, affordability, coverage of children and stuff like that, he would have cut a deal and said

we will get the rest later. >> long-term whether it's split apart or thrown out, what is the political impact and is there one? the lineage is based on conservative who is came up with the idea and championed it. >> david dwyer who is retired now, he said son, you never get in trouble. you can always defend a no vote. the yes votes are more difficult. a friend thanked me five years later. a no vote is a good thing. i have always believed the negative and the no and the supreme court overturning this health care law, i believe that helps democrats a lot. i would rather run against a negative and run against the extremist right wing court that

had stole and the supreme court that stole the election from democrats in 2000 and allowed george bush to spread the constitution over eight years and now taking away health care from 35 million americans. that seems to be great talking points for democratic candidates. that said, over the past 24 hours, we had one democrat after another after another saying it would make the president look bad. i don't think so. i think politically it's a big win. >> it doesn't get overturned and you start to chin up on the other side. i also think that a month after this -- >> by the way, alex said in my ear, you have citizens united here and you can help prevent the run away supreme court. sorry to interrupt. that is something the left would

be energized about. >> for it goes the other direction, the right will say look what happened to us. it will go by the wayside. i think we are talking about that today in march and if it comes through in june, i don't think whether it stays or goes will be a deciding factor. >> we will talk to man chin and colonel jack jacobs about a series of job fairs happening today. it has been a few years since "morning joe" visited the school that was struggling to recover in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. this morning our friend is back at the school with a big announcement. first, let's go to bill with a check on the forecast. >> we love digger. as far as the forecast, strong thunderstorms. we are at the end of march and heading to the peak of tornado season.

april and may. right now not too severe. the cold front is coming down and looks like a few fires between buffalo and pittsburgh. the strongest up in the areas of yellow. most of kentucky and all our friends on the west coast. it's chilly and wet and the green is the rain. we'll get snow at the high elevation. late today with a chance of a thunderstorm in the d.c. area. pretty much all day from seattle to portland. very heavy rain and snow in the pacific northwest. middle of the country, what a great march you are having. you are watching "morning joe."

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the largest class size in the nation. 47th out of 50 in per-student funding. but right now, we can make history with a ballot measure to send every k-through-12 dollar straight to our schools. to every school and every child. not to sacramento. it's the only initiative that can say all that. check out our online calculator and find out how your school would benefit. visit ourchildrenourfuture2012.com today.

>> you are looking at pictures of the intrepid character carrier here in new york where it will host one of the many job fairs for military veterans as part of the news and chamber of commerce hiring initiative. we have our military analyst jack jenkins. democratic senator from virginia, joe manchin who is working on his own effort in congress to reduce the

unemployment rate among veterans. thanks to you both for being here. >> colonel jacobs, is it worse today than when you returned from vietnam? >> it is. one of the reasons is the economy is not nearly as good as it was back then. second, oddly you have a small number of people in the service and there is no draft. we don't have to serve. as a result, being in uniforms off the radar screen for most people. employers who employed alike. despite the fact that you can point to veterans being the most qualified for people anywhere. >> senator, you have an initiative that is similar and it's called i hire veterans. how does that work and how does it differ? >> the state is proud as to how many veterans they had.

probably on a per capita basis. we are proud about that. my good friend and i gotting to and talking about how can we hire vets with numbers as high as they are. 12% unemployment. 18 to 24-year-old males coming out of the service, unemployment rate is 29% and higher. we are saying i will hire a vet. we are asking people to display this and mean what you say. hire a vet. you top the show patriotism. put up yellow ribbons and fly a flag. if you want to help a vet, hire a vet. the veteran wants caucus and with all of us, they have veterans working in our offices. it's easy to talk the talk. you have to walk the walk. >> something we get back with the society that goes beyond

good will or obligation. would you agree? >> a reward that comes from hiring veterans, especially in this environment when not many people are serving. there is a strong measure of guilt involved. i didn't serve and i owe something other than paying taxes for those of us who pay taxes. i think just to do it out of guilt, you have highly qualified people who at the age of 19 and 20 years old had more responsibility than people who are ceos. it's not charity. you do yourself a favor by hiring somebody who had a great deal of maturity. it's good for the country and it's good for the business world. you were talking about a couple of days ago about what the young men and women have been through. >> yeah, although i think the

important part is for employers. what to look for and why it's a good idea. not as an act of charity, but to hire a veteran based on the things he can do. a lot of times they don't understand the translation between what they did in a battlefield. >> we have such a generation of young entitled people. the military understands the concept of we and not me first. that is what makes great people in a company and the fundamental underpinning of the military. somebody who hired people, to your point, this is not charity. this is smart. >> let's talk about the war. afghanistan is nearly 70% of americans based on a poll said they think it's time to get out

of afghanistan. what do your constituents tell you in west virginia? >> you know how i feel about this war. i think we should have a dedicated war on terror wherever terror may be. we will get you. we have proven we have the resolve to do that. to occupy a nation and occupying a nation doesn't work well. we are spending billions of dollars. we need to rebuild america. you help us build a school or a road, we won't blow it up or burn it down. we are appreciative. bring it home. when we bring them home, we want to have a job for you. everybody is well-intended here. they have done so many things and i appreciate so much and his service in his direction. we never connected the dots. we don't know when a military person is separating from the military and enough time to know where they want to go and the

skill sets they have. they have the desire to hire and they don't know that they have the opportunity to hire. we are trying to connect the dots. i hire a vet or send a caucus for the veterans and we are appreciative to have so many supporting us. >> the defense department does not do a spectacular job of making sure the troops were leaving actually had a place to go. if you had a dismal job that the defense department does. it's because being in the military has been a duty and an honor, they were on their own. not like we had billions of veterans like we did after the second world war. they decided if you send people to college, you won't have so many people unemployed.

as a result, there is no focus on that. if you go to law school or business school or any other school, there was a placement service where you go to college. hooking graduates up with people who want to hire them. the defense department does a lousy job. we are right to say start hiring veterans. the defense department has to do a much better job making sure that they are out of the service. >> we should also be smart enough as a country to tap into the skills that the young men and women have. they are there. it does take an effort to transition them. i don't understand why we are at the point where we have to push this so forward like this and i appreciate what you are doing, but we should have been here. >> there is no national service and a wide gap opened up between

people who are serving, a small number of people and the 300 million other people who are not serving. the people who are in uniform are not connected in any way to people who are not in uniform. out of sight, out of mind and you are going to rub people's faces in it and remind them that it will be good for charity and the economy. >> i have three veterans in my office. the most dedicated and trained and committed that you can ever seen and i am appreciative to have that quality of workforce in my office. they said it. the well-train and ready to go to work. why do we have the highest unemployment and the veterans are beyond any of them. we have good intentions and why have we connected the dots? you are bringing it to light. we will do it today and the

department of labor is responsible for transitioning and we have the secretary with us today. that will be exciting to have her putting a face to it. if we as senators and congress can say listen, we want you to participate, we want you to do it. put this sign up and mean it. not just a yellow ribbon and fly a flag, but put the sign up and hire veterans. >> the initiative is hiring our heroes. thank you. senator joe manchin, i hire heroes. get the signs. >> where do they get the sign? >> go to our website. manchin.senator.gov. whoever wants one. >> i love it. >> our friend david fell-- digg

phelps has an announcement. >> this guy is frightening. >> from the high school in new orleans next. ss [ male announcer ] the next generation of lexus

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>> what folks me is an amazing story. it took the hurricane to wake them up. this was a school system that you said was broken and dysfunctional. students were not learning and when the hurricane hit, it raised awareness of the huge challenges and they are rallying the city and the school system and it's getting better every year and i'm hopeful about the direction it's going. >> that was secretary of education on the morning show when we were live in new orleans 2 1/2 years ago. since the initial visit we built on the commitment to help the school's effort to be one of the best in the city. joining us now is the college basketball analyst digger phelps along with the superintendent of louisiana state schools. digger, why don't you take it away and tell us what the big

announcement is. >> our dream started to become a reality. when we were here 2 1/2 years ago, we fell in love with john mcdonough. because of what john white has done not just as a superintendent, but two months ago got promoted as the state schools. i think you are going to love what he has to say to all of us because of love and affection for the neighborhood and the city and the best chefs and restaurants in the world. it's yours. >> thanks so much. two months ago we said on this site and in this gymnasium, we have to do something for the kids. we have to do something to get graduation rates above 50%. number one, if you get a plan that has a great teacher and a great principal, they would make sure this school is preparing for college and career and three, residents here in new

orleans support the effort. we will build this 19th century building into a 20th century building. we are announcing that yes, we have a plan and have a great teacher and great principal including the who is leading this school. they lead the effort for the straund association. we will put 35 mi yon authorize up. the state put $35 million into making the school new. >> that's huge. digger, a lot of times when you are winning and you start ranting, sometimes he foams at the mouth and he just garbles. he muttered something about the best culinary school in new orleans and louisiana. that is becoming a reality a couple years later.

>> digger gets it done again. >> we were there 2 1/2 years ago and he went on live television and called out. >> hold on now. stay in the cage until we opened up. >> we were standing in the gym, you couldn't play basketball on it. digger looked up in the span of there about three minutes, the most well-known basketball court design company in america. he shook them down and shamed them and we have a new court because of it. he talked about a cullner school and looks like they are getting that done. he talked about the cullner aspect. >> as you people know, we have the best restaurants with the best chefs. john white who was a recovery superintendent before he was a state superintendent, this dream became a reality. the first thing you did was poll

the neighborhood and what we had to do to get people to believe in this. >> we knew it had to start with the community and bring people into this. we went out to steve and took his group and went out. we canvassed 500 houses in the community and we went door-to-door and saw people watching in this community. they know education is a key to revitalizing. we said to the louisiana restaurant association, what will it take to get a great academic program? we have great teachers and $35 million is icing on the cake. the facilities is to honor the great kids of the city. we will make this the greatest college prep school in the state. >> new york city last year had 400 street deaths with kids with

guns and violence. that's about 8 million people. new orleans with 325,000 people. they 200 street deaths in the cities with the kids with guns and violence. we will take this the same way memphis took music and the charter school, those kids that we do here, you will go to class 8-5. you will get english, math, science, history so you are not just a chef, but you own your own business and own restaurants and be the next emeril. that's what's got to happen. when you look at what goes on with lee chase, these kids have got to know we are here for them and john is the reason why this has been's reality to make it happen. >> that are is great news. congratulations. >> both of you, thanks so much for following through. we laid it out a couple of years ago. you are in new orleans.

it didn't work out. >> we had vanderbilt. it's kentucky's to lose. the ohio state buckeyes. we are coming back here. when there is over, we will be back when it's ready to open. >> we will be down there. thank you, guys. >> we'll be right back.

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it is time for business before the bell at headquarters. brian? what you got? >> the markets look for a mixed open. i want to start with real estate. mortgage application data came out and they are up and refinancing is down. we are learning as rates tick up and could be the catalyst. we had a lot of mixed data from the real estate market and they said this is the best spring he has seen in their building in five years. on the flip side, we have jack welsh on and we debate the impact of gas prices on the economy. he said this voefr disappointing and has no hesitation in saying it's because of gas prices. he is like the ef hutton of our

world. when he talks, we listen. the dodgers, the $2 billion price tag, we only had a couple of 41 chizs that have gone for over a billion. this man said we have to figure if this is a one off in terms of payment. we have to decide how much it's worth. are the yankees worth $5 million? it is throwing things off and a lot of people are upset about one thing. franklin ford after all that happened, after he pays off his divorce is going to have hundreds of millions of dollars. >> because of the pending proprietary sportsnet work that will be up. >> they might get an up front payment so they can pay down debt. it is risky. >> you are looking at that on a whim. $2 billion for the dodgers?

>> and again, mccourt makes a lot of money off of it. doesn't seem right. >> there is no justice. >> i believe he is. >> thank you. >> i once said in a billionai billionaire's presence money can't buy everything. it comes pretty close. >> up next, the best of late night. [ todd ] hello? hello todd. just calling to let you know i'm giving you the silent treatment. so you're calling to tell me you're giving me the silent treatment? ummm, yeah. jen, this is like the eighth time you've called... no, it's fine, my family has free unlimited mobile-to-any-mobile minutes -- i can call all i want. i don't think you understand how the silent treatment works. hello?

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newt gingrich will not back out of the race. you can tell. when he backs out, you hear this. everybody is talking about tim tebow coming to the jets. listen to this. tebow is looking for a house in the same neighborhood where the jets quarterback lives. it's at the intersection of awkward and yikes. the strip club here in new york is offering to give tebow his first lap dance for free. the first time where the customers want to yell no touching!

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♪[music plays] when you're responsible for this much of the team... you need a car you can count on. ♪[music plays] >> what did we learn today? >> digger gets it done again. john donough high school will not be a culinary institute.

>> how exciting. what did you learn? >> you learned? >> i got nothing. >> then say nothing. >> i learned that nbc is standing up and making everybody understand how important it is to the country that veterans with all this experience get hire and put themselves to work in america. >> let's zoom in. you got an army tie on. who gave that to you. >> on the crew here. >> very good. what did you learn? >> happy birthday to my dad. 85. 85! >> we will sing happy birthday off air. >> that was nice. lovely. >> the baseball starts. we have a final? >> 1-1.