are very nice people. >> wow. have a good weekend. >> you, too, brother. >> it is friday, right? all right. have a great weekend. if it is way too early, what time is it? it is "morning joe." stick around right mao for chuck. speaker boehner jabs president obama using talking points that seem scripted by the romney campaign. just a coincidence or are the attacks coordinated? this morning our look at mitt romney's muscle on capitol hill. the president's populous pitch about fairness and the rich paying their share is making democratic supporters happy. but can he win these days talking about tax hikes on anybody? the concern amongst some obama supporters that his efforts could backfire, coming up. plus, tomorrow night is the annual nerd prom also known as the white house correspondents dinner. the night that washington tries to go hollywood and mixes it up with celebrities and we get to see the president yuck it up. >> i have to confess, i really

did not want to be here tonight. but i knew i had to come. just one more problem that i've inherited from george w. bush. >> this morning we'll turn back the clock and we'll have a preview of what to expect this time around. good morning from washington, it is friday, april 27th, 2012 and this is "the daily rundown." i'm luke russert in for chuck todd. let's get right to our first reads of the morning. mitt romney appears to have a new attack dog on capitol hill. romney's back on the trail today in the battleground state of ohio for the first time since informally accepting the gop backer. boehner laid into the president with a blistering on attack -- >> i think this is beneath the dignity of the white house. to try to make this a political issue is pathetic. this is the biggest job in the world and i've never seen a president make it smaller. the emperor has no clothes.

>> nbc's deputy political editor joins me now. speaker john boehner not leaving much out there, really going after president obama hard, kind of putting himself in the situation to be the top attack dog on capitol hill and with a house vote later today on this student loans push, using the house floor to benefit the romney campaign. >> well, it's been ten days since boehner endorsed mitt romney and as you pointed out has become mitt romney's top atam dog on capitol hill and this issue of the president mixing politics with these trips, the white house probably would have been better served if they'd had one of these trips in a non-battleground state at a college that wasn't north carolina, iowa, colorado. they could have blunted some of this criticism a bit. at the end of the day though they did push a message for the first time in kwim soquite some

in this age of twitter and how fast things move. there is going to be a vote today that should probably wrap up around noon today. i don't know that they would have gotten there on policy if the president hadn't been pushing this issue. but they certainly could have probably blunted some of this criticism by holding something that wasn't so blatantly political in a different state perhaps. >> joe biden is back out on the campaign trail using foreign policy as an area that he thinks president obama can be successful on come this fall. let's take a listen to what he said recently. >> now is the time to heed the timeless advice from teddy roosevelt -- speak softly and carry a big stick. end of quote. i promise you, the president has a big stick. i promise you. >> speaking only like vice president joe biden can, but in

all seriously, dominico, is this going to be an attack we see from the obama campaign, their foreign policy push nearly a death after the death osama bin laden? >> there was a video campaign having former bill champion testify to the president's strength and highlighting the bin laden raid and saying that's what you hire a president for. interestingly, there's another video out that tries to build the president as being too cool for the white house and that's a line that the mccain campaign had actually been able to push pretty well before it picked sarah palin and you have these really kind of interesting day where you have these two ads juxtaposed with each other, one trying to build president obama as somebody who's not very serious and the other trying to show just what he's accomplished on the job. >> thanks for being on the show. appreciate it. democrats have settled on what they believe is a winning

message in a sluggish economy -- raise taxes on the rich -- but they are feuding over how to exactly sell it. can president obama run for office on the dreaded "t" word? taxes. >> millions of taxpayer dollars. >> tax. >> tax. >> tax. >> tax. >> tax. >> tax. >> josh green is a national correspondent for bloomberg business week and he joins me now. you just wrote and article about this age-old divide within the democratic party between liberals and moderates are the issue of taxes. a lot of liberal members say, this is about social justice. this divide still very much alive in the democratic party. >> the fascinating thing is four years ago it really disappeared because republicans were so unpopular that all you really had to do to get elected if you were a democrat was to not be associated with george w. bush so it had the effect of minimizing a lot of these divisions. now that the economy isn't doing as well, now that obama's decided he has to talk about raising taxes you are seeing

these old debates between centrists and liberals re-emerge over whether you want to talk about income inequality which the left thinks is important or whether you need to tie it to deficit reduction or opportunity as a lot of centrists prefer, they're leery about tax increases. >> one interesting thing in your piece -- there are two messages here. the romney message, am i better off than i was four years ago, and the obama message which so far has been taxing the rich. you make the point that independents don't necessarily gravitate towards the idea of taxing the rich but they do gravitate towards the idea of taxes in favor of deficit reduction. the president is all about taxing the rich. how come not this pivot to saying this is about deficit reduction. >> the key thing is if you look at the question in isolation, should the rich pay more taxes than they do now, overwhelmingly people agree that they should. the question -- this is what some democrats disagree on -- is that in itself a strong re-election message. are people going to listen to obama talk about raising taxes and think that's probably

sufficient to create jobs, increase the economy. or does that scare people off the way it did with walter mondale 25 years ago when he promised to raise taxes and lost badly. >> american crossroads, that republican super pac is out today talking about obama's culture of celebrity. >> obama! obama! obama! obama! >> oh, yeah. >> president of the united states. ♪ i'm so in love with you >> oh, yeah. >> nice. >> he a jackass. he's a jackass. >> obama! obama! >> now the mccain campaign tried this to some degree putting president obama, britney spears and paris hilton as the biggest slibt in the world. this goes to the question are you better off than you were four years ago.

they can pump this message out. >> i didn't get the sense it really worked four years ago. as much as the republicans talk about it, obama was a cool guy, a breath of fresh air and most of the problems were pinned on republicans, george w. bush. three years later and a week economy, it could have more resonance. you see him on there slow jam being the news and having fun with celebrities presumably people are going to be a little less willing to indulge that side of the president than they might have been three years ago when he was a candidate when he wasn't responsible for some of the stuff that's going on. >> it's interesting this recycled -- everything old is new again. >> well, we'll see. a lot of of the presidential debate is going to be about the past, about whether we're going back to the bush era, about what obama has done or hasn't done. >> josh green from bloomberg, thanks for joining us. up next, the sacred seven. digging into the handful of true toss-up states that hold the keys to the white house. plus, i'm pulling out my powder blue tuxedo from the closet because it's white house

correspondents dinner time. we'll get a preview of the big night and take a look back at the most memorable moments at the nerd prom. first, a look ahead at the presidents' daily schedule. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. georgia is on his mind going to the peach state today. we're here at walmart with the burtons, who love movies. let me show you something new. come on. walmart can now convert your favorite dvds from disc to digital. so you can watch them on your laptop, tablet, phone... anytime, anywhere. cool, huh? yea! yea! what'd you guys think that it would cost? i thought it'd be around $10. it's only $2 per disc. that's a great price. bring in your favorite dvds. see for yourself. boooom! [ host ] that's the walmart entertainment disc to digital service. visit the photo center at your local walmart to get started. that's my favorite part.

♪ you make me happy when skies are gray ♪ [ female announcer ] you know exactly what it takes to make them feel better. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] that's why you choose children's tylenol. the same brand your mom trusted for you when you were young. ♪ how much i love you [ humming ] [ female announcer ] children's tylenol, the #1 brand of pain and fever relief recommended by pediatricians and used by moms decade after decade. [ humming ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most.

1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪

the road to the white house will likely run through s seven nbc battleground map were considered toss-ups in 2008 as well. but the president may have the edge. he won all seven last time around. charlie cook is the editor and publish of the cook political

report and an msnbc political analyst. david rucker from "roll call." we call them the sacred seven -- nevada, colorado, pennsylvania, virginia, north carolina, and florida. then you have iowa on one of yours -- >> instead of north carolina. >> that's the cook-nbc difference. we'll all a family here in the school of punditry. let's talk about the latino vote and the importance of it. obama leads with latinos 69% to vada, north carolina, virginia, latino vote can make a huge difference there. how important is it this time around? >> i think it is huge if they turn out in the kind of numbers that they did in 2008. that's the $64,000 question. republicans have done everything they possibly can to antagonize latino vote but at the same time there is a certain disappointment that the administration didn't push harder to get some kind of immigration reform and let's face it, latinos had a tough economy. so if he could get those kinds

of numbers and can get the 67% of the vote he got in 2008, that's great for him -- if he gets that turnout but i think that's a very, very real question. >> on the topic of lat nose, arizona, which has been trending as a gop state for a long time, some polls have it close between obama and romney. cot latino vote make an impact there? >> i think the latino vote could make an impact there and in other states. but as charlie said, the issue with that demographic has always been turnout. they've always turned out in much smaller numbers than are available. in some sense, the way we've looked at younger voters over the years. so i think that if the latino vote increases its share of the electorate, they become a real force and player, then i think republicans are forced not to ignore. right now it's still been somewhat safe to take them for granted. even now if you look at this, what romney needs to do is improve his numbers. he doesn't have to win latino

voters but he's got to get closer to the george w. bush number in order to make sure that he doesn't come up on the short end of the stick on some of tease key states where he's going to need to do well. >> pure toss-ups -- florida, nevada, ohio and virginia. the state i find fascinating is virginia. been trending gop for so long. obama won it last time around. obama really has to win it if he's going to go with this losing ohio or florida tactic. >> i think virginia is the new floor or the new ohio. >> virginia, virginia, virginia. >> as a great man once said. no. if i could know one state, that would be it. if i could know three states, i would three florida and ohio in as well. ste now. it is not a southern state. it is a great mix of a lot of different places. democrats kind of overshot a little in 2008, overperformed. it's probably come back a hair, but a hair enough where romney can win? you know? it's going to be very close.

>> it's all about northern virginia. one of the things i like about virginia this cycle is you have tim kaine running for senate for the democrats. he was a key obama messenger. what i'm looking for on the night of november 6th is if a guy like tim kaine can win, it probably means that obama is doing well and has a really good shot. if his key messenger in a state like virginia that rejected democrats over the past couple of years then comes around to governor kaine. >> is it wrong to stereotype nevada as latino turnout obama wins, mormons turn out, romney wins. >> i think mormons turn out no matter what. that's part of the deal. yeah. they're going to be there. but i think latino and younger voters, absolutely. and that's where, again, where the president's so overperformed lat nose, younger voters, and not unexpectedly african-american voters that turn out means everything for him. >> iowa. why is it trending gop this time

around? >> well, i just think that iowa voters have been unhappy with the administration, even among a lot of democrats you've had disappointment with what washington has been doing under democratic leadership and it is a strange state. you have a very conservative chuck grassley serving as senator, very liberal tom harkin serving as the other senator and this state really does pull back and forth. they hated -- hated -- the health care law and i think that helps romney. >> small town -- states with a large small town, rural populations, democrats in general, the president's had a really, really hard time. we have kind of a metro sexual president with a -- that doesn't go over well in the small town. it's just cultural. it is what it is. >> the state that gave birth to president obama, they don't like him as a metro sexual. charlie cook, david drucker, thanks so much. how do you follow a 100-point spike? the market rundown is next. how far did the secret

service misconduct go? but first, which president insisted that women be allowed to attend the white house correspondents' dinner? the answer and more coming up next on "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] if you want a luxury car with a standard power moon roof, standard keyless access, and standard leather-trimmed seats, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. see your lexus dealer. trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate.

their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage.

because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine pull on those gardening gloves. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. ...and bring even more color to any garden.

more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. it's grow time. get one-quart perennials, four for just $10. you're looking live at pictures here of andrews air force base. the president and first lady are expected to leave shortly on their way to georgia where they'll meet with soldiers and military families. president obama is expected to announce steps to protect troops and veterans from predator practices by for-profit colleges. new allegations of misconduct overseas has the secret service investigating a trip to el salvador back in 2001.

reports have emerged claiming that the agency employees hired strippers and prostitutes ahead of the president's visit to the central american nation last year. nbc's white house correspondent kristin welker has more. kristin, what do we know about that? >> reporter: hey, there, luke. this is coming from a local reporter in seattle who says that he has spoken with an unnamed subcontractor in el salvador who witnessed secret service personnel, military personnel, out at a strip club partying with escorts ahead of the president's visit to el salvador back in 2011. now the secret service has said it is looking into these allegations. representative peter king who's been briefed on this whole matter says that as of right now the secret service hasn't found any proof of any wrongdoing but they are moving forward with an investigation. of course all of this raises the specter of concern that the misconduct that we saw in colombia could be a part of the larger pattern which of course is the big concern here but u.s. officials emphasize that there

is no proof of that yet. these are still just allegations. luke? >> kristin, we call this in the business a very sharp, sharp hard turn and completely different news -- i understand the small country of macedonia is trying to join nato but they're being blocked over, all things, their country's name? >> you're absolutely right. we always like to let people know what they missed this week. so the foreign minister from macedonia was here visiting, pressing officials to support macedonia's entrance into nato. greece has typically vetoed macedonia's entrance all over a name. as you say, this goes back to a dispute about 20 years old now. greece doesn't think that macedonia should be named mass daytona. they fear that it in some way represents some territorial rivalry with their northern province which is also called macedonia. so what's in a name? a whole lot for the country of macedonia and the foreign

minister thinks americans should care about this issue. here's why. >> i'm going to play the clip if that's okay because we have the are they going to fight for that at 1600 penn avenue? >> senator lugar has supported this effort, believes that macedonia should become a part of nato and this white house certainly hasn't opposed that but i think macedonia would like to see sort of more support from the administration and more lawmakers on the hill. so that's where this stands.

of course the nato summit will be held in may. now as for the president of course he's heading to georgia today. we talked about that on monday he will be meeting with the prime minister of japan here at the white house. luke? >> who says we're only beltway centric. kristin welker, international jet setter, good to see you. be well. >> thanks, luke. you, too. we're just minutes away from the opening bell so it is time for the market rundown. jackie, who are stocks looking today? >> well good morning. futures pointing to higher open on wall street after yesterday's strong rally. investors appear to be shrugging off the s&p's latest move to cut spain's credit rating by two notches as well as a disappointing first quarter gdp number. the markets were looking for a read of 2.6% down from 3% in the fourth quarter. the number came in at 2.2%. so not great. despite all that, some slightly better than expected earnings out this morning from p and g and merck and a solid beat by ford. in some of the other stories, mortgage rates are edging down.

freddie mac saying the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan slipping to 3.9%. people who buy items on walmart.com can pay for that in cash at any store. >> we'll see if that will spur the numbers. thanks so much. in a town famous for a lack of style -- who says that? look at this tie. the one night a year where hollywood comes to d.c. to party is this weekend. >> is this the change you were talking about? mr. president, look at your hair. if your hair gets any whiter, the tea party is going to endorse it. up next, we're taking a look at what happens when hollywood insider meet beltway insider. plus, the first lady reveals what she doesn't like about life

in the white house. you're watching t"the daily rundown" only on msnbc. to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here.

but that label can lead to prejudice and discrimination, and we don't want to go there. so let's try to see people for who they really are. you can help create a more united states. the more you know.

live pictures here of dulles airport in washington, d.c. it is not quite "star trek" but the space shuttle "enterprise" is about to take off on its way to its new home in new york city. "the enterprise" is fly on top of a 747 shuttle carrier and will fly over landmarks, including the statue of liberty and "the intrepid." this comes a week after it flew over washington, d.c. which got every sing office worker in washington, d.c. out of their office and into the street to look up. took a lot of pictures. if you were on twitter or facebook last week in the d.c. area, it is all your friends saw. now i'm sure our colleagues up north in new york will do the same thing. really and truly historical moment for these space shuttles. which had a pretty decent year,

25, 30 years. this is the second time this is going to happen. you see it right there, is actually positioned on top of this plane. it's led to some comedians making some interesting jokes throughout the course of this event. but something that's been truly a historical moment that's led to all -- no matter what race, creed, religion you are, everyone wants to see this. it is an amazing sight. back "daily rundown," the house must still pass its version of the -- more than $200,000 was raised by a website for his client's legal defense.

mark zimmerman was released this week after paying 10% of $150,000 bail. pakistan has supported 14 members of saab's family to saudi arabia including three of the former al qaeda leaders' widows. this follows 45 days of house arrest for the woman who admitted to living in pakistan illegally. and back here at home, not too many surprises if the first round of the nfl draft on thursday -- as expected, the indianapolis colts in need of a new quarterback named stanford's andrew luck the first pick of the draft. luck was followed by robert griffin ii who went to the washington redskins, expected to save the franchise here in washington. and the tenth pick of the draft -- the buffalo bills selected corner back stefan gilmore to beef up the defense. we like him a lot. on saturday night, celebrities, journalists and politicos will gather for the white house correspondents' dinner. also known as nerd prom. any argent and roxanne roberts,

welcome to the show, ladies. thanks for being on. this is one of those interesting d.c. events that attracts hollywood. hollywood has begun to come back and it centralizes upon humor and it goes pretty far at some points. let's look back at 2006. stephen colbert and george w. bush. >> i stand by this man. i stand by this man because he stands for things. not only for things, he stands on things. things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. and that sends a strong message that no matter what happens to america, she will always rebound will the most powerfully staged photo-ops in the world. >> that's one of the great things about this night is that washington becomes unbuttoned and presidents really do take a licking. >> they do. but for the most part it is

usually the president who is in command who's making all the jokes, who is controlling his own self-deprecation brilliantly. >> this is a night where the president gets to show the country what sort of a great, smart, with it, in on the joke person he is. >> and he has the best joke writers in america helping him to show what a good sense of humor he has. >> the only good thing about influx of celebrities in, the national audience -- >> i grew up in washington, d.c. this was a very local thing. now we're going to carry it live on msnbc. every single blog from here to l.a. is writing something about it. people now in all parts of america have heard about it at least. when did it grow to that level? is it because of social media? >> it started as a stunt. 25 years ago michael kelly, the late michael kelly, brought fawn hall who was at the center of the iran-contra controversy. >> to that point, your guests,

media organizations, would bring their sources. they would bring government officials, they would bring newsmakers. in hindsight fawn hall was a legitimate newsmaker but she had a real who had wood glamour about her. she was gorgeous. after that it began creeping up where people would bring more and more glamorous people. a couple years later it was marla maple tz ws who really waa washington newsmaker at all. then by the '90s it was just an explosion of hollywood celebrity. but it's even ramped up even more in the last five years. >> it is a thing for a celebrity to do now. it is a stop. it is a great way to say i was here. you get out of their box a little bit. it gives them a little seriously even though -- >> something about the seriousness -- kim kardashian, lindsay lohan this year? >> this is kim kardashian's second trip to the white house correspondents' dinner. i know white house correspondents who can't get a ticket to this dinner.

i mean it is a big change. you really are starting to see hollywood people crowding out the washington people. >> let's talk about how the president always gets the last laugh. listen to president obama this past year. >> and so i wasn't sure that i should actually come tonight. biden talk me into it. he leaned over and he said, mr. president, this is no ordinary dinner. this is a big [ bleep ] meal. >> funny stuff. with the assistance of some great show clips. >> in an election year, it is a win-win for him because he gets to look at his very best and he looks presidential and there is a room of 3,000 people just eating it up. >> there's also some moments that are totally unscripted which come across as quite odd.

karl rove dancing. i want to play the video. this is an old school one. let's play this clip. ♪ >> there you see karl rove, the fairly buttoned up advisor to president george w. bush with our own ken strickland and david gregory making an appearance there in the back -- >> that was actually the radio-tv correspondents' dinner. >> same deal. >> the point of all of this night is that reporters and sources who typically don't see each other except in very official ways get a chance to get to know each other and i think the value of all of it is that to whatever degree you can understand anybody that you're covering a little better, get little glimpses into their

personality, how they think, what's important to them, i think that's the original value of this dinner. it's been going on for almost 100 years and that was always the point of it. so the celebrities can come and they kind of get in the way of that process but -- >> they make it a hot ticket. >> if your sources are grateful to you for getting you into this hot ticket party and are then more inclined to give you information, hey, that's great. >> we have there in our box the shuttle is about to take off on way to new york. where it will be in its new residence. it is going to fly by the statue of liberty, as well as "the intrepid." probably not going to go over manhattan and get close to the empire state building. i know a lot of my colleagues would love to see it in 30 rock. but there it is, about to take off from dulles airport in what's become very much a historical moment. i think we were all floored by how much of a reaction there was in washington, d.c. by people to get a picture of this. and there it is starting to move as we all know, as anyone who's

flown, that this is somewhat of an arduous process. gaining the speed necessary for lift-off. i am not an expert on airplanes but i would assume with more weight such as in this situation, more speed would be needed. you best believe that there are thousands of people who are doing -- taking pictures of this right now all along the highway out there, around ashford and dulles airport right out in side of washington, d.c. there it is, quick start-up, guys. this got some good play for you guys, right, in your column? any celebrity want to see the shuttle? >> celebrities want to be wherever there is anything. if a celebrity can be on top of that, they would. >> and there it is, taking off all the way to its new home in washington, d.c. it really is an amazing thing. sorry. new home in new york, taking off from washington, d.c., going to

new york. look at that. >> doesn't look like it should be possible. >> that's very true. that's quite an elaborate get-up in order to make that possible. that's obviously a special plane that's been outfitted with special material needed to tie down the shuttle and it's actually really neat what's going to happen to them. people will be able to explore them. we all know that the air and space museum here in washington, d.c. is one of the more popular places for tourists. i'm sure this one will get the same type of response in new york. the ability, parents, let your kids climb all over this space shuttle. i hope -- i don't know this -- but i hope they open up the cockpit, allow people to sit in there and you think of all the amazing astronauts who have been on that thing, folks like sally ride, it really is a special moment for these shuttles to be part of america's history that could be experienced literally first-hand. and as of right now, we should also mens that we are a country without a spacecraft. if we want to go we have to hitch a ride from our friends the russians or the chinese.

so it really is an end of an era for nasa and the united states space program. this flight should probably take around i would guess an hour, hour and a half which is the usual flight time from d.c. to new york. we'll see. hopefully get some good shots around the statue of liberty. lady liberty hopefully will get a good shot of the nasa shuttle. thank you so much for being on the program. our friday political panel joins me next. we've got more of boehner's plifterring attack on the president. a programming note for you -- this sunday on nbc's "meet the press" -- interviews with two senior strategists, robert gibbs from the obama campaign and ed gillespie, newly joined up with the romney campaign. check your local listings. but first, the white house soup of the day -- chilled watermelon. they should have had that last weekend when it was 85 here.

it's about od ♪ [ male announcer ] 1 in 6. that's how many struggle with hunger in america. ♪ but what if there was a simple way to feed those in need? now there is. just buy select brands at walmart's low prices during april and you help secure meals for local families. go to facebook and learn more about how you can join the fight. because hunger is a big problem, and it needs a big answer.

live pictures of the space shuttle "enterprise" on its way to its new home in new york city at the intrepid museum. it will and great display for kids and families to have a lovely time exploring the space shuttle. almost home to new york city. as you've heard, speaker boehner. talk uing about the president's veto power. >> we sent a letter last week to congressional appropriators saying it is the top line agreed

to -- >> blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. >> a group that does not blah blah blah, msnbc contributor perry macon, alicia menendez, and frank lavin, former u.s. ambassador to singapore. don't throw gum on the street in singapore, as we all know. welcome, guys. fascinating developments on capitol hill this week. perry, you spent a lot of time out there. john boehner becoming mitt romney's chief attack dog and today actually using the house floor to assist mitt romney. >> he claimed that he hadn't talk to the romney campaign which i'm sure -- >>? inn quite a while. >> -- in quite a while. whatever that means. boehner being laid back, little sharper this weekend, very sharp about the agreement, they've all argued obama's made up his student loans argument, yeah,

boehner definitely helping romney as a speaker of the house should for the republican presidential candidate. >> it is a legislative agenda so it is not surprising that the speaker of the house would have comments generated independent of what the campaign might want but i think romney is smart not being mr. negative. he's got to rise above it all but who's going to put the spotlight on what they perceive is the president's shortcomings and legislative shortfalls. >> i've spoken to some republican house members yesterday. they said this is good for us. john boehner is easily defined, he can make the argument in a more succinct way than romney can who is sometimes off the map. those were off the record comments from them. >> romney is not particularly good at landing a punch so it definitely behooves him to have his surrogates do it. also congressional republicans are unfamiliar with being on the defensive which they've been since the battle over conaccept

ti contraceptives, now with the women against violence act. they are really trying to get back to a place where they were once on offense. i think that's where boehner's trying to pivot now. >> a new ad came out from america prosperity. >> $1.2 billion to a solar company that's building a plant in mexico. half a billion to an electric car company that created hundred of jobs -- in finland. and tens of millions of dollars to build traffic lights -- in china. american taxpayers are paying to send their own jobs to foreign countries. >> frank, have you seen something like that during the reagan years? >> well, look. this election is going to be about economic stewardship. it gets into the economic issues but doesn't tie directly to jobs. it talks about competency, raises economic nationalism and it basically says you're not doing a good job of getting the

economy going. it is the right kind of themes but if you connect it to jobs directly i'd give it an "a." >> it is a smart ad in one way because it is not something mitt romney can say necessarily. this message as much more defined and careful in a way. this is a pac ad. >> that's a common democratic talking point, is the republicans want to ship jobs overseas, they want to keep them at home. >> i think that's why you see priorities usa coming out saying that this ad has been funded by a number of billionaires who have benefited from tax loop hoeps hol holes. this is not really about tax, energy, it is about subsidies for big oil. >> trivia time. we asked which president insisted women be allowed to attend the white house correspondents' dinner. the answer? john f. kennedy. helen thomas convinced president

kennedy to boycott the dinner unless the ban on women was dropped. kennedy agreed and women were allowed to attend the dinner in. you're watching the daily rundown only on msnbc. we will be back with the panel which has a woman. [ male annou] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. [ female announcer ] this week only, save up to $11 on zyrtec® products. see sunday's newspaper. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered.

and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident, we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

♪ [ lauer ] this is our team. and unlike other countries, it's built by your donations, not government funding. and now, to support our athletes,

you can donate a stitch in america's flag for the 2012 olympic games in london. help raise our flag, add your stitch at teamusa.org. . if could you change anything about the first lady job, what would you do? >> we can't like sneak out often on our own without security and motorcades and people with us, right? it's hard to sneak around and do what you want. i've done it a couple of times. but one fantasy i have, and the secret service they kept looking at me because they think i might do it is walk right out the front door and just keep walking, stop and have ice cream. yeah, go shopping. i can't do that. >> the blood pressure of a lot of agents went up, but let's

bring back the panel. perry bacon, alicia menendez. michelle obama most popular person at the white house, two-thirds approval rating. interesting thing putting her out in front, does this message resonate making her appear as she is in touch, wants to have ice cream? >> i don't know this is a message i think it's a message they tried to get her off of. this is her being candid about the fact that with the many privileges of being in the white house comes some real restrictions. you heard barack obama say before, get in the car and go to starbucks, they can't. she has articulated the trade-offs that have come with that. >> dunkin donuts. >> republicans have to be bracing for the special weapon that the first lady is. >> i would tell the republicans keep away from the family. she has a lot of charm, she has

great strange presence, she is very popular and it's not an appropriate subject for political commentary. it is the president's secret weapon. she humanizes him. he come come across as aloof and abstract. you talk about ice cream and shopping, that makes it accessible. >> is she the human in the relationship, perry? >> the same way ann romney is. we'll talk ann romney, michelle obama nobody will vote based on them. >> shameless plugs. >> robert griffin iii, this is great. a book written by your humble panelist. >> the brick markets. >> everyone focused on federal races over 500,000 opportunities to run for local office. so if you ever thought about, that go to candidateproject.org, great resource to find out more about how to run.

>> we need more people running that is a good idea. i will plug the buffalo bills, mr. gilmore, we love you. that is it for they decision of the daily run down, chuck back on monday. his guest delaware governor jack merkel. next on msnbc, chris jansing will speak to mark kelly as enterprise gets ready to land in new york city have a great weekend, be well. i'm bill karins, the weekend forecast, rainy weather saturday during the afternoon hours heading through the ohio valley then make its way to the mid an atlantic, saturday night into sunday morning could be a little wet. that storm system exits, cleared out for decent sunday afternoon on the east coast rain returning to areas like kansas city.

what a gorgeous shot of the statue of liberty that iconic figure off the tip of lower manhattan. i'm dwesi am guessing crowds wir there, that is one of the places we will see an unusual and absolutely riveting fly-by. the 747 nasa aircraft with the space shuttle enterprise mounted on top of it. it's