to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university, we're teaming up with companies like cisco to help make sure everyone's ready with the know how we need for a new tomorrow. [ male announcer ] make sure america's ready. make sure you're ready. at devry.edu/knowhow. ♪ good saturday afternoon to you. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. here are numbers for you. today marks 11 days until the first presidential debate in denver. starting today, voters in 25 states are already casting ballots, either absentee or in person. in 45 days, we will know who

will hold the keys to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. today, these are the numbers on everyone's mind. 13.7 million. that's how much mitt romney made on his investments last year and on that income he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1%. the battle over what the gop nominee's newly released tax returns means tops the day's political stories. the romney camp says they demonstrate how generous mitt and ann romney are they donated about $4 million in charity in 2011. >> i think what this show this is romneys are extremely generous people. they gave away 30% of their income to charity. romney has always believed to whom much is given much is required and he's living proof of that. meanwhile, the obama campaign is out with a new web video attacking governor romney urging him to release more than two years of returns. romney released a certified summary for the last 20 years but the obama campaign says

that's not good enough. >> this is only the tip of the iceberg. romney has only released two years of tax returns, both after he started running for president. why won't he come clean with the american people? what else is he hiding? >> the romney campaign also released late friday the medical assessments of mitt romney and paul ryan. romney's physician calls him a quote vigorous man with reserves of strength, energy and stamina. paul ryan's doctor says he's in excellent health and makes important preventive lifestyle choices. congressman ryan was at a rally in florida and former governor george bush was there lending his support. the president meanwhile travels to the battleground state of wisconsin today, his first campaign trip there since february. he will be visiting milwaukee for two campaign events. more on these stories throughout the next three hours. we hope you'll stay with us. today, mitt romney is in california trying to raise some

campaign cash at a series of fund-raisers there. peter alexander is in san francisco traveling with mr. romney and joins us on the telephone on a saturday afternoon. good after noon to you. >> reporter: mitt romney is en route to san diego, has events in san diego and los angeles trying to raise money. the campaign isn't just trailing in the polls, also trailing in some campaign cash now. you were focusing on numbers with the taxes, one of the points made to me specifically yesterday when i asked if they were politically motivated putting these numbers out on a friday, they said we did it because they were simply done. the reality when you do it on a friday and give estimates of their last 20 years of tax returns, it's done on a day when fewer people will pay attention to it. in many ways their hope is after a bad series of weeks they can wash this away with other bad headlines and avoid bad had

lines in the weeks ahead. >> you have spent more time with mitt romney than just about any our journalist at this point. talk to me a little bit about the mood of the campaign right now. what's going on behind the scenes in terms of mood. >> reporter: i think campaign advisors will acknowledge they were a little shaken by the last week or so with the fact the hidden videotape came out with the 47% comment that romney referred to them as victims and government dependence and viewed that as a self-inflicted wound, said it took them off message. their priority is get back on offense. it's a lot harder to catch up, particularly in those key swing states when they're constantly playing defense. romney thought he saw an opening last week during the univision forum suggesting he was unable to change washington from within, romney said if he can't change it from within, we will, that is a message they continue to stick with as they head into

next week. tomorrow, the romney campaign we will be traveling alongside them down 5 points in the wall street maris poll, they think they can do well and like to do well but have ground to make up. they have only been there once in the last seven weeks and will make two stops there in the next two days. >> peter alexander the man who rarely sleeps covering the romney campaign for us on a saturday afternoon. trading to our political panel, managing editor and national syndicated radio show host, both msnbc contributors. thanks for your time. let's start with a rough week for governor romney. rough could be a conservative description. he decided to cap it off with the release of those 2011 returns and summary for the last 20 years, the obama campaign wasting no time responding you saw in that web video.

what does this release do for the questions about governor romney's taxes over the last two decades? >> craig, it does absolutely nothing. i described this in an earlier program on msnbc to attempt to replace this with the tax returns. this was an attempt to get the media to chase another story even though the romney camp knows the other story is bad, too. i think the 47%, that video was so damaging and so jarring to the romney campaign they decided they needed to distract the press at all costs even if the underlying story they were using is also bad, romney paying a lower tax rate than average americans. >> michael, senate majority leader harry reid accused romney of paying no income taxes seized on the friday document dump saying in part quote mitt romney manipulated one of the only two years of tax returns he's seen fit to show the american people and then only to conform with his public statements, reid said

that raises the question what else in those returns has romney manipulated? is the governor in a situation, is he in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation? >> only he would know that. he can certainly produce tax returns like his predecessors have done, those seeking the highest office in the land including his father, well-known. if there's nothing to be afraid of he ought to release them. i think peter alexander released the answer, his timing. if you can get ahead of the curve because you have a story that's legitimate and has rationale behind it, you don't release it on a friday. you release bad news on a friday. the fact they released this summary from an accountant on a friday let's you know all you need to know on this issue. >> julian epstein raised an interesting point on the martin

bashir show yesterday. i want to show you about trying to change the subject from the 47% remark. >> what they actually did, reinforced the narrative here. but for the manipulation that gets romney from 9% tax rate to 14% tax rate, he would be paying less in taxes than the majority of 47% of people he insulted as moocher moochers. >> if the governor was in fact trying to change the narrative, did he just -- did he make things worse? >> i think, yeah, julian epstein was exactly right. here's the problem. mitt romney has an underlying narrative about him that is negative, he will do anything to get elected and that's his only ideology. the idea they only released tax returns dealing with the year he was already running for president and he clearly manipulated the results on those returns to increase the rate of taxes he paid, it makes it look

like a very cynical move. the other issue is -- without doing it -- even the tax rate he put himself at, 14%, even that is significant lower than what the average american pays. when people understand that even their payroll taxes are higher than the 14% romney paid, it doesn't look good in any way, no matter how you manipulate it. >> michael, refusing at least four times to talk about romney's controversial comments, joe biden let loose yesterday. >> these folks believe they're entitled, they've become dependent, they see themselves as victims who won't take responsibility for their own lives. how could he be so profoundly wrong about america? not in my neighborhood. not where i grew up. not the people i know. >> michael, you know pennsylvania pretty well. how did those comments play in

the vice president's birthplace, which, of course, is a battleground state? >> well, they're firing up both bases. supporters of the president are so put off by that which was said by governor romney, many supporters of governor romney, i have to tell you, because i took phone calls from them all week long are offering a hell yes. how is it playing with independents j. yesterday, susanne page had that front storytelling us independents not surprisingly are breaking against romney for those comments. that's the net net of all this. >> we will take a break now, in 40 or 50 minutes. we will bring you back. michael i want to talk to you about the huff post and the future of the gop and what happens in november. get you some water, take a quick bathroom break, see you in a few.

after a week like this, how much of a reboot does mitt romney's campaign really need? we will get a handle on it with two political veterans. yeah, i'm gay, i always have been, known since forever. >> you probably know that. that video went viral and since then serving in a post "don't ask, don't tell" military. we will ask what happened since this. a little later, what if gore had won? we'll take you back to 2000. next hour. with the spark cash card from capital one, olaf's pizza palace gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! pizza!!!!! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ]

[ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve the most rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.

wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ] a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.

there you have it, a live picture there. that is air force one, in case you're unfamiliar with that airplane. president set to be in milwaukee, arrived in milwaukee. that plane is on a tarmac in milwaukee, wisconsin, holding two events, one a campaign event, the other a fund-raising event a little later in milwaukee. 10 electoral votes up for grabs in wisconsin. it is what we like to call a battleground state. more on wisconsin a little later. despite the criticism coming from within his own party, mitt romney says his campaign is fine as it is, in an interview set to air tomorrow night. romney pushes back against calls for change inside his operation. >> you're the ceo of this campaign, a lot of republicans and donors would like to know how do you turn this thing around? you have a little more than six

weeks. what do you do? >> it doesn't need to turn around. we have a campaign tied to the incumbent president of the united states. >> joining me now in our war room, a former pennsylvania congressman, joe sestak and bill clinton and romney surrogate and george w. bush white house aide. good afternoon to you. congressman sestak, let me start from you. i want to play another clip of that "60 minutes" interview set to air tomorrow night when he was asked about the campaign and the video 47%. >> that's not the campaign. that was me. i have a very effective campaign, doing a very good job. >> peggy nounen writing in the "wall street journal," i called it in competecompetent, i was b polite but really meant rolling

collam ca l ca lamty. >> what is it you're trying to say? >> mitt romney is the campaign. you represent that ship and how well it does. he's made these gaffes on his own both about the egyptian embassy and 47% of americans he spoke about that he said didn't have personal responsibility. i really truly believe mitt romney is a decent man. but he's twice shown by these gaffes, if that's the word you want to use, as commander in chief, is he willing to be a resolute type of leader that's thoughtful when he speaks about our crisis overseas. second, when he said about 47% of americans, that they don't have personal responsibility, he was speaking about our veterans coming home. those with post traumatic stress disorder, those students who get student loans republican president eisenhower in initiated that.

in short, he hasn't demonstrated that himself and why he took that issue on himself about the fabric of america. i don't think it's over for him. others have come back. you've watched harry truman and bill clinton in his primary. it's not over but he has to grab ahold of it now. >> joe, you mentioned something and joe watkins, i want to bring this to you now. mitt romney not the first presidential candidate to open mouth insert foot while on the trail. we dug up a few others. take a look and listen. >> i took the initiative in creating the internet. >> the fundamentals of our economy are strong. >> those are just two. there are lots more out there. you worked with bush 41 who infamously said, message, i care. all these men lived these gaffes down to some extent, some elected, some were not. how does mitt romney recover from his series of gaffes? >> i think the way you do it is by being steady and not too upset about mistakes made. he has to play offense not

defense. as long as you're playing defense, you probably can't win. you have to score points and the way to do that is play offense by sharing your message. no matter what anybody says about words misspoken you have to consider the fact 12 million americans aren't working. you have to speak to them, undecided voters not hard "d" or hard "r"s. >> is mitt romney's campaign designed for those people? is he running a campaign designed for independent voters? >> he is running a campaign designed for independent voters. he knows he has to win in the swing states and people who haven't yet made up their mind. the point he has to stress to them is i'm the guy that can put our economy back on track. you have a majority of americans who feel we're heading in the wrong direction and he has to show them he can take them in the right direction. >> joe makes a couple good points. one, he has to show persistence and not show he's panicking.

number two, to what joe said, he does have an ability to demonstrate he is not only a caring family man but he cares about others. you can see it in his charity. but he hasn't done that. hasn't been captain of the ship, a future president of the united states demonstrated to half of americans he does understand they are personally responsible. i think his failure to do that is most harming. joe is right but he hasn't demonstrated that. >> 45 days out, can you really redefine yourself? if you haven't humanized yourself yet, can you do it now? >> i don't think it's a matter of redefining yourself. you have to make sure you reach the people that haven't made up their minds yet. >> there's like 23 of those people. half live in iowa and the other half in hohio. >> he has to convince people in

ohio and florida and wisconsin and pennsylvania and swing states he has the answers. these people have not yet made up their mind, on the brink, doesn't know which way to go yet, haven't made up their mi s minds. >> joe, i know your mouth is up but we have to go. write that thought down. joe sestak, joe watkins, thanks to you both. the guy with the catchiest catch phrase of the gop primary. you remember him, right? he has a very different view of things when it comes to how he would have matched up against the president. we're always very interested in what her man cain has to say about things. a little bit later, 45 days to go to election day has the candidates trying to win over voters' hearts and minds been on the campaign,enough? ♪ [ female announcer ] one drop of ultra dawn has twice the everyday grease cleaning ingredients of one drop of the leading non-concentrated brand...

♪ [ crowd cheering ] ...to clean 2x more greasy dishes. dawn does more. so it's not a chore. dawn does more. and every day since, two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs.

today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. today, our commitment to the gulf, and to america, has never been stronger.

time now for the campaign trail mix. our hot topic, lawmakers making

cameos on nbc. among them olympia snowe, barbara boxer and even congressman campaign found himself inside the coat closet. >> excuse me, i just need to get my coat. >> can you give me a minute? >> are you okay? >> i would like you to leave and give me a little bit of privacy. >> all right. sorry. hope everything's okay. >> nosy people have no respect for personal space. >> from jon mccain to raising cain, as in her man. not to be left out of the latest headlines. the presidential hopeful said if he had been the gop candidate he would have a substantial lead over president obama by now. his reason you ask, according to the gainesville sun, i have some depth to my ideas, cain who famously touted his 9-9-9 tax

plan made those comments at a speech at the university of florida. all hands on deck you scurvy pirates. the president wants your vote. that was my best pirate impersonation. sorry i disappointed you. not one to leave land lubbers without a laugh, the president tweeted a photo on himself on "talk like a pirate day." there he is sitting in the oval office. it could be captain jack sparrow, captain morgan. the white house says that peick was original ly snapped for a 2009 correspondent dinner. >> congresswoman michele bachmann, the presidential contender raised and spent more money than anybody else in the house. 16 million bucks in july alone. she is fighting democratic efforts to oust her from office. coming up, how a 400 pound tiger at the bronx zoo ended up tearing into a man's back and arms. also, guess who's come hat

in hand looking for a loan? it's the guy that made a whole bunch of money when he was running for president. we'll tell you why. up next. you're watching msnbc. the place for politics. ♪ bob... oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

i'm craig melvin. a look at top stories. two people were killed in libya as protesters stormed several militia compound as the crowd that was angry about the takes in benghazi. suing theater owners, the first suit following the massacre that left 12 people dead and dozens wounded. a 400 pound tiger mauled a man when the guy jumped off the moving monorail and into the

den. that man is now expected to face criminal charges. back to politics. gop vice-presidential nominee paul ryan went on the attack this morning going after president obama's remarks earlier this week on changing washington. right now, paul ryan is in orlando where he will be speaking in less than an hour. when that happens, we will bring it to you live here on msnbc. first, let's check in with msnbc's ron motte, who travels with paul ryan in the convention hall. good saturday to you, sir. >> reporter: they there, craig. good saturday to you as well. this campaign has realized they've been on their heels too long the last 10 to 14 days and want to reverse their fortunes. paul ryan did that in miami and in a big way for hispanic voters and want to get that voter support. he went to miami today and met that issue head on and said mitt

romney wants to appeal to hispanic voters. and in central florida and orlando, they believe they have a chance here in florida along the i-4 corridor where a lot of conservatives live and they want to appeal to those voters. a lot of people said paul ryan has been under-utilized and time to unleash him. he pushed aside the podium and his notes and went from the heart and said mitt romney will be a better leader than president obama has been and you might see this debt clock at $16 trillion and counting and president obama responsible for a third of it and what they want vote others to focus on, not all the other issues the 47% video and mitt romney releasing his tax returns showing 14% in taxes he's paid, they want the american vote others to focus on that number back there. the u.s. is in a lot of debt and paul ryan believes mitt romney will be a better leader trying to reverse those numbers and we will see if that number starts

to change traction and mitt romney has been on his heels in the last 10-14 days an wants to reverse that. >> we will check you in our next hour. thank you. there are very few places in this country you can turn on the television or radio and not see or hear a campaign commercial. spending on campaign advertisements has now hit an eye popping $634 million. of that $634 million, $30 million was booked in the last four days of this week alone. joining me now, michael covers politics for msnbc news.com. good saturday afternoon to you. >> thanks. >> let's break down team romney, his campaign and outside groups are responsible for roughly $340 million. team obama and outside groups responsible for $293 million. how close are we to the point of saturation?

>> i would say we're pretty close actually. you take a look at the polls the past few weeks and past few months, what we've seen is voters are increasingly locked in. just the immense amount of campaign advertising that has saturated these swing states early in the process made it difficult for these campaigns to sway any voters. we see signs in our own nbc news "wall street journal" polls voters are increasingly locked in and only a small sliver of voters left over who are remaining and left to be convinced. >> you have to wonder whether that small sliver has become desensitized to the barrage of ads. governor romney took out a $20 million loan over this summer, read the headline and thought why would a candidate pulling in millions every month and worth tens of millions in his own right, why would he need a $20 million loan? >> part of that is specifics of

campaign finance law that can be a little arcane. they are restricted from accessing the general election funds he was able to raise. he was able to access those when he became the nominee. >> we should note here mitt romney's campaign not in any financial trouble? >> that's right. me ju he just needed a bridge loan until that period he was the nominee. >> we've all been there. michael, thanks. appreciate that. fund raisers are one thing. old-fashioned campaigning is another. mitt romney will be holding a rally in colorado tomorrow. he will be making a three-day swing next week through ohio after that. the push is after a five day period when mitt romney did not have a single public event. according to a report, a veteran campaigner said they could not remember a time a veteran campaigner stayed off the trail

for so long in the stretch. what romney needs to do is get into virginia and run for sheriff. this is not rocket science. matt, assistant formerly to president bush. not just lindsey graham and campaign reporters, a lot of headlines like this one we found from the detroit free press, romney's sparse campaign schedule worries some republicans. it does seem like odd timing for such a gap. what's happening here? >> every candidate is unique and every campaign is different. one thing governor romney realizes with the polling so tight, almost even in most polls, he's looking at this race as potentially similar to 1980 when the polls going into that very first debate less than two weeks away were tight as well between ronald reagan and jimmy

carter. i think he's taking the time to do the briefing he needs to knock it out of the park in that first debate because it will be an incredibly important moment in that election. >> you believe in addition to fund-raising he has been spe spending a significant amount of time on debate prep. >> i do. every candidate and campaign is different. i worked on the presidential campaign of george w. bush. one of his preference was to be home every night to see his wife and kids and sleep in his own bed. some people criticized him and said he should be stringing out battleground states in a row and staying at the ramada in ainsted of the governor's mansion. he did it his way. candidates have the way to be fresh and i think governor romney can do that for what he's looking for. >> complaint about schedule is not only the complaints about governor romney. billy crystal calling those comments quote stupid and

arrogant" and mark mckinnon. a depressingly inept presidential campaign. not exactly votes of confidence from the right. this is what they're saying publicly. what do you think they're saying to the campaign aides they're grabbing by the elbows behind the scenes? >> i think unfortunately they ought to keep those comments to those conversations when they're grabbing folks' elbows. sometimes my side is a little too quick to condemn a campaign, which is literally tied in the poll polls. >> what policy are you reading? >> i looked at gallup, which is one of the most respected polling institutions in the country for the last half a century and they show the race even today. on a three day roll. no one will accuse them of being partisan. fair enough there have been other polls that show -- >> more than a dozen polls. >> there have been other polls that show obama on a swell. i'm not going to tell you i think the obama campaign hasn't

done a good job over the last three weeks. they have played error-free ball and romney has had errors. >> do you think they had such a good campaign or romney had an awful campaign. >> i think the obama campaign had a good convention and decent campaign. overall, i think it's a terrible campaign. some could argue with his approval ratings hovering over 50%, maybe he should be in a stronger position when it comes to his ballot test against governor romney. president obama has not done a great job. these criticisms of mitt romney not being on the campaign trail enough. i think president obama has been on the campaign trail too much missed his intelligence briefings and hanging out with david letterman and jay-z and beyonce too much. >> and he should be spending more time with running our country and these terrible

protests overseas. >> we will leave it right there. thank you for coming on the show. they are a key voting block. when it comes to their vote, immigration reform is what they want to know about. where the candidates stand on that. first-up, we take you back to the day the u.s. military became a little more inviting. this is msnbc, the place for politics. haters best get to bloggin' ♪ in it ♪ so hot right now d esigthneatr ♪ our ♪ sunglasses be foggin' ♪ this crowd is classic ♪ so we play 'em like rachmaninoff ♪ ♪ just hooked 'em up with score alerts ♪ ♪now we're about to set it off ♪set it off like a score alert ♪ beep beep what? ♪if you set your phone to vibrate ♪ ♪ then it might alert your button flies all the ♪ ♪ girls and the guys wanna keep that credit score ♪ ♪ high like a private jet free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ don't forget narrator: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com

who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant

or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. for their "destination wedding." double miles you can "actually" use.

but with those single mile travel cards... [ bridesmaid ] blacked out... but i'm a bridesmaid. oh! "x" marks the spot she'll never sit. but i bought a dress! a toast... ...to the capital one venture card. fly any airline, any flight, anytime. double miles you can actually use. what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. our flashback for today, this week marks the anniversary of the end of "don't ask, don't tell." one year later, even those most opposed to the bans on gays in the military have been positive how it's played out. a look back how the appeal was reported one year ago. >> reporter: it's estimated as many as 65,000 gays and lesbians actively serve in the u.s.

military, including on the battle fields of iraq and africa. today, for the first time ever, they know longer have to live a lie. at the pentagon, joint chiefs chairman mike mullen said for him, repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" is all about integrity. >> it's fundamentally against everything we stand for as an institution to force people to lie about who they are just to wear a uniform. >> reporter: so has this year changed the lives of those serving our country? "don't ask, don't tell" forced many men in the military to live in the shadows. now lbgt service members can serve openly. coming out, as you might imagine, still a difficult decision for many troops. randy phillips an active duty airman in the air force. on the eve of the appeal he came out to his dad and essentially to the world in an emotional call on youtube that went viral. >> i don't get it. i always have been -- i've known

since forever, i wanted to tell you in person, but -- i didn't want you to find out any other wa way. >> okay. >> you still love me? >> i still love you, son. >> randy phillips joins me now live via skype from outside the air base in germany where he is currently serving. good afternoon to you, sir. >> thanks, craig. good afternoon to you. >> let me start with the obvious question. how have things changed for you being out in the armed forces over the past year or have things changed? >> it's been great not having a to lie about anything, being able to be who i am. i think life has changed personally a lot, but my job really that hasn't interfered with it whatsoever and hardly comes up as the topic. i think that's how it should be.

>> the issue of "don't ask, don't tell," it's been a hot political topic for a while now in this country. it seems almost like the country, in a lot of places, especially, the country has gotten used to it. from the inside, does it feel like the military has gotten used to it as well? >> yes. a very quiet transition the day it actually happened. i don't think many people knew that that was the day that everybody could come out openly, and so a lot of people saw my video and there were a few more that came out. it was a really quiet thing. i don't think anybody realized that it's been a year and i doubt many people even realized it's a topic anymore because it was such a smooth transition. >> what's your relationship with your father and family like since that video went viral? >> it's better than ever. i don't know how they feel about me putting it on the internet but it was easy for me because i didn't have to tell anybody else.

i just told two people. i was just back home last week i was in america. i spent time with the family and they were great and love me for who i am and embrace me as their child. i couldn't ask for anything more. >> airman randy phillips, we appreciate your time. even more than that, we appreciate your service. thank you. >> thank you very much. president obama called immigration reform his biggest failure. up next, why many latino voters are still lining up behind his campaign. this is msnbc. even on saturday afternoon the place for politics. ♪ obama i will follow him [ mother ] you can't leave the table

till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8...

back with more politics, honing on in on the hispanic vote that could make up to 9% of the 2012 all rigelectorate. governor romney over statements

he made in the nbc republican primary debate. in case you forget, here's a refresher. >> we can't wait 20 years from now to do it, we can't wait 10 years from now to do it. we need to do it by the end of my first term as president of the united states of america. i will make it a top priority in my first year as president. >> we went to the company and we said, look, you can't have any illegals working on our property. i'm running for office for pete's sake. the answer is self-deportation. >> you talked about self-deportation, if businesses do the right job asking for documents, what about arresting? should there be aggressive arresting as the sheriff indica indicates? >> if i were elected and congress were to pass the dream act, would i veto it. the answer is, yes. >> let's bring out our political panel. the managing eddiitor and natiol

indicated show host, michael, thank you for sticking around. both the president and governor romney grilled by the hispanic media this week. both candidates obviously on the defensive this week. the latest latino decisions poll finds president obama has a more than 40% lead among latino voters. is there hope for mitt romney making any inroads with that community? >> on immigration specifically, no. this is the thing. yes, he said on univision obama didn't fulfill the promise. the obama campaign has been steadily say iing republican legislators did not pass the dream act when they had the opportunity in 2010 and did not do it. for the most part, when the deferred action was passed, 70% of latino voters were polled said they would vote for barack obama. he got a big bump after his deferred action proposal in june and after passing it given

enthusiasm. that was one of the worries there wouldn't be as much enthusiasm because immigration wasn't passed but that has been a big hit. >> those on the right said that was a well timed executive order as well. >> when it comes to immigration reform the new fox news latino poll says 58% likely latino voters approve of the president's handling but when independents were asked that same question, there's an even spread among those who approve and disapprove. should the president be at all concerned about that? >> he should be because independents largely hold the cards in this race. this is a long term problem for the gop. the gop needs to right itself with hispanic voters or the goep is doomed because of the shi shifting demographics. right now the gop is perceived as being less than hospitable because of party positions, show me your papers in arizona or voter id efforts like in my

state in pennsylvania and across the country. it's a huge issue beyond this current cycle. >> i'm going to ask you the question and then pose the same question to sandra. at this point, what can the gop do to do that? how do they right themselves with the hispanic community in this country? >> i can tell you what not to do. the romney campaign increasingly looking like an amateur operation, one of the things they did at that univision debate was pack the audience with supporters something that leaked out and discovered the cheering th ining throngs broug romney similar to the naacp did the same thing. and those create the optics of support rather than substance of support meaning you dial back the rhetoric that is very harsh. if you're a latino in this country, the way the republican party sounds sounds hostile much the same problem they have with african-americans. what they have to do is find

authentic policy positions in a way of talking to minority communities that isn't just about ginning up anger and resentment among white voters quite frankly because those two things tend to compete. >> the gop community now versus five years ago, better off or worse off? >> i think in a way worse off. joy mentioned policy position. 70% of hispanics believe government should be involved in health care and a firm role for government even if they believe in starting their own businesses. the majority of voters side with the democrats rather than republican policies even thouin spite of this tough economy and the numbers don't look good for governor romney. >> i want to switch gears for a moment because you wrote a recent story about the future of the gop in the "huffington post," where i saw it. what do you think happens if and

when mitt romney loses this election in november. what happens to the gop? >> the cry you will hear on the morning of november 7 if, a big if, if he should lose is one i told you so from the likes of rick santorum, maybe mike huckabee, maybe sarah palin, i think will say mitt romney was not sufficiently conservative to be the candidate overlooking the fact he has run, to use his own words, craig, a severely conservative campaign. now, the question is will you hear other voices maybe from a jeb bush who will say, wait, time out. this is why we lost. what we need to do is grow the tent. i suspect that won't get resolved until primary elections in 2016. >> it sounds like you are saying you don't think this will be the end of the civil war of the gop, you think this is the beginning of the civil war in the gop? >> i do. i think they have to duke it out for another cycle. thanks to all of you. i appreciate your time.

92 thank you. >> thank you. up next, they're only working eight days this fall. eight. but the house made sure to make clear how they feel about the working poor this week. that and more ahead. msnbc. ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national.