express. good morning. i'm chris jansing. the pressure on mitt romney to release more of his tax returns is intensifying this morning. rick perry suggested that romney be as, quote, as conservative as you can be. as mitt romney heads to ohio today, it did not help that two supporters took campaign off the message. former governor john sununu apologized for saying this. >> the men and women all over america who have worked hard to build these businesses, their businesses, from the ground up, is how our economy became the envy of the world. it is the american way and i wish this president would learn how to be an american.

>> then bloggers pounced on former senator john mccain when asked he did not choose mitt romney as a running made in '08. he told "politico" because sarah palin was a better candidate. why did we not take the other people? why didn't i? because we had a better candidate. we have chris and john with us this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> john, we have this long list of high profile republicans who are saying romney should release taxes and get it behind him. there are reports that people in his camp are divided about this. do you think the national review is right as his position is now unsustainab unsustainable? >> i think they should have addressed this a week ago or two weeks ago. every day that they are talking about this is a day they are not framing the race. >> it is the drip, drip, drip, right? >> it is, but it takes them off

the game showing this president has been a failure and mitt romney has a vision of where to take this country. that is where they are have to return the campaign to. not tax returns and not bain. it is important that they make a mark in the sand today and look at camera and say i'm not playing that obama game anymore. we're moving on whether they do or not. >> one of the things he says, chris, is look, the problem for me is what's going to happen is no matter what's in the tax returns, they will make something of it. this has not been the friend friendlyiest of campaigns. >> the reason the obama campaign will make something out of it is because there is something to make out of it. when you have offshore accounts and tax havens and you pay a lower tax rate, you have a problem, especially when you are going out there saying you will be fighting for the middle class.

it doesn't connect. the romney campaign is in a box, a box they created themselves. the bain issue and tax issue. it goes to character and trust. it goes to a bigger point, which is which candidate has a better way to lead the country. that is why the romney campaign is in a real, real tricky situation. >> the other problem he has is romney has holdings in a blind trust and he has no control over them. now we're seeing this clip from 1994 when he was a senate candidate running against ted kennedy. he called it a blind rouse. >> the blind trust is an age-old rouse. you can tell the blind trust what it can and cannot do. >> should he be held to that? >> it is a difficult situation where you have words that can be used against you. i think this is probably one area that maybe romney does have to come forward and show there

is full transparency. allowing this election to become a back and forth, guerella w warfare is what he has to get back to. he has to show people how everybody is successful in this country. not getting an argument about who is paying how much in taxes. >> i have to say that there is this perception about this campaign about how nasty it's become and the obama camp says the romney campaign has officially gone off the deep end. on the other hand, chris, john mccain, when he was responding to the controversy yesterday about his comments says basically we're going to gutter politics. they, the obama camp, should be ashamed. is there a risk in this? >> there is a risk if the voters

see it as a substantive point or doesn't go to the heart of the issues are you talking about. the issue of taxes, it does go to the issues we're talking about. it goes to the credibility of the candidate. it goes if you fight for the middle class and if you understand the middle class. everything in romney's policies and record is as he does it. i think mccain's point falls flat. >> let me bring in senator barbara boxter of california. let me play for you what he said last night. >> my experience is the democratic party these days has approached taxes in a different way than in the past. their opposition people look for anything they can find to distort and twist and make negative. >> is that a fair point? >> i really don't know what's talking about. when you run for high office,

you have to be prepared to show your tax returns. that's just a fact of life. look at what john mccain did, bill clinton did. go back to mitt romney's dad. i don't get what he is saying. >> i was looking at a lot of articles and we were talking about this potentially shaping up to be one of the nastiest campaigns ever. vicious public campaign attacks are carried out in advertising. mitt romney and obama are also in hand-to-hand combat mode. do you think both sides need to tone it down a little? >> i think what is important of the campaign is the future of america and any issue relates to the strength of the middle class

and ability to create jobs has to be there. anything that has to do with honest and open disclosure is a part of the campaign. so, you know, i just came out of a very hard race. it feels like yesterday and it was a couple of years ago. it was hand-to-hand combat all the way. that is the way it is. you can't sit in the corner and pull your blankie over your head and suck your thumb. i believe the issues our president is focusing on, shipping jobs overseas and connects with the middle class. i think that is key. >> as somebody who has been there in tough races, do you worry? it is still just july. i can't remember in my lifetime a campaign that got to this level, this hand-to-hand combat this early in the campaign. do you think there is a risk of turning voters off? >> voters may well get turned off by what they see on

television and whether they hear. i'm here to tell you that's the way it is. that's the way it is today. voters can't get turned off. you have two candidates with two different life experiences, one that connects with the middle class, our president. the other one says corporations are people. fired people. made them suffer during his time at bain. i think voters have to know that they have to see through all of this and vote their interests. if they do, we'll be able to keep moving forward as a nation and not go back to the policies of george w. bush which brought about the whole economic crisis. >> let me ask about the tax cuts expiring. my position in the senate democrats is the gop pledge, obviously not to vote to raise taxes, can be gotten around by letting the tax cuts expire on january 1st and then vote on a tax cut for those who make less

than 2$250,000 a year. let me play for you what minority leader mitch mcconnell said. >> democrats in congress are now saying that they would rather see taxes go up on every american at the end of the year than let about 1 million businesses keep what they earn now. >> is he right and where do you see showdown going? >> no, he is not right. we will have a vote next week. it will give 100% of the people a tax break on the first $250,000 of income. beyond that, if you are over that, your income over that is taxed at the bill clinton rates. those rates were fair and just. those rates led us to 23 million jobs created and a surplus instead of deficits. mitch mcconnell should join hands with us. let's get it done.

that means everybody gets a tax cut and only 2% of the people pay a little extra at the 250 level. instead of talking about pledges -- i'll tell you the truth. i never talk about pledges. i don't make pledges except to the constitution, to uphold it. we have to solve our deficit crisis and we have to do it in the right way. everyone should pay their fair share. >> senator barbara boxer, pleasure to have you on the program. >> thank you. >> chris, what will happen here? will tax cuts expire for people making $250,000 a year? what's going on here? >> well, you know, it's funny. i think people are so focused on the presidential election and understandably so. to me, and having worked on the hill a little time ago. the issue is the lame duck. the context of them raising the

debt ceiling. given how dysfunctional the place is and given the recalsitrance, i think we will hit a cliff and we're going to fly right over it. >> the democrats are talking about the fiscal cliff. john, jim demint, the tea party senator said to "politico," republicans need to make clear we don't want anything to do with the government shutdown. we need to control the levels although i think they are too high. what does this mean for the republicans? >> i think the republicans want to show they are reasonable people. what they aren't going to do is balance the budget on the backs of the small business job creators in the country who are the best chance for economic revival. when i hear people like senator boxer say how great things is and how great the president is. if everything is so great, why are they only running a campaign of destruction and have yet to

give us a reason to reelect them. >> chris, do you want to answer that? >> one, let me take the first point in small business. the tax cuts the president is talking about -- cut taxes for 97% of small businesses. 97%. we have to be really honest about the fiscal reality we face. we will either address it or not. you have to dig the hole deeper at the debt and then what? ignore it? this notion that the president and others in the democratic party are going out there and being only negative. last time i checked we're the only ones talking about real policies and vision for the future. what the president and governor romney is talking about the policies that failed. they failed in the past and they will fail again. >> chris and john, great to have you on the program. >> thank you. from someone who knows a little bit about rough and tumble politics, george w. bush

giving his colorful reflection on his time in office. quote, i crawled out of the swamp and i'm not going back. >> eight years was awesome. i was famous and powerful, but i have no desire for fame and power anymore. i don't want to undermine our president or whoever is president. and a former president can do that. i think it's bad for the presidency itself. >> the former president also said, quote, i'm a supporter of mitt romney. i hope he does well, but he can do well would you tell me. annou medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security

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potential running mates for mitt romney are out in force today raising campaign cash for him. new jersey governor chris

christie has three separate events today. former florida governor jeb bush and louisiana governor bobby jindal are campaigning in ohio. now team romney has hired to staffers to help roll out the running mate when it happens. nbc's richard lui is calling the group young guns. >> yes, good morning. dan quailye was a young gun across several nations. that may be that for mitt romney. senator kelly ayot. it is 64. she could help close the gap. ayotte from new hampshire. her state doesn't offer geographic diversity to massachusetts. she has been senator two less than two years. she also said she would have broken with republicans to confirm justice sonya sotomayor.

one was paul ryan from wisconsin. at 42, the house budget committee chair, has become a chief spokesperson on debt and deficit reduction. romney trails in ryan's state. a ryan pick could help there. on the trail, the two show good rapport. the ryan budget plan has been a lighting rod. he supported big budget drivers like the bush tax cuts. ryan has little foreign policy experience. governor bobby jindal checks a lot of boxes. two-term governor and former policy member and whiz. he is a rising star born to asian immigrants. the rub? he picked rick perry early on. the national debut and response to the state of the union address fell flat. all three do meet the age limit of 35 to become vice president. john breckenridge came close to

that. others are teddy roosevelt and richard nixon. >> we are getting into the super secret vetting process of the campaign. let me bring in ashley parker who talked to people on the inside. fascinating article, ashley. besides of reviewing questionnaires, you report team romney is considering the candidate's speaking style. tell me about that. >> obviously that is the not main criteria. in people we talked to for our story, that was one thing they were mentioning. they are watching the footage and in addition of how do they happened the hecklers and is there a voice grainy or inviting? >> speaking style is important. would that rule out somebody like chris christie? he gets people wound up, but

it's a little in your face. >> exactly. we had a story today on governor christie. one of the things that people were saying is that when you see him on the stump, he does fire people up, but he can be brash. in recent says, he could be bullying. it is how he handles hecklers. at the end of the day, romney wants someone who is comfortable. it is unclear if that is the style he would be clear on the stump. >> one thing is how quiet he kept it. romney said only two people know what is going on. how has he done it and how will they continue to do it? >> the romney campaign to begin with is secretive. the vp process is a secretive process. you have a secretive process within a campaign. one of the things they talked about is when they get ready to announce the decoy -- two sets of planes and two sets of locations. other than the super close group

of staffers, the team doesn't know who the nod will go through. >> go through the process of the potential vps. it starts with the phone calls. do they get that from mitt romney himself? >> it starts with the phone call from romney. they are asked to fill out a questionnaire. it is similar to the same questionnaire. it is about 80 questions. they include have you ever been unfaithful. it probes into the candidates life and spouses and past spouses. there is also a team of lawyers who meets with the candidates. >> you can find it at nytimes.com. ashley parker, thanks for coming on. president obama unveiling

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what i said on march 1st and i will repeat it again, show us the microfilm. >> the state of hawaii again responding saying the claims are untrue. check out this gem from newt gingrich's twitter feed. i will be on leno wednesday night with snooki. president obama praising the leader of nelson mandela. he changed the country and continent and the world. former president bill clinton and his daughter chelsea mandela yesterday. happy birthday. if you plan anything for vacation, my must read is about the hotel of the future, mean 2013. a private floating hotel.

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for all of us. newt gingrich is adding his voice to the list of conservatives saying that sarah palin should be invited to the convention in tampa. >> she should have a speaking spot. she motivates and arouses the base. she is just -- i think she should absolutely have a speaking spot. >> the lack of an invite for palin has been ruffling some conservatives. let's bring in political editor for thegrio, perry aiken. what have you heard that she rallies the base for the sarah palin convention speech. >> there is the issue that she

is a key group that mitt romney needs to energize right now. the question on the other side, though, is this a role that only sarah palin is able to fulfill? i think there are a lot of other choices for mitt romney when it comes to finding someone to help tap into the energy among the gop base. >> but they do love sarah palin and she brings the press corps with her. perry? >> the arguments against, she is not that popular among republicans. in a pew poll, 70% of republicans would not vote for her. i'm sure romney people will avoid -- she will give a speech at a later time, but not during prime time. >> let me bring in bill collier, founder of freedomist.com. welcome back. >> good morning. >> you have been a big supporter of sarah palin.

why should she speak at the conference given what you just heard? >> what i heard is 40% would vote for her. if you looked at anybody that is popular, you would find some would not vote for them. people have their favorites. if you go to conservative events and she actually shows up, you can tell the difference in the electricity and energy. i think clearly having her and the values that she represents represented is a net win for romney. he won't lose anything by having her here. >> to felicia's point, is there someone to fulfill that role? >> problems there is someone else. as i said, i think she has the most staunch base and strong supporters. i think that in a very close election where we could be talking about hundreds of thousands of votes, that energy and loss of energy if you snub someone people feel passionate

about is not a good thing. i'm sure there are a lot of slots. not having her speak at all would be a huge mistake. >> let's look at other negati negatives. she has questioned mitt romney's credentials. she encouraged his challengers at one point supporting an open convention. she still hasn't officially endorsed him. why should the romney campaign feel obligated to give her a speaking role? >> i think romney could be a big boy and just deal with the fact that not everybody is completely convinced that he has actually converted, as it were, to conservative conservetism. i think that it is a big tent and it is a convention for the whole party. >> if you are inside the room and trying to decide the republicans or mitt romney campaign and who to give a

limited number of slots to. do you say what is the risk if we don't give sarah palin a role? it is not like tea party members will vote for barack obama. are they going to stay home because palin did not speak at the convention? >> i'm not sure they will stay home. they might not stay at home, but they will not knock on a lot of doors. maybe they will. maybe that day comes up and they intend on voting. it's raining. whatever. we are talking about slim mar n margins. >> bill collier, thank you for coming on. it is not just sarah palin, it is newt gingrich and ron paul. they are waiting for invitations. how does the romney campaign navigate this? >> there are many hours to speak at the convention. there are two hours of prime time. i can tell you sarah palin will not speak in prime time. there are other hours.

my guess is the romney campaign will get gingrich and palin. some less popular candidates time to speak. >> maybe 11:00 on wednesday. then it is the opposite. they are really dissing us. i would not want that job of picking who goes where. >> right. as you said, when you are asking, chris christie energizes the same group of republicans that sarah palin does, but without all the negatives. he is rumored to be one of the main speakers. there are people like chris christie who rally the tea party. that is where romney will go for the main speakers. >> let's look at other possibilities. donald trump and herman cain. >> there are more of those. the most popular of those is herman cain. whenever he speaks in front of a group at the tea party or faith in freedom coalition which met

in washington a couple of weeks ago. herman cain was the most energizing to take the stage. that includes rick santorum who was more viable to the gop nod. i think i have absolutely no inside information on the process, but herman cain could fill that sarah palin role when it comes to energizing the base. i think the romney campaign has less to worry about when it comes to someone like rick santorum. when he spoke at a summit a few weeks ago, they echoed each other's sentiments. romney incorporated santorum's speech on the trail. they are getting on the same page. there is more concern when it comes to newt gingrich and ron paul who called on romney's release of tax returns. those are going to be a messaging conflict for the convention.

>> perry, does anybody go off script? once the speech is approved, do you worry if sarah palin or herman cain decides to add l li bit? >> donald trump goes off speech. herman cain would stay on message. santorum has been on message since he endorsed romney. you want to avoid the trump -- palin is dangerous in terms of staying on message. >> is it going to be chris christie with the keynote? >> i think he would not be a bad choice. when it comes to the number one issue of romney's campaign is the economy. chris christie has proved an effective messenger on that. that part of the equation could be worrisome.

that is the factor on the gop side. who will help romney and keep the focus on the economy. christie has not been a bad choice. >> felicia and perry, thank you. a fourth straight day of fighting in syria's capital of damascus. a bomb exploded in the national security headquarters with deadly results. nbc's ayman has the latest. some of those killed were high ranking officials? >> reporter: that is correct. they were targeting the inner circle of the regime. that includes the security officials. among those killed was the minister of defense and the deputy minister of defense. the deputy minister of defense is also president bashar al-assad's brother-in-law. it has a personal sting for the president. the actual explosion and the

attacking of the individuals is going to strike a very strong blow to the regime on both an operational level and on a symbolic level. they have now after killing the minister of defense and the deputy have disrupted the chain and control of command structure and creating a bit of fear in the inner circle of the regime. >> thank you, ayman. folks, we just got a response in from defense secretary leon panetta. let's play that. okay. we don't have that. i think i have here some of the points that he made. let me take a quick look. basically, leon panetta says we are very concerned about the situation in syria. obviously the u.s. administration on top of this. we'll keep you posted as we get more information. meantime, the fbi investigating a major security breach in utah

where a sky west airline pilot attempted to steal a plane from a small airport. he crashed the empty commuter jet while taking off. he was found dead in the plane after apparently shooting himself. kerry kennedy pleaded not guilty when she crashed into a tractor-trailer last friday. the 52-year-old daughter of the late robert kennedy says the accident was caused by a seizure stemming from an old brain injury. >> any doctor said this is the only seizure i ever had and they assure me that with robust investigation and treatment, i'll be able to live symptom free. >> police have not released blood tests, but kennedy say the doctors test show she was alcohol and drug free when the accident happened. it is the most effective weight loss drug in a generation. the fda has cleared qsymia for

adults who are overweight with a secondary condition. it will be available later this year. because of side effects, it is not for people who need to lose just a few pounds. day two of testimony on capitol hill from the nation's top money man. ben bernancke, this time, before the house financial services committee. mandy drury has more. >> the state of the fiscal cliff is important for the economy. is throwing responsibility back on washington says it is very important to put long-term and sustainable fiscal policies in place. the sub text here is there is only so much he can do. please, guys, congress, get your act in gear and try to do

something before we reach that fiscal cliff at the end of the year. yesterday, the stock market rose when he was ready to act although he did not give timeline. the stock market basically felt he is there at the ready if it is needed. >> and we have been hearing about, but we are getting further implications about paying for at the supermarket because of the drought. >> it is unavoidable. dairy will jump 6% and beef prices at 5%. anything made from corn or soy beans will spike 10% or more. cereal or chips or ice cream or milk and pizza prices are going up. things with corn syrup and sodas and medicines like dayquil, they have corn starch in them. there are things you might not think of such as green cleaners.

they are made from ethanol. ethanol is derived from corn. >> i even read shampoo. we will all pay more. cnbc's mandy drury. thank you. scary stats this morning. 30% of people still admit they text driving to and from the office. careerbuilder.com's survey said 50% of commuters experienced road rage. 56% of men and 58% of women. even drivers commute less than ten minutes have had road rage. who has a five-minute commute? nobody in l.a. or new york. [ barking ] i'm your dog,

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in asia, american fast food is gaining popularity because it is seen as a trust worthy food source. this has led to a growing problem. obesity. data from asia show those who ate fast food twice a week were more likely to die from heart disease or get diabetes. fascinating report from the urban league about the black vote and the re-election chances of barack obama. if the vote drops from 64% in 2008 to 60% in 2004, president

obama to lose in north carolina, virginia, ohio. he has a slim lead in all of those states right now. joining me now is reverend fred lueter. the largest property extent group in the u.s. welcome and congratulations. >> thank you very much. good to be with you. >> reverend, you came out strongly against gay marriage. i wonder if this issue could impact the president in some key states. this came up on the ballot in california. i talked to a number of african-americans who told me their preachers were talking about this from the pull mpitpu. >> i have no doubt it will affect votes he would have gotten. a lot of individuals, particularly those in the church feel strongly about. i have no doubt it will affect the votes he will get for this election. >> president obama actually called you to congratulate you when you were elected.

>> yes, he did. >> i know you said that you would like to meet with him and he said he wanted to meet with you. have plans for that been made? what would you like to talk about? >> plans have not been made. i would love to meet the president and his wife michelle and daughters. i would love to go to the white house. i have never been to the white house. i would love to do that. if i get a chance to meet him, my wife and i, we pray for our president and his wife and family every day. i just want to let him know people across the country are praying with him and god to give him wisdom. it is not easy to be president. we are praying for him and we pray god will protect him during his time as president of the united states of america. >> are there particular issues you would like to discuss with him? >> i know he is a basketball fan. we will talk about that. we will talk about crime and the

economy and housing. a lot of the things affecting us here in louisiana. we are dealing with crime and housing and education. i will definitely, if i get the chance, to talk to him about that and what hean do and our senators and representatives and public officials continue to help us here in new orleans. as i say, we have come a long way, but we have a long way to go. >> you are two presidents who are firsts. you said your election turns the page on the race for the southern baptist convention. a lot of people may not know it was founded to defend slavery. i want to quote dwight mckissick. he said your election is a good first step, but the position is largely ceremonial and african-americans are absent from real positions of power. what do you say to that? >> we all have to start somewhere. i know dwight.

he was there with me at the week of the convention. we have to start somewhere. this is a first. chris, it would be sad -- it would not be a good thing that after i'm elected that nothing else happens with african-americans and hispanics. it cannot stop with the election of fred luter. things like this have to continue even after my two-year term is over. >> reverend luter, congratulations. >> thank you. today's tweet of the day comes from actor chris d'elia. i cannot believe the team traded jeremy lin. the fans of whatever sport he plays are going to go nuts. becas o . wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch

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cruise control. ice, ice, baby and beer regatta. let's go down to the wire. superstar tom cruise reunited

with his daughter suri in new york. it is the first visit since he reached a divorce settlement with katie holmes. and an iceberg glacier split off. and the boat making skills at australia's beer can regatta. the rule is simple. you have to build a boat that won't sink out of beer cans. the largest boat took seven months to make and came with its own bar and upper deck. the grass is greener when you take a short cut. an indiana man painted his lawn green. got tired of seeing the yards looking brown. we hear his neighbors are green with envy. not the typical way to deal with the drought. that wraps up this hour of

"jansing & company." i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is next. good morning. the agenda next hour, moveon.org's nickname for mitt romney is tricky mitt. >> then three members of al-assad's inner circle. is syria spiraling out of control? then, back here at home, the boy scouts say it won't budge on the bigoted ban on gay members and leaders. keeping them out. eagle scout activist zack wallis will join me at the top of the hour. softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing.

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the perfect use of the 7th inning stretch. get that great taste anytime with kingsford match light charcoal. so i test... a lot. do you test with this? freestyle lite test strips? i don't see... beep! wow! that didn't take much blood. yeah, and the unique zipwik tab targets the blood and pulls it in. so easy. yep. freestyle lite needs just a third the blood of onetouch ultra. really? so testing is one less thing i have to worry about today. great. call or click today and get strips and a meter free. test easy. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. topping the agenda, release the returns. pressure on mitt romney to put all of his tax cards on the table. those calls coming from all