class warfare front and center in the battle for the white house, but will the election boil down to who is more likeable? and america's oldest teenager, dick clark, remembered not just for how show business empires were built under him but helping to integrate america. little richard joins me live. and can nascar go green? how the most environmentally challenged sport in america is changing course. hi, everybody, great to have you with me today. i'm thomas roberts. a lot on the agenda this morning and we dive right in. three of the 11 agents involved in the secret service scandal are out. one will retire, one was fired and a third reassigned -- or resigned, excuse me. all eight others are on leave, leading to one question, will more get the ax. meanwhile one woman on the other side of the scandal telling her side of the story. mark potter is tracking all of this. explain all of this, how this unidentified woman is going to

shed new light. >> reporter: hi, thomas. as investigators try to sort out the varying stories of what happened here, at least two different versions are surfacing over the argument at this hotel n one version in "the new york times" an unidentified woman who says she will not be speaking to authorities claims that she was with a man she later believed was a u.s. agent. they fought over an $800 escort fee. later whittled down to $225. but in a second version, a u.s. official tells nbc news the fight was between a prostitute and two agents that she was with that night. she wanted a double fee, somewhere in the range of 60 u.s. dollars, two wildly different accounts. investigators are here from both the secret service and the military trying to sort all of this out. thomas, back to you. >> nbc's mark potter in colombia for us. mark, thank you. joining me now is david wilkinson, former assistant special agent in charge. dave served under presidents clinton and george w. bush.

sir, it's great to have you here this morning. we're hearing these different reports coming out of colombia now while the investigations are going on. we have gotten confirmation about one of the agents forced out apparently now wants to sue. senator chuck grassley has gone on to tell nbc's andrea mitchell that if heads don't roll, the culture won't change. is that what needs to happen, a total cleansing of the house, so to speak, as even mitt romney is suggesting? >> absolutely not, thomas. any secret service agent would tell you that the secret service has always had a culture of absolute zero tolerance toward any type of personal misconduct by its agents. anything that would bring any kind of embarrassment or anything that could question the integrity and honesty of the agency will be dealt with in the harshest of ways. right now every agent past and present that's watching this report is thinking these agents will be, if found to be guilty of these actions, will be dealt with in the harshest of ways by the secret service. that's the way it's always been. >> dave, the woman who talked to

"the new york times" said she was owed $800 and now we have a news report that agents have preplanned this, booking a party space before heading out to these nightclubs to pick up these women. is it naive, dave, of the american taxpayer to think this is just the first time this has ever happened? the very first time they got caught and there really isn't a culture of something like this that exists within such an elite service as that of the secret service? >> well, i tell you this, thomas. i spent 22 years with the secret service. i've been retired for six years now. i've never heard of anything like this. and i can tell you the culture is so strict and so focused on the mission of protecting the president and the leadership of the secret service, i guarantee right now, is investigating this to the very furthest degree. this will not happen again for the longest of times. i can assure you of that. any agent that would watch this report would absolutely refute any notion that the culture of the secret service is what's caused this.

actually the culture is completely the opposite of this. i think you will find this is an isolated incident where this does not excuse the actions of these agents and they will be dealt with in the harshest of ways. once the investigation is done, this is an isolated incident and you'll find the leadership of the secret service handled it in the proper way. >> i think a lot of people at home might be skeptical about that, that just on this one mission to a foreign area where there are terrorism problems, drug cartel issues, that this group of agents would jut have the hutzpah to go out and form this big alliance with each other and have one big, wild bendner colombia before the president's trip there. so for a lot of people to think that there isn't an idea of maybe there is a culture where there is a lot of head turning, what are people supposed to take away from this if there is not a full and detailed report and more of these agents' heads do roll, the other eight? >> well, that's a fair question, thomas. i can tell you these agents were part of a support team coming

down to support the elite presidential protective division. they were not part of the advance team. so it appears the security plan was not jeopardized at any point. but it still does not excuse their actions and certainly will not be tolerated. all i can tell you is if you lined up 100 secret service agents past and present right now and asked them the question, they would say this is the first time they have ever heard of something like this. there is no type of culture that turns heads or allows this thing to take place, and you'll find that it is taken with the most seriousness by the secret service leadership. again, i think you'll find that everyone will tell you that it was an isolated incident. >> americans hold such pride in the secret service. we'll wait to see more details coming out. >> silver spoon politics, the like ability factor and the race for the white house gets very personal. mitt romney is making good on his promise to shadow president obama everywhere he goes. he's speaking today in lorain,

ohio, just a short distance from where president obama spoke wednesday, taking this not-so-veiled swipe at his opponente opponentest wealth. >> somebody gave an education. >> mitt romney responded to that. >> i know the president likes to attack fellow americans. he's always looking for a scapegoat, particularly those that have been successful like my dad. i'm not going to rise to that. this is a time for us to solve problems. this is not a time for us to be attacking people, we should be attacking problems. >> time for our political power panel. jackie kucinich, doug thornel and john barry. great to see all three of you. jackie, i want to start with you and talk about this "new york times" poll showing this may provide an opening for mitt romney. even though the economy is

improving, does mitt romney have the edge and is the president considered to be the underdog? >> i think we're six months out and this is a snapshot in time. it's very interesting, but i think where the economy is in six months is really what we're going to be looking at. so, yeah, at this point it looks like romney may have an edge, but this is going to be a seesaw. that's what all of these polls show us. >> john, quinnipiac released a new poll and the numbers are fascinating. president obama leads mitt romney and again leads for the president with women and big among hispanic voters. now, if president obama gets over 60% of the hispanic vote, john, nationally does mitt romney even have a chance? >> he has a chance. he's got to do a much better job with hispanic voters. it's very important that he get in the mid-30s to the upper 30s. i think you'll see him talk about economic security because that's an issue that's important for hispanic voters, female voters and all voters. he has an edge on economic security issues and i think you'll see him completely focus

on that. >> doug, there are some problem areas for the president within this poll and it's all about the independent voters across the country, well behind governor romney when it comes to the economy, creating jobs, gas prices. this is what the election will boil down to be about, that small slice of the independents who show up in november. >> that's correct. i think, though, as this campaign begins, when we hear more and more about the policies that mitt romney wants to implement, basically going back to the policies of the past that got us into this mess and putting forward an agenda that benefits the very, very, very super rich, i think that gap will narrow. other polls, i should add, show the president doing pretty well with independents, but it's going to be up for grabs and both have to make a stronger, more compelling argument right now. but i do think that the president has an advantage when it comes to people in terms of relating to people and connecting with people. >> all right. so jackie, mitt romney has said he wants to be the president's shadow and he gave this

prebuttal to the president's convention speech and took this dig at the president's celebrity. >> one thing i'm convinced that you're not going to see at the democratic convention, you're not going to see president obama standing alongside greek columns. he's not going to want to remind anybody of greece. >> not going to remind anybody of greece, the problems that are ma taking place with their economy. let's talk about likability. the president does have a likability effort. he has this rock star quality going to him that mitt romney lacks, but the president has had four years ahead of him to get there. >> you know, i think maybe at this point the celebrity argument is being made but we remember john mccain tried to make that argument as well and said -- when he said he had no experience and he was just a celebrity. so, again, i sound like a broken record here. i think at the end of the day this is going to come down to the economy. some of these other things that are thrown around will kind of fall by the wayside, depending

on what that number is right near the election. >> so we're going to take this conversation to the dogs for all of you guys because they're getting a lot of political play. i want you to take a listen to mitt romney talking about seamus the dog. this episode is a little rough for him. take a look. >> in the final analysis, the people of america are going to choose a president based on jobs, not dogs. and the president's failed on the measure that people care most about, which is a strong economy, creating good jobs and rising incomes. >> all right. so he's on fox news getting hit with the dog questions. then scott brown has started a dog blog to give us the latest on how coda and snuggles are doing. then there's the flap over the president admitting to once eating dog food as a kid -- not dog food, but dog as a food. are dogs really going to be on the minds of voters come 2012 or is this just a silly way to distract the conversation?

john, you first. >> well, harry truman said if you want a friend in washington, get a dog. i think that the likability factor is part of all this. do dogs like you? well, if dogs like you, then the american people will like you so maybe it will have an impact. but i think this whole thing about seamus is overstated. any dog i know likes to have their head out the window. >> what about you? >> yeah, they'd like to be in the car. that's the point. no, but i think that -- you know, look, this is such a bizarre kind of incident. it's like something out of a national lampoon movie. will it have an effect? there are some people who really, really believe their dog is a member of their family so it might impact that vote. i think jackie is right, it's going to come down to an issue of the economy, but the romney folks would be making a mistake if they ignored this. >> jackie, what are your thoughts on dog gate? >> i think it's just that. i think it's fun for a lot of people to talk b it's entertainment. but at the end of the day, yeah, it could -- the obama

administration has been trying to play it -- or the campaign has been trying to play it into a likability thing. but i think at the end of the day it's going to be the economy, not dogs. >> maybe it will raise the level of conversation where people are talking more about pet adoption, going to your kennels, that kind of stuff. jackie, john, doug, thanks to all of you. take a look at this, amazing live pictures at the smithsonian's national air and space museum in virginia. it's a ceremony to welcome the space shuttle "discovery" into its collection. the shuttle made its final flight from florida on tuesday. guys. come here, come here. [ telephone ringing ] i'm calling my old dealership. [ man ] may ford. hi, yeah. do you guys have any crossovers that offer better highway fuel economy than the chevy equinox? no, sorry, sir. we don't. oh, well, that's too bad. [ man ] kyle, is that you? [ laughs ]

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calling the pictures of u.s. soldiers posing with the bodies of dead suicide bombers inhumane and provocative. the afghan president also says the only way to prevent similar incidents is aspeed up the pullout of nato troops from afghanistan. barry mccaffrey has commanded soldiers from vietnam to desert storm and joins us this morning. sir, it's great to see and a lot of people are asking the question about the leadership that are looking over our service members that allow for something like this to happen. others would then look at the stress of war over a decade now for our military members to have to endure these multiple tours of duty. then also the fact that these are young people that are being put in unimaginable circumstances, stressful circumstances. but how do we take it back so that we can protect our american military members from indefensible actions like this one? >> well, those are three legitimate viewpoints, thomas. there's no question this is the kind of thing that platoon

sergeants, the company commander is supposed to make sure doesn't happen. now, the other part of that question, though, these were young paratroopers who had just watched a suicide bomber accidentally blow himself up. this is the kind of macabre humor that is present in combat units, particularly after ten years of war. it contributes, i might add, though, to ongoing support for the ongoing operations in afghanistan. so the timing is unfortunate and it's an unfortunate incident. >> we certainly don't want to make excuses for what these images represent in terms of fanning the flames of hatred toward the west, but is there a sense that after so many years and these multiple tours again, general, that there is a desensization of our military members? >> probably not. my guess is those young soldiers are all on their first combat tour. by the way, i've watched these

guys in combat off and on for the last ten years. the leadership, the company commanders and noncommissioned officers, the battalion commanders are the best we've had ever had in our history. there are problems occasionally with the climate of command and this may be one of them. as a general statement, i think we should be confident. 100,000 u.s. combat troops, decade of war, they're great soldiers, men and women, and we should have confidence in them. >> we've never asked sacrifices, of more commitments, of more strained circumstances than we have of our current military. >> not since world war ii, you're right. >> barry mccaffrey, sir, thank you for your time today. appreciate it. >> good to be with you, thomas. search crews will return today to a pond in north carolina. this is miles from a ft. bragg area where a ft. bragg soldier was last seen. kelli bordeaux disappeared. she was reported missing on mondays after fact to show up for duty. >> everything that we know about

mrs. bordeaux is not characteristic of her, not to report to work or not to be heard of for a period of time. >> joining me now is investigative crime reporter michelle segona. good to see you this morning. so kelli bordeaux is not someone known as going awol. we do know the police have questioned a bar employee who is also a registered sex offender in connection with bordeaux's disappearance. what more do we know about this person? >> well, we know that possibly this may have been the last person to see kelli in the early morning hours saturday morning prior to when she went missing and then was reported missing on monday morning by ft. bragg, by officials on ft. bragg. and so it's definitely not uncommon for investigators to go back to the last person who may have seen the person that's gone missing and interview them a number of times over and over again along with family members, friends and other folks at the bar that night. that's exactly what they're doing, they're taking in leads

and that's what led them to a pawn nearby, about eight miles away from where she went missing. they're combing that pond yesterday and will be back today. >> her husband, which she is separated from, there are reports about her relationship itself. what have we learned about him, whether he would be a person of interest in the missing person of kelli bordeaux. >> mike is his name. he has spoken out. i did reach out prior to us going live but have not heard back from him. what i do know is that he said he would never hurt kelli. kelli's mom has said mike was out of town. investigators have spoken out and said he is definitely cooperating, that there is nothing suspicious about him. that he is definitely very upset about this and this is probably most likely a very difficult time for him. >> michelle, thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> have a good day. so there is a new judge in the george zimmerman murder case. the last one had to recuse herself. so what do we know about this new one?

plus, tony orlando said this about his dear friend, only god is responsible for making more stars than dick clark. i'm going to talk with one of those stars next, little richard. [ 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.

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by phone is another friend of kick cla dick clark, little richard. little richard, great to have you here. before we get started, i want to bring up something dick clark once said about you. he said once you've seen this man, you know instantly that you have seen the greatest rock 'n' roll legends of our time. obviously he had a lot of love and respect for you as an artist, a rock 'n' roll pioneer. explain to all of us how did dick clark help your career and the career of other artists just like you? >> well, what's happened here is when i came into philadelphia years starting the american music awards. i was almost famous. i had just closed in new york and i came down he had chubby check checker on the show. but when i met him and we became good friends. when he came to los angeles, he and his wife, we became very, very close friends. in fact my office was right across the street from his

office on sunset boulevard. >> so little richard, you bring up chubby checker. he gave african-american artists their due at a time when segregation was nationally rampant. he played your music, the platters, fats domino, at a time a lot of white broadcasters wouldn't do that. >> and he really -- he made chubby checker a star. he made him a star. >> in your estimation do you think dick clark really knew the power of tv for that time and the power that it had to effect change in this country? >> i think he knew the power of the media, period. he was a fantastic businessman and he knew exactly how to sell the product, the artists. he knew exactly what to do and how to do it. >> in this day and age is it a surprise to see someone have such a histotoried career,

probably one that is untouchable in terms of what people can achieve today. what we've seen dick clark achieve not only as a broadcaster but dick clark productions and the television shows that he's provided to all of us. not only just game shows but to entertainment shows. >> yeah, he's a great businessman. look at all the shows and stuff. and donnie and marie osmond, the show they had. he's a great businessman. he's a -- he knows exactly what he's doing. he knows the bottom of show business, how to promote it, how to build it, how to make it. he's really -- he's a very, very astute businessman. >> little richard. little richard, thank you for joining me today to remember dick clark, your friend, someone who respected your career greatly and obviously by joining us today you're showing how much you respected him and his career. little richard, thank you again. >> thank you, thomas. >> absolutely.

a stirring image and undoubtedly personal moment for president obama. take a look. this photo newly released by the white house shows the president at the ford museum in detroit on wednesday sitting and reflecting inside a shrine of the civil rights movement. the old montgomery, alabama, bus on which rosa parks made history. parks' refusal to move to the back of that bus in 1955 led to her arrest which led to the famous bus boycott. does aspirin even work on my headache? aspirin is just old school. people will have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. that's why we developed bayer advanced aspirin with micro particles. now we're challenging you to put it to the test. visit fastreliefchallenge.com to get your free bottle.

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gulf of mexico, well away from land. authorities say the plane will eventually run out of fuel and then crash into the gulf so i'm told that the u.s. coast guard is prepositioning some ships out there so it can respond and do a search and potentially a rescue as soon as the plane does crash into the water. now, i don't know anything more about who the pilot is or where the plane came from or precisely what kind of a plane. we're just learning that authorities are concerned about this and the coast guard is sending some assets out there, thomas. >> pete williams in washington. keep an eye on it and if you learn anything else, we'll bring you back. well, a new judge now proids over the second-degree murder case of neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. he's judge kenneth lester. he's been on the bench more than a decade, has experience in high-profile cases and is known for his by-the-book approach. the judge will be on the bench tomorrow when george zimmerman makes his second court appearance in a bond hearing. within the next hour,

17-year-old trayvon martin's parents will attend a stand your ground town hall. that's taking place in tampa, florida. here's a look at some stories that are topping the news right now for you. starting off with this, the texas woman accused of killing a young mother and abducting her 3-day-old boy is due in court today. police say verna mcclain has confessed to the crime. she's now facing capital murder charges. police say she suffered a miscarriage and intended to adopt the newborn as her own. kala golden was shot and killed. her infant son was found unharmed just hours later. heart-breaking new details emerging in the death of a 14-year-old iowa teen who killed himself after being bullied about being gay. he will be laid to rest today. friends and family say he recently became the subject of a facebook hate group and was getting death threats from fellow students on his cell phone. his sister says kenneth was popular before coming out last month and that his so-called friends turned on him. the jetblue pilot whose

midair meltdown prompted an emergency landing will plead insanity. this is according to a court filing by clayton osbon's lawyer. the airline captain left the cockpit last month screaming about religion and terrorists before being subdued by passengers on board. and the police chief who oversaw the uc davis infamous pepper spray incident of occupy protesters said she's stepping down effective today. she says she doesn't want the incident on november the 18th to define her or define the university. back now to politics and campaign advisers. for president obama and mitt romney, already mapping out the multiple roads to the 270 electoral votes needed, there are a lot of different ways to hit that magic number. luckily chuck todd is here to navigate us through this with his trustee full screen and ipad graphics. hey, chuck. >> it is. it's all touch screen now. the road to 270. i'm going to lay out three scenarios here.

one is to show you how president obama could win the election without either florida or ohio. first, a little lay of the land here. everything in gray is what we at the political unit say is a pure swing state. for right now, for instance, we have iowa, which will be a battleground state leaning romney and wisconsin. this is basically the hispanic path. this is obama sweeps the western swing states. look where that leaves him. it leaves him at 242. if he also takes new hampshire, a state that, frankly, is pretty likely to lean that way, all -- suddenly, and pennsylvania, you sit there and you look, all the president needs is one of these four, ohio, florida, north carolina, virginia. throw in virginia and actually you could take away new hampshire. romney, who of course has a vacation home there, he could win new hampshire. he's still not there. he could win florida, north carolina, ohio.

he would be seven short. the president would be at 275. again, without either florida or ohio. now, let me show you something -- what i call the kerry/gore trap that romney may find himself in. so romney could sit here and win nevada, a state a lot of white working class vote there. it's been tough on democrats, although they were able to hold the senate seat there. he could win virginia, win north carolina. he would probably -- give colorado to the president. he's still sitting at 231. you could give romney -- we could give him new hampshire. again, he's got a vacation there he's stuck in the kerry/gore trap. he has to win two of the three. he would need one of those two. it's a viable path. president bush carried two of those three, but again it's that trap of those big three swing states. and then let me show you the nightmare scenario. yes, people were asking me if i was joking this morning when i said it keeps me up at night,

269-269, but the idea nobody could get an electoral majority. it would go like this. you would give the president colorado, you'd give him florida and you'd give him new hampshire. and he sits at 269. you would give romney everything else, nevada, i told you about how those numbers there could work, ohio, pennsylvania, virginia and north carolina and look where we're at. this is not an implausible scenario, thomas, and at 269-269, the election would be forced into the house. nightmare scenario. i'd say it's about a 5% to 10% chance, but you know what, it's a lot bigger than a 1% chance, that's for sure. >> not the equation people want to have to worry about but certainly worth talking about. nbc's chuck todd. chuck, thanks so much. president obama's re-election team is launching an all-out blitz to lock in support from hispanic voters. wednesday the campaign launched four separate ads all in spanish where latino organizers recount personal stories about why they support president obama. [ speaking in spanish ]

i'm joined now by democratic congressman from arizona. raul, it's great to see you today. as the president launches this ad campaign, mitt romney is looking, and rightfully so, to repair his standing within the hispanic community. florida senator marco rubio pushing for a republican alternative to the dream act. could mitt romney in your estimation make a significant dent in the president's current 40-point lead right now within hispanic voters? >> i think it's -- i really believe it's impossible. for romney to push the reset button and say all the things that were said during the primary, during those debates not only about immigration but issues critical to latinos in this country, education, opportunity, jobs, that reset button is going to be very difficult. you know, he embraced 1070 as a national model, the immigration

law that's before the supreme court now. he also ended up with having as a senior adviser kobach who has been the architect of some of the most punitive anti-immigrant laws in the country and he has talked about privatizing public education, which is the avenue for latinos in this country for opportunity. no, it's going to be very difficult. and a dream act, a version that creates a permanent second class with no path to citizenship, i think, you know, while it is a cynical way to try to recapture that vote that they have lost, i think the latino community is too smart and too sophisticated in this election. they're going to see through it and see it as a ploy. >> congressman, i want to show everybody this new quinnipiac poll showing 43% of overall voters think romney would be a better job with immigration compared to 39% for the president. how could this issue tip hispanic voters within your state? >> well, we've been at the point

of the spear in that issue. we have been the petrie dish for those laws that have been aimed at the immigrant community in our state. so i think it's galvanized us, it's mobilized us. even like me, first generation, second generation, born in this country, the issue and the tone of romney during those debates is -- we take it personal. this is not just about immigrants and immigration reform. this is about a significant group of people in this country that are being placed in a position of not having equal status to the rest of the country. that is very personal. our history, our service to this country is also very important and we don't see from the republican party any acknowledgement, any compassion or any willingness to really work to try to solve the issues that are confronting us, including immigration. >> sir, real quickly, though, because arizona is predominantly

red, historically red. the president's campaign is hoping to flip that to blue. do you think the hispanic vote can do that? >> i think it will be key in the states of new mexico, colorado, florida, arizona and nevada. when you have 20 to 30% of your electoral being from the latino community, absolutely. a key, key constituency. right now a constituency that is solidly behind the president. >> arizona congressman, thanks for your time this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you. it was a somber morning in oklahoma city as family and friends remember the 168 lives lost in the alfred p. murrah federal building 17 years ago. the bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack on u.s. soil before the 9/11 attacks. tim mcveigh was convicted on federal murder charges, executed

in 2001.

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that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm.

for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. welcome back, everybody. nascar is revving up for another big race this weekend in kansas. the sprint cup, 43 drivers taking to the speedway in kansas city for a 400-mile high octane race. octane gas is not exactly cheap or green, so what is nascar doing to change all of that? joining me to talk about their plans for earth day is nascar chairman and ceo, brian france. brian, it's great to see you this morning. thanks for being here. >> good to be here. thanks for having me. >> when people think earth day and nascar, a little bit of an oxymoron for some people, but these are green initiatives you've been trying to implement the fifth year, correct? so what changes are there? >> a lot, starting with the fuel that we'll run, this is an ethanol biofuel. we're in our second year. we run two million miles, proving a lot of myths about that particular biofuel, what it

can and can't do and a host of other things. you know, we're going to celebrate earth day with planting trees. we're the largest recycler in all of sports, real proud of that. and we're the only ones in sports that have an entire facility and a region powered by solar, so -- in pennsylvania. so there's a number of initiatives that we're doing to change that perception about nascar being green and being in step. >> one thing that i think people -- the obvious draw for nascar is the speed. cars going up to about 500 miles an hour, right? >> right. >> that is going to burn a lot of fuel going that fast. but talking about fuel efficiency and the larger conversation, not just even from nascar but allowing people that are there to know the actions that nascar is trying to take to recognize what it can do, is that also trying to send a message to the fans of nascar, what you guys are doing, how they can implement simple steps in their own life for going green? >> absolutely. we do it with our partners too.

the car manufacturers. we have four of the largest with ford and toyota, gm and so on. we're in step with all the things they're doing with technology. we have a big carbon footprint that moves, energy footprint that moves from race to race so we're doing -- the facilities are doing many, many things to offset that. and we're real proud of it. we've got a long way to go. our partners, coca-cola and many others are all with us and we're marching to being smart and being green as we possibly can be. >> i want to talk to you about nascar ads. they became begin in 2004. they do exist and this is an area of interest for politicians. you know, you've gone to the white house. mitt romney has come to see the crowds. where do you think nascar dads, the nascar fans fall within the political cycle this year? >> we're not a political institution but we have 75 million fans. tens of thousands of them are concentrated at one race or another. so we tend to get a lot of

interest in that and they vote. so it's certainly a part of the process. >> there's tony stewart at the white house right there, so the president showing his support for nascar. i know mitt romney has come out and they'll probably be coming to see you again for sure. brian, thanks so much. i really appreciate it. have fun this weekend in kansas city. musician ted nugent is an opponent -- or has an appointment, excuse me, with the u.s. secret service. nugent will meet with secret service agents sometime today days after his rant at the nra convention about president obama. a secret service spokesperson called this meeting, quote, an appropriate follow-up. the obama administration wants the supreme court now to review janet jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 super bowl. politico reports the administration is arguing the $550,000 fcc fine against cbs should not have been thrown out by an appeals court. a comment republican

presidential candidate mitt romney made about cookies is biting back. here's what he said on the campaign trail this week about treats from a landmark pittsburgh area bakery. >> i'm not sure about these cookies. they don't look like you made them. did you make those cookies? >> no, no. >> no. it came from the local 7-eleven bakery or wherever. >> so the dnc seized on that picture. the bakery owner told the "wall street journal" let him eat cake next time. at aviva, we do things differently. our wellness for life program rewards you with savings just for getting a check-up, and it's only from aviva.

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i would say there is no politician in washington who aspires to the vice presidency. right? and so that makes it just a delicious fun thing to do. >> julia lewis dreyfuss on "morning joe." mitt romney may need to make a splash in his search for a vice presidential candidate and the

speculation is so rampant, even the con enders are getting tongue tied. >> i'll have a chance to contribute as a united states senator. i'm excited about that prospect. if i do a good job as vice president -- i'm sorry -- >> freudian slip there. so this new quinnipiac poll this morning showed how much americans are apathetic or not locked into the names that we normally hear within this discussion. so does this make it easier for mitt romney to go off the grid and bring in someone more exciting to the american public. >> >> i don't think they'll be necessarily paying attention to what polls have to say on who they think they should be picked to be vice president. i think what you'll see is they'll probably go with somebody they trust. somebody with experience and that they've learned the let's ons of palin from 2008, that they're not likely to pick a bold pick because of the potential risk involved. there is the potential for really good there where john

mccain suddenly spiked, but then that came down. and i think what you're more likely to see especially if we're going to get a signal from anything reading tea leaves, romney picking beth myers, who is somebody who has been a trusted aide since he's been governor, picking her means he's more likely to look at experience and trust, that means somebody like rob portman, book mcdonnell, more so than a chris christie or somebody who is more of a bold pick. >> is there a way to be safe and bold at the same time with certain names? and i bring up a name of condoleezza rice. because everyone knows that name. a cnn poll has con race doleezz as the top choice. is she a clear choice that maybe people aren't talking about at least in public circles. >> >> she addressed this yesterday at a mississippi college and said she has no interest in being vice president or being on the ticket. >> but they all say that. no matter who you ask.

nobody has run up to the microphone yesterday to say they want to be vice president. >> i think it's very unlikely that you'll see that condoleezza rice be picked as mitt romney's vice presidential running mate. in addition, there have been some who have outlined some of the draw backs. she was somebody who is very close to george w. bush and his foreign policy and it if mitt romney is trying to run on his own, whether or not he wants to bring rice in and have people that say he's tied to bush, there is your down side. >> it will be a direct tie to the bush eight years. thank you, sir. appreciate it. you can always get the latest from our political unit at first read.msnbc.com. that will wrap things up for me. you can follow me on twitter. don't go anywhere, though, now with alex wagner is coming up next. if anybody wants me to be vice president, i'll at that time nod. just saying. >> you are willing to own up to it, but no one else is. >> america, let's go.

>> let's vote. coming up, we will take a look at secret services. a closer look at the scandal involving the agency as well as their latest case, ted nugent. and yesterday it was dogs, today it's still ver spoons. mitt romney and president obama duke it out rhetorically speaking. and the creator of new york city's bike lanes will join us on the program and lar rens o'donnell joins us here. that's all next on now. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™.

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