like china and india. does have really want an outsourcer in chief in the white house? >> that is the new ad. let's bring in today's political power panel, real clear politics reporter, erin mcmike, democratic strategist, chris co-phone nas and republican strategist, chris saltzman. chris, i want to start with you, the new ads from the obama team, outsourcer in chief label play well in the swing states where the jobs are the top priority but does an economy stuck with this unemployment over 8% make the white house an easy target for the right? >> listen, the republicans are going to attack the president on the economy and i will nor the fact that he inher rhetted a mess, ignore the fact that over 4 million jobs created, ignore all the positives. listen, if you are the obama campaign, you want to go right at this message, you want to go right at the target in terms of romney when he talks about his job creation record. i mean, that is i would say amongst all the ads i have seen by the obama campaign, i think it is most devastating, especially in these key industrial states, virginia,

ohio, pennsylvania, michigan, wherever they play this, you know, if you are struggling or lost your job or outsourced this is not going to leave a good taste in your month when it comes to mitt romney. >> chip, while the president's campaign is linking governor romney to moving abroad jobs, the yesterday, the plan for immigration was not detailed yesterday. here is romney trying to come one answers when pressed by reporters on a plane. >> say it again and again and again, understands the governor has rights [ inaudible ] immigration. >> so this, chip surks romney's press aide on the plane as they are getting to arizona after the court comes down with their decision, knowing they are gonna get peppered by reporters on this and there's the aide taking

the questions, not even bothering to spit the gum out of his mouth. is romney throwing in the towel when it comes to making any gains among latino voters? >> i don't think so first of all, we must learn that lesson, always take your gum out before you're on tv or talking to reporters, it doesn't look great or sound great either. the supreme court decision on this issue draws the lines again. i think what the supreme court decision truly said is the federal government has not been doing its job. that's the bigger picture on this ruling. arizona try to create a law to protect itself because they are the ones putting all the costs of bad immigration policy at the federal level. and i think ultimately, if you talk more about the immigration issue and what the federal government has not done, they haven't secured the borders, they haven't done what they are supposed to do and i think ultimately you what, this supreme court ruling says and i think what the romney campaign and everybody else should focus on. >> as we talk about what is looming coming down the pike on thursday, erin, while all of this back and forth is going on,

this massive court ruling on the horizon, political perspective have to react fast? not just the candidates but we talk about reaction from the web, the air waves, the surrogates and the spin. >> the immigration ruling just yesterday, not only did that spokesman have a hard time saying something about it, the romney campaign put out a statement from mitt romney essentially blaming president obama for not acting on immigration just yet. and -- but that is showing what the romney campaign is missing, they haven't put out their own policies on immigration reform or what the -- blah mitt romney might do as president with health care other than to say if you would repeal health care reform that the president put into place. the roammney campaign is in trouble in sense of they are not putting forth proposals on any other issue. >> in terms of having a message between now and thursday, a good strat zbroirt romney campaign to

wait out the clock, the news cycle on immigration is going to pass as quickly as the court decision comes down thursday morn? >> you might be right about that. and everybody is talking about these two decisions being hugely consequential. when the supreme court was hearing arguments on health care, it was three months ago, a big deal of it for a whole week. might be this a temporary blip we are going to focus on this week but might not focus on again in october when the two candidates are debating. >> i will ask you to stand by for a sec. i want to go in depth now on the supreme court's big week with adam wink letter, a professor at ucla school of law, a specialist in constitutional law, as well as, adam, great to have you here. off new piece for the daily beast breaking down the arizona decision, also looking at lessons for thursday's ruling you. there was so much doom and gloom for liberals after the solicitor's opinion in match talking about health care. you stress it is not all about those oral arguments. why?

>> one thing we see with the arizona case is that oral arguments can be really distracting. we saw in the oral argument in the arizona case that the justices were very hostile to the solis tore general, yet the solicitor general won 5-3, got to be careful relying on those oral arguments. >> let's talk about the discussion over thursday's ruling and it centers on chief justice roberts. how much do you think a 5-4 decision along ideological lines versus this decision that we saw yesterday with roberts and justice kennedy joining the more liberal faction, went into thinking on this ruling? does he want to avoid the court gaining the seat and more partisan reputation? that is what people are looking for. >> if the supreme court strikes down the health care lawmaker the first time the supreme court has struck down a president's signature piece of legislation in almost 80 years. this court -- john rornts said did he not want his legacy to be one of judicial activism, but looks like this is the court committed to the most aggressive

form of judicial activism. >> you were quoted in the "washington post" article saying chief justice roberts has been unusually hostile toward the obama administration. does the arizona ruling change your opinion on that or does the timing of the arizona ruling almost serve as a red herring for what we might see on thursday? >> it could be. what i found is the solicitor general, the government's chief advocate before the supreme court, historically wins about 70% of the cases he is a party to. this term, he is going to lose about 70% of the cases he is a party to you know, this is not a conservative court. this is more of a revolutionary and aggressive court that just happens to tilt in the republican direction. >> professor adam winkler, sir, great to have you on with your insights, do appreciate it. i want to bring back our political panel now with erin, chris and chip. and chip, we are gonna certainly be following what happens on thursday. and quickly, people will come out with their reactions and opinions on this. there's going to be some outrage

from the conservative community if the president's slaw upheld and a majority opinion written by the chief justice, what do you think is going to be the reaction, we do see that people looking along ideological lines what the court is going to rule? >> we will see a lot of activity on the preside. this will be the one thing we talk about nonstop for the next couple of days and it will be a very big part of the campaign in october as we vote in november. why? because even though the economy is the biggest issue, health scare a big part of this economy. the dollars this health care plan that obama put together is sucking away is huge. i think romney will make a big decision you regardless of the decision f it goes the other way, we will talk about his plans and health care you the things we do like about the health care plan, either way this is going to be a major issue as we move forward. >> chris, i want to read to you and everybody frank bruni's op ed in the "new york times," how many presidents act least in recent decades have known

something precisely like the supreme court's possible erasure of the affordable care act? how many have confronted a congress this wholly paralyzed by partisan rancor and steadfastly unyielding? chris, how much pressure is the president under, could the court's ruling be the real game changer for re-election? >> i don't know if it will be the game changer. at the end of the day, i think it is still going to be about the economy it is going to be about jobs. going to be how people feel about the future and the comparison between these two candidates in terms of who they think is going to do a better job. listen, if health care goes down and in particular, the individual mandate, yeah, will it be a blow to some degree? of course. but i think the perspective i think from the president as well as democrats is to kind of turn that lemon in lemonade and here's where i think the strategy s you focus on the key provisions that are incredibly popular. you are going to probably see legislation being introduced within weeks or days making -- affirming that legislation, specifically stuff to do with pre-existing conditions or keeping kids on health care. that i think is where they are going to end up going.

nch>> however this court rules, does the side that comes out on the losing end have to stress the importance, the larger picture that their white house would be in changing the court moving forward for the country? >> i think the president is actually running against congress more than the supreme court but on the losing side, what that allows the president to do, if he is to lose is to mobilize his base and to say we need me in the white house and we need more democrats in the white house so that we can uphold our -- excuse me, in congress to uphold the laws that they have put forth. the good thing for the losing side is that it does help with mobilizing the base. >> our tuesday power panel, erin mcpike, chris kofinis. and breaking the silence with nbc news.

what matt sandusky alleges about sexual abuse at the hands of his adoptive father and why he decided to come forward. a republican congressman ups the ante ahead of the full house contempt vote for eric holder. stunning allegations put at the president's front door. reaction from a democratic lawmaker coming up. if you have thoughts about today's headlines, always feel free to join the conversation on twitter. follow me atom mass a roberts. my volt is the best vehicle i've ever driven. i bought the car because of its efficiency. i bought the car because i could eliminate gas from my budget. i don't spend money on gasoline. it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt. ♪ thought they were dead. huh? [ male announcer ] should've used roundup.

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republican congressman darrell issa is making some stunning accusations against president obama in connection with the so-called fast and furious gun program. in a letter released today, issa challenges the president's use of executive privilege to withhold documents from the committee, recommending attorney general eric holder be held in

contempt of congress. the letter stateses "your privilege assertion means one of two things. either you or your most senior advisers were involved in managing operation fast and furious and the fallout from it or you are asserting a presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation." joining me now is democratic congressman jerry connolly of virginia. he is on the house committee on oversight and government reform. congressman it is good to have you here this morning. as you're hearing about what's in that letter what is your reaction to it and the accusations that the president basically knowingly standing in way of the congressional investigation? >> well, i don't think it's a stunning revelation or a new development. i think it's part and parcel of the big lie and big smear technique that's been practiced throughout the so-called inquiry. frankly, some might say that darrell issa's inquiry into this issue, which could have been a

bipartisan inquiry, has been nothing sort of a kangaroo court. coaching witnesses, suppressing testimony, making sure that contrary testimony or illuminating testimony about the precursor organization, wide receiver in the bush administration, is not heard. as recently as a week ago friday, darrell issa had to change his subpoena for documents because it was brought to his attention that if the attorney general complied with it, he would be breaking the law in compromising ongoing criminal investigations. this is nothing in my opinion but a raw, partisan attempt to embarrass the president in the middle of an election year and it is a shameful episode, frankly, for our committee and the congress the president of the united states. >> saying it is not applicable here, only to and from the president and most senior advisers, the white house calling issa's analysis absurd it is the president's first time

invoking the privilege. how does the white house stand up and defend this, especially when president obama when he was running for office, was against executive privilege and did not like the way that the bush administration utilized it? >> i think your question puts the burden on the president. it ought to put the burden on darrell issa. this is a guy who got the subpoena wrong. this is a guy who scheduled a press conference as he is meeting to try to negotiate a settlement allegedly with the attorney general, schedules a press conference in advance, knowing these going to go thought saying we are going to go forward with a contempt citation, notwithstanding. this is not somebody who is making an honest inquiry and is honestly trying to reach an agreement with the attorney general and ultimately with the white house. what choice did the president have but to try to protect the attorney general, who has done nothing wrong? >> right. sir, meanwhile, this comes, the letter that is in stunning contradiction to what congressman issa said sunday, that he had no evidence that

there was a white house coverup. take a look at what he said when making the rounds. >> do you have any evidence that white house officials were involved in these decisions, that they knowingly misled congress and are involved in a coverup? >> no, we don't and what we are seeking are documents we know to exist february 4th to december that are, in fact, about brian terry's murder, who knew and why people were lying about it and get to the truth. that's all we want. >> as we seek to get to the truth, not just as a nation but certainly for yourselves as a congressional body, how contradictory is it for the congressman to go on to say that there is no white house coverup and then to release a letter today saying he believes that because of the president exerting this privilege that there has to be some type of something sullied going on here because that is the only way to defend executive privilege? >> he has ratcheted up this issue, week by week, day by day, in order to try to get a headline and in order to try to

squeeze maximum political benefit out of it for his side of the aisle. it is a shameful episode. we know that eric holder zrpt know about this operation and when it was brought to his attention, all of the evidence says he stopped it, unlike his predecessor in the bush administration, from whom we have been prevented from hearing testimony because, of course that would contradict darrell issa's narrative. this is nothing but raw political gamesmanship and it is very dangerous institutionally in terms of the lubrication that keeps the two branches cooperating. there is a necessary tension. congress, of course, is entitled and gets broad authority under the constitution to seek documents when it is in the midst of an investigation, but this is not an honest investigation. this is nothing but a political witch hunt and as i said, i think it's a shameful episode for our committee, for the chairman and this congress. >> thanks for your time this morning, i appreciate it. >> thank you. still ahead, the supreme

court's ruling on arizona's tough anti-immigration law what impact could it have for other states cracking down along their borders? then this story -- >> i didn't think i would get any boos out of here, but i guess i should not have brought up baseball. i understand. my mistake. >> all right, baseball is religion there president obama booed at a fundraiser bean town the joke that he made that wasn't well received by that fenway faithful. we will have it for you. let's take a paint project from "that looks hard" to "that didn't take long". let's break out behr ultra...

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for years, matt sandusky stood by his adopted father but four days into his trial, he secretly met police and told them on tape that his father also molested him that recording that has been exclusively obtained by nbc and we need to warn you you the conversation is graphic at times. here is nbc national correspondent, michael isikoff. >> reporter: jerry sandusky's adopted son, matt, describes for the first time in his own words how he was molested by his father. >> with the showering had, with the hugging, with the rubbing, just the talking to me, the way he spoke. >> reporter: nbc news has exclusively obtained a 29-minute tape recorded by police detective its the week before jerry sandusky's conviction. at the time, they were preparing sandusky's son to testify as a surprise prosecution witness at adopted father's trial. matt sandusky told police he was repeatedly molested and would try to avoid being touched, sometimes hiding in a fetal

position when his father entered his bedroom. >> if you were pretending you were asleep and you were touched or rubbed in some way, you could just act like you were rolling over in your sleep so that you could change positions. >> reporter: matt met jerry sandusky through the second mile and told police on the tape he was molested from ages 8 to 15. like many other second mile boys, he began staying overnight at the sandusky household. jerry and dottie sandusky later game his foster par. >>s and adopted him at age 18. >> staying had the house house he began to come into your bedroom at night and he would blow raspberries on your stomach and his hand would rub down and rub along or against your genitals? >> correct. >> reporter: matt sandusky told police woe try to escape from the sandusky house, one night fleeing pair foot to hide in his grandfather's basement. he also said he tried commit suicide. >> i know that i really wanted to die at that point in time. >> reporter: sandusky told police he has been seeing a therapist and memories of his abuse are just now coming back. >> and you said that at the beginning of our interview last

night that things happened to you but there was noer -- but that you can recall, there was no penetration oral sex is that correct? >> yes, that is -- at this time, i don't recall that. >> reporter: after years of denying that he had been abused, including to a grand jury, matt sandusky told police he was coming forward now so his family would know what really happened. >> so that they can really have closure and see what the truth actually is and just to right the wrong, honestly i of going to the grand jury and lying. >> reporter: sandusky's offered to testify was a crucial turning point in his father's trial. when jerry learned that his son had turned on him, he was crushed and it kept him off the witness stand, according to his lawyer. >> when jerry heard that initially, he was very upset. and i could tell that you the next day, when we were preparing, that was the most despondent i had seen him. >> reporter: defense lawyers told nbc news that they were prepared to attack matt sandusky's credibility. >> do we believe what matt sandusky has to say? absolutely not. >> reporter: on monday, rommen

jer was the first to visit jerry sandusky in jail and described his client as defiant. >> he is not a betten man. he is pacing a cell, being held in solitary confinement, to defend himself. i don't think jerry feels he has anything to feel sorry for. at this point, he maintains his innocence adamantly. >> that was nbc's michael isikoff reporting. patrolling in the wake of the supreme court ruling. i'm going to talk to a sheriff on the ground about enforcing borders, what will be different and what is still unclear. then, soap, soggy you swallowed by water and debby isn't done quite yet. the weather channel's jeff morrow join mess from florida when we return. but first, going for the gold in london, ryan lochte, six-time olympic medalist, he has at least one win against his swimming rival, michael phelps, at this week's olympic trials, he beat phelps at the 400 meter individual medially, marking his first win against phelps in the

event since 2002. now, this was his time, the fastest in the world this year, setting the stage for a showdown between michael phelps and the rest of the world in london. [ male announcer ] how do you trade?

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court challenges to five other rulings in other states are likely to move forward, alabama, georgia, south carolina and utah were all modeled, in part, from arizona's controversial crackdown. ba alabama's law is the toughest in the nation, the only court that allowed the so he show me your papers provision to allow police to check the immigration status if someone was stopped. >> we are going to continue to enforce alabama's law if any part of it is unconstitutional or illegal, we will not. we will always abide by the law. >> requiring police officers to

check on the immigration status of people they arrest that is the part of the arizona law the court upheld. that part of the alabama law won't be in any trouble. but there are other parts of the alabama through are similar to what the court struck down in arizona. those two parts of the law would be -- no reason to think they wouldn't be in trouble in arizona as well. but stepping back from the individual provision of the law, going forward, the thing you have to remember is that the basic hallmark of the supreme court's decision on arizona, fundmentally, immigration a federal matter and that one of the things the federal government has to balance is foreign policy considerations. how other countries look at how

we treat their foreign nationals that is the lens through which the supreme court majority viewed the arizona statute. so that is a pretty high bar for states to clear as they go through the litigation with provisions in nair specific laws. so this is not -- this is just the opposite of what the dissent yesterday said, that the state should be able to ping the federal slack. that is not how the majority saw it. >> nbc's pete williams from washington. nice to sigh. thank you, sir. hispanics and other people of color see the supreme court ruling partial victory. many concerned the show me your papers provision will create racial profiling. >> they will not be able to go out, have a normal life. they are going to be afraid to go out, they might be -- we might get stopped just for your color. >> joining me is sheriff dever

of cochise, california and the co-chair of border sheriffs.com. nice to have you here this morning. as we understand it you were there for the supreme court's oral arguments over this law and support the con strollers show me your papers provision. i want to you listen how the executive director of the national immigration law center characterized that part of the law. >> this is not simply bun documented immigrants, this is about any single person who looks or sounds foreign. it is about skin color. it is about speaking with an accent it is about not speaking english this is a throw back to the days in our country when racial profiling and discrimination was state sanctioned and that is simply unacceptable in 2012. >> the leadership is about casting vicious calling people under you to rise up. so explain to everybody how you are going to cast the leadership here. how are you going to make the determination for your staff to inquire about someone's immigration status without stepping on their constitutional rights. >> listen, i have been in this

business for 36 years in cochise county, right on the border. and in that 36-year period of time you can we had one claim of racial profiling. and that was determined to be unfounded by an independent source. so to suggest for a second and insult the professionalism of the honorable men and women that this law would somehow change that kind of dynamic is unconscionable. it is all hypothesis it is all hype per bolly and i say show met evidence. show me the evidence that there's any kind of documents to support that kind of claim. >> irsir, you have stayed in a statement about this while it is not a total win it is a partial victory for sheriffs, section 2 b does not go far enough to eliminate sanctuary cities and they will continue to be a draw for illegal immigrants and you would consider cochise county to

be in that provisional what you can ar sanctuary city in the past, if you're saying that this is now an insult to professionals to question how this law will be administered, explain what is missing in your opinion from the law? >> we are not a sanctuary county. again, for all the years i have been in this business and we will continue to conduct our business as we have in the past. when my deputies encounter people who are here in this country illegally, we will turn them over to border patrol for processing. there are cities and jurisdictions in the state that have had de facto sanctuary policies and some even open sanctuary policies. what the ruling does do, however, on further reflection, after that statement i made about the sanctuary policies, it clearly put on notice to those jurisdictions that if they choose to follow that kind of a

suit or program, they are going to be in conflict with the authority, their officers, to make those kinds of inquiries and should have some kind of limiting factor on sanctuary policies. >> sheriff larry dever of cochise, arizona. thank you for your time this morning. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. thanks for having me. another big story this news hour we are following for you tropical storm debby it is continuing its slow crawl across florida this morning, the storm inching eastward at really a snail's pace after drenching part of the gulf coast with more than a foot of rain, packing heavy winds and leaving residents with quite a mess to clean up. >> we have been pumping for six hours and we are still pumping, hoping to get ahead of the storm surge. >> thank god it didn't happen while we were here. but it's still emotional. >> may take some time before the state gets any relief. residents in northern florida are bracing for even more wind and rain as deby moves their way. tropical storm warnings posted and florida's governor has

declared state of emergency. weather channel meteorologist jeff morrow tracking the storm live from apalachicola, florida. joins us live with this. jeff, good morning. >> and good morning, thomas. yeah, it has been a very slow process, getting debby past this region. over the weekend, a lot of wind, a lot of rain, as you mentioned, some areas, we got about a foot of rain here, winds gusting to 66 miles an hour. areas to my east and northeast, kakulla county, for instance, got two feet of rain you can imagine what kind of flooding issues they are having. that water is going to take a while to sub side. the heaviest of the rain appears to be more over toward jacksonville today, leaving this area to clean up and assess some of the damage. again, mostly rain damage, tree damage, you mentioned, such a slow mover, it is going to take a while to get out of the way. back to you. >> jeff morrow, thank you, sir. appreciate it. still on the agenda this hour, two key piece of legislation looming over congress. one on student loans.

the rate set to double in just a matter of days. is congress any closer to a compromise on that one? and marriage equality back on the ballot in maine l this legislation on minority rights pass the state's majority the second time around? i will talk to the campaign manager for equality maine when we return. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curveballs. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help

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the clock is ticking time, time is running out for lawmakers to close deals on two major pieces of legislation, a national highway bill that california senator barbara boxer says is on the political half-yard line and an extension on the federal student loan rate set to double at the end of this month and bring more financial hardship to a lot of young americans out there nbc's luke russert live on capitol hill. luke, are house republicans ready to deal on the highway bill and then bring us up to

speed about student loans. >> two big bills on the horizon, thomas, and let's go through them. on the transportation bill, harry reid was on the senate floor this morning, said better than a 50% chance this gets done, right now, a lot of parts moving, from sources i have spoken to, this is definitely a possibility because there is a desire to get a long-term transportation bill passed through congress through fiscal year 2013 which would then provide a catalyst for folks to hire people to have the federal funds behind them to do these jobs in terms of rail, transport, highway. so what are a few of the hiccups now a still an idea, a lot of house republicans want inclusion of the keystone pipeline, senate democrats said, look, we will relax some of the environmental permitting -- the environmental permitting process and in exchange for not having keystone there and they believe that could be enough in order to get there bill through and also taking away from bike lanes and pedestrian things and house republicans ray is not part of a

highway bill. the other interesting thing though, thomas, about student loans, is there's now an idea between mitch mcconnell and harry reid, who are the people -- the individuals negotiating the student loans bill, to tie to the highway bill that is kind of confusion what does this mean? essentially, the student loans bill, they need to find $6 billion on capitol hill in order to pay for it. they want to have some -- a reassessment of how people pay into their pension funds and how much employers contribute there. they think that 6 billion coupled with some savings they could get from the highway bill could pay for everything. so an interest to link the bills, speaker boehner quiet what would happen with the house, a lot happening with the senate, however, some vast ag e agreement issued between negotiates on the transportation bill and tying the student loan bill, be surprising if the house would not want to pass that in order for congress not to see their approval rate go way far lower than the historic lows that's already been this year,

thomas. >> luke, real quick, i want to pivot, hearing that senate republicans on security leaks -- about the security leaks from washington, what's their take on the investigation? what are they saying? >> very interesting, thomas. yesterday, we had an announcement from the director of national intelligence, mr. clapper, said, look, they are going to try to have lie detector tests, people involved, leaning to the press and have more investigations of this. some folks on the house republican side were okay with it including mike rogers, senator john mccain today said they want more -- more of the tougher look, what went down with the white house and these los angeles. >> obviously, the notion that his white house would purposely release classified information is offensive is contradicted by the facts. we need a special counsel. we need someone hot american people can trust and we need to stop the anthrax are endangering the lives of those men and women

who are serving our country with valor and courage. >> what is john mccain talking about, thomas? 31 republican senators say despite mr. what mr. clapper said andic holder said last week he is going to appoint a u.s. attorney to look at this they want to have an independent special counsel they feel can do a thorough examination of the white house and how much they can benefit their political stature, unclear if that would happen. eric holder said not enough time to get that together and a nightmare logistically to set up. interesting to see how that happens, continuing issue on capitol hill, thomas. >> nbc's luke russert. nice to sigh. thank you. the issue of marriage equality back on the ballot in maine, three years after voters rejected it and thanks to a shift in public opinion, advocates say they have reason now to be optimistic, but history, well, it hasn't exactly been kind in their favor n seven states where same-sex marriage is now legal, court rulings and legislation made it possible but

looking at the bigger picture, in 32 states where that issue went on the ballot, voters defeated it. matt mctie is the campaign man germ for mainers united for marriage and joins us this morning. matt, the last time this issue was on deck in maine it turned out to be a heart break, legalized by the governor, signed into law, opponents took it to the public, defeateded it. why do you think things would be different this time around? >> the biggest difference, quite frankly, thomas is time. we have time to finish what we started in 2009. let member clear in 2009, maine came closer than any state previous had, the first to have it passed through the legislature and signed by the governor, 30,000 votes to winning at the ballot. that was 2009. from the day of election day, we picked up where we started, continued the work. just last night, in fact, we reached a benchmark that's pretty significant, we had our 100,000th conversation with

mainers, going out, the central tenet of everything we are going, one-on-one person conversations about why marriage matters with mainers and just reached 100,000 last night. >> the matt, the biggest catch to this to the public ballot, seems tonight wording. let me tell everybody, the proposed wording on the ballot question here is do you want to allow same-sex couples to marry? so as an advocate, you say neither clergy nor religious institutions would have to perform a marriage contrary to their beliefs. there's a decision on this language coming up in july. how would you change it so that this is made clear, the wording and the understand it defined without question? >> our position is we want the question wording to reflect what is in the law that people will be voting on in november. 105,000 mainers signed a petition to have this law, which includes, and this is just a fact, this isn't going to change, regardless of what the question wording ends up saying, the law itself what people will be voting on, does include an

entirely new section that adds these additional protections to ensure no clear jury no religious denomination will ever be forced to go against their religious beliefs. >> matt, we will continue to follow the campaign. thank you for joining us. appreciate it. >> thank you. condoleezza rice says no thanks to mitt romney. time now for the polysidebar. during a tv appearance, former secretary of state condoleezza rice was asked about a possible number two spot on romney's ticket. >> saying there is no way that i will do this because it's really not me. i know my strengths and governor romney needs to find someone who wants to run with him. there are many people who will do it very, very well and i will support the ticket. >> calls for condoleezza rice on the ticket increase after a rousing response to her speech on had mitt romney's weekend retreat in utah. town of newport beach, california, sent the romney campaign a $10,000 tab. it is for police overtime.

it incurred during his may visit to the town. newport beach sent the president's campaign a similar bill. congressman charlie rangel is fighting to keep his seat, faced with opposition in today's new york democratic primary. he has represented president obama heading south today. he's going to be in georgia for a fund-raiser, then will travel to florida for a campaign event. last night, at a fund-raiser in boston, he made a joke about the city's beloved sox. a joke about kevin youkilis' trade to the white sox. the crowd's response, take a look. >> thank you for youkilis. [ boos ] >> i'm just saying going to have to change the color of his socks. i didn't think i could get any boos out of here. i guess i should not have brought up baseball. i understand. my mistake.

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if once again you find it hard to save money in this economy you're not alone. a lot of americans are so cash-strapped they don't even have emergency funds. according to a recent bank rate.com survey, 28% of the country has absolutely no cash socked away, whereas 25% say they have managed to save six months' worth. so why aren't we saving more? joining me now to talk about this is personal finance expert, carmen, great to see you here. the average u.s. family savings account balance, $3800. in terms of retirement savings, $35,000 and average of $2,000 in credit card debt for most families. if we throw in job trouble on the horizon for people and struggling families, what is the model people need to take into account, modern day times for what their savings need to be? >> here's the truth of the matter. you've got a lot of folks, more than half of americans who just don't have any money.

i'm not talking about for emergency job loss, even. i'm talking about for the smallest emergency, car repairs, a heater breaks. those are the small things that set people back so much and get them into the credit card debt. medical bills. what you've got to do today is automate this, make sure you pull 20 bucks a week out of your checking account, put it into a savings account, and separate it so you don't touch it. understand it's a slippery slope between having $500 and having no money at all. you want to make sure you at least have some money for the pop-up emergency expenses. >> how do you encourage people to sacrifice in certain areas to have that $20, $40 shaved off a paycheck for savings? >> it is one of those things. you have to sacrifice now in order to protect yourself in the future. what i hear from folks, savings rates. we're not earning any money on our savings. that's preventing a lot of people from saving. what would you rather pay, that credit card debt should something happen, 15% now on

average, or earn .5%. earn that .5%, protect yourself from going into debt. >> i just got off the phone with bank of america for a nasty overcharge. >> we'll talk later. >> we will. thank you so much. thanks for joining me today. i really appreciate it. that will wrap things up for me. see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. don't go anywhere. "now" comes your way next. do you see it ? there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is.

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♪ ♪ ♪ governor romney is continuing a now marathon 26-hour dance around the topic of immigration as he and his campaign staff tenaciously refuse to take a position on the president's deportation policy and the supreme court's ruling on the arizona immigration law. was there ever a time when mitt romney thought the subject of health care would be a welcome reprieve? it's tuesday, june 26th and this is "now."