>> corporations are people, my friend. whose pockets? human beings, my friend. >> human beings, my friend. governor romney came to des moines last week. warned about a prairie fire of debt. >> i will work with you to make sure we put out this spending. >> prairie fire. his speech was more like a cow pie distortion. >> we start with a campaign warm-up to memorial day that is actually feeling a lot more like labor day with direct engagement by the president starting up early against his rival, mitt romney. it was in the midwest cross roads of des moines, iowa that the president took his latest fight to the presumed republican nominee. >> i know governor romney came to des moines last week. warned about a prairie fire of debt.

that's what he said. prairie fire. but you know, he left out some facts. his speech was more like a cow pie of distortion. >> we had to do it twice. all right. that's a colorful comparison there. the president didn't stop there. going after one of romney's most famous iowa moments. >> the world view that governor romney gained from his experience as a financial ceo explains something. it explains why the last time he visited these very same fairgrounds, he famously declared that corporations are people. human beings, my friends, that's what he said. >> yeah, you remember that right. >> corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes -- of course they are. every corporation ultimately goes to people. >> romney may be thinking about that moment today as he flies across the country heading from boston to his home in california

for the memorial day weekend. but we are still working here so let's get right to it. i want to get to our panel. julian epstein, republican strategist julianna glover and here in new york, joy-ann reid. also an msnbc contributor. all of our guests have name that begin with j so i apologize in advance for screwing it up. i do want to start with you. some short jab from mitt romney at the president in iowa yesterday. a cow pie of distortion. a fair shot in an aggressive campaign. or is this a president diminishing the office with comments like that? >> no, i think the president is joining the campaigning. what is new is that the campaign is being joined by the two principals early. memorial day rather than labor day. and i think there are two significant points. the fact that mitt romney is picking a fight over the debt which is very low on most voters' concerns tells you he

doesn't have a lot of room to work with on the economic issue generally. secondly he is making a point about romney's distortions. when george bush came into office, there was a surplus of $5 billion. george bush turned that into a national debt of $11 trillion. it is true that the president has added to it. but federal spending is about what it has been at an historic average, about 22%, 23% of gdp. for romney to try to find some room here to make an attack against the president, anybody that understands anything about the federal budget knows it is just a bunch of bunk. >> anybody who understands anything knows it is a bunch of bunk? >> let's start off and say that the colorful language from both candidates is welcome. the idea that you would refer to a prairie fire and a cow pile within the context of a presidential campaign is appreciated by political commentators. >> i think he said cow pie. not a pile of cows. >> back to the question. gdp and who is running up what.

you look at the number now and you carefully review and you realize that under obama, the national debt has actually significantly decreased over a period of three years and say, four or five months, compared to the eight years under which bush was president. those number are not number that he will be leading with or want to be about. you can darn well bet that romney will be out there, shall we say, hay. cow hay? i don't know. >> that's kind of like, i like what you did there. let me bring you in here. the president has faced some back lash this week over the comments that he made over bain capital. some of that, some of that flak from inside his own party with cory booker. why not let the dnc, why not let folk like debbie wasserman schultz, or bulldog to get after mitt romney more aggressively this early in the campaign. why is the president out so early? >> i think that part of the reason is, you said when you

made a note of all three of us having name that start with j. part of it is something that starts with p. personality. these are opportunities for the president to contrast his personality, his personal nature against mitt romney. he is showing himself to be much more personable than romney. number two, partly because this is shaking out to be much like the 2004 election. the incumbent is managing to turn it from a referendum on their own presidency into a question of is this other person someone you would want to trade me in for? in 2004, republicans were very skilled at making john kerry unacceptable, even for people who weren't happy with george w. bush. and i think this election is he very, very similar. they've taken what is a strength of romney, being a businessman, and trying to turn it into a negative and i think they're doing a good job in part because of bain's own record. >> is the romney argument, is the obama argument, you may not love what i've done as president but check out this guy.

you are certainly not going to love this guy. is that the argument or is that an oversimplification? >> she has insight. it feels very much like the 2004 campaign when the bush campaign went hard after kerry's credibility and made him altern. there is an element of that. in addition to that, i think the obama campaign is making it very clear that when romney talks about his economic program, there is kind of no there, there. there isn't anything that anybody understands. no vision. nothing other than cutting taxes and cutting regulation. tax are about 15% of the gdp. tax are as low as they ever have been. there's no there, there. not on the agenda or the energy agenda. the big difference is the key stone pipeline. obama has approved part of that. there's not much difference between the two on that. then on education, the third

point of romney's plan, romney talks like what bush did in the year 2000 where he wants to be kinder and gentler in 2000 but then he wants to defun the education program and replace it with vouchers. and we know historically, republicans don't put their money where their mouth is on vouchers. so at the end of the derrek not just that romney is an acceptable alternative. >> you mentioned romney's discussions about education. it happened yesterday. juliana, the "washington post" has a headline. rox campaign begins quiet push for african-american voters. he went to west philadelphia yesterday. and for folks not familiar with it, he was in the real philly yesterday. he was visiting a mostly black charter school. but he met with some protests there. how serious do you think team romney is about courting black voters? >> i think they're very serious and i think it is a very smart strategy. >> really? very serious? >> absolutely. i do think they're very serious. i think if you go to individuals that are unemployed and you

point out the circumstances where jobs are not being created and job givers, employers, aren't given the freedom and leeway they need in fact, the ability to plan long term to create jobs and keep people out of pay roll. further you add on top of that, obama care and businesses are just not in the place where they can bring on new employees. and many of those employees will happen to be african-americans and african-americans by and large in washington, d.c., for example, 50% of teenage kids this summer will not be able to get jobs. those types of numbers, minority communities. >> with due respect, that's not what he was trying to do. i lived in washington, d.c. for a number of years and i'm not even sure that statistic is accurate. secondly, that's generally the case in washington, d.c. regardless of who is in the white house with teenage unemployment. >> it's true that that is a fact and it is not generally the case. >> the romney campaign is not seriously going after african-american voters. they know they won't get more than 5 to 7% of the

african-american vote. obama has that sewn up. what they are trying to do, and it is a smart strategy. they're trying to make the appeal to suburban white voters and swing voters that they're not as extreme as you would think the republicans were, given what was the archie bunker primaries where they offended everybody from african hispanics everybody else. >> the archie bunker -- >> yeah. what they're trying to do is send the message that they are this kinder, gentler, more centrist republican party. they're not really going after african-american votes. they know they'll never get it. >> mitt romney does have, and has had a fair am of success so far this campaign season with one demographic specifically. financially struggling white voters. he polls very well with that group. he has a 26 -- i think i got the graphic here from the "washington post" poll. a 26-point lead according to this new poll in that group. to what do you think we can attribute that? is it his message or the man

himself that appeals, that seems to appeal so well to that particular constituency? i don't think it has anything to do with mitt romney. i think one of the things republicans over the last 30 to 40 years have been able to do is to shift working class white voters out of democratic party camp. remember, the democrats are the party of labor. the republicans are the party of management. it used to be that lower middle class white voters were solidly democrats. since the '80s they've been drifting toward the republican party really for cultural reasons. they feel like the republican party culturally gets them. that is a group very pro tea party. there is an antipathy to obama. i don't care it mat here's the nominee. is they are achieving to the base of the party. the base is older white voters and white working class voters, particularly men. that is the base of the republican party and they don't like barack obama. i don't think it has anything to do with mitt romney. >> those number are inaccurate. those numbers give an inaccurate inference. those are the numbers that obama

had in the 2008 election with respect to class white voters. what has changed in 2012 is he has a higher percentage of the white vote. probably around 43, 44% which guarantees re-election if he can get to 44% of the white vote. and he has a higher percentage of the vote on nonwhite americans as well. particularly hispanics. so those poll numbers show very bad news for romney and good news for obama. >> hang on. we're going to take a quick break. we have to pay some bills here. plus i'll do my best to find the number on the teenage unemployment rate in the summer. sit tight. stay with us. we'll be right back. also, coming up, with friends like these -- >> favorite snake. >> probably a python. >> why? >> big and passive. >> what about a mamba? i would think you would like that, 30 miles an hour, they attack your nervous system. you have 30 minutes to live. >> you have a more ruthless

approach to politics than i do. [ groans ] [ marge ] psst. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word. you have yet to master the quiet sneeze. you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts. well, muddlers, muddle no more. 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. zyrtec®. love the air.

when he got to the crunch, he was tough enough and smart enough to beat me in florida. when you have somebody who is tough enough to look you in the eye and run over you -- >> does he tell the truth about you? >> no. >> that was newt gingrich trying his best to embrace his former bitter rival, mitt romney. and that interview with msnbc's chris matthews coming days before gingrich will make his first appearance with romney at a las vegas fund-raiser. that will happen on tuesday and it is hosted by none other than the donald. donald trump. there he is right there. a panel back with us now.

thanks so much. got your mike there? you're good? >> i'm good. >> julianna, let me start with you. the republicans have been eager to hit the president on comments by cory booker. aren't they themselves vulnerable to whatever might come out of donald trump's mouth tuesday? and-on? >> both sides will be very vulnerable by whatever folks are saying about them. even just mere supporters, as we know. hilary rosen is an example with her attacks on moms. when folks like me and folks like julian and, when they go out and talk about the people that they support, we might get in trouble, too. it is part of the game. >> is this even a good idea for team romney campaigning with the guy, newt beginning, who really just trashed him on the campaign trail for a good chunk of it. and a guy also out there pushing the birther issue. donald trump continued to do that in a recent interview. what s does mitt romney even get

out of this? >> a good point. i've heard more sincere endorsements on the home shopping network than newt gingrich when he endorsed romney yesterday. every time romney goes where with gingrich, all the terrible things get raised up again. and to her point, the differences with hilary rosen height simply made a mistake was that democrats came out and roundly denounced it. when rush limbaugh called sandra fluke a slut, he said nothing. when donald trump has gone into this birther nonsense, romney also has refused to stand up to him. it shows his character which i hate to say is a little bit cowardly when you can't stand up to people who say patently object knock us and wrongful things. >> i think -- go ahead. >> i want to point out that that kind of nonsense is not really even worthy of response. even newt gingrich yesterday made clear that he thought that trump's most latest statements on birtherism was just bunk.

>> why doesn't romney say it? let's tease this out for a second. excuse me. >> why is it that romney did not denounce rush limbaugh? why is it -- >> let's talk about something more interesting than absolute silliness. let's talk about the fact that they're getting, by putting -- >> stop for one second. >> i listened to everybody else when they talk about this. >> i think he does raise an interesting point there. if mitt romney has disavowed this, why share a stage with him on tuesday? >> i think they're going to get it out of the way early. i think you will see romney with gingrich and trump now rather than right before the convention or after the convention. these are obligatory commitments on his part. they are helping him and they will help him in the future. it is very wise of the romney campaign to step forward and do this now in vegas where everything is already a wild side show in the first place. >> it is not wise to denounce the birther statements by trump?

not wise to denounce rush limbaugh? >> the campaign denounced the birther statements yesterday. and clearly and articulate language. >> has romney done that about trump's statements on birther? >> look, when he's asked about it -- >> or jeremiah wright? >> the campaign has been very clear on denousing those statements. >> they have? i haven't -- i've missed romney denouncing trump on the birther statement. >> he did yesterday. >> when did romney do that? >> i'm sure it will happen. >> hang on one second. i want to bring in joy-ann. you've been about to burst over here. it raises an interesting point. job this, often time candidates will say, i disagree with what this person said. i disavow -- all of a sudden you see them standing next to them for photo ops and fund-raisers. it is quite bizarre. >> it is. i think it shows the extent to

which cartoon characters have taken over the republican party. this was a perfectly acceptable party that is now in the tlal of people like rush limbaugh and looney people like donald trump. the characters, the caricatures of the party run the party. because now the proper party has decided they would give in to the ideology of talk radio. that is really in a sense what the tea party was. this was the talk radio listeners deciding to take over the poifrlt was the john birch society people. deciding when they pushed back in the '50s, they decided to come roaring back. now the republican party when i was growing up is gone. mitt romney is merely the place holder. it wouldn't matter who the nominee was. they have to go with this base. they have to go with this tide until it burns itself out. >> in ten seconds. >> during the bush administration, democrats called for bush's impeachment. i and a lot of democrats denounced it. when people said general petraeus was general betray us because of what he did in iraq,

i had a lot of democrats denounce it. so there's a lot for denouncing what's wrong. >> i'm going to have to cut you off. martin bashir turns over his show one friday for a few minutes and you guys just -- >> anarchy. >> yes. anarchy. thanks to all of you. have a fantastic weekend. coming up, the highway to summer. we'll check in with our man on the streets. a very busy holiday weekend kicks off. i'm freaking out man. why? i thought jill was your soul mate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate? dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a totally new investing dashboard. everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the new 360 investing dashboard at e-trade.

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35 million mernds will hit the roads this weekend. the unofficial start of summer from florida and philly to boston and denver. it is time to get away from work and school and head for the

barbecues and beaches. >> reporter: i'll be home at about 5:30. i'm going to grill tonight. take the ketchup out of the refrigerator. i cannot stand ketchup -- >> mike? are we interrupting you there? >> reporter: cale, i'm sorry, man. i'm sitting in the holiday swing. feeling good, billy ray. feeling good. >> i see you're dressed appropriately. dressed for the occasion. >> reporter: your producers made me do it. i swear. >> but for folks who are hitting the road, they're going to be gassing up. >> reporter: a lot of them. first of all, there will be a lot of folks hitting the road. a record number this year. about 31 million people taking to the roads. traveling at least 50 miles away from their home. 35 million people will be traveling. 9 out of 10 will be driving themselves won't be visiting the airports, in part because airfares have risen 7% over the

course of the last year since last memorial day. the good news if you're among the 31 million getting in your car, gas prices are lower than they were at this time last year. as a matter of fact, they've sunk seven consecutive weeks. the average price nationwide. $3.67 a gallon. it would be even lower if it weren't for california where the gas prices remain stubbornly high. over $4 a gallon in some places. but it is set to be a record setting weekend. people aren't traveling as far away from home but more people are traveling. >> also, understand that rental car fees, rental car rates and airline tickets, those are also down. is that correct? >> caller: that's right. airline fees are up about 7% since last year. airline travel is going to be down. you might want to watch it if you're on the road. take all the usual precautions. the police nationwide have this coordinated click it or ticket campaign to make sure people are wearing their seatbelts. they say it has been one of the most successful campaigns ever and it happens this memorial day

and throughout june. >> what's on the viqueira grill this weekend? >> reporter: it is my honor and privilege to work weekend. if you tune into msnbc and msnbc tomorrow. >> me and you both, brother. >> reporter: nose to the grind stone. you know me. >> thank you, sir. appreciate you. see you tomorrow. coming up, was the week the presidential campaign -- was this the week the presidential campaign really started? you don't want to miss our top lines week in review. >> made it very clear. i've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. small varmints. >> he's had a one-way narrative. rabbit hunting ain't fun when the rabbit got the gun. with the capital one cash rewards card you get a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash -- well, except her. no! but, i'm about to change that. ♪ every little baby wants 50% more cash... ♪

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for mitt romney's joy and bain to the rush of reverend

wright. here are our top lines. the week in review. >> he famously declared -- >> corporations are people, my friend. >> human beings, my friend. speech was more like a cow pie distortion. $5 trillion in new taxes. put out a prairie fire with gasoline. >> what's burning down here? >> i love the natural world. >> hey, guys, are you ready to let the dogs out? >> who let the dogs out? >> favorite snake. >> probably a python. >> donald trump and his hair also attending -- >> jonathan. the new rat pack? >> i just add two more guys to my wolf pack. >> are you calling mitt romney a liar? >> yes. >> does he tell the truth about you? >> what's herman cain doing that night? >> somebody apologizes repeatedly as he has done. >> first he is not going around the world apologizing. >> we get the unemployment rate to 6%. >> 6%? that sounds pretty good. >> president obama has decided to attack success. >> romney is known as a job

destroyer. >> this kind of stuff is nauseating. >> with regard to bain capital? >> of those investments, 80% of them grew their revenues. >> we know you can make money. >> you make one pizza. that doesn't qualify you to be president. >> i haven't seen that much sweat. he is only being asked to explain bain. >> how to read a balance sheet. >> this is part of the debate that we'll be having. rabbit hunting ain't fun when the rabbit got the gun. >> small varmints. >> she stepped on the ball. >> you're a man of sartorial staff. is corn using the same hairdresser? >> i wake up every single day thinking about you. >> millions of our kids are getting a third world education. >> that's a headline. >> john mccain made a terrible, terrible mistake. he didn't want to get into reverend wright. >> community organizer like barack obama -- >> the trigger finger is always itchy. >> the fighting instingt. >> he's put gloves on that. >> i'm not sure which is right.

>> why do some people in your party keep pushing he's not an american? >> beats me. >> look out. >> game on, governor romney? >> let's get right to our panel. politicalco joe williams joins us now live from washington, d.c. and joining us here in new york, the political analyst, also a columnist who contributes to the root. the grio.com, "huffington post" as well. thank you for spending your holiday friday with us. i'm going to start with you. you've got an article right now on the website. it talks about the attempt to resurrect reverend wright. and not just about the attempt to resurrect reverend right in that conversation but what that is a larger part of. here's a quote from your article. it is a quote from the head of the congressional black caucus. emanuel cleaver. it says, the issue of race has already raised its unprincipled head. i guess this year, republicans are going to blame president obama for being black.

they are paleolithic who know that race baiting still works. when he says race baiting still works, do you believe that? do you believe it is something that is still very effective in american politics? >> yes, i do. and a part of what is happening, post what we experienced in 2008 with all the hope and the change. with all the promise of president obama's election. essentially what we have now is a back lash which i in my writing often refer to as white redemption 2.0. which i know is a little aggressive but it describes what occurred in american politics. be just in american society but american politics in particular. between 1866 and 1877. essentially, you had this back lash that saw the rise of the ku klux klan against african-americans voting and then voting in their own electoral officials. and essentially, what we now have is this back lash against this african-american president. it is insidious, the way that the republican party has gone about trying to turn

specifically white, poor whites, and the white middle class against this president to delegitimize him. to make him seem outside the main stream. they say he was not born here. they say that we're not sure about his birth certificate. he might be a secret muslim. all of that is race-laced, i would say and is a part of the same political strategy. >> you think that's classic whistle blowing. dog whistles. and it is so obvious but yet, so effective. that's why i think it is important for us to call them out on what they're doing. >> you buy that? >> well, i think that it is true. i think that race and fear are the two most effective salespeople for politicians. after all, i think about jesse helms' ad with the white hands crumbling the paper saying you want that job but they gave to it a minority. you think back to willie horton and some other things taking place. ronald reagan holding his kickoff event in mississippi.

those are all very understated signals. what you have with the reverend wright controversy attempting to resurrect that, it is an air raid siren. a call to arms. the problem i see with that is it would turn off moderates and people who don't really want to know that they're voting for a racist. they respond to these code words but they don't really want to go out and know that somebody is actually using this as a wedge issue. >> joe, mitt romney, he did issue a mild rebuke to the group that attempted to revive reverend wright. he has been more selective when it comes to other supporters who endorse this line of attack. donald trump, for example. we were about him a few minutes ago. a dinner with donald. the prize in a romney campaign contest. how come mitt romney hasn't rebuked donald trump yet? why is he going to stand with him on tuesday and use the donald to raise money? >> because of the last two words of your sentence. use donald to raise money. there is this appeal that i

don't understand with donald trump and the general populace. he knows very little about politics. he knows something about making money. but even then there is a lot of questions about whether or not his wealth is legitimate and as large as he says it is. yet and still, he's been a king make four a long time. he will be a king maker for at least one more cycle and it doesn't really make sense for mitt romney to rebuke him or all other surrogates who are using, or trying to rumble about using racism as an issue. romney himself has used it occasionally. >> you mentioned earlier, you were, dog whistle was what we were talking about before we started this segment. apologizing. we've heard the president refer to that folks like donald trump questioned, still question whether he was born here. and some of the other things, some of the other criticisms that are levied against the president. is it your contention that a lot of those criticisms aren't merit based at all? that it all goes back to, we don't like you because of the

way you look? >> yes. i do. because if we look at this president's record and his background, he is the american dream personified. this is a man whose mother was a single mom for, from the earliest part of his life. who was on welfare. he took that and went to an ivy league school undergrad at columbia. met a wonderful woman that he's married. he has a family. he built a career as a constitutional professor and then a communicate organizer and now and then the senate. now like this man has become the american dream. and so to attack him as if he does not belong here. as if he is ascended-on his station is essentially the dog whistle tactic that they're using. >> i was just going -- i think that's true. to a degree. but also, president obama is nothing if not a moderate. and if nothing, someone who -- >> thank you.

>> and for the reason of that, it seems very strange that these attacks would be coming out of whole cloth with nothing to back them up. birther i. we've had the long certificate released. we've had countless officials saying, yes, he really was born here. but it is the rumor that refuses to die even with a guy romney is going to raise funds with in a couple days. >> can i add something? it is also that this tactic of trying to turn all his strengths into weaknesses. they say that he is not strong on foreign policy but yet this man has one of the strongest foreign policy records we've ever seen. they say he hanlt created jobs. we have 5 million jobs add in the last few years. this constant attack on facts essentially. the republican party has become sort of like a case study, as i said in my article of could go in it i have disdense. nothing can be backed up with facts but they continue to use this almost in an orwellian sense to try to change people's

minds on what actually is true. >> we'll to have leave it there. i've thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. joe, did you have something? ten seconds? >> i think that's pretty much it. we'll to have wait and see whether or not it has a real if he can or if it blows back. >> joe williams, edward, thanks so much. i always enjoy your writings on the internet. it is good i could get you here for a conversation. have a great memorial weekend. coming up, mitt romney gets an education on education. just in time for summer. >> if you're going to talk about education, it would be nice if you had an education record. it would be nice if you had an education platform. it would be nice if you seemed to know something about education. you can go wherever you want to go. that is the beauty of the united states of manager. the guy has no record to run on. if you are one of the millions of men

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as the school year come to an en, the issue of bullying as many will attempt to put new anti-bullying in place. authorizing up to $182 million in justice department grants to help end bullying. she join me live from houston. good afternoon. first of all, what prompted you to sponsor this legislation and does it have bipartisan support at this point in the house? >> well, over a year ago, over a yearation held a hearing in houston texas as the result of the suicide of asher brown. a youngster that was a teenager under 14 years old. the chambers was standing room only. we had video conference testimony from parents across america and just this past week,

i met parents who reminded me that they were there at that time pleading about this issue of bullying. and i have continued as the co-chair and founder of congressional children's caucus to focus along with other members. the idea of the bullying legislation was introduced even last year. we continue to introduce it now. it is to develop best practices for faith leaders, adults, law enforcement, parents, teachers and others. and yes, the concept has bipartisan support. we are now to work to move it to the floor of the house with that bipartisan support. we can only move it with bipartisan support and i think after they read the story of the 7-year-old in detroit, craig, they have to cry out and say, something has to know there has to be a national statement. >> on the issue of schools,

while i have you here. just this week we've seen mitt romney show a somewhat sudden interest in education. even visiting a school in philadelphia where things did not go so well. first, he stunned several teachers by suggesting class size is not an issue. then philadelphia mayor michael nutter took romney to the woodshed during an interview with martin bashir last night. >> i have no idea what he is talking about. if you want to come to philadelphia and talk about education or talk about issues, then your record will be examined. president obama has a record. i'm strongly supporting him. mitt romney doesn't. and i'm not going to allow him or his folks to come to our town and try to dupe people sboothing he actually knows something about education. >> mitt romney has pretty much refused to talk about anything except the economy. any idea why he suddenly wants to change the subject or attempt to change the sub to education?

>> i think it is to present to the american people a softer, kinder mitt romney. it is the redefining of his personality. let me say when we're in the midst of politics, we have no reason to speak ill of another human being. mayor nutter is someone i've worked with. i am formally in local government and city government is where the rubber hits the wall. hits the road. mayor nutter knows from which he speaks. he knows philadelphia. he is a man of philadelphia and to his town and talk about pro vouchers and pro-choice, and not talk about what poverty does to a child in material of education, to not recognize if you do not promote teachers, the resources that teachers need. if you don't understand what a large class size does when you're dealing with children who have physical and mental challenges. if he does understand what

teacher compensation requires. in order to get good teachers. and i always use this, that america was built upon the little red school house. when men and women went west, they built a place of worship and the little red school house. public school is part of the nature of democracy. and although we can have many complements to public school, whenever someone begins to talk about vouchering and choice and requiring poor parents to shop around for a school -- >> congresswoman? >> and they cannot go the a few blocks to a good school, we are indiana undermining what the rights of poor people have. and i hope -- >> congresswoman? >> the nominee, romney will say that he will speak to poor people. yes, sir. >> i'm going to have to cut you off. we have to leave it right there. if i don't jump in, you'll still be going tomorrow, congresswoman. you know that. >> i have a passion for this. you're absolutely right. for children, education and stopping bullying. >> i appreciate your time. thank you so much.

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stoo stoorp. right now the jury in the john edwards case are meeting in closed quarters. gabe, what do we know? what can you tell us about what's going on? >> greg, good afternoon. there appeared to be some confusion within the past hour or so as the judge told reporters assembled inside the courtroom to go outside of the courtroom, saying that she had a jury matter to attend to and that she preferred to do it in proo private. we did not know what that jury matter was. it could have been anything from a scheduling conflict next week to something more substantial. the jury is still waiting to go

back into the courtroom, so we're still waiting to hear exactly what that jury matter was. up until now, it's been pretty unevent ful. six days of deliberations and we've heard no questions from the jury today. maybe because they have all the 503 exhibits that were presented throughout the trial. the jurors had gone to the judge yesterday and asked for 20 exhibits, most of them having to do with fred baron, the wealthy donor who gave to john edwards. the judge turned around and said, wouldn't it be easier if i just gave you all the exhibits? and that's exactly what happened. a lot of speculation about what exactly is going on inside that courtroom. john edwards faces six felony counts and it appears that the jurors are weighing all this carefully, and this could drag on into next week. again, we're waiting to see the latest development and whether we'll be able to go home for the holiday weekend. >> it sounds like this thing will go on a little further.

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a quick update now. the john edwards trial going on in north carolina. we've just been told the jury there, eight men and four women, have been sent home for the day. day 6 of deliberations. no verdict. they will have, of course, monday off for memorial day. they will be back at it again on tuesday. again, the jury sent home today without a verdict. former presidential candidate john edwards facing six criminal counts. meanwhile, in washington, president obama back home today settling in for the memorial day weekend. let's go ahead and check in with kristen welker who is joining us from the white house. we hear the birds chirping behind you. looks delightful there on the lawn. what's the word, miss welker?

>> i'm having a little trouble hearing you. can you say that one more time? >> i was setting the mood there. the president speaking earlier this week to the graduates of the air force academy. what are the obamas doing this memorial weekend? >> that's right, craig. well, as you know, memorial day, of course, an emotional time for the nation, the first family, because they often participate in these incredibly moving events. the first lady will be heading to arlington national cemetary, as is customary, on monday to mark the occasion. this year will be a little different. it's the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war, so they will also be paying a visit to the vietnam war memorial wall. you know, the first family really cast with reminding the

nation, and what they observed. to the weekend to some extent reminding the nation about what the holiday really is all about. craig? >> throughout the broadcast here we've been playing some sound from the president yesterday in iowa, and he seemed to really have a fire in his belly, perhaps a fire that we have not heard from him in some time as he took on mitt romney. how are his advisers feeling about that strategy right now? are they worried at all about a backlash against all the talk that we've heard over the past few days about bain and about the president being so aggressive so early in this campaign? >> yeah. craig, i was there in iowa yesterday, and i can tell you it was really some of the most direct attacks we have heard from this president about mitt romney. i spoke to some of his campaign advisers today who say they completely stand behind this line of attack, they feel very comfortable with it. they echoed some of what the president said during his news conference this week which is essentially mitt