the talks seem about about the progress and the transition out of afghanistan. >> reporter: hi, thomas. the big news today is we're expecting an announcement from the leaders, that they're going to be handing over combat command to afghan security forces in 2013 with the ultimate goal of withdrawing all foreign troops by 2014. so essentially making that transition happen and really setting the time line into motion here. now, the obama administration has really been focusing on the fact that they are bringing this very unpopular war to an end. but military commanders stress, this is still a very dangerous mission. it is still going to require combat through 2013 and through 2014, even. here's what president obama had to say about this transition process. take a listen. >> our nations and the world have a vital interest in the success of this mission. and i am confident because of the leadership represented here,

as well as the leadership of our outstanding armed forces, that we can advance that goal today and responsibly bring this war to an end. >> reporter: so today, thomas, is really going to be about ironing out the finer details of how this transition will take place. part of that is, of course, funding. it will cost about $4 billion every year over the next ten years to fund the afghan security forces. the united states has been looking for monetary commitments from its allies. it had secured some going into the summit and it was looking for more. senior administration officials have told me privately that they feel quite good about some of the monetary commitments that they have gotten here over the past day. we haven't gotten any specifics about that yet. that's one of the things we're hoping to learn later on today. of course this comes as we've learned that france will be pulling out its droops in 2012 which is, of course, far ahead of when the nato allies will be pulling out. nonetheless, the united states

says it feels confident that france will help in other ways. as for those protest that is you mentioned, thomas, several thousand people turned out yesterday. 45 people were arrested. seven protesters were treated at the hospital and four police officers treated. there were a few clashes between protesters and police. but largely these protests were peaceful. we're awaiting another protest today expected to happen outside boeing today. >> nbc's kristen welker in chicago for us. kristen, thanks so much. colonel jacobs, i want to turn to you. the big question now turns to and has always been about the transition and realistically how ready afghan forces are to assume that responsibility. >> well, depends on where you are. in some places, afghan troops are in very good shape indeed. we've been working on training them for a long time. but in a lot of places, particularly in remote areas, areas close to the border with pakistan, they're not very good at all.

as a matter of fact, the police are a particular problem. as you know, there have been attacks by police on nato troops in the past and there will continue to be. they're not particularly well-trained and as a matter of fact, there's a great deal of corruption among the police. so it's very spotty, the question about whether or not we can actually leave and expect things to be okay. the fact of the matter is we cannot unless we intend to be there for a long time. and we do not. >> colonel, as you bring up about the remote areas, that is certainly a point of interest because there is this fear that when the u.s. and other forces leave that that will be the most porous, the easiest areas for the taliban to retake that lost ground. however, yesterday president hamid karzai said prior to the official start of the nato summit after a face-to-face with president obama that afghanistan doesn't want to be a burden on the u.s. any longer. but when we talk about those remote areas and the rebirth of the taliban, isn't it realistic and isn't it logical to think that we are going to see somewhat of a resurgence? >> yes.

as a matter of fact, we've got plenty of evidence to indicate how that's going to occur because exactly the same thing happened when -- after we got rid of the taliban at the very beginning of the war and then we decided to turn our attention to iraq. we left our forces -- brought them to iraq in substantial numbers and of course the taliban came back when we ignored afghanistan for seven years. it's going to be extremely difficult to get these guys, get the bad guys out of the areas unless we spend lots of time and lots of money there. we do have the commitment to keep trainers, special force and special operation forces in difficult areas. but that's going to cost money and it's going to take some cooperation from people like pakistan. and i don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. >> colonel jack jacobs joining us from london, jack, thank you. one more note to pass along, president obama will hold a news

conference this afternoon at the conclusion of the nato summit. we'll bring to it you live. it's scheduled for 4:30 eastern time. we'll have it for you right here on msnbc. it is the campaign gaffe everyone is talking about. this morning a top surrogate to the president's reelection team is walking back his criticism of the campaign's attacks on mitt romney's record at bain capital. here's what newark mayor cory booker said on "meet the press" sunday -- >> from a very personal level, i'm not about to sit here and indict private. to me, we're getting to a ridiculous point in america f. you look at the totality of bain capital's record, they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses. this kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. it's nauseating to the american public. enough is enough. >> so that laid the foundation for the conversation which mayor booker then took to twitter saying, quote, i'll always prioritize my nation over a political party and right now crass and divisive partisan

politics is not serving the citizens of my city. yes, obama must be reelected but we as a nation owe it to him and ourselves to reject politics as usual. by this time, the rnc had blasted out a video of booker's comments. later on sunday came this web video from the mayor himself. >> let me be clear, mitt romney has made his business record a centerpiece of his campaign. he's talked about himself as a job creator. and therefore, it is reasonable and in fact i encourage it for the obama campaign to examine that record and to discuss it. i have no problem with that. >> let's bring in our political power panel this morning. reid wilson, margie o'meara and robert trainer. it's great to see all three of you. interesting to see the mayor take to his office to record his own one-on-one "meet the press," so to speak. margie, how much was the obama

campaign involved in mayor booker's decision to backtrack this, basically fix this. >> i'm a new jersey native and a khaca cory booker super fan. he speaks for himself on "meet the press" and when he releases videos and goes on twitter. i think we should -- all of these things are things he said for himself. he mentioned in the video that mitt romney brings up his record on bain as a reason why he understands the economy. that makes it a perfectly good thing to discuss and say, well, let's explore that record in more detail. when you combine that with everything else that he's said, corporations are people, let detroit go bankrupt, that's a real picture of mitt romney. >> margie, though, if the mayor speaks and stands for himself, why backtrack anything? let "meet the press" and what he had to say on that stand for itself. why then take to twitter and

release a video clarification to try to re-establish what your point was? >> as a surrogate, he wants to be helpful to the president. and you'd have to ask him, i guess. i guess he thought that would be helpful, in addition to having the time and the opportunity that a youtube video plus the follow-up tweets would provide. >> they didn't waste a lot of time trying to pull this one together, robert. cory booker is the second obama guy kind of to slam the campaign's attacks on bain. first it was the president's former car czar, steve rattner, on "morning joe." now it's booker. how can they stay on message and not veer off course like this? >> first and foremost, isn't it refreshing that a person out there who's a public official is speaking his mind and telling the truth? i think that's refreshing. but also surrogates are just that. they are clearly speaking on behalf of the campaign but first and foremost, they speak on behalf of themselves and from their own unique perspective.

cory booker is a moderate democrat. he's clearly representing a city that's going through a lot of issues right now. so i applaud him for speaking his mind and for speaking the truth. here's the unfortunate truth about bain capital. the obama campaign likes to bring out that ad in terms of a lot of people being laid off and so forth. when that company was laid off, mitt romney actually left bain capital by then and actually an obama super supporter was running bain capital at that time. we need to clarify some of the remarks out there. >> so let's take a look, though, because as all of this is being discussed this monday morning, the obama campaign has released a brand-new bain video. it's on the web today. focuses on this indiana company that had dealings with bain. let's take a look. >> we were a nice, strong, healthy company. we were making money and for them to just come out from

nowhere and shut the place down, it was devastating. took our benefits. we didn't have any more retirement. bain and mitt romney did not care about us as workers. they were looking at the mighty dollar. >> bain was not about building job growth unless it was to be profitable in certain places and in other areas where it wasn't, they would make those cuts. the question is whether bain is fair game. reid, do you agree with cory booker's new position that romney can be targeted over bain since he's made job creation the centerpiece of his campaign and that he can fix this country's problems? >> it's clear the obama campaign is going to try to do that. this has has been the central trust of their argument that mitt romney is a venture capitalist. democrats have the same kind of advertisements set to come out in a whole bunch of states. there are examples from south carolina and several other places. with a venture capital firm, they're going to be involved in a lot of enterprises around the country.

democrats have all of those attacks lined up and ready to go. i wouldn't be surprised if we see a new video like this popping every monday. then again, if democratic surrogates go on "meet the press," it undercuts the effectiveness of some of these advertisements. >> as we talk about this issue with bain, it's worked twice before against mitt romney, in '94 and the past republican primary. does the obama campaign -- what do they have to lose with this line of attack? they can pretty much come up with one a week if they wanted to. what do they have to lose, if anything? >> mitt romney is the one who brings this up. he brings up his bain experience as a sign that he understands job growth. it's very much worth discussing when people are hurting around the country and signs that mitt romney both in his past and currently has difficulty understanding the struggles that people face. and these ads just illustrate that. i also want to mention something that robert touched on earlier.

mitt romney used jobs created some of these companies after he left. he counts that as jobs he helped to create. if he uses -- he uses this math of any company that he worked on while he was at bain. so i think it's fair game to talk about the job losses when he was in charge and immediately after. >> our political power panel -- >> thomas, can i respond to that. >> robert, i've got to jump, so, no. but i appreciate you wanting to. but i'm going to get yelled at. >> thank you all so much. still ahead, the agenda this hour, the mother known for her golden hue breaks her silence and talked to "today." >> why doesn't everyone just leave me and my family alone and find something better to do? and then millions turn their eyes to the skies. we'll show you more spectacular images of the rare ring of fire eclipse. did you see it? with the spark cash card from capital one,

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welcome back, everybody. this week, lawmakers in new hampshire will vote on a bill requiring pregnant women to wait 24 hours for an abortion and a bill that would allow employers to cut birth control coverage from their health plans. it's just the latest in the series of simples across the country that critics say are gop attacks aimed against women. republicans say that's just ridiculous. is this so-called war on women truly real? with me in person is senator barbara boxer. senator, great to see you in person. we get to talk all the time through the imagine irof television. but nice to have you here and to talk about something that you

feel is a real topic as we look at what "the new york times" put out over the weekend. they published an op ed claiming the gop is attacking women on four different fronts, on abortion, health care access, equal pay as well as domestic violence. why do you think that republicans are taking this tactic now or is this just a coincidence or something larger about conservatism and people wanting to turn the time dial back? >> republicans are showing america who they are. and it's very clear, they get upset when you say it's a war on women. but it is, as "the new york times" pointed out in those various areas. all you have to do is look at what's happening right now. we want to have this vote on paycheck fairness act because, as you probably know, women do not earn as much as a man does for the same job. so we're trying to make sure she has her rights protected. they're blocking us from going to it. their filibustering it. we have to file what we call

cloture to get the votes to even take this up. this is the latest example. the violence against women act. they left out in the republican house groups and groups of women, millions of women are left out of protections. so it goes on. and i think that's the reason you're seeing a big gender gap in the latest pew poll that came out on the presidential race today. >> do republicans see this, though, as more of trying to create the ideas, foster the environment for the ideas that they want to push forward but they don't realize who the vicks end up being, which is women? because i think that's where people get confused about the war on women, as if the republicans are sitting around thinking, how do we take away rights from women, they're just coming up with ideas, women are the collateral damage. >> i don't call it collateral damage. when you say that you no longer are going to get your birth control, who's the victim of that? the woman who wants to have control over her own body. this is an argument we fought so many generations ago.

young women can't even believe this is true. so women are the intended victim of their legislation. and to think that they would zero out planned parenthood when 97% of what planned parenthood does is breast cancer screenings and cervical cancer screenings, testing for ovarian cancer, health prevention. it's a direct attack. it's not some kind of collateral damage. it's a direct hit on women. and that's why i call it a war on women. and the louder they protest, the more i will come out and tell you because i'm known for someone who speaks straight from the shoulder. it's a war on women. >> senator, there's a new recent o shows that social issues are at the very bottom when it comes to what people are saying is important to their vote. 86% feel it's about the economy. abortion is at 39%. republicans claim that the obama campaign is using social issues to distract from the economy. how do you fire back with that

one? >> i think it's kind of amusing since if you go over the history, it's the republicans that have tried to use social issues. but this is the point. this attack on women, this war on women, as i call it, it's really aimed not just at a women's right to choose, a so-called social issue, i would argue it's a health issue, but that aside, it's at the economic pocketbook of women. when they say, we can't take up the paycheck fairness act, when so few of them voted for the lily ledbetter fair pay act, it's not a social issue. women are very smart. that's why in the pew poll, president obama has a huge lead among women because they know these issues are being targeted at them. >> we had the sound from senator marco rubio played over this weekend alluding to the fact that the so-called war on women is truly a fiction, something that's been created by president obama. take a listen.

>> the strategy that this white house and his party is employing is a destructive one, that pits americans against each other. rich versus poor. men versus women. >> so do you think the divisive theme is going to be a main message to try to reveal something from the republicans or distract from what is really going on? if people take a hard look at these laws and what's going on around the country, is it easy enough for people to put two plus two equals four and that there is a problem and the ideas are that in affecting women? >> look, all i believe in is telling the people the truth. i didn't start this war on women. i came to fight for all my people, men, women, children, the rest. day after day, day after day, whether it's the violence against women act, whether it's the equal pay act, whether it's

zeroing out protective health care for women, this is what's coming from the republicans. marco rubio, bless his heart, he's a new member of the senator, i like with him, i've worked with him on foreign policy issues. the bottom line is, this is a war on women. women are smart. they look at the candidates and they see what romney's position is, obama, what democratic positions are, what republican positions are. and that's why there's a gender gap because women don't need men to explain to them when they're being attacked. they get it. >> senator barbara boxer, nice to see you in person. >> great to be with you. mark zuckerberg changed his status over the weekend to married. the facebook creator did go ahead and marry his longtime sweetheart priscilla chan in their palo alto home over the weekend. the two met at college. nasdaq promising changes after the problem that plagued last friday's big launch of the ipo. trading started 30 minutes late after late-order cancellations

caused what the nasdaq ceo is calling just a glitch. after ending 23 cents above where it began on friday, facebook opened today at $36 a share, below its $38 a share value. now it's currently hovering just about 34 bucks, down by 11%. we'll be back after this.

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democratic leader nancy pelosi says there is a 50/50 chance the democrats will take back the house this fall. some may dispute those chances but we know one thing for sure -- outside cash flooding this year's battle for congress, "the new york times" reporting that super pacs and other organizations have spent 7 million objection on house races and nearly 12.million on the senate races. john barrasso is running for reelection in wyoming. senator, good to have you with us. as we hear nancy pelosi saying there's a 50/50 chance for democrats to take the house back, considering the numbers as we talk about the money, the millions of dollars pouring in for the presidential race, do you think there's too much money in politics and that's what's deciding our elections? >> well, i don't think so, thomas. i think money is an opportunity for people to have their voices heard. i am for free speech in this country and you see the studies

the amount of money being spent in these elections is less than people spend on easter candy. is the reality is this election is going to be about the economy and the obama record of the economy and jobs in the economy, the debt, the spending. i just got back from wyoming last night and that's what i'm hearing all around the state. >> when did free speech become so much money? when did it decide that it needed to be so expensive to have free speech? >> you have over 500 super pacs listed. and we'll see what happens this year at the voting booth come election day. but i want to make sure there's not a lot of distractions out there and the focus is on where it should be. people want a healthy economy and the obama economy is not a healthy economy. >> sir, when we talk, though, about spending, on friday, your

opponent said you will outspend him 1,000 to 1 in this race because he's pledged not the accept corporate donations, how do you respond to that? given the fact that he's holding a rifle during that speech? >> well, the filing deadline in wyoming hasn't come yet. the people can continue to file for election till june 1st. we'll see how the field shapes up. but i'm privileged and proud to represent the people of wyoming in the united states senate. i'll try to do that again for the next six years. >> what do you think of the visual image that he's holding a rifle in his image? >> i've been endorsed by the n.r.a. in the past. i'm a life member of that portion. and i expect to gain their endorsement again this year. >> sir, while we have you, we are expecting the supreme court to come back some time this month or at the beginning of

june with a decision in regard to president obama's health care law. what is the gop's plan "b" if that were to be overturned? >> we need to repeal and replace this health care law. 67% of americans in a "new york times" poll believe that this health care law ought to be found unconstitutional because of the mandate that everyone must buy a government-approved product. so we first have to repeal if they don't overturn. if they do overturn, we need to replace it. but go back to the founding fathers, james madison said you should pass no law so voluminous it can't be read and so coherent that it can't be understand. that's what we have with this health care law. >> senator, before i let you go, john boehner made a pretty interesting comment this weekend in reflection of how to handle caucuses. take a listen to this. >> i've never been shy about leading. but leaders need followers. and it's hard to keep 218 frogs

in a wheelbarrow long enough to get a bill passed. >> 218 frogs in a wheelbarrow long enough to get a bill passed. how do you respond to that? >> trent lott, the leader of the senate wrote a book called "herding cats." each parrot has their own constituency and beliefs. but all republicans are united on getting america back to work. this election is going to be a referendum about the president and his record and it's not a record that is really helping our economy. the economy continues to struggle. we're heading toward a fiscal cliff come the end of the year if congress and the president don't act before then, taxes on every -- of every working american, every working american will go up. and that will be very, very harmful to our country and to our economy. >> senator john barrasso, thanks for your time this morning. >> thanks, thomas. at this hour, we are awaiting word from the jury in the john edwards criminal trial.

the panel in that case deliberating since friday. but, of course, a verdict could come at any moment. today's waiting game comes on the heels of this month-long trial that produced moments of drama and heartbreaking lows for the former senator as well as his family. joining me from greensboro is hampton dellingedellinger. some of the most memorable stuff generated by the prosecution witness in this case. in your opinion, who stood out and what kind of impact or sway will their testimony have on this jury? >> thomas, if the jury comes back with a guilty verdict, i think we'll back look at cheri young as the key witness. i think the jury saw someone who had taken most of the money, nearly $1 million and kept it for themselves, andrew and his wife, cheri, instead of passing

it along to rielle hunter as intended. but this jury could have well have felt there was no amount of money to make up for what john edwards put her and her family through. >> it all comes down to who presented a better case. in your opinion, did the prosecution prove guilt? >> that's always been the hurdle for the prosecution. could they show that john edwards knowingly and willfully violated the federal election campaign act? it's the highest standard in federal criminal law. they never put forward a confession from john edwards, no direct evidence. they really based it on the convoluted money trial. jennifer palmieri may have helped a bit. if it's a conviction, palmieri plus cheri young may have been the difference. >> any gut feelings about the jury returning today? >> i do think that they could well come back today. it's a jury that's gotten along well with each other. they've entered and left the courtroom often in laughter.

i actually saw a couple of them walk in today and one woman said to the other, come on, girls, let's get started. it's a friendly jury. you don't see divisions yet. they didn't rush to judgment but they could come back today. >> hampton, great to see you. thank you. developing now, a really emotional scene in a courtroom in new brunswick, new jersey, where former rutgers university student dharun ravi is about to be sentenced. in march, ravi was convicted of hate crimes for using a webcam to watch his roommate's encounter with another man. dharun ravi is facing up to ten years in prison. this morning, clementi's mother and other family members had their opportunity to speak out. >> the court needs to show the residents of new jersey and for that matter the entire country this was not right. and it is not acceptable behavior and it will not be tolerated. i trust the honorable judge who

will interpret the laws and impose the proper sentence that fits the crimes committed against my son. >> joining me now is john q. kelly. right now, just to give everybody an update of what's going on in court, ravi's attorneys are up. and then two of ravi's attorneys will be addressing. the prosecutors are asking for the maximum sentence saying that dharun ravi has been arrogant showing no remorse. the victim impact statements delivered this morning, what type of sway do they have on a judge that's coming into this, who's already sat through the conviction of ravi that may already have a preset idea of where he wants to go? >> i think it's emotional. i think it's compelling. i don't think it will have any impact on the decision the judge makes. i think he's probably done a lot of reasoning behind the scenes and he walked in the courtroom today already knowing what the sentencing was going to be.

we'll wait and see. it was a difficult sentencing issue. you have the gay rights movement who don't want ravi used as a poster boy for egregious conduct that led to bullying or maybe led to the suicide of this young man. he's been convicted of crimes. it's bias intimidation, hate crimes. i think he's going to see some jail time. but i don't think he's going to be the poster boy for the gay rights movement and the bullying of gay that is people expected. >> as you mentioned, there were lgbt activists that have spoken out in front of ravi. does that sway the judge or is he going on the facts he was found guilty of? >> sure, i think what's going to be the compelling issue and the decisive factor with the judge is there's no direct link to tyler clechmenti's suicide and e conduct of ravi. these day, everybody's pushing the envelope with social media, hacking into texts, e-mails, facebook.

it's got to draw the line somewhere. and i think someone's got to be made an example for that. i think the judge will make him an example of that in terms of invasion of privacy, but not the subsequent suicide of mr. clementi. >> john, nice to see you this morning. here's a look at other t other stories topping the headlines. a 12-hour riot left one dead. the privately owned facility is used to hold individuals who tried to reenter america after being deported. the tanning mom is talking and tells america she's tired of all the attention. patricia krentcil made headlines in recent weeks for her extreme tanning habits. during a "today" show exclusive, she said, she's fed up with the scrutiny being placed on her and her family and criticized the media for focusing on her instead of on actual people who

are in need of help. >> i'm sick and tired of everyone -- why doesn't everyone just leave me and my family alone and find something better to do, like help people instead of criticizing a mom who sits at home and gardens and takes care of her kids? one of the biggest solar eclipses in recent memory, now known as the ring of fire, certainly living up to its name. these images, just some of the astoupding heavenly sights from this event as the moon moved in front of the sun creating a golden ring around the edges. it's the first solar eclipse that america has seen in 18 years. i just want to give her everything. [ whistles ]

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[ male announcer ] yep, there's 8 filling layers of whole grain fiber in those fun little biscuits... so they stick with you, all morning long. kellogg's® mini-wheats cereal. [ mini ] yee haw! a big breakfast in a little biscuit. mitt romney is running to become the first mormon president of the united states. and that's something that president obama's reelection team says is off limits.

david axelrod said yesterday romney's faith is not fair game. it's not something that romney often talks about himself. so how do we know how his faith influences his life? joining me now is "the new york times's" jody cantor whose article saturday delves deep into mitt romney's faith. jody, nice to see you. as we talk about this article that you wrote about the church's influences on mitt romney, they can really be difficult to detect. and that intertwines with family and family beliefs. so explain that to all of us, what you were able to learn looking into this. >> well, what we were really looking at is the biographical influence of faith on mitt romney's life. nobody thinks that as president he would sort of impose mormon doctrine or rule with a bible on his desk in the oval office and make decision that is way. we're talking about much more subtle matters of world view, of morality, of values. and so some of things that we

see he learned from the church is a real emphasis on persistence and resilience, a real emphasis on rules and another interesting thing i learned is that prayer plays a huge role in the way he sort of approaches the world and makes decisions. he prays quite a lot, quite seriously and he has prayed on both political and business decisions. >> he is a man of faith and he is one that readily admits that his faith runs deep for him. you wrote some of his traits as a republican mirror the traditional mormon traits as well. what were you able to learn about those mirror images that reflect back from being a morm ton bei mormon to being a republican? >> every political candidate goes out on the trail and unfurls his patriotism. but mitt romney's is a little bit different because mormons actually believe that god had a plan for the united states.

that the country is sort of divinely inspired, that the constitution is divinely inspired, that our country is marked by god to play a unique role in history. >> when we look, though, at how mitt romney being a politician also intertwines with what it is to be a man of deeply religious faith through the mormon tenets, how do those match up? are there conflicts that lead one to believe that he does struggle with how to be a good elected politician but also be one that has deep reflective faith with what he's learned being a mormon? >> well, it's interesting because the way i reported the story is i really talked to members of the lds church who are close to romney, who have worshipped with him over the years, who really know him. and they see one conflict in particular, which is between the kind of ideals that romney professed in church, he put a lot of emphasis on treating other people well, on being sensitive and respectful, on

being generous and giving, talked a lot about jesus' lessons in those manner. and yet these mormans see the way romney is carrying out political attack, some of which are very harsh. and some see a conflict. >> jodi, nice to see you today. thank you. >> thank you. up next, the naacp's historic new stance on marriage equality. go in there! it's your surprise party and we want this hair color to be party ready. let's get some dimensional color. now!? what if it comes out wrong? [ gigi ] nice 'n easy gets your right color every time. guaranteed. in one step get tones and highlights for a gorgeous result. now, go party! surprise! surprise! surprise! surprise! i had no idea. [ gigi ] nice 'n easy. available in original or award winning foam from the color experts at clairol.

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the naacp speaking out this morning to make their historic vote over the weekend official. the civil rights group now supports marriage equality as a civil right. all but two members of the 64-person board voted to endoors marriage equality saturday two weeks after president obama became the first sitting president to back same sex marriage. >> other prominent african-american artists and athletes have come forward to back the president's evolution,

from the music world, rapper jay-z, from the world of sports, floyd mayweather. all is the support bringing new energy and new faces to an already successful equality effort. the no hate campaign is known for these photos showing duct tape over mouths. powerful images illustrating a silent protest to the create dialogue. more than 25,000 have modeled for the campaign including celebrities, lawmakers and every day people. joining me now are jeff partially and jeff buska. a lot of momentum has happened over the last couple of weeks with the president's endorse," the naacp coming out, celebrities coming out to talk about this. we had wanted to get you guys on a long time ago. adam, i want to start with you. how do you think the president's endorsement of marriage equality changes the mission of what you guys are already doing? >> i think it only adds to the support. this is great moment if you mean we're having in the nation right now and coming with the

election, it creates a great dialogue, something the conversation needs to be on. people say we need to focus on the economy. i think we need to eslevel the playing field and realize a majority of americans can still be fired from their job for just being gay. we need to open our eyes and look at this in different ways. >> jeff, do you think this adds diversity to the conversation to get the support of the president and the naacp, musicians like jay-z, from the sports world to get a boxer to come out in support of this? how do you think that's going to bring new faces and energy to the campaign? >> i think the opposition is trying to create a wedge within the lgbt community. based on race. i feel like with the president's support and with the naacp and with anybody that does support speaking out, it makes a really big difference and kind of brings the community together. >> when we talk about the faces that started all of this, jeff, it was yours that was the very first one. i think we have an image to show

how the campaign has evolved because the paint on the face was a little bit larger, maybe a little bit. >> my handy work. >> now it's a little more pristine with the fact that you do these facial stamps that get placed on people's faces. who surprised you with wanting to come out and be part of this campaign? >> on the screen right now, my biggest surprise was cindy mccain. it spoke a lot to the fact that this isn't a party issue. we all have our own voice and points of view. we need to own up to that and speak out. >> if you can't get all the way to the president, is it about getting to congress and politicians that are elected that can make a differences? >> that's vet important. we need lawmakers on our side and policymakers on our side. we went to no hate, no hate on capitol hill, sent out 160 e-mails, got ten people to

actually pose for the campaign. from those ten photos we're having people reach out to us that is congressmanship that will wanted to show their support and be on the right side of history. >> you had a shoot in new york yesterday after the aids walk. >> we're taking the campaign all over the nation. we worked with "w" hotel to get to a number of different spots. it's not a state issue. this is something that everyone has a reason to get involved. it's an anti-discrimination and everyone has a way to relate to this. >> gentlemen, thanks so much. this is really as i said a successful campaign. people can tell from the pictures. you make everybody look good. that's for sure. it's the lighting people, the lighting. the not hate campaign co-founders jeff parishly, jeff bushka. if you want to get involved or to look at the celebrity photos

and everybody day people supporting this campaign, check them out on their website. notify h 8 campaign.com. thanks for your time today. i'll see you back here tomorrow 181:00 a.m. now with alex wagner is coming your way next for this monday. hi, alex. >> happy monday. going rogue. beau biden will discuss what happens when a surrogate goes off message and trouble in the windy city. we'll talk nato protests, the trouble with pakistan and whether the romney doctrine xis. also, grover norquist will weigh in on debt showdowns and the republican brand when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. whoa. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. and i'm not usually this impulsive.

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