not far from ground zero. accompanied by none other than form he mayor rudolph giuliani. interesting. mayor giuliani of course became america's mayor following that unspeakable attack. his actions that day were remarkable. giuliani then of course spent the next decade reminding us that foremost among this country's saving graces that morning was the presidency of george w. bush. here he is from the 2004 national convention also here in new york city. >> i say it again tonight. thank god that george bush is our president. and thank god -- thank god that dick cheney, a man with his knowledge and experience and background is our vice president. >> that's interesting. because today republicans are apoplectic over a new ad from the president using the imagery and story of 9/11 to sell his

second term. >> what sees us through tough times? freedom, faith, families, and sacrifice. president bush, steady leadership in time of change. >> i'm sorry. that was a bush re-election ad from 2004 called tested. one of many. it is actually this ad featuring president obama that has republicans making the claim that he is using the killing of osama bin laden for political gain. it has become a hot button issue with charges leveled by many that mitt romney would not have issued such an order and they use romney's own words from 2007 against him. mr. romney that, it is not worth moving heaven and earth, spending billion of dollars just trying to catch one person. funny, he mentions the cost of killing the man responsible for the worst recent atrocity on american soil. today in new hampshire, romney anlsed back.

>> you would have given the order? >> of course. even jimmy carter would have given that order. >> and just moments ago at a news conference with the japanese prime, the president was asked about that romney comment. here's what he said. >> i hardly think that you've seen any excessive celebration. i said that i would go after bin laden if we had a clear shot at him and i did. if there are others who have said one thing and now suggest they would do something else, then i would go ahead and let them explain it. >> let's get right to our panel this afternoon in washington. msnbc political analyst richard wolffe, msnbc contributor jonathan capehart, an opinion writer for the "washington post" and with me here in new york, ron christie, former special assistant to former president george w. bush. now, richard, what is your take on the republican outrage toward the president having mentioned the killing of bin laden?

>> please! the republicans, president bush, to be precise, donned a jump suit and went in a fighter jet to land on the aircraft carrier and before he gave a speech in front of the troops, and a banner saying mission accomplished. when the mission wasn't accomplish in iraq or afghanistan. the notion that this is outrageous or out of bounds, you have to put into some context. this was president clinton giving testimony to the presidential decision, the priorities, the character test that all come together in that one mission. it is not just about giving the order. it is about whether you have a policy and a strategy in place to do so. to be able to be in a position to give that order for the mission. so fair game. it is a fair issue and it is pretty downplayed in tone compared to what we've seen from previous presidents and previous election campaigns. >> that's right, isn't it?

the president was very measured. he is not encouraging excessive celebration. you've just seen him in the press conference. what he did say was others, i assume he's referring to mitt romney, must stand by their own words. >> let me say one thing. i still applaud the president for having given the order and the decision to go ahead with that navy s.e.a.l. team 6 to take out bin laden. that was the right thing to do. i think what conservatives are upset about, you even heard from the stalwart arianna huffington where she said she thought the president's new ad was despicable with. what she took issue with, which i do, was to question governor romney's patriotism. it is as if he said, i, barack obama got hill of you, mitt romney wouldn't have given toefrl you can't say. that i think any president regardless of the party affiliation would have given that order. >> as you know the criticism of the president has gone-on what he was playinging about the decision. they're saying that he is spiking the ball. he is celebrating.

one of the things we're having problems with, why is it acceptable for bush to celebrate mission accomplished in preparation for his re-election, but it is not appropriate for the president to even mention the killing and capturing of bin laden. >> i accept the premise. >> that john mccain is wrong in his criticism of the president. >> no, i don't. i work in the white house at that point. i was in senior staff that morning when we saw that mission accomplish banner. i thought that was a mistake. you've heard president bush saying he thought that was a mistake. i think the president can use this as a moment to unify the country and say we got the most despicable person. >> if the republicans are trying to win an award for hypocrisy, it is mission accomplished, isn't it? >> yes, martin, it is. richard said all of the points that i would have said in

response to your current question. president obama donned the flight suit. he landed on that aircraft carrier. gave the speech saying mission accomplished. and the war went on and on and on. and a lot of lost lives, american lives, coalition partner lives, and iraqi lives were lost in the process. here's the thing that i find troubling. i think the president is within his right and his administration is within its right to talk about the fact that the world's most wanted man was capture and killed on his watch by an order that he gave. where i take issue, this is where i agree with ron. the idea of questioning whether mitt romney would have given the same order, given what was said back in 2007, if he were sitting in the oval office. i think any person sitting in that chair in the oval office when given the same information, no matter what they've said in the past, would have made the same decision. >> but ron, what do you think

now of romney coming to new york, coincidentally with rudolph giuliani tomorrow. the anniversary of the killing of bin laden. that seems pretty crude from a political point of view. >> i don't know that it is crude. i don't know that it is something i would do. >> was he not trying to co-opt something. >>? of course he is. >> that's what i meant by crude. i don't think that's the tack that i would take. i think this is something that should be beyond partisanship. we should come together as americans to mark this anniversary for what it is. i don't think either side should use it. >> you're saying that bush was wrong with the mission accomplish banner and you're saying that romney should not be, if he does in some way, use the killing of osama bin laden for his own purposes. you think that's wrong as well. >> what was wrong about the mission accomplished banner was as jonathan and others have said, the war is over. what he said, the mission accomplished was was the uss abraham lincoln coming home. it was a wrong decision to put that banner up. i'm being consistent both ways.

>> forgive me. you are. richard, john mccain has released a statement that read in part, shame on barack obama. but it completely side steps mitt romney's heaven and earth quote. here is what gop candidate mccain said about that quote comment. it takes degree of naivete thinking he, meaning bin laden, is not an element in the struggle against radical islam. say what you will about the ad, the quote at the heart of it, that's not very good for mitt romney, is it? >> no, it's not. i applaud the even handedness of this discussion. and yes, all sides shouldn't politicize anything. let's just remember that we've been through almost a year now of the republican presidential nomination contest where candidate after candidate has tripped over each other trying to say that this president is weak on terrorism, supports america's enemies, has

apologized for america. i think that's romney's line everywhere. so saying that he took a tough decision and again, it isn't just about the decision. it is the steps that lead up to it. this was a candidate and now president who that that iraq was a distraction. that there hadn't been enough resources committed to taking the fight to al qaeda's core leadership. these things don't happen by accident. you don't just end up in the position to give an order because you're in the oval office one day. there has been a systematic attempt to degrade the leadership through drone strikes, through use of intelligence, through different kinds of cooperation. and yes it has built on what happened through the bush administration but it has taken a singular focus. so given the criticism, given the record, this is be just acceptable. it is not just okay because the bush people did something similar. it is an important part of what this president has done.

so john mccain has got many other problems and many other issues. maybe he is trying to work them out through these statements. >> maybe he is. i guess from the president's point of view, even about bin laden and his death can only be beneficial. it can only, it can only come down to his benefit. >> sure. and especially in this regard. when you go back to 2007, when he made that statement, when he said that if he had accidentable intelligence, he would go into the territory of an ally to take that person or those persons out. then to see what actually happened a year ago. that he said what he would do and then he did it if you were him. of course you would gladly talk about it. because you said what you were going to do and you did it. that's what the american people have been for for a long time. >> indeed. richard wolffe, a most cordial discussion. stay with us. as we go to break, we want to show you a live picture going on at new york's freedom tower

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more on the president and is mitt romney going full tilt after the question brought into sharp relief. for the president, it was the white house correspondents dinner and a chance for him to reintroduce himself with an all but certified republican rival. >> recently his campaign criticized me for slow jamming the news with jimmy fallon. in fact, i understand governor romney was so incensed, he asked his staff if co-get some equal time on the merv griffin show.

>> merv griffin would be a great venue for mitt. unfortunately and sadliering passed away in 2007. while the president did take some digs at romneyering also turned the jokes on himself. as he did, he could not resist a jam at one form he vice presidential hopeful. >> even sarah palin is getting back into the game. guest hosting on the "today" show which reminds me of an old saying. what's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? a pit bull is delicious. >> yes, there were plenty of shameless jokes, including a fake anti-obama ad told from the perspective of bo obama, the president's dog. >> you need to join mitt romney in sending a message this november. i'm an american and dog gone it, i ride outside. >> hang on.

the president is not the only natural comedian in this race. indeed, the romney adviser and friend to etch a sketch makers everywhere defended his candidate's practiced funny bone. just listen to his hilarious description of romney as merry prankster. >> one of the troopers who was assigned to his protection detail short sheeted his bed. the governor, in order to turn the tables on this trooper, sat down and composed a letter as if it had been written by the hotel manager, apologized for the bad housekeeping and the short sheeting of his bed and informed him that we have taken action to fire the chamber maid responsible. the governor showed that to the trooper. >> you see, the governor loves to joke about firing people. especially firing chamber maids. what could be more hilarious. indeed, our panel is back with us. richard wolffe, jonathan capehart and ron christie. the romney camp said they find the president's humor off key

which is rather humorous which is hilarious. >> if the president gave $1 million to charity, they would say it was the wrong thing to do and unpresidential. that's what opposition candidates and campaigns have to do. it is hard for them to make the case that their own candidate is going to play in an equal space. with a president who has the platform to give the speech like this and has the ability to execute it. and has frankly better comic writing and delivery than jimmy kimmel did. i have some sympathy for what they are. they would be much better off saying our guy isn't funny. but he knows how to run a company. and just leave it there. it is not a fair competition. >> ron, the president, of course, last week was out on his college loans push. and mitt romney also had a moment to inspire the youth vote at a college in ohio. take a look at this. >> the right course for america is not to become more like

europe. but to become more like the nation at our founding with principles that are as novel as they are powerful. that the individual is sovereign. that we're free to elect the people of our choice. that we're free to pursue happiness as we choose. >> that was another scintillating performance by governor romney. why not market some of his speeches as a homeopathic cure for insomnia? >> come on, martin, cut it out. i think -- >> do you think that was an inspiring speech. >> i think he is a very experience asked measured approach when he was talking about returning to our enumerated powers. where we have gone to now the government thinks it should be involved in everything. we can say was he funny? trying to be funny? no, he was not. he was trying to be serious. that's the distinction. look at how cool president obama is. >> but eric was saying look how he is very funny.

>> that's eric's look. i know governor romney. i've spent a lot of time with him behind the scenes. he is a very funny guy. >> he is? >> he is a very funny guy. politicians on camera and off camera are two different people. what america is looking for, do you want a serious candidate or mr. cool? that's the distinction. >> i don't think there's any doubt the president is serious. you can say the economy will be a deciding issue but does this issue of inspiring america, does it pose a problem for romney? they've tried to suggest that the president is just a celebrity. all that's done is kind of draw focus and attention on romney's awkwardness and problems. >> right. i think that's one of the reasons mitt romney and his surrogates and campaign are zeroing in on the cool factor of the president. that's one of the president's strengths. the fact that he is funny. and also the fact that in poll after poll after poll, even though his job approval rating is below 50%, his personal

favorability ratings are in the low 60s -- in the mid to high 60s in some cases. so what romney and his campaign are doing are going right the at the president's strength and trying to turn it into a weakness. you can be serious and cool at the same time. unfortunately for mitt romney, he might be serious but he is really, really defish enon the cool factor. not that that is vital. >> it shouldn't matter. i think the distinction -- >> it shouldn't matter that 3-1, the president is liked? i mean, john was just saying, to be fair to him that it is not a vital issue in material of electability. you're saying it doesn't matter that by a ratio of 3-1, people in this country prefer president obama to mitt romney? >> what we're saying here from a ratio of 3-1 is the president's personal approval ratings outmatch his job approval ratings. i think what americans will look at when you talk about the cool argument, is it cool that

unemployment remains the way that it is? is it cool that americans don't feel this country four years later is moving in the right direction? that's what this contest will be about. these other side show issues of how cool obama is or is not isn't the important thing. >> richard, do you have a response to that? >> yeah. i think the argument they're trying to make is not about cool or not. it is that the president is a light weight. that's what they're saying. by contrast, what ron has been arguing is romney is serious. this president is plenty serious. one has one harvard degree. the other has two. they are both intellectually minded. this isn't about making the country like europe. there is a big difference between the two of them. seriousness is not the problem for either of them. the question is whose policies have helped the economy and whose would make it different? i agree that's what this election is about. >> total agreement. shocking. thank you very much. coming up, john boehner

calls the war on women rubbish and nonsense. stay with us. >> we want to protect women's health. we want to prevent breast cancer and cervical cancer. that's what this fund is for. >> that is just nonsense. there is no women's health issue here. we love gardening... yeah, but the feeling wasn't always mutual. i should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind. we're armed, and inexperienced. people call me an over-waterer. [ female announcer ] with miracle-gro, you don't have to be a great gardener to have a green thumb. every miracle-gro product helps your garden grow bigger, more beautiful flowers and bountiful vegetables. guaranteed. so even if... i have all these tools, and i have no idea how to use them. [ female announcer ] everyone grows with miracle-gro. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what?

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the way this normally work is that unlike students who work decades to pay off their loans, candidates much prefer to go for a bailout. in return they offer an endorsement which could be the subject of the phone call newt and mitt reportedly shared last week. like sex scandals, this is one of the truly bipartisan aspects of politics. the president's fundraising machine is being asked to help cover some campaign debt that hillary clinton still has on the books about $245,000. then the case of a man after newt's own heart. an astronaut, john glenn of ohio. it is reported that his 1984 presidential bid didn't really end until 2006. that is when the fec finally closed out his campaign with some debt unpaid. so perhaps you can learn from mr. glenn's presidential moon shot. the next time, shoot for the stars. star with us. the day's top lines are coming

up. >> every president starts campaigning but i think it is time that maybe we stop that by having just one term presidents. or maybe stop the idea -- >> one six-year president. >> something like. that otherwise they don't get anything done. [ female announcer ] think it's impossible to reduce the look of wrinkles after just one use? think again. [ female announcer ] with olay regenerist wrinkle revolution, it's possible to reduce the look of wrinkles in just 10 minutes. now you've seen it. experience it for yourself. [ female announcer ] olay regenerist. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition.

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rick's year is 1954. >> the governor has done late night before. he did a top ten on david letterman. >> what's up? >> you won't see that. >> take mitt romney. we both think have our wives as our better halves. we both have degrees from harvard. he took a few hours off to see the hunger game. it is about games where they brutally savage each other. i'm sure this was a great change of pace. he asked his staff if he could get some equal time on the merv griffin show. >> the president and i have a very good relationship. >> the exhausting schedule of not passing any laws. >> the american people don't want to vote for a loser. >> they accuse us of wanting to gut women's health is absolutely not true. >> war on women is a myth. that it has been created by the democrats. >> when men have medical issues, they're medical. when women have medical issues, they're political. >> the republicans won the

women's vote in 2010. it could be argued it was the american women that really voted out the first woman speaker. >> it seemed natural to them. let's take the money out of women's health. >> male politicians concerning the decisions of our wives and mothers and our daughters and our sisters. >> it is just nonsense. there is no women's health issue here. >> let's get right to our panel in washington. msnbc political analyst and former dnc communications director and columnist for the hill, karen finney. in new york, krystal ball, analyst and msnbc contributor. we spent the weekend talking about the real and the manning asked the war on women has been fact rickated by women like to you divert attention away from the economy. that's right, isn't it? >> absolutely. actually, crystal and i were in a back room most of the weekend scheming. >> i'm so glad you admit that. >> it is a figment of our imagination that the response

that republicans seem to have for just about every issue is, let's cut the spending where it come from we will's health care. let's take that away from women. let's throw we will in the district of columbia under the bus to settle the deficit issue. time and again, john boehner seem to say there's no problem. from his perspective, there's not. yet time and genl it is one of the first things they like to put on the chopping block. >> if republicans are so pro women, why is it the republican party and so many state legislatures has actually tried to roll back the rights for reproductive health for women? why was it, for example, in the senate on the recent vote to reauthorize the violence against women's act of the 31 no votes, you guessed it. all republican, all male. >> that's right. >> there's no war on women. >> and there are 1,100 provisions that were introduced to the state legislatures last year telling women what they can and can't do. that wasn't republicans' fault.

interestingly here, just like alec, american legislative exchange council is behind the stand your ground laws across the country. is behind the voter suppression across the country. there is an equivalent organization, right wing organization, behind these laws. the americans united for life write model legislation. they push it in state legislatures across the country and they've been very successful. not only do they do that but they work with the legislators that they push to introduce it and they provide points. briefing books. they provide expert witnesses. >> there is a real constructed -- >> there is an actual group behind the war on women that is backing these republican legislators. >> you heard the president in top line speaking to women supporters friday evening. here's another bit of sound from those remarks. take a listen. >> and i'm always puzzled by this. this is a party that says it prized itself on being rabidly

anti-regulation themselves claim to want freedom from regulation and government meddling. it doesn't seem to bother them when it comes to we will's health. >> is that because they understand freedom in a different way than you and i do? >> i think it is because they have a much better understanding of a woman's physiology better than we ever could. we need men to tell us what medicines we should be taking because we might take the wrong things. on a serious note, one of the things that i want to mention here is talking about the violence against women act. remember that a lot of these very same republicans have said to us over the years, one of the reasons we should be in afghanistan and stay in afghanistan is women's rights and women's freedom. how about worrying about women right here in this country and trusting women to have enough sense and trusting with us our own liberty to make some of these decisions on our own. >> what a ridiculous suggestion krystal, mitt romney is obviously aware of the gender

gap. boehner said there's no war on women and so on but there is a problem with women voting for him. do you think with the public event today, that he is interesting contemplating the possibility, notwithstanding what happened with sarah palin, of perhaps getting the woman on the ticket to help close that gap? >> i think he is contemplating that possibility. i think he probably has people telling him that would not be a bad idea. as you appointment out, john mccain made a similar calculus in 2008. he thought if he had a woman on the ticket, the women who had supported hillary clinton would naturally vote for him because women just, we cannot tell the difference between issues. we're just going to see a woman on the ticket and we're going to go that way. right? it's not that simple. he will have to actually come one some policies and a vision for the country that appeals to women if he wants to us vote for him. >> krystal's point is well made. so much of what paul ryan's

budget, which romney calls marvelous. it is going to decimate women. particularly poor women who need provisions for their children in the form of head start and medical care. >> you've heard me say this before. one of the things they don't understand, the issues themselves are horrible. and gutteding these program are horrible. but also the tone of the conversation that we've heard from mostly republican men has really been offensive to women. i'm not even talking about the extreme of rush limbaugh, but some of the comments and the kinds of things that people have proposed the ways they've talked about it are really disrespectful and women are paying attention to it. we will have been paying attention since, look what happened with the susan g. komen incident. women who were never political got activated very quickly because women do not like to see these kinds of issues politicized and they don't like have to our sense of self and

liberty and our perspective question that had we might not be able to make good decisions for ourselves. >> mitt romney and his camp have said the problem is that women haven't gotten to know him yet. like that's the problem. i think the problem is that we have been paying attention and we are well aware of what he's been saying. >> women are too astute. that's the problem. next, mitt let detroit go bankrupt. now said he saved the motor city. really? stay with us. >> we also both have degrees from harvard. i have one. he has two. what a snob. losing weight clicked for me

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bailout, he's been skin. it was titled let detroit go bankrupt. in february he took to the opinion pages, the president tells us that without his intervention, thing in detroit would be worse. that i believe without his intervention, things will would be better. so it was fascinating to hear his senior adviser attempt to rewrite history this weekend. >> they went to the process. it is exactly what mitt romney told them to do. consider that the crown jewel. the only economic success that president obama has is because he followed mitt romney's advice. >> joe williams is white house writer. i've seen some pretty far fetch spin in my time. do you have any idea what eric is talking about in. >> well, he's wrong, as a matter of fact. they did not go through the manage bankruptcy process. it was a small part of it.

the bridgestone of $80 billion. republicans realized they don't have a strong argument on the auto industry save. they don't have a strong argument on t.a.r.p. or stimulus. what they want to do is muddy the waters to take away the clear choice that romney had articulated back in 2008, as you point out. what obama actually did. what they're trying to do is blur the lines. i don't think anybody will buy it. >> was it a good idea for a man who has been running for president for five years to deem writing op ed pieces that would have damned the motor industry? >> it is the gift that keep on going if you're a democrat. why go there? he cannot really rehabilitate his image on detroit. his 2008 op ed in the "wall street journal" stands the test of time. this is what he has said. he has effectively repeated that claim and even some right wing pundits were saying on sunday that even if detroit had been

allowed to completely fail, the auto industry would still be there. that's patently not true. not only would the auto industry have failed but the job would have failed along with them. the unemployment would have been higher and this would have been a complete millstone around the neck of an already struggling economy. >> the romney strategy, it seems to me is one of co-ment onning and claiming the president's achievements as his own from the auto bailout to sanctions on iran. even to the death of bin laden. but doesn't this attempt at historical theft, if you like, actually point to the fact of romney's hollowness? when it comes to anything aside from investment banking. what is he going to do next? claim that churchill took his advice to win the second world war? >> this is the tin man syndrome. he is almost suggesting that he advocated exactly what we did in the osama bin laden killing.

it goes to the central point about where the republicans are today. i think that they believe that they can not win the argument in making the contrast between obama and romney on both foreign policy issues and on economic issues. what they're trying to do here is muddy the waters. and it really tells you a great feel about how bankrupt the republican philosophy is at this point. most campaigns at this point are trying to draw a very sharp contrast. what romney is trying to do is say i agreed with what obama did. >> he was the originator. >> you're seeing a bit of republican jiu jitsu. it seems to pioneer by karl rove and before him, lee atwater. you take political opponent's strength and try to turn it into a weakness and failing that, you co-opt the success to try to have your own kind of weird version of reflected glory. that's a lot of what you're seeing. the talk about detroit really was mitt romney's idea. that's not necessarily so. that's because the first attempt

to do the sort of judo flip did not work to say the economic policy for detroit failed. and because of obama's intervention, it is worse than it was before. that's not true either. >> sorry. you wanted to butt in. >> i was going to i is a it is a judo flip but nobody is buying it. to joe's point, in april, may of every single presidential season, you see parties trying to draw contrasts. you see republicans running away from the philosophical differences and trying to muddy the waters. i think they've lost confidence in their basic argument. >> they don't have a very pro argument. you don't really have a sense of why there should be tremendous energy behind mitt romney's campaign. he doesn't have a lot of pros going for him. >> nor do you hear them saying about why the obama economic plans have failed and what they would do that's fundamentally different. right now we're looking at

government spending of about 25% of gdp. the house republicans advocate we lower to it 22% or 23% of gdp. the significant, the differences between what the republicans are arguing and what obama is arguing, they keep narrowing those differences because they know we've would have been the argument. >> thank you for on your expertise. we have much more ahead. first the market wrap. good afternoon. >> let's take a look at how stocks are doing at the start of the trading week. i think the words are not very well. we're sitting in the red. you can see the s&p is below the 14 hundred mark. the dow is down by about 23 points. that's it from us at cnbc. first in business worldwide. for three hours a week, i'm a coach.

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to the white house now, and the subject, a growing diplomatic crisis in china.

a blind dissident who escaped house arrest is said to be in beijing. there is evidence of just how touchy the subject is for the president today wouldn't go near it. >> obviously, i'm aware of the press reports on the issue in china, but i'm not going to make a statement on the issue. what i would like to emphasize is every time we meet with them, the issue of human rights comes up. >> kristen, the president wouldn't even say if the dissident is in beijing hands. there is talk of him being in the american embassy. form secretary of state hillary clinton leaves for china tonight. >> it was thought there was some progress between the u.s. and china, that they were coming

together on issues like iran, syria, north korea, also china's exchange rate. this situation makes all of that all the more uncertain. that is why in part the president didn't go near it today. you heard him talk about the fact that he brings up human rights issues whenever he sits down with china's president, but he really wouldn't delve into the facts of this case. his top counter-terrorism adviser john brennan over the weekend sort of laid out why this is so tricky, because in part the united states wants to pressure china to make human rights a priority, to reverse course and do the right thing in these types of instances but also has to have a relationship with china. as you know, martin, the u.s. has been expanding its presence in the asia pacific region so china is certainly a country that they need to work with. so this is an incredibly tricky situation. secretary of state hillary clinton, as you mentioned, heads to klein tonight for diplomatic discussions, conventional wisdom with the escaped dissident is going to

monopolize those discussions. >> i don't doubt it, kristen. and hillary clinton has jumped in, accusing the president. >> mitt romney has been jumping in for months saying obama wasn't tough enough on china. and he issued a statement about this situation, making protecting the dissident's family a priority, and also urging the obama administration to address the issue of human rights and political liberty. a lot of people looking at that calling it a slightly unusual step, and then when you put it in context of the president's remarks this afternoon, it almost felt like he was responding to that saying, look, we have made human rights a priority. mitt romney, of course, trying to find ways to attack the president on foreign policy. as you know, the president has played the card that he killed osama bin laden.

so that is certainly something he has got a boost from in the past, so mitt romney sort of trying to find any opening on that front. >> good luck with that. kristen, thank you as always. we'll be right back to clear the air. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. a farewell long awaited. goodnight, stuffy. goodnight, outdated. goodnight old luxury and all of your wares.

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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. it's time now to clear the air. and the great thing about mitt romney's plan for the economy is that he doesn't need to be elected for us to see it in action. we don't need to see a president romney in order to witness the effect of his policies. just take a look across the atlantic in europe, and there, clear as day, is the romney-ryan budget in action. mr. romney and his 59-point plan and his affirmation of what he calls mr. ryan's marvelous budget would do the following: cut corporate taxes, reduce government spending and decimate

regulations. this is almost exactly, word for word, what the british and spanish governments have been doing for the last 18 months. political leaders in both those countries have said that tackling the deficit is their central priority, and they've gone about it with gus to. and now the results are in. last week the united kingdom announced that it's back in recession. and today the spanish government officially accepted that it, too, is back in recession. in plbritain, in the first thre months of 2012, the economy shrunk by .2%. at the same time, the rate of inflation is at 3.5%. in spain, their economy slank by .3%, and our unemployment is now at a record 24.4%. this is the romney-ryan plan for america as already imposed in

kbur europe. what you get it a double dip recessi recession. before you breathe a sigh of relief, the worry is that europe's ills will become contagious and region the united states. if a serious disease is known to be percolating in a particular part of america, do you go there or do you avoid it like the plague? that's a question america will answer this november. don't say you haven't been warned. thank you so much for watching. dylan ratigan sheis here on thi monday and ready to take you forth. >> the big thing about these deficits is that police don't acknowledge that it was the collapse in revenue as a result of the housing crisis and the spike in unemployment that created them. you can't cut your way out of it, you have to bring the growth back, you have to fix the labor market, you have to fix the unemployment.