"politicsnation" with al sharpton starts now. >> welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. explosive new details emerging in the secret service scandal. er with learning as many as 21 foreign women were brought to the hotel in colombia last wednesday night. they were reportedly with 11 secret serviceç agents, and te military officers. who were staying in the hotel. in the days leading up to president obama's visit. an nbc news reports that the 11 agents had copies of the president's day by day, minute by minute schedule, potentially a major security breech. and more breaking news today, congressman peter king, chairman of the house, homeland security committee, told nbc news the secret service sent agents to colombia to interview all of the women involved. he says the secret service now

has all of the women's ids and they are conducting an extensive background check to make sure they aren't affiliated with any drug trafficking or terrorist group. there are many unanswered questions here. how serious a breech was is this? was security compromised? and how far does this problem go? these are serious questions. try to answer them. i want to bring in michaelis cough national correspondent for nbc news working the story since the beginning and jack rice former cia officer. let me start with you, michael. there are new details of what happened that night. what can you tell us? >> well, this entire standal that has rocked the secret service actually arose over a painted dispute of less than $60. what we are cold from sources familiar with the investigation is that these 11 secret service agents, went, gone to this

nightclub, strip club,ç la pla club, and that's where they found these women, brought them back to the hotel. registered them as guests, which is something you have to do every -- anybody who brings back a guest to the hotel, has a room there, has to register a guest, pay a fee of $25, provide some identification, and what happened is two of the agents were with one of the women. the woman wanted to be paid for both of the agents. they wanted to split the price. that's what the dispute arose out of it. >> so michael, let me get this right. >> yes. >> you're tell meg that these men risked their careers, more importantly the country, may have put the president's security in jeopardy and may have breeched security aej the oath of office over 40 to $60.

>> i'm sure if you put it to them before all this happened, they might have, that way, they might have thought twice. but in any case, that's what we're told the dispute was over. the woman went to local police who were stationed at the hotel. there were lots of colombian police at the hotel that night. four of them at the front door to the hotel. one police was on every floor. and complained that she was being stiffed by these agents. the police went to the room, banged on the door. at first they weren't allowed in. it's unclear how the dispute was resolved. but we do know that the police contacted the u.s.ç embassy. the u.s. embassy dispatched representatives to the hotel. they looked over the guest list and saw that all 11 had brought back female foreign national guests. >> secret service agents checked

these women in. these alleged prostitutes, in as guests themselves? >> yes. it's not clear if all of them were prostitutes or at least that they understood that all of them were prostitutes. but they all had foreign national female guests in their rooms, yes. >> jack, let me ask you this, assuming the allegations are true, how serious a breech is this? you're a former cia officer. let me deal with the impact of assuming it's true, how serious a breech is this? >> it's potential disaster. i mean, my biggest concern when i think about this, is first of all, we have no idea what who these women are. what you do is open yourself up to blackmail. eats he imagine, i'm on the other side of this. what i do is run prostitutes into these rooms. you know what i do next? i film all of it. then find out who all of the secret service officers are and say i'm sure your wives and children would love it find what these pictures are aefr what the videos look like.

now you and i can sit down and talk about what this really means. bit way, where is the president really going to be tomorrow at 3:30 this? is much bigger than a prostitution question. >> let me show you this, because this is what would add some concern to what you raised, jack. when we look at who was involved in this incident, as many as 20 secret service andj personnel. two secret service supervisors. supervisors. three members of elite counter assault teams. three members of the counter sniper team. and nbc's confirmed some of them if not all, had minute to minute, day by day schedules of the president. this is no just mere embarrassment. this could be, could be, a very serious problems. >> without question. if this were two guys who went up by themselves, that in itself would be very troubling. but if you start talking about two guys, seen yar management

ses guys, what we are talking now, is a systemic question in what is going on with the secret service and what is acceptable. and the idiocy that you would expose yourself, expose your country, expose your president over $60 is mind boggling to me. but you know, there's one other issue here. if they are willing to do this, i think it is necessary, systemically, to look back and say, what else are they willing to do? what else have they cut corners? where were they willing to do things like this in the past? and that is incredibly troubling and should be to all-americans. >> that's what i want to go back to you. is there a concern, because there certainly should be in my judgment, that this has happened before and that other countries could be -- could have knowledge of things. i mean, this raises all kinds of possibilities of the past and even present potential compromises, doesn't it? >> absolutely. it does. but to be fair, everybody i've

talked to says they cannotç recall anything remotely resembling this in recent past. there have been isolated incidents of misconduct by secret service agents that have been confirmed. one was arrested while protecting president bush in waco, texas a number of years back after a dispute with a local police. but nothing on the magnitude of this. and that's why it is so striking. >> but i think michael, what is so disturbing, is that it is so many of them. you're not talking about one agent or two agent. you are talking about 20 people, some in very elite positions, very serious positions. makes one wonder whether this is part of what goes on when so many would agree to be involved to some degree or to a very serious degree with this. >> absolutely. all of these agents are law

enforcement officers. they are all going to be questioned, under oath. not just about what happened here, but they're going to be asked, did they ever do this before. they all know the risks of lying as part after federal investigation. that becomes a federal crime. so you know, i suspect that the sorts of questions we're talking about here are going to be asked very aggressively as part of the investigation, and we may be learning some more. but as of this moment, we do not know of prior instances like this. >> jack, do you think that because of this and where it can potentially go, we are going to see a new level of discipline and scrutiny onç secret servic and others that are around the president? i mean, this is startling. i can't imagine how they can put the country and the president in a position for this to ever happen again. >> you're absolutely right. one thing i'm really concerned

about, and every time we see anything like this on national security level, i'm always concerned it is seen as left or right or conservative or liberal or republican or democratic problem. it's not. if this is a systemic issue, it needs to be addressed by all sides equally, to make sure that secret service is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. nothing more, nothing less. and that absolutely needs to be looked at. >> michael, i think that the fact that we have seen, we have obtained, nbc obtained a memo from the secret service director, mark sullivan to the entire agency, which n che he says, i'm reading it here, it is imperative as part of our sworn duties to always act both personally and professionally in manner that recognizes the seriously and consequence of our mission as we move forward in

the wake of this embarrassing incident it is my hope that each of us will be steadfast in our efforts to ensure that our performance and behavior mirror the oath we have sworn to. i think they need to see how deep and how this may have happened before. what baffles me is this is 20 people. not one or two of them say, what are we doing? what are you y'all talking about? that is what is so alarming to a lot of people. >7 right. and director sullivan has been spending a lot of time on capitol hill, calling senior members, trying to explain everything he knows about what happened, and of course, inevitableably trying to defend the secret service and defend his job at this point. it is interesting that nobody in senior leadership on capitol hill is calling for director sullivan's recognition. that may be a testament to how good he is at mending fences up

there. or not. we're just going to have to wait and see as the investigation unfolds. >> michael isikoff, and jack price rooice, thank you both fo your time. coming up, new polls show willard's got a basic problem in this election. people just don't seem it like limb that much. plus, paris hilton is poised to get a massive tax break from her buddies in the republican party. is their idea of fairness? and my response to some ugly comments from republican rocker ted nugent. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. ♪

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mitt romney's biggest problem in this race may be a guy named mitt romney. he just can't get out of his own

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>> wow, what aç rousing show o support from the top republican in the senate. are you ready to endorse romney? yeah, i guess so, if i have to. folks, even republicans are finding it hard to embrace willard. so it's no wonder the rest of the country is saying that they don't really like the guy either. a new cnn poll shows americans

are rejecting romney on key questions of character. voters find president obama more likeable. 56% to 27%. they say the president is more likely to stand up for his beliefes. they say the president is more likely to inspire confidence and they think he is simply more honest than romney. poor willard just can't shake his image problems. he gets a big national tv interview and finds himself dodging questions about the new mansion he is building in california. >> the story out now that there is an elevator for your cars in the house you are building in la jolla? are you too rich to relate? >> you no he, we don't divide america based upon success and wealth and other dimensions of that nature. we are one nation under god. >> willard, even has to defend his infamous decision to strap his dog, shamus, to the roof of his car. >> we got two questions, most

often, first about shamus. which as you know, is out there forever. would do you it again? >> certainly not with the intention of -- >> you you said it is the most wounding thing ofç campaign so far. >> the dog loved it. >> the dog got sick, right? >> once. we travel all the time. he ate the turkey on the counter. i mean, he had the runs. >> shamus had the runs. some words to pondener this election. joining me now is bob strum democratic strategist and professor at ncu and cynthia tucker, pulitzer prize winding sinnedated columnist and now visiting professor at university of georgia. thanks to both of you for being here. >> good to be here. >> bob, let me start with you, bob. can willard be viewed as much out of touch as he is being viewed and still win this

election? >> no, he can't. and in fact, he has emerged in the worst position of anyone in the last eight presidential primary seasones who secured the nomination. it is not just that people don't like him. his favorables are in terrible shape. he is upside down in terms of his favorable unfavorable. i think he has is a character problem. people think he doesn't stand up for what he believees. they think he is profoundly out of touch. watching the interview that he just saw, he could have said yes, there's an elevator in the house for the cars. but the real question is, what are you going to stand up for and what are you going to fight for? instead he resorted to cliches. as i said before, there's nothing wrong with being rich. kennedy was rich, roosevelt was rich. but they think this guy doesn't get it and doesn't care. >> sin thcynthia, when you look favorable over unfavorable, 47% unfavorable 35% favorable. first time for presumtive nominee since 1984 have we seen

unfavorable ratings this highç over favorable rating. how can he turn this around? >> well, let's remember why this is important, reverend. voters don't just choose who is going to be president of the united states based on policies alone. policy certainly matter. but we are a lot more emotional in our decision making than weed like to believe. people choose based on person al as well pz whether or not we like the guy matters when we go into the voting booth it make a choice. can mitt romney turn this around? not without a personality transplant. the problem for him is this is who he really is. he is robotic. he is out of touch. a man who understood better what average people are facing would never have started this project to expand this huge mansion as

he is running for president. he doesn't get it. and you know, i have to tell you, one of the things that i thought was most telling about that interview with diane sawyer, was when mrs. romney, who is the more likeable of the two, said, it's our turn. my goodness. he thinks he's entitle to this office? >> now, bob, let me say this. some people don't think it just partisans, democrats or liberals or whatever. peter king, republican, congressman from long island, new york, was on morning joe this morning saying his constituents aren't excited about romney. let me show you what he said. >> the working guys out on long island, in new york's third, how excited are they about willard mitt romney? >> so far, they're not. the reason the excitement level is not what you have seen with bill clinton or george bush, who have been able to identify with people, so far romney hasn't

shown that. >> if you have a major senior republican member of congress saying no to the working guy is not excited. we've not seen that from governor romney so far. some major republican party in the house of representatives are trying to spin it, didn't try to explain it, didn't try to finesse it. that's not good, bob. >> no, it's not. but it is a recognition of reality. look, one of the ways they tried to give romney freshness or authenticity is to let him be spontaneous. but whenever he is spontaneous, it's a disave the per. tells a joke about how his father closed auto plant in michigan and kept one open in wisconsin and that's supposed to make workers like him more? he tries to reach out to women by saying, that he sends his wife out to talk to them. why doesn't he talk to them himself? then she reports back to him, and you almost going to say, she absolutes. he is tin-ear and tin-tongue. cynthia is right.

he almost needs a personality transplant to be a candidate who can fix this problem. right now he is rye re lying on one thing and one thing only, that is that the economicic will stall or go into reverse. it is hard for me to figure out what his narrative would be. >> cynthia, one of your fellow columnists, richard cohen, in the washington post says romney lies. let me quote richard cohen. he çsays, i admire a smooth li, and romney is along the best. he's not on honest about himself. do you think this is part of what comes off where w the public, why he is doing bad in favorbility ratings. >> of course. and let me just say that he has told so many huge untruths in this campaign that i'm glad some members of the major media establishment are starting to pay attention to this.

but you know, it takes a special kind of personality to be a shameless as mitt romney is. you know, as governor of massachusetts he was pro gay rights. he was, at least when he ran for office for governor, he was pro choice on abortion. he was pro gun rights. and now, he completely reversed that. he was at an nra convention the other day, talking as if, you know, he's been an nra member since childhood. he is now adamantly anti-choice. he reversed everything -- oh, and let's not forget, his very own healthcare plan. which was the templet for the affordable care act. he is trying to dis's vow and distance himself from that and he does it without batting an eye, rev, and it takes a special kind of personality to do that. >> bob shrum, cynthia tucker,

thank you for your time ahead. >> thank you. >> rocker ted nugent goes ray over the line talking about president obama. my response is coming. it's very important to understand how math and science kind of makes the world work. in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me. we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer,

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we've gotten used to heated rhetoric in politics. but over the weekend, we heard some words that were offensive, even for these times. here's rock and roller ted nugent at national rifle association event. >> if you want more of those

kinds of evil anti-american people in the supreme court, then don't get involved and let obama take office again. because i tell you this right now, if barack obama becomes the president in november, again, i will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. he will be in jail if president obama is re-elected. i mean, what does that mean? what is he saying? nugent likes to say provocative things but that provocative language goes beyond the pale and the secret service seems to agree. a spokesman told the new york magazine, quote, we are aware of it and we will confollow-up. last month, nugent endorsed romney for president. but today, willard's compare rightly criticized the comments calling it devicive language. i'm glad the romney camp came out against this. but this isn't the first time nugent crossed the line. here he is in 2007 going after

president obama, then senator obama and hillary clinton. >> hey obama, you might want it suck on one of these, you punk! . obama, he's a piece of [ bleep ]. i told him -- you might want it ride one of these into fhe sunset you worthless [ bleep ]. >> there's no place for that kind of talk. i hope this is not a forecast of things to come in this campaign. we all have to watch closely what we all say. i have twins, 21 years old. each kid has their own path. they grow up, and they're out having their life. i really started to talk to them about the things that are important that they have to take ownership over. my name's colleen stiles, and my kids and i did our wills on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

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welcome back to "politicsnation." the problem with republican tax policy can be summed up in two little words. paris hilton. that's right. paris hilton.ç this week congressman eric cantor will introduce what he calls a small business tax cut. small business tax cut bill.

only one problem. the people who could benefit from it include small business owners like, paris hilton. yeah, small businesses like donald trump's trump towers sales and leasings. small businesses like the los angeles dodgers. the same dodgers that just sold for $2 billion. these are the so-called small business owners the republicans are out to help. no wonder new polls show that 68% of all voters think the tax system favors the rich and is unfair to ordinary workers. no wonder 68% of moderates agree as to 67% of independent. americans want this to change. yet, in an interview to air with cnbc's larry kudlow tonight, willard mitt romney slammed this talk of fairness. >> people recognize that these gimmicks are not going to get america strong again.

>> if people in america want a president that will look around for scapegoats to punish, while you've got that president now. but that's not who i am. >> what a surprise. the $250 million man doesn't want the rich to pay more in taxes. joining me is joe madison, sirius xm raid show host and bureau chief from mother jones and nbc political analyst. thank you both for joining me tonight. >> thank you. >> sure thing. >> david, let me start with you. how can republicans claim that paris hilton is a small business owner that deserves the tax break? >> well, she's not a large business owner. i guess that's how they can start. i mean, listen, the the tax policy is give more money to the rich over and over again. look at the ryan budget we've been talking about. not only does it include $4.6 trillion in bush tax cuts for the wealthy. it gives the super rich another

5.4 trillion over the next ten years. again and again and again. i mean, this is, this bill can you call it the anti-buffett rule. if you make more than a million, we're on your side. >> in fact, 49% would go to millionaires, 49% of this bill, david. >> and the thing about tax policy, if you really want to have a tax bill that, you know, that helps small businesses, can you define it in such a way that it will go to real businesses. to donald trump and paris hilton. that's f that's what you want to do. so if you want it help small businesses, can you do it. but what republicans are doing is using this as camouflage for the same old same old. >> joe, what bothers me at the same time, ryan and supporters of congress are pushing through this bill, politico is reporting republicans are looking to cut food stampes.

quote. an average family of four would face an 11% cut in monthly benefits after september 1st, and even more important tighter enforcement of rules would require thatç households exhau most of their liquid assets before qualifying for help. i mean, really? fighting for tax breaks for the rich while cutting food stamps. and let's not forget we just saw a report on new government report where it says food stamps reduce the poverty rate by 8% in 2009. so not only do they want to help the rich, they want to cancel food stamps on people that need it while this t is proven to have reduced poverty, joe. >> you're absolutely right. what it does, in essence drives people further into poverty to the point where they are so deep that they probably can't get out.

and that's exactly what that study showed that we both saw. so there's the philosophy david called it the anti-buffett law. there's another way of putting it. the rich don't have enough money and the poor have too much. that's exactly what the ryan budget in essence says. because it not only deals with food stamps, but they are talking about changing the whole medicare, medicaid which is for the poor. you are looking at even mitt romney suggesting, as you pointed out i think yesterday on the show, getting rid of hud and the reason hud came about was because there was this poor distribution of affordable housing for people. so this is exactly what they're up to. the rich don't have enough money and the poor have too much. >> and the american public, though, it seems like, david, are very clear onç where they are. if you look support for

the buffett rule, 72% of americans support it. 53% of republicans support it. 2% of the gop senators voted in support of it. one senator rb republican from maine. i mean, this whole detachment from the will of the people in this country is alarming, to say the least, wouldn't you think, david? >> that's why we have electiones. this is the precise argument that barack obama has been trying to set up for the last year. we saw it, remember, when with the debt ceiling fight. he talked about it with sacrifice and close the deficits that loom before us, we have to raise revenues from wealthy corporations and wealthy individuals. and most of the public, you know, supports that by the margins you just talked about. 60, 70, 80%. republicans are digging their heels and saying no, no, no. and mitt romney has joined that

pack by signing on to the ryan budget which now we can call the romney/ryan budget, if you like. that's really, i think, one of the center rings so to speak, of the general election campaign we will have between now and next november. >> now, joe, they are even trying to stop the president calling for more oversight, over the oil companies. the president said, we are in the greater oversight of oil markets. speaker boehner called this a quote gimmick oversight over oil markets a gimmick. listen. >> i call on congress to pass a package of measures to crack down on illegal activity and hold accountable those who manipulate the market for private gain at the expense of working families. >> instead of another political gimmick, why doesn't he put his administration at work to get to the bottom of it? >> now, joe, how can the republicans keep hammering him about oil prices and then call

it a gimmick when he offers a solution? >> you know, al, i'm sitting here thinking of a great panel. i hope the republicans stick to this. and here is what i would challenge boehner to do. and the others. why don't you call a committee hearing and have the oil executive sitting next to paris hilton with her puppy, and anybody -- and donald trump, and let them testify as to why they need these tax breaks. and then let the democrats have a hearing, or form, because they can't have a hearing because they are in the minority and bring in a mom and pop who ownes a restaurant or corner store or a doctor who is just trying to get their business started. or an accountant since this is tax day, who has a small business person. can you imagine that imagery and since they are so darn stuck on helping these people, bring paris hilton to washington and

sit her down in front of the committee and let her justify why she is small business. i would like the american people to see that. >> well, joe madison, thank you. >> that would be great. that would be great reality tv. >> yeah. >> wouldn't it? >> but i don't think it's reality. that is not going to happen before this electionç anyway. >> because they don't have the courage. they can't do it. >> thank you. stay with us david cohen. we will talk about your new great book on the tea party next. >> thanks. >> and next, live from new york, willard romney. he might be headed to snl. >> and a story that sounds made up. it involves newt gingrich and a penguin. you won't believe it. stay with us.

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newt gingrich is a big fan of animal hes and zoos. as a young man the former speaker thought would he make a career out of working with animals. >> i have a life-long love for zoos. i've been to about a hundred in my life. early on i thought i would either be a paleontologist studying dinosaurs or a zoo director. and i still love to go visit zoos and i love animals. >> unfortunately, this may be a case of unrequitted love. at least in the case of a st. louis penguin. he recently visited.

as gingrich was taking a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, a penguin actually bit newt's finger. the former speaker was not seriously injured. as far as we could tell, the penguin was not part of the media elite and newt can rest easy knowing penguin bites are in fact covered under the president's health care law. no worry on whether the penguin was rushed to the hospital for testing. you ready? was rushed to the hospital for testing. on whether the penguin was rushed to the hospital for testing.

welcome back to "politicsnation." mitt romney may have won the gop nomination but he still knows he has a problem with the base bp that's why he's still reaching out to the tea party. staging a rally last night with tea party types in philadelphia. but the problem for willard is the party may be over. by nearly a 2-1 margin, the more americans hear about the tea party, the less they like it. this is a big fall from grace for the strong political force we saw rallying across the u.s. in 2010.

that year, tea party voters propelled republicans to a new majority in the house picking up 63 seats. but by the end of last year, approval for the new tea party congress had tanked to an all-time low of just 11%. this didn't just happen by itself. it happened in part because of a smart tough political strategy from president obama. back with me to talk about that is david cohen. he is the author of showdown. the inside story. of how obama fought against boehner, cantor and the tea party. david, thanks for being here. >> great. thanks for having me. >> now what is the president's strategy for the tea party? >> the interesting thing, this book shows what was going on in the white house after that disastrous november 2010 loss in the congressional elections. up until the beginning of this campaign. it is all sort of inside the

white house fly on the wall narrative stories. in the book, i sort of show how the president, of that dizast trous loss sort of came up with the strategy with his aides as well, on how to sortç of come back. how to rejuvenate. how do get his groove back, in a way. a lot of it was predicated on the tea party republicans in the house lead by john boehner and doing too much. you remember back in 2011 a year ago when he we had the fight over the budget that led to the fight of the debt ceiling. president obama kind of laid low. letting ryan come out with his budget first and he didn't really engage a lot on the back and forth details of the budget fight that the democrats and republicans were having on capitol hill. what he really wanted to do was to give the tea party republicans all of the room they needed to be themselves. he believed that they would go too far. >> so in essence, he played a

strategy of give them enough rope and they will hang themselves? >> exactly. we saw that paul ryan and his own planning before releasing the official republican budget had, i talked about ending the medicare guarantee. he knew that there would be a lot of tax cuts for the rich and a lot of, as we have been talking about, cuts to programs from middle and low income americans like pel grants and head start. it was his belief that key to victory in 2012 would be to set up a clear contrast between him and republicans first in the house and then the republican nominee, now mitt romney, on values and visions for the future. and you know, again and again in the book, i describe meetings and strategy sessions and all of the fights that were had as fitting into this grand view. and remember, back in those days, reverend, you know, progressive critics of the president,ç progressive fans o the president often were asking, what is he doing? why is he not fighting back

harder? why is he seeking compromise? a lot of this was all part of the plan to sort of set up this difference, get through the budget fights so the government wouldn't shut down, make sure there want wasn't a financial crisis and then this pivot with the jobs bill when he started barn storming when he felt the hostage situation was over. when you look at the last year, and this is the way i describe it in the book, the president showed a lot of strategic patience. it doesn't mean the president wasn't right or that there weren't bumps in the road. but i think he add view that wasn't always evident to those of white house debate things nano second by nano second. >> it seems to me that it showed, as you describe it in the book, a lot of discipline, almost like to have a steel kind of nerve, this flak, to wait and let them go first. even some of your supporters are attacking because they want you to jump in and him just sort of waiting them out and let them

shoot their whole load and then striking as you say. >> there was. and if you remember before all that, the tax compromise of the lame duck session, which he took criticism from for main stream media and supporters on the hill and off, that was an issue where he basically said in order to get a second stimulus of $240 billion, it that would help working americans and give extra unemployment benefits that we're about to run out due to republican on struckism on the hill, he add yield on the bush tax cuts for the wealthy and let them continue for two years. that was, i çthink, another long-term issue in which, you know, was framed in a short term debate. was he win winning or losing the fight on the bush tax cuts? >> i will have to hold you there. i'm out of time. thank you, david corn. "showdown" is the book. >> thanks for having me. >> and live from new york, it's willard romney. it could happen. that's next. [ male announcer ] drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition?

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actually, it's cruze e-co, not ec-o. just like e-ither. or ei-ther. or e-conomical. [ chuckling ] or ec-onomical. pa-tato, po-tato, huh? actually, it's to-mato, ta-mato. oh, that's right. [ laughs ] [ car door shuts ] [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. now very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 chevy cruze ls for around $159 per month. e.p.a. estimated 36 miles per gallon highway. the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us.

finally tonight, live from new york, it's willard mitt romney? yes, it might happen. willard was asked to appear on saturday night live. and he's definitely considering the offer. >> i haven't heard that we were asked until i read about it over the weekend. so i'll take a look that. that sounds like a lot of fun. why not. of course it would depend on the nature of the skit. i want it to be funny. >> funny? when you think of funny, you don't exactly think of willard. but snl has become a must for presidential candidates. the road to the white house goes through studio 8h. . >> barack obama purchased air time on three major networks. we, however, can only afford qvc. >> hey, great obama man. >> yeah, well.

who is that under there? [ cheers and applause ] >> why couldn't we have done the 30 rock sketch that i wrote? >> honestly, not enough people know that show. [ laughter ] >> do i really laugh like that? oh, well -- >> i love seeing those clips. but they weren't the only candidates to hit the stage. >> you're an old man. >> not too old to do this. hit it! ♪ i feel good ♪ i knew that i would ç ♪ i feel good ♪ i knew that i would ♪ hey ♪ so good ♪ so good ♪ i got you ♪ wow >> tracy looked good in that

suit. so what should willard do? joining me now is comedian and tv personality chuck nice. you know him from shows like "best week ever." chuck, it's good to have you with us. >> it's good to be here. >> do you think romney will say yes? >> i don't think he will. but of that performance, he better not. he can't hold a candle. that was great. >> you know, the funny thing is, james brown, like father to me, he did not want me to do it. he told me, don't do it, don't do saturday night live. and of course i imitated him and he loved it. >> of course and it looked good. you know what kills me is that romney is henling whether or not he should do it. he is like, i'll do it if it's funny. how would you know, is what i'm saying? >> you think he should do it? >> i think he should do it because everybody who has done it has benefitted from it. but if you're going to do it, you have to be real about it. well if i don't do it, people already think i'm not funny and they will think i will think i'm

not funny but if i do do it, they will know i'm not funny. >> so that's the down side, it will ep re enforce his inability to connect. >> yeah, being the robot that he is, unfortunately. >> now as a comedian, of the politicians that you can remember seeing that did it, what worked and what didn't? >> well, i have to say, believe it or not, i thought that sarah palin did a great job when she was on it. except she backed out of one sketch and that went viral and that made the biggest on the appearance so she should have done it. so they are like, look, i will go and do it. i'm not a kpleedia comedian so what do i care. >> do you have to be finny for it to work. >> no. you just have to let it go. and the problem with mitt romney says, i'm funny. here is one thing i know as a comedian, people who tell you

that they are funny, are not funny. >> who is your best political impersonation? >> the one i like the most, i will say tina fey, darryl hammond and will ferrell. but i'm going will ferrell as the best because tina fey and will ferrell have writers in george w. bush and sarah palin. >> well, this is going to be interesting to see what he does. we will be watching. >> yeah. he's not going to do it. just take my prediction right now, america. you will not see live from new york, it is saturday night, from a wooden indian named mitt romney. >> oh, that's anti-indian statement. >> oh, that's true. >> chuck nice. glad to have you back. thank you for joining me. >> you know, that's funny. that is called a joke, people. he said i insulted the wooden indian. that's funny. >> i won cchind