we only finish paying off our student loans. check this out. i'm the president of the united states. >> i think young voters in this country have to vote for me. >> the president and mitt romney battle it out for the college crowd. >> can i get an amen? >> are you listening? >> yes, sir. >> plastics. >> you've been to college. we only take that. >> seven years of college down the drain. >> we're going streaking! ♪ >> we begin tackling the issue of student loan. the president speaking at unc chapel hill and being entirely

open about his and the first lady's reliance on student loans. >> i didn't just read about this. i didn't just -- [ cheers and applause ] i didn't just, i did not just get some talking points about this. check this out. all right? i'm the president of the united states. we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago. that wasn't that long ago. >> and without a doubt, the president is not alone there with americans now owing a collective $867 billion in student loan debt. more than car lobe or credit card debt. it is no accident the president's tour this week takes him to colleges in crucial swing states where the youth vote helped propel him to victory in 2008.

north carolina today to be followed by colorado and iowa. and today, the president appealed for congress not to raise interest rates on student loans that are expected to go up in july unless action is taken. slamming republicans, claim, that the money is needed to pay off the national debt. >> i believe college isn't just one of the best investments you can make in your future. it is one of the best investments america can make in our future. we can't price the middle class out of a college education. not in the time when most americans will require more than a high school diploma. >> with the president looking to go big man on campus, romney romney can hardly stand there like a tuxedo. he had to sort how his angle for the college vote. >> don't worry, simpson. it just so happens, i have a chair at springfield university.

i'm sorry. that was mr. burns again. that keeps happening. truly, after his endorse many of the ryan budget which would slash pell grants and allow student rates to double, he had to prove how flexible he can be despite his incredibly stiff appearance. >> one thing i want to mention. there's one thing i wanted to mention that i forgot to mention at the very beginning. i fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate on student loans. >> yes, it is surprising he did not go out for the harvard gymnastics team. we've got our panel here. with me in new york, the senior writer for the salon.com. and david corn, the washington bureau chief for mother jones magazine and the author of a superlative new book. we saw the president give a rousing address at unc and it was very personal.

he talk about himself and michelle getting poor together when they were married. saying they only paid off their loans eight years ago. this is more than talking points for this man. isn't it? could you feel mitt romney taking the hit to the jab as it were to his guts at that point? >> it will be very hard for the white house or the campaign to say this was not a compare and contrast moment for the campaign. saying, but i think it is effective. when the president said, listen, i don't need to read about this. i don't need talking points. i don't need policy papers. i know, i understand. that doesn't mean he has the right policy. i'm not saying he doesn't. that does create a connection between him and a big part of the public. and it is not just kids who, college kids, people in college who worry with the loans. more importantly, people out of college. the president talked about not paying off those loans until he was in his young 40s. and he was very effective in saying, listen, i know that the

burden of these loans, the impact is on people who are in their young, out of college, it affects the decisions they make. whether they marry, whether they buy a home, what type of job they have to take. this is a guy who knows this and understands it and is really in politics. no substitution for that. i think mitt romney will have a hard time playing catch-up in this college game of hoop. >> to david's point, the president embodies the american dream. the fact of the matter is, if the president didn't have student loans, didn't have government intervention in his life as he grows up, he would never have become the president. >> right. and that's the point. i wouldn't kid myself here. obviously, he and the white house are aiming to create a contrast here with how they presented this story. a specific contrast with mitt romney and sort of the world that mitt romney comes from. but i will say this. no matter who the republican nominee was this year, even if it was rick santorum. somebody with middle class roots, this would be the message of the obama campaign.

the obama campaign is not just running against a single republican candidate. they're running against a republican party and the story they want the to tell vote betters that republican party, this party sort of serves the super elite, super affluent top 1%. people who inherit their wealth. people who come from privilege. people who don't need social mow bill to move them from where barack obama started in life to where he is today. mitt romney sort of embodies that super affluent 1% that the democrats want to say the republican party is all about these days. that's more the republicans' fault. >> to steve's point, mitt romney is the one whose father was the president of american motors. whose father was a governor. who has $100 million in trust funds for his kids. there is no problem with student loans when it come to mitt romney. when the president was speaking, the stoonlts were rising up and responding. because of course, to the vast majority of people in this country, student loans are what sustain us. they get us through college.

>> as we've talked about before, and as i try to point out in my book showdown, the president spent the last year trying to create this contrast that steve just mentioned about values and vision. that what the government should and shouldn't be doing between himself and republicans. the ryan budget which we can now call the romney-ryan budget was a great pivot point. a great counter point. under it you have fewer pell grants. you have the interest rates going up despite what romney, his position is now on the interest rates for college loans. so now with romney as the embodyment of the other side, the president with his own story, it all come together. it is all integrated. he has the policy, the personal story on his side. and he has the policy and the personal story on the opposite side combined with mitt romney. so it is working out rather well for the white house at this point in time. >> romney has his own line of attack ready. and it is important that we give him the opportunity to express it on the tough economy.

take a listen to this. >> 50% of the kids coming out of college today can't find a job or can't find a job which is consistent with their skills. how in the world can you be supporting a president that has led to that kind of an economy. >> will that bring people out to vote for him? >> there are two things going on. there's a recognition on romney's part original his campaign's part that this is not a battle they want to be fighting. this is a losing battle. specifically because you look at the young voters, 18-29. obama did extremely well with them in 2008. romney can't win them. romney won't win them this time. if he can hold the obama number down, he has a better chance. he is at them and looking at the independent swing voters who recognize a candidate, a party that would be against the student loan extension them would views that as extreme and offputting. the broader point, you have to ask yourself. is there a good cop bad cop routine going on with romney and the republican congress? romney is saying, yeah, at the end of the day, the president is right on this.

we have not heard from the republican house. >> we've heard from individual representatives who say they don't support -- >> who are deeply troubled. that raises the question of a potential romney presidency. if he gets in there mouthing words like this on student loans, fine. what happened if a republican, maybe a republican senate next year, this extension comes up again them say we don't want to do it. president romney will sit there and let them do that. >> to that point, isn't that a problem romney has? when he begins to pivot, the grand pivot to the center. he discovers the congressional republicans don't actually want him to be in that position. they're not going to support this, many of them are not going to support holding down the interest rate for federal student loans. >> we don't have enough time on this show to run through all the problems. >> to the specific point, help us. >> i understand. to begin with, the romney campaign is being severely conservative. now he's campaigning. oh, i could go along with that. that doesn't sound so bad. while you have a tea party

dominated republican house that is not really into this. we saw what happened with john boehner and the grand bargaining and the pay roll tax cut this past year being sort of dragged. kicking and screaming away from the bargaining table because of the opposition from the tea partiers. romney would be exactly the same sort of position if he becomes, if he were to become president and would be less able to get anything done. and i think the interesting thing is if you talk to conservative republicans here in washington, they say, well, we're for romney. we don't think he is so bad. we think he'll an pretty good rubber stamp. that tells you all you got to know. >> isn't that right? actually ultimately, they would like him. basically they could manipulate him. >> that's the thing. that's the problem with mitt romney having such suspect credentials with try it. he has to bend over backwards in the primaries to appeal to them. if you're the president and depending on republicans in the house and the senate, you're still going to have to do that. >> i still believe to both of you that he should enter the

olympics and enter the gymnastics team. thank you both for joining us. next, boehner is betting man. stay with us. >> i would say there's a two in three chance that we win control of the house again. but there's a one in three chance that we could lose. >> you're telling me there's a chance. >> yeah! ♪ you are my sunshine, my only sunshine ♪

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putting the crux of the

problem in a few words. >> the fact is that since most of you were born, tuition and fees in manager's colleges have more than doubled. and that forces students like you to take out a lot more loans. there are fewer grants. you rack up more debt. can i get an amen? romney said he will support lower rates, will the gop in congress get on board? good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon. >> mitt romney seems to me to be torn between celebration and consolation. when he talk about half of all graduates either being jobless or under employed. if they wanted to create a more amenable climb for jobs, why have republicans expense the last two years opposing almost every single measure that the president has proposed that would have created jobs?

>> that's right. they've been dragging their feet on all the president's jobs initiatives including this issue of student lobes. if you look at the house republican budget that they passed, they provided big tax breaks for oil company and corporate jets. but their budget calls for a doubling of the student loan interest rates from 3.4% to 6.8%. that would mean increasing the interest rates and making college less affordable for about 7 million americans when we're trying to prepare this next generation for a very competitive global environment. >> and yet here's the duplicitousness of republicans. they take delight in blaming the president for graduate unemployment without ever conceding that they've done absolutely nothing to improve economic prospects for graduates. can they really have it both ways? >> no. and the person people i don't think will let them have it both ways. as you point out, the president

has had a jobs nerve i have the which would benefit a lot of these young peel. sitting here in the house of representatives since last september now. he raised it again in january. the state of union address to help put people back to work. the republicans have not lifted a finger on that. at the same time, they're taking us in the opposite direction by allowing this doubling. it is great to see mitt romney flip-flop on this occasion. he fully endorsed the house republican budget that would double those student loan interest rates. now he has his finger to the wind again. flipping faster than pancakes at ihop every day. which i guess we should be happy to see. but from the american people's point of view, you don't know where that guy stands from one day to the next. does he endorse the republican budget or not? he threw himself in 100% with the ryan house republican budget. >> you know that he has called paul ryan's budget plan marvelous.

but romney said he actually supports the president who wants to keep the interest rate on student loan to 3.4% as opposed to allowing it to go to 6.8%. when one looks at romney's performance as governor of massachusetts, i just point you to these facts. college fees went up by 63% because he slashed budgets at state colleges by 14%. so do we believe what he is saying now? or do we look at his actions when he was governor and realize that probably, that's where he's going if he were ever to become president. >> that's right. what you have to do is look at the individual's record while they're in office. since president obama has been in office, he has worked consistently to try to reduce the debt burden on students to provide more opportunities for affordable college. whereas when mitt romney was governor, he did just the on that. so to see this election year conversion less than a few weeks after he wholeheartedly endorsed

the house republican budget that increases interest rates on student loans, sort of speaks for itself as to what we can expect when he is president. >> isn't there also a problem here? because romney says he wants to pivot to the center. and he says he supports the president. but by doing that, he is actually disagreeing now with many republicans in congress who actually want to raise the interest rate on student loans. as you know. so what happens to your congressional colleagues across the aisle? do they follow the presumptive leader or do they now oppose the presumptive leader on this specific issue? because the date is fast approaching. july 1st. the interest rates are going up. which way do the republicans in congress swing? >> that's right. they have a fundamental choice to make. we know what choices they made in the house republican budget. again. they chose to protect these tax break for big oil companies themselves chose to vote again the buffett rule that says millionaires should have the same forgetive tax rate as their

secretary. and yet in their budget they chose to ask 7 million american students to see their interest rates double, which is about $1,000 more per year. so those are their priorities in the budget. we'll have to see which way they go now that mitt romney may have at least switched for political convenience. i wonder now if he also agrees that we should not end the medicare guarantee. the house republican budget would ask seniors to bear all the risks and costs of increased medicare expenses. is he going to turn around on that as well now? that's the problem. >> we'll let you know on that, depending on which way the wind is blowing tomorrow. thank you, sir, for joining us. next on this super tuesday, the question must be asked, why are we paying for newt gingrich's secret service protection? if you're one of those folks who gets heartburn

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we can that newt gingrich and his wife continue to market books about an elephant. the elephant in the room is why does he keep going and is it necessary for him to travel everywhere with an expensive team of secret service agents? jonathan capehart is an opinion writer for the "washington post." as i understand it, you had first had experience had observing mr. gingrich surrounded by these top secret elite agents. >> well, i got on the train yesterday to come up to new york. >> from where in. >> from washington. and speaker gingrich was sitting in the car at a four-seater. when we pulled into wilmington, the speaker got up and so did four other agents. four secret service agents got up and they walked off the train. i looked on the platform. there were at least two more agents on the platform, plus an amtrak police officer there. and they chattered, crowded over

to aan elevator. of course, he was in wilmington and campaigning in delaware because tonight is the delaware primary. >> i should remind our viewers, gingrich has 137 degs. romney has 698. he is unlikely to become the nominee. but it is costing taxpayers around, it costs almost $2 million up until this point to provide the secret service agents. is this worth the money anymore? >> no. it's not worth the money anymore. as i wrote yesterday, it is like watching the gingrich campaign. i feel like the haley joel osmond character in sixth sense. we all know the campaign is dead except the campaign. and so no. it's a complete waste of money to have, you know, him be guarded by secret service agents. but as it was written, it is difficult to get the secret service protection because of all the hurdles you have to jump including money raised, standing in the polls.

but it is very difficult to get it removed unless the candidate suspends or ends the campaign. newt gingrich has made it clear, he is going all way to tampa. >> fabulous. so that will cost another few million. there has been a surreptitious suggestion and. maybe he has these secret service agents because he is so bust financially, he can't afford to pay for the train and everything. if he's with the secret service, they cover the cost. >> that's an interesting idea given where he was sitting. go on. >> thank you very much for joining us. coming up, a more serious discussion on the secret service and the day's top lines ahead. do stay with us. mr. cain, i have a question. i hope you don't disappoint. who is the president of uzbekistan? >> the president of uzbekistan. [ male announcer ] what can you do with plain white rice?

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geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. here are the top lines. >> glad to be here with the next president of the united states. >> we haven't had a discussion of putting together a list. ? why does being romney's vice president seem like a dare? >> get a hispanic. ? no, no. you eat it. ? i don't think i have any comments. ? i'm not talking about the process. >> if i'm carrying around my black berry. i twitter brit hume. >> don't twitter me. tweet me. >> there is a one in three chance that we could lose. >> he has a 50/50 chance of

living. though only a 10% chance of that. >> he said like some people, i was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. >> so he didn't say up like some people. unlike some people. >> i did some paraphrasing. that seemed to misquote some people. i hope that clears it up. >> over to luxembourg. >> is he conservative? >> about as conservative as you are. >> actually, i am relatively conservative. particularly in my dress. >> boycott? really? why cannot it be a girl cot? >> there are more women in nascar than now. perhaps they're a women of their own success. women have all the rights. they can shop. >> the big part of this job is men are, i have to say the word, superior. >> i'm sorry. i almost threw up live on tv.

>> the national security of the president. i don't want equality. i don't want this quota amongering. . >> let's get right to our panel. a journalist and author of the book, patriots acts. goldie taylor, and the associate professor of english. welcome to all of you. 2012 seems to be the year when men can tell women what they can and cannot do. we've had the contraception mandate, we've had governor mcdonnell, the sandra fluke controversy. now we have women saying women should not be secret service agents. is this a conversation now a step forward or a step backward? >> sometimes i think it takes the pendulum swinging so far in one direction for people to wake up and go, oh, my lord, what are we doing? it is absolutely insane to say women shouldn't be secret service agents. look at where the scandals are

erupting. and in fact, it was a 21-year-old veteran. agent reid, a woman, who basically went to the 11 guys. you're out of here. no nonsense, no carrying on, no vacillating. you did it, you're out. i think women have proven themselves time and again quite capable. >> we've just learn that jimmy fallon today asked the president about the secret service scandal in an interview that we speck to air this evening. according to reuters, the president describe the agents involve as, and i'm quoting him, knuckle heads. you've served in the marines. you've probably heard all this talk before about what women can and can't do. what goes through your head when you hear this conversation? >> i think the first thing i have to say is that integrity or the ability to think and do the right thing, it is gender neutral. so it doesn't matter if a rank

has more men or more women. it doesn't mean that they're going to have any more integrity than if they have less. i think women, if they qualify physically, if they qualify intellectually, pass all the requisite tests and want to serve the secret service, they ought to be able to serve. so does knuckle headdom happen from time to time? absolutely. it hampden in the marine corps. i've seen a lot of stuff. >> i'm sure you have. james, dr. peterson, i want to turn to fox news. he has had to correct a false statement that he made about the president's silver spoon comment in a speech last week. here's what he originally said. >> he said unlike some people, i was that born with a silver spoon in my mouth. >> well -- >> now, the president did not say that. and fox, although has become something like mitt romney's media super pac. they can make the nasty hits on

the president. they make any apologies if they're necessary. but mitt romney's hands are completely clean, are not they? >> they are. and this is where you have to watch them. there will be quite a bit of spin in the run to the national election. this is pretty disingenuous. once you start putting words in the president's mouth or into any of your political opponents' mouth, some folks on fox news are more likely to do this than other news reporters but this is a pretty important piece here. we know these two men are facing off and we don't need to exacerbate that face-off and obscure the sort of political discussions that we need to have here. >> do you agree with that in. >> absolutely. we saw in the trayvon martin case when there was some very questionable editing. and the hammer came down. >> swift and hard. and they had to bite the bullet and apologize back off the whole

bit. the same sort of thing. when we hear steve come on and he said, i paraphrased an alleged misquote. he misquoted. let's call it what it is. step up like a man and apologize. >> goldie, douses that fox news is now playing a significant role for romney in terms of, as i said earlier, like a media super pac? >> well, certainly. it isn't disingenuous. twaunlt a misquote. it was a lie. the president never said it. doocy said he did in an attempt to bait mitt romney into another case of class warfare with the president and he was successful in doing that. he got called on it and towed take the words back. it was a lie. >> please stay with us. and a programming note. don't miss jansing and company tomorrow morning with special guest, former president jimmy

carter. he weighs in on the secret service scandal and the presidential race at 10:00 a.m. eastern on msnbc. next, herman cain unplugged. you may not believe this. >> look into that camera. and action. >> citizens of earth -- it was the spirit of humanity that built this planet. it is that same spirit of human an that will allow us to defend ourselves against unknown enemies. [ female announcer ] if you care for someone with mild to moderate alzheimer's,

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so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. mitt romney may be shying away from most interviews, but one presidential candidate, a man who just five months ago was the obstacle to mitt's chances,

he is going where romney fears to tread. >> welcome to inside the political curtain. i'm proud to welcome mr. herman cain. >> yes, the godfather himself joined the daily show's john oliver to look back on his campaign and assess what may have gone wrong. >> mr. cain, i have a question. i hope you don't disappoint. who is the president of uzbekistan? >> i did go and look it up. and at one point, i knew his name. but since it is not something that i use every day, it's gone again. >> see, unlike some people, cain will take every question. even one asked, when he is asked to preten he is addressing the planet as president after an alien invasion. >> citizens of earth.

it was the spirit of humanity that built this planet. it is that same spirit of humanity that will allow us to destroy the aliens. >> many republicans longing at romney with buyers' remorse, remember cain never actually left the race. he just suspended his campaign. goldie, people can that, i guess, romney's people can't want to keep seeing cain turning up. i mean, can we put cain in a witness relocation program? or even send him on a fact-finding mission to uzbekistan. >> first, let me dry my eyes. >> what are you laughing for? that was a magnificent performance. by one of manager's finest political advocates. >> that has to be one of the

funniest rest row expectative lose i've seen. the more i see it, it makes me laugh. of course the romney campaign would like to see less of herman cain. if herman cain is successful at anything, it is for connecting with people. and he is not afraid to really fake fun with himself. that really came out to the contrary. our friend mitt romney doesn't seem to know what funny is. >> that's true, isn't it? he doesn't know who is leader of us uzbekistan is. and he let it be known on "meet the press" in 2009. >> you were talking in the last segment about his relationship with fox. remember the fox interview where he got a tough question and didn't seem to be aware of the cameras. and he said this is a little uncomfortable. i think we ought to start over as if he assumed. and he will have to do this.

he cannot live inside the box during the general election. and if he's capable of doing that, shame on the american voters. and shame on the american media. >> indeed. james, romney doesn't seem to like interviews where he might be asked uncomfortable questions. he like to play the victim. is the real reason his campaign is scared about putting him out there, is that really because they're worried about what he may say? what may come out of his mouth? >> i think so. mr. romney still has nightmares from that tim russert "meet the press" thing where ted flip flops out. i've said this a long time. i'm not could not vingsed of mr. romney's skills as a politician. it is more than just his ability to connect with people. he's had so many faux pass. where it seem like he is not listening to his advisers or not taking their advice or incapable of processing in a way that make him ininfective communicator. i understand they're being

measured. as we get closer and closer to the general election, they have to minimize and erase those mistakes. >> to your point, many people including us were critical of herman cain's incompetence as far as general government experience was concerned. expertise in the area of foreign policy. let's give him some credit. he is a likable and engaging character and having been through this primary process, one wonders if he would do much better than mitt romney when it comes to actually engaging with americans. >> you know, i know herman cain. he is a likable fellow who enjoys a good laugh. does connect very well with people and that really is the marker for his success. i think that it has a lot to do with his rise to corporate america and his rise to ceo at godfather's pizza. we remember him singing the i love pizza song. i think that is a mark of his success, to the contrary, mitt romney got by on other traits. traits that i don't believe will make him successful in this 2012

campaign. i think he is probably one of the lease self-aware people that i've ever seen. >> and it is worth saying that herman cain does connection well with women on occasions. >> yes, he does. it reminds us that voting for the guy you want to have a beer with is not always the best solution. >> wonderful. thank you so much. cat catherine's new book is now on sale. next, austerity fails in europe. now republicans want to try it here. the capital one cash rewards card

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although there are positive signs, the economic recovery in america remains fragile. in europe where austerity has become the default program for recovery, multiple nations are falling backwards. spain has now slipped back into recession, joining italy,

belgium and the netherlands. still, the german president steadfastly defends the plan despite and the falling euro. and if the german chancellor is looking for an ally, she need look no further than mitt romney who is selling the very same policies here at home. dan in millbank is a political columnist and joins s us now. mitt romney endorses the paul ryan budget plan which seeks to impose crushing austerity across the federal bundget. is that sensible? >> we're talking about two different situations here. david cameron was at the white house several weeks ago and made a case of why even though he thought austerity was the right answer for europe, a different answer was needed for the united states. so it's not even as if the europeans are saying this is what should be done here. i think everybody agrees that in the short it term, you need not

to be cutting back on government spending when the economy is so weak. in the long term, just about everybody agrees that the level of spending on the entitlement programs and all that is unsustainable. the question is when do you do which one. >> could this explain, this assessment from john boehner, take a listen -- >> i say there's two in three chance that we win. control of the house again. but there's a one in three chance that we lose. >> to some extent mitt romney's embrace of the paul ryan budget and what that would mean as they go toward the general election in november. >> there's been a lot of talk of does mitt romney actually take on paul ryan as vice presidential running mate. in a way, he already has taken on paul ryan because he's taken on the policy here. and when you combine romney's -- the impression he leaves that

he's some sort of a plutocrat who only cares about the wealthy combining with paul ryan's budget that seems to implement that very policy seems dangerous. boehner was being very frank. it does sort of create its own momentum here. and it can create a sense of panic. >> you compare paul ryan budget to something straight out of charles dickens. but today nearly 90 members of the faculty at georgetown university slammed quoting, your budget appears to reflect the values of your fair philosopher, ayn and, rather than the gospel of jesus cries. her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the gospel values of compassion and love. ryan is scheduled to speak at georgetown on thursday.

he says his budget is based on catholic social teaching and yet the faculty is saying no, it's a gospel of shear selfishness. >> yes, that's quite a welcome he got. i'll have to make sure i get over there for that. the republicans often want to use the catholic church to their advantage on issues such as abortion, but then they forgot there is another half of the equation and they have the been fairly consistent on that. look, it is unusual i think that paul ryan has tried to pick the fight the way he had because it's not just medicare and medicaid as he did in last year's budget, bus he's expanding cuts this year into food stamps and other areas it that really make it look as if he is trying to exact a price on the poor. since it won't become law anyway, it's interesting why he wants to draw the battle lines just that way. >> dana, as ever, thank you so much. we'll be right back. my cut hurt!

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time to clear the air. and as mitt romney engages appeals to all those interest groups that he may have frightened off. he and his wife have been working hard at winning back women voters who were upset about his comments about defunding planned parenthood. yesterday alongside marco rubio, mr. romney almost forget that he needed to say something to the young. so having almost finished the public event, he went back to the microphone and said this about extending the current interest rate, the federal student loans. >> one thing i want to mention.

there's one thing i wanted to mention that i for got to mention at the very beginning. i fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate on student hones. >> the extent of this pivot is huge when one realizes that on this subject, mr. romney actually agrees with the president and disagrees with many republicans. while the president wants to hold the current rate at 3.4%, some republicans like representative john klein of minnesota believe it should rise to 6.8% from the first of july. but if we've learned might go about mitt romney, we know that it is much better to look at his actions instead of simply looking to his words. because he's perfectly capable of changi h matter of days. so it's probably helpful to look at how mr. romney handled the issue of higher education when he was governor of massachusetts. and here's the "boston globe's" analysis of the effect of mr. romney's policies on state colleges and universities. fees soared 63% during romney's

tenure. the fee hikes were enagent by each campus to offset deep budget cuts of about $140 million or about 14% during the fiscal crisis. fees went up by 63% as mr. romney slashed projects by 14%. so we're left with this question. as mitt romney performs his grand pivot to the center, should we believe what he says or place greater emphasis on what he does. as the president said just how, actions speak louder than words. >> it requires not just words, but deeds. >> thanks so much for watching. dylan ratigan is here. how are you? >> absolutely sensational, martin. >> that's a superlative description and i'm delighted to hear it. >> as you know, i had a birthday last week. and point of reflection and all this. >> may