will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. >> nugent endorsed romney last month. this morning he talked about his upcoming meeting with the secret service on the glen beck radio show. >> yeah, we actually have heard from the secret service and they have a duty and i salute them and support them and i am looking forward to our meeting tomorrow. i am sure it will be a fine gathering back stage. >> wait. >> you are taking this seriously. >> you have a meeting tomorrow. >> yes. >> all of this is happening as the president is set to focus on the economy during his speech within the hour in ohio. we will bring you the president's remarks about the half hour mark when he starts up. joining me to talk more about nu jept nationally syndicated radio talk show host michael smirkonikh and a.b. stoddard and chip with us again, republican strategist. chip, i will start off with you. as point out it will be a meeting. this is not a formal

investigation if you will. as you know, mitt romney is being criticized for not coming out and having that moment and speaking more harshly against the harsh words that were presented by nugent. >> yeah. well, i think governor romney has come out and distanced himself and i have listened to the comment several times. i still don't have a clue what he is trying to say. i know he has a meeting with the secret service tomorrow and he seems to be thinking it will be fine. the whole thing was just odd to me. i didn't understand the comments. i don't understand what's happened since then. it was an odd comment. obviously you don't like the supporters to make those personal type comments against your opponent and it happened and the secret service has taken appropriate action and we'll go from there tomorrow. >> what's hard to understand when nugent says if barack obama is elected in november i will either be in jail or divestituredead. when you start to understand crazy, it means you might. i am not going to tell you to decipher that. >> i talk and understand crazy but in this case i don't.

>> a.b., chip says it is hard to understand but the bottom line here, it is an incendiary comment. he is at the nra convention. if you look at the audience alone in the background when he is speaking, past this video, you see them nodding their heads and it is almost like a minister preaching to the choir there. they're enjoying what he is saying and not everybody does enjoy what ted nugent of all people had to say, a.b. >> i know. washed up rock stars and children do a lot of strange things to get attention. i think the problem here is what is the rule if you're in a presidential contest for just disavowing the comments of your surrogates and mitt romney made the choice that he was happy to receive the endorsement and i doesn't want to criticize him too firmly right now for the things that he is saying. i think that's a calculation that he made. president obama obviously thought what hilary rosen said could get him in political trouble and that's why he made

sure to jump on this and put as much distance as possible between himself and those comments. mitt romney decided that that's not too politically dangerous for him. >> let me ask you why. the tweet from romney's son tag touting the endorsement received in march. he said ted nugent endorsed my dad today. how cool is that? he joins kid rock as great detroit musicians on team mitt. when limbaugh had his incident and so many people thought he would be off the radio by now and lived to survive it and took the first major hit of his career, you had mitt romney according to the critics afraid to take on rush limbaugh. i get the power structure if there is one there. i don't get not coming out against ted nugent who hasn't had a hit since the 80s. >> i just think that you look at john mccain, the end of a tough campaign. he knew he was losing coming to the defense of president obama and then senator obama, when someone in the crowd said something critical of him and he stood up and defended him.

i don't think mitt romney is making the calculation that john mccain picked up one persuadable voter from what could be perceived as a courageous october you understand voed by people in the republican base that may have disagreed with him. it is a calculation by mitt romney that he doesn't have to distance himself from these comments. he doesn't have to proclaim that rush limbaugh made a mistake. he can carry on and avoids it and he is not going to pay a political price. >> michael, let me get you in on this. i love to point out all day are you listening to people calling you from around the country to talk on your radio show. what do you make of romney's response? >> there are two reasons he ought to draw a line in the sand with regard to what nugent said. what ted nugent said is abhorent and secondly it will help him politically. the primary season is over. crystal had a great analysis this morning about how all of this money, $2 billion is going to get spent to influence 7% of

the people. this doesn't play well for romney with those 7% who blend the brand of nugent, the gop, and romney altogether. politically speaking, beyond the merits, which are darn clear, mitt romney as he should have done with limbaugh should have confronted limbaugh and should confront nugent for that reason as well. >> michael, in the bigger picture politico has an article entitled the year of the surrogate. it says in part controlling the pseudo messengers is harder than meets the eye especially because the comments often draw nods of recognition or a hell yes from a candidate's base. push back too hard and risk alienating fans. stay silent or offer a mild tisk tisk and your opponent will spend days highlighting the off key remarks. what do you make of that insight? i think it is incredible. >> i think it is great insight. i think so many of us have access to the internet and microphones and print these days there will be much more of this particularly in a 24/7 news

world. candidates are going to be held accountable for surrogates or supporters and it will be very important even if they had nothing to do with the statements to make sure that they distinguish between what they think and whatever today's knuckle head thought. >> let me get you back in again on debbie calling on romney to denounce nugent's statements and we get why she is doing that, the dnc chair, but look from morally right and morally wrong here. if you even want to throw in if nugent even really is a power player these days anymore and i will point back to cat scratch fever and you debate that. nonetheless, the bottom line here is i get not pushing back maybe on a rush limbaugh because of his power and his voice within that party. why not come out and i mean just in a proper way, in a respectful way if you want to put it in that language but come out with ted nugent and say, listen, i am not putting up with this? >> i think some of it is ted nugent is an entertainer yet he

endorsed and not an official surrogate of the campaign. he is not a campaign operative, not someone that's a spokesperson from the campaign. he is an entertainer in his own right and does the nra conferences because of his love of hunting and all of those kinds of things and had a reality tv show at some point about it. those are things important to him and he made a comment about the president. he wasn't speaking at a romney event or campaign function. he has no official ties to the campaign and just somebody that supports mitt romney. >> if he didn't matter, the romneys would not have tweeted praise for the endorsement. once you go on record and thank someone for their endorsement, to me you kind of own them. >> there is so many of those people that say, yeah, i am for mitt romney and barack obama and that aren't operatives and don't do campaign stuff and they will be saying hundreds if not thousands over the next couple of months and you can literally spend all day every day apologizing for your supporters comments. >> if that's the standard, hilary rosen last week according to ann romney gave her a birthday present. you're right. we could do this every week. last week was not the republican standard when hilary rosen was

on and she is not a campaign operative and she does not work for the administration. she is not getting a paycheck. we'll make her if you will and i home she is not insulted the equivalent to ted nugent. >> i don't know if she would be too happy about that. >> i am not saying she would. i am saying neither are getting a paycheck from the campaign and the obama administration and the president came out heavy handed so why not come out again against a 1980s rock star. if you can't stand up against ted nugent who can you have your sister moment with romney. >> i think hilary rosen is different because they sam contains politics and comments about him every day and this is her living. she has been to the white house how many times, met with axelrod and the campaign. >> ted nugent said romney came after him and wanted to meet for the endorsement. >> they had one meeting and got an endorsement. i don't disagree with you that mitt romney can say something about this. i think if you go down that road how do you have a conversation with every single operative, i mean every single endorser all

over the country saying things and what happens is the media literally chases down everybody and gets them to say things. >> michael, last word. is this the blame the media thing? >> if there were no connection between the two, if this were just today's news story and nugent hadn't embraced romney and i were whispering in romney's ear, i would say go out there and confront the story, it is in your best interests buzz independents are watching. >> thank you all. i really appreciate it. michael, chip, ab and hopefully hilary rosen is not upset about the comparison. we're following developing news out of afghanistan where u.s. troops are under fire for disturbing new photos published today. in the past hour president obama called for an investigation of the incidents showing troops posing with body parts of dead afghan insurgents. this is a photo published by the los angeles times. we have cropped it out so you do not see the more offensive portions of this photograph.

in the past few hours defense secretary leon panetta once again condemned what you are seeing. >> this is not who we are. it is certainly not who we represent when it comes to the great majority of men and with em in uniform who are serving there. >> this is the latest in a series of controversies involving our troops in afghanistan. on january 11th photos of u.s. marines urinating on bodies surface and had in february the deadly riots broke out after the accidental burning of qurans by u.s. troops and on march 11th staff sergeant robert wales accused of massacring 17 sil yans. jim joins necessity live from the pentagon and he points out where he is condemning the los angeles times for publishing the photos that came from a soldier that wanted to expose what he or she believed were leadership

issues in afghanistan. >> and not only the defense secretary criticized the l.a. times but so did jay carney in a gaggle with reporters aboard air force one. it seems like that's more out of embarrassment by for the white house and the pentagon than any real threat to u.s. military troops in afghanistan and it is important to point out that this incident occurred some two years ago when members of the 82nd airborne were investigating the deaths of a taliban suicide bomber and the deaths of three taliban who were attempting to plant an ied when the bombs went off accidently. these members of the 82nd airborne were sent to investigate and see if they could somehow identify the victims and it was at that time that some of those 82nd airborne members posed with the remains and partial remains in happy snaps if you will there on the battlefield. some of it is too grim to show

on television. nevertheless, as secretary of defense panetta condemned the actions, he also said that release of such photos essentially threatens the lives of american service members there in afghanistan. history has shown that there is more embarrassment than any kind of insightment for attacks on american troops so far when these photos have been released. nevertheless, panetta has ordered a full investigation and those responsible who have already been identified quite frankly by the photographs will be held accountable if it is found there has been any actual wrongdoing here. >> thank you very much. coming up on news nation. >> kooeg an is only three days old and needs to know his mom. she can't do that now. >> new details on the chilling murder of a mother killed as she was taking her newborn baby to the pediatrician's office. police arrest a nurse who they say shot the woman and ripped

her baby from her arms. plus, several of the secret service members under investigation in that prostitution scandal have agreed to take a polygraph test. join the conversation with us on the twitter page, my page right there. we'll be right back. choose control. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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we are following breaking news right now. less than an our officials in texas will hold a news conference after the murder of a young mom and the abduction of her baby. police say the suspect verna maclaine is a registered nurse who faces possibly faces capital murder charges. maclaine is accused of shooting kayla golden several tiemtz outside a pediatrician's office and police say she snatched golden's three day old son.

witnesses say golden fought hard for her child and despite her injuries she leaned into maclaine's car according to witnesses as it was speeding away and knocked her down. prosecutors say the shooting was part of a bigger plan to kidnap any baby. the baby's name is kegan and was found unhurt last night and joining me is investigative crime reporter michelle sigona. we're waiting a presser from police in texas. we're learning at least more of a possible motive here, more behind a possible motive. >> that's correct. i did speak with the district attorney just a little while ago, tamron, and what he told me is that an initial appearance was held today. she was charged with capital murder, verna maclaine as you mentioned, 30 years old, and there are other persons of interest that they are looking into because they asked about the other person that was inside of the car. i was told that there are persons of interest that they

are seeking to try to figure out exactly why this plan happened, how it was unfoiled, and what exactly led to the death of this young mother. >> the suspect has i understand it already has three children of her own. michelle, what did the investigators say again about this motive here. when you hear details she may have allegedly looking to take any be baby and purposely waited outside a pediatrician's office to snatch a child? >> it is unbelievable. it really is. here you have an alleged female shooter, something happening in broad day light. have you a possible child abduction case along with everything else that is transpired here to be able to take this baby to give to herself or someone else and we're not sure at this point. you don't see cases like this every day. >> investigators have said that sister of the suspect told them that days before this abduction that she spoken of adopting a

baby soon. >> yes. there are reports out there. the district attorney isn't saying exactly right now but they are lining up everything and interviewing family members and friends and figure out why she would have waited allegedly in a parking lot for a mother to come out and again what appears to be is wrong place, wrong time, a mother coming out with a three day old child and just didn't -- it could have been any mother. that's the scary part about this. >> as you reported at the top of this report that the prosecutors say that the suspect, a registered nurse, now faces capital murder which charges. thank you. there are developments in the trayvon martin shooting investigation we have exclusive video. they are book at the scene of the shooting and no word on exactly what they were doing, but they were taking extensive

measurements as well as photographs. meanwhile, we're expecting to learn by friday whether judge jessica recksiedler will recuse herself from overseeing the case of george zimmerman because of possible conflict of interest involving her husband. she is expected to make the announcement before friday's bond hearing and as you well know he is charged with the killing of trayvon martin. he is charged with second degree murder. coming up, citigroup shareholders, listen to this, vote against a $15 million pay day for the ceo. one shareholder called the kind of money they were talking about giving him a scene and why wal-mart is giving the dnc $50,000 worth of gift cards. something we thought you should know. ♪

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lot of money saying we agree and about the pay that don't create value. >> someone said this was a taste of occupy wall street in the

minds of the shareholders. is that a fair thing to say? >> look, you can have regulation do the job and you can have markets do the job. i prefer marketing doing the job and that's what's happening here. if you don't have either you will have more protest. >> if you were a shareholder how much would you give them. >> i would say if you have earnings that are only one third of where they were in the past couple years, you should not qualify for incentive pay and that's the way it is written right now. it is like the coach of the yankees getting a bonus winning one third of the games nochlt a. zero incentive pay for the performance last year. >> thank you very much. pleasure having you on. it is a hot one and a retired couple comes forward to claim the final share of the mega millions jackpot. what they say they'll do with their $111 million. any minute a fourth congressional hearing is starting up on a spending scandal rocking the government agency that is supposed to crack down on wasteful spending. a live report from capitol hill

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1rxz. news nation is following developing news out of ohio where president obama is visiting lorraine county community college and we'll hear from the president on the economy and bring you comments as soon as the president starts to speak. we begin this half hour with new developments in the secret service prostitute scandal in columbia. u.s. officials now say some of the agents under investigation have been offered polygraph tests and some have actually accepted. we're learning more about many of the people that may be involved. sources tell nbc news that the 11 agents and ten service members under investigation may have brought at least 21 women back to their hotel last week and mark potter has the latest from columbia. >> hi, tamron, the scandal unfolded at this hotel but actually began several miemz from here at a strip club in a

works class neighborhood in a place called the play club and they say members of the advanced security team went to party last wednesday night and then hired prostitutes and brought them back to this hotel. several employees at the hotel, however, in published accounts denied that's where the agents went to hire prostitutes. one u.s. official told michael icecough that the scandal blew up after one prostitute came here with two agents and afterwards they got in a verbal argument over how much she was charging them. she wanted to charge double, two agents. they fought back and said it should be a single fee and it was somewhere in the amount of $60. as the argument continued, the police were called, the embassy was notified, and the scandal blew up and the u.s. government was badly embarrassed by all of this. now we are told that members of the military and the secret service investigators are here trying to unravel the scandal and among the people they're hoping to talk to are the prostitutes themselves who allegedly were hired by members

of that advance team. tamron, back to you. >> mark potter, thank you. developing now another congressional hearing under way, the third on the spending scandal that's rocking the general services administration. they are supposed to prevent waistful government spending. this one is one of the senate panels, the fourth actually, the fourth hearing this week all triggered by the recent revelation the gsa spent nearly a million taxpayer dollars in a lavish conference we have heard so much about that happened in vegas in 2010. another senate hearing earlier today the inspector general whose report brought gsa abuses to light talked about the culture of spending in the agency. >> was asked why do you rob banks. he said that's where the money is and part of the problem is -- part of the reason there is a lot of crime and fraud, waste and abuse at gsa is a lot of money flows through gsa. >> nbc news capitol hill

correspondent kelly o'donnell has been following this for us. the hits keep on am coming. we know the head of the gsa's wife attended some lavish affairs and the mounting evidence here on this misbehavior at this point is incredible. >> what they're really trying to do now is they have more hearings to draw out other examples to suggest is this something that goes beyond this conference where we have the pictures and the videos that certainly give such a stark and embarrassing for the government i image of what was going on. part of what theesh looking at and inspect general and other officials are trying to find out does this extend to other gsa offices positioned around the country asking those questions and talking about the fact there have been other scandals if you will in times past because they do in fact deal with money and accounts and booking things on behalf of the government so it can make the gsa vulnerable as we have seen in this example.

one of the things beyond lavish parties and over spending and taking family along are new allegations about kickbacks, taking money, when dealing with vendors. brian miller talked about how that could happen today before congress. >> for example, they would have an arrangement with a contractor to replace an exhaust fan. they would use the purchase card to charge $2,000 or $1,000 for replacement of a fan. in reality the fan cost $80. >> a lot about rates today from members of congress, senate side today talking about how could this happen and what needs to be done to change the way it works? the new person in charge of the gsa is saying he is open to a lot of ideas looking at changes already and a number of people have been put on leave. a couple have resigned their positions and certainly questions being raised about who will be fired and can money be

pulled back from some of those employees for excessive expenses? >> right, kelly. obviously the overall conversation is to make sure this doesn't happen again but meanwhile when there are allegations of kickbacks and things of that nature, one does wonder if anything criminal can come. what is the most severe? is it just you lose your job? >> they are going to refer some of these instances for potential criminal prosecution because it can in fact go well beyond a lavish party where there has been some question about was that just poor judgment or was it knowing of criminal activity and misconduct if you're taking kickbacks. one of the things we have found is beyond the pictures and videos that got this all started, there is lot of evidence and a lot more work to do for those investigating this to see what kind of pattern has occurred and how much money has been involved and how many employees might have been engaged in really inappropriate potentially criminal contact. >> kelly o'donnell. thank you.

let me send our cameras to o'leariy, ohio, where president obama is speaking at lorraine community college. the unemployment rate is 7.6 in ohio. let's listen in. >> i had a chance to meet bronson, andrea and dave and duane and i just want bronson's wife to know that he gives her all the credit in the world, so just in case you're watching, gladys, he loves you to death. i also want to thank the president, dr. roy church. your mayor, holly brenda, for hosting us here today. i want to recognize my outstanding secretary of labor in the house.

and i want to thank all of you for coming. i came here for a simple reason. in an economy that's still recovering from the worst financial crisis and the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, the work that's going on here could not be more important. i mean business owners all the time who want to hire in the united states but they can't always find the workers with the right skills. you have growing industries in science and technology that have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. that makes no sense. openings at a time when there is still a lot of americans including some on this stage who are looking for work. we have to do a better job training more people for the skills that businesses are looking for.

when i met with manufacturers awhile back, they said it is starting to make economic sense to bring jobs back to ohio, to bring jobs back to michigan. to bring jobs back to illinois and iowa and indiana because even if labor costs are lower there, the workers are better here. when you factor in transportation costs, a lot of times it makes sense to insource now but that's only going to be true if we can make sure that we have workers who have higher skills and can manage fancier machinery than folks in other places. all that starts with community colleges like this one. i just had a chance to listen to four of your classmates and hear a little bit about how they got here, where they're headed. i talked to duane who was laid off at a packaging company and learning how to operate high

tech machinery. andrea lost her job as an hr analyst and now is getting certified in the fast-growing field of electronic medical records. david who in addition to being a truck driver for 23 years was also a marine, so we know he can do the job. he is here to retrain for a higher paying job. you just heard from bronson who was laid off two years ago. you heard from what he said. he was in a dead end in his life, and this program along with his wife gave him an opportunity so he is going to be learning hands on machining over the next few weeks after already having done some of the book work. i have to tell you when i meet these folks, these folks inspire me. a lot of them have gone through tough times. andrea is still dealing with the aftermath of the flood, the damage to her home. all of them have supportive

family members. it is hard being out of work. it is hard especially when you're midcareer and having to change jobs. the resilience they show and the determination they show, that's what america is about. that's our defining spirit. we don't quit. so the question now is how do we make sure that all of america is expressing that spirit through making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot? because that's going to be a major debate that we have in this country not just for the next few months but the next few years. should we settle for an economy where a few people do really well and then a growing number are struggling to get by? or do we build an economy where people like duane and andrea and

david and bronson, they have a chance to get ahead? where there are ladders of opportunity, where everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody does their fair share, and everybody is playing by the same set of rules. this is not just another run of the mill political debate. there is always chatter in washington. folks argue about whether the sunrises in the east and whether it sets in the west, whether the sky is blue. there is always going to be arguments in washington. this one is different because we're talking about the central challenge of our time. right now we have two competing visions of our future. the choice could not be clearer. let me say, those folks on the other side, i am sure they're patriots. i am sure they're sincere in terms of what they say, but

their theory, i believe, is wrong. see, i have never believed that government can or should try to solve every problem we've got. i believe that the free market is the greatest force for economic progress in human history. a degree that everybody has personal responsibility for their own lives. everybody has to work hard. nothing is ever handed to us. i also agree with our first republican president, a guy named abraham lincoln, who said that true government, we should be able to do together what we can't do as well on our own. there is some things we don't do well on our own. that's why we got a strong military to keep us safe. that's why we have fire departments because we never know when we might have a fire.

that's why we have public schools to educate our children. that's how we laid railroads and highways and supported research and technology that saved lives and helped create entire industries. that's why we have programs like medicare and social security and unemployment insurance because any one of us, i don't care how lucky you are, how rich you are, how blessed you are, you never know, you could face a layoff or a crippling illness or a run of bad luck or a tragedy. folks in ohio know about that. nothing is given. that's why we're helping more community colleges like this one to become community college centers. so, folks, we're looking for a new job or a better paying job, can learn the skills that businesses need right now. that's good for all of us. investing in a community

college, just like investing in a new road or new highway or broadband lines that go into rural communities, these investments are not part of some grand scream to redistribute wealth. they have been made by democrats and republicans for generations because they benefit all of us. that's what leads to strong, durable, economic growth. that's how america became an economic super power. that's how we built the transcontinental railroad. that's why we have the best universities and colleges in the world. that's why we have cutting edge research that takes place here and gets translated into new jobs and new businesses because somebody did the groundwork. we created a foundation. for those of us to prosper. somebody gave me an education. i wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.

michelle wasn't. somebody gave us a chance. just like these folks up here are looking for a chance. when you take classes at a community college like this one and you learn the skills that you need to get a job right away, that does not just benefit you. it benefits the company that ends up hiring and profiting from your skills. it makes the entire region stronger economically. it makes this country stronger economically. in this country prosperity does not trickle down. prosperity grows from the bottom up and it grows from a strong middle class out. that's how we grow this economy. that's why i am always confused when we keep having the same argument with folks who don't

seem to remember how america was built. they keep telling us, well, if we had just weaken regulations and keep our air and water clean and protect our consumers, if we just cut everybody's taxes and convert these investments in community colleges and research and health care into tax cuts, especially for the wealthy, that somehow the economy is going to get stronger. in ohio and the rest of the country will prosper. that's the theory. ohio, we tested this theory. take a look at what happened in ohio between 2000 and 2008. it is not like we didn't try it. instead of faster job growth we had the slowest job growth in half a century. instead of broad based prosperity the typical american family saw their income fall by

about 6%. outsourcing, rampant. phoney financial profits, all over the place and instead of strengthening our economy, our entire financial system almost collapsed. we spent the last three and a half years cleaning up after that mess. so the theory did not work out so well. maybe they haven't been paying attention. it didn't work out so well. instead of kind of stepping back and saying to themselves, well, maybe this didn't work, so maybe we should try something different, they decided to double down. instead of moderating their views even slightly, you now have republicans in washington, the ones running for president, proposing budgets that shower the wealthiest americans with even more tax cuts.

folks like me don't need them. we're looking for them. and when you give somebody like me a tax cut, there is only two-ways of paying for it, it either adds to our deficit, meaning it is not paid for, or you end up which is what they proposed, gutting investments in education, medical research and clean energy and job training programs like this one. if these cuts are spread out evenly, and 10 million college students including some of you would see your financial aid cut by an average of more than $1,000 each. thousands of medical research grants for things like alzheimer's and cancer and aids would be eliminated. our investment in clean energy that is helping to break our dependence on foreign oil and are creating jobs here in ohio, would be cut by nearly a fifth. by the time you retire, medicare would have been turned into a

voucher system that likely would not cover the doctors and the care that you need. that would have to come out of your pocket. job training programs like this one would be forced to cut back. thousands of americans would lose out on critical employment and training services. that's the truth. when you ask the republicans, well, what do you say about that? they say obama is making this up because we didn't specify which cuts we made. well, the reason they didn't specify is because they know folks wouldn't like it. if you got to cut a certain amount of money, and they have already said they're not going to cut defense spending, and they're going with the tax cuts, then you have to go to all of the other stuff that's left over or else you add to the deficit.

that's just math. that's not theorizing on my part. they will tell you, well, we have to do this because the deficit is so bad. the deficit is bad. we have to deal with the deficit in a serious way which means all of us will have to make tough choices. it is one thing to deal with the deficit in a way that is fair and asks everybody to do their fair share in dealing with the deficit as an excuse to do what you want to do anyway. their argument might fly if it weren't for the fact they're also proposing to spend $4.6 trillion on lower tax rates on top of the 1 trillion they would spend on tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year or more. that's their priority. they want to give me more of a tax break. i just paid taxes. it is not like i love paying taxes.

you know, i can afford it. i don't need another tax break. right now companies can't find enough qualified workers for the jobs they need to fill. programs like this are training hundreds of thousands of workers with the skills that companies are looking for and it is working and it is going to help america grow. i have seen it. here in lorraine county 90% of the people graduating from this program have a job three months later, 90%. that's a big deal. why would we want to cut this program to give folks like me a tax cut that we don't need and that the country can't afford? what's the better way to make our economy stronger? give more tax breaks to every millionaire and billionaire in the country or make investments in education and research and

health care and job training and investments in bronson and duane and andrea and david and put folks back to work. this is just common sense. understand this is not a redistribution argument. this is not about taking from rick rich people to give to poor people. it is about us together making investments in our country so everybody has a fair shot. that will make all of us better off. now, on monday nearly every republican in the senate voted to block what's called the buffet rule. think about this. the buffet rule says if you make a million dollars or more, i am not saying you have a million dollars. let's say you're a small business person and you saved and worked and after ten, 20, 30 years of working you saved up your nest egg. that's not what i am talking about. i am saying you make a million dollars a year.

we said you should at least pay the same percentage in income tax as middle class families do. >> right. >> as a teacher or bus driver. by doing that, that helps us afford being able to say to the 98% of families that make $250,000 a year or less your taxes won't go up. this is an idea that was supported by a strong majority of the american people including nearly half of republicans. majority of millionaires supported it. senate republicans didn't listen. they refused to even let it come up for a vote. refused to ask the wealthiest among us to do their fair share. meanwhile, republicans in the house just signalled their willingness to gut programs like this one that make a real difference in people's lives, thousands of middle class families, folks trying to get

into the middle class, and my point is the middle class has sacrificed enough over the last few decades. they're having enough trouble. as i travel around the country, people aren't just concerned about their immediate circumstances. they're also concerned about our future. they're thinking how do we make sure that america stays ahead? how do we make sure that if somebody is willing to work hard they can get ahead in this country? people understand, you know, government is not all the answer and if they see taxpayer money wasted, that makes them angry. they know the government has to be lean and mean and do smart things, but they also understand we can't stop investing in the things that are going to create real lasting growth in this country. we certainly can't do it just as

an excuse to give me another tax cut. that's not who we are as a country. we're better than that. everybody here, we're here because somebody somewhere felt a sense of larger responsibility, not just to themselves, to their family first of all, but then also to their community, also to their country and maybe she served like david. maybe they, worked in a local charity and understood like my grandparents understood and like my mother understood and like michelle's parents understood that we do what we do not just for ourselves but also for this larger project we call america. now it is our turn to be responsible. now it is our turn to make sure the next generation as the same opportunities that we do. i know we can do it. the reason i know is because of the folks i had a chance to meet. it is because of you.

you're working hard. you haven't given up. you have gone through struggles, but you're resilient. ohio is a great example of the core strength and decency of the american people. you believe in our future. you believe in this country. if we work together in common purpose, i guarantee you we will make this an american century just like the 20th century was the american century. thank you. god bless you. god bless america. >> president obama, lorraine county community college in o'leariy, ohio, the president obviously speaking to the heart of the economy and again taking on members of congress who he believes are not prepared in his words to have the wealthy estee responsibility for the economy well and pay their fair share referring to the buffet rule which was unsuccessful in the senate and has been rejected by republicans as well. they believe it is an attempt at

class warfare by the administration. we also know the president is headed to michigan, the birth state of mitt romney, who is set to have his strategy in place basically following the president around as we are now certainly in the general election. mitt romney having a prerebuttal in north carolina and also talking about the economy and so again we're watching the latest event. this is the president's second visit to this particular college. he was there january 2010 at the time the ohio unemployment rate was over 10% and now at 7.6%, so again the president will follow up the visit to another key state of course being michigan and that does it for this addition of news nation. i am tamron hall and will send it over to my colleague martin bishi bishirr.

>> i am martin bashir. it is wednesday, april 18th. that was president obama speaking about the economy at a community college in the battle ground state of ohio. double standard? mitt romney still refuses to denounce ted nugent. >> our president and attorney general, our vice president, hillary clinton, they're criminals. >> he feels that mitt romney needs to distance himself from these remarks. >> this is ryan with the campaign. we already issued a statement. >> we need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in november. any questions? >> mitt romney knows what i am saying is true. he puts it into words for him. i put it into words for me. >> and he will take the mormon. >> mormonism is not christianity. it is always considered a consult. >> it is a consult. >> it is not politically cor