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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> and later, the first ladies, dance, dance, evolution. >> but we begin first with the top political headlines this hour. president obama continues to warn the nation about upcoming spending cuts that could go into effect march 1st. in his weekly address to the nation he blamed republicans for the crisis. >> these cuts don't have to happen. congress can turn them off any time with just a little compromise. unfortunately, it appears that republicans in congress have decided that instead of compromising, instead of asking anything of the wealthiest americans, they'd rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class. >> republican senator john hoven of north dakota delivered the weekly address and said congress has done its part. >> house republicans have already passed two bills to replace the president's

sequester. so the question is why won't he work with with us? and the answer, quite simply, is because he wants higher taxes. >> republican governors meeting today in washington are asking the federal government to solve the spending crisis and not to add to the burden on the states. >> don't pass the balancing the federal budget on the backs of state governments because we're still recovering, too, from the national recession that we've been through. >> and the obama administration filed a legal brief friday asking the supreme court to strike down a key part of the defense of marriage act. the administration's case deals with the portion of the law that bars recking on negz of same-sex marriage by the federal government. the pressure on congress to end the sequester. mr. obama said friday after meeting with japan's prime minister that it's not too late to solve the crisis. let's take a listen. >> i never think that anything is inevitable. we always have the opportunity to make the right decisions. my hope is that we can see a

different course taken by congress. this should be a no-brainer. >> and now let's bring in nbc news white house correspondent kristin welker. good afternoon. how likely is it that the sequester can be averted before march 1st? >> reporter: mara, i've been talking to sources on both sides of pennsylvania avenue as well as economists who say it is looking increasingly likely that the sequester will go into effect. president obama has said that he will spend this weekend and next week talking to members of congress, but both sides are really dug in and so far the talks haven't really gone anywhere. the white house's strategy seems to be at this point, by in part creating this dire picture of what's going to happen if the sequester does, in fact, kick in. they've made the case that the economy could suffer, but they're make the case that workers could suffer. 47,000 faa workers, for example, could be furloughed on friday. transportation secretary ray la

hood made the point that that would slow down air travel. some travelers can actually see their flights get canceled. in addition to that 800,000 civilian defense department workers would be furloughed as well as teachers and border patrol agents and that's just to name a few that would be impacted by this. that's according to the administration. some have accused of administration to use scare tactics to get this done. the administration denies that, but the bottom line is, mara, there is a lot of finger-pointing going on and there doesn't seem to be negotiating going on behind the scenes and the big problem is the sticking points are the same old sticking points and president obama saying he wants to see a package that includes both spending cuts as well as new tax revenue. republicans saying they will only accept something that has entitlement reform and spending cuts. so that is where the major sticking points are at this point in time and we are six days out and no resolution in sight. >> kristen welker live at the

white house. we'll check in with you later in the show. >> thanks. so is the president making his case on the sequester? for more on that, let's bring in ed o'keefe, congressional reporter for "the washington post" and from "the chicago sun-times." bob woodward wrote in the washington post today that the sequester originated by the president. here's a quote. my extensive reporting for my book "the price of politics" shows that the automatic spending cuts were initiated by the white house and were the brain child of jack lew and bob nabors. that's how the sequester started so who is really to blame for this? >> well, i will defer to my colleague bob woodward who, yes, exhaustively reported this and, you know, i think the white house says, you know, whether or not they were the first to propose it, congress went along and approved it as well.

the blame is mutual and everyone should be blamed for having it get to where it is. and americans are less concerned with who set this up as opposed to how we'll sort this out and it's increasingly looking like this isn't going to get sorted out by the end of the week. >> lynn, democratic governors were at the white house friday meeting with the president. afterwards, they too, pressured republicans to come to terms on the sequester. let's listen. >> our message to the republican governors this weekend will be quite simple. speak up, stand up or be part of the problem. ask your friends in the republican congress to do the sensible thing. >> so, lynn, just what is the sensible thing at this point? compromise and come to an agreement or stand firm on principle and let the deadline pass? >> if you're a democratic governor who wants to support president obama you say don't let the deadline pass. i agree with ed. it looks like we are headed to breaking the deadline, but this

comes in the context of president obama having the upper hand in messaging his popularity. polls are showing it is at an all-time high and congress and the popularity is low so he thinks as we go down to yet another showdown that he can't tough it out and one very dramatic point that the administration is making is that for extra pressure is that why some of these cuts will take longer for you to feel an impact, they are cutting out controllers and having flights delayed up to 90 minutes and having them cancelled and that was a very interesting point because that will hit a lot of people right away. >> i'm glad you mentioned the air traffic controllers because ray la hood friday defended his statements that his public would have to cut air traffic controllers and disrupt air travel. >> the idea that we're doing this to create some kind of a horrific scare tactic is

nonsense. >> we are required to cut $1 billion. >> ed, i want to direct this to you. is this a scare tactic? how does the administration think it will react to air travel delays? >> i think we would expect that the public should be very concerned about that. each agency has determined in different ways that they can save money and have to cut back and my colleague lisa ryan has a fantastic story in the post today about how the unions that represent these federal employees are trying to sort out with the agencies how exactly these furloughs or got earnly how long this were to stretch layoffs might actually occur. it is a really messy situation for these agencies and it's something important to remember. this happened with the government shutdown a few years ago. they might devote a month's worth of planning to having shut down or curtail services and it would take a few more weeks if at some point sequestration is avoided. so not only are we facing, you know, contingency planning for

these types of thing, but you're also dealing with the fact that agencies can't actually do their actual job because they're trying to sort out how they will have to do less of their job if that happens so it is an incredibly disruptive process for government generally, and in a host of different ways americans will start to notice this. a lot of it might not come on march at midnight or march, 2, but it will come throughout that month and that's why conceivably, congress might use the expiration of the current continuing resolution and the short-term spending plan to come up with some kind of a fix to at least put back some of these changes and perhaps find other ways to cut money. >> before we go. i want to switch gears a little bit. president obama got a boost this week and florida's governor, republican rick scott reversed his position wednesday and said he would support expanding medicaid in his state. he became the seventh republican governor to agree with that expansion. so far 22 states said they'll expand medicare coverage. why did governor scott reverse

himself? >> one reason could be thatstit have it attached and the election is over and maybe they'll seem that they used the old maximum politics that you might deal with your self-interest first. >> thank you both, so much. ed o'keefe, and lynn sweet from the chicago sun-times and they'll both be back with me later in the program. coming up, the first lady gets her groove on, but what else did she share with jimmy fallon last night? my next guest says in the sequestration fight the government has already failed the american people and charlie rangel is here in the studio after the break and you're watching msnbc the place for politics. we break out new behr h stain-blocker from the home depot... ...the best selling paint and primer in one that now eliminates stains. so it paints over stained surfaces, scuffed surfaces,

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well, as we've been saying it looks like in just six days drastic cuts called the sequestration will go into effect. will either side -- joining me now to talk about what's going on behind the scenes is new york democratic congressman charles rangel from the democratic house, ways and means committee. >> good to be with you. >> the fact that we've gotten this far shows that the government has already failed us. do you see a resolution before march 1st. >> i want to believe that a country as great as we are with the talents that we have in the private sector and the public sector that we would not do this to ourselves. what we are doing in front of the whole world is showing the inability to manage our own fiscal affairs and at the same time to owe some $16.4 trillion. for people to invest in the united states of america and just watch our behavior, the

whole idea of sequester was creating a nightmare that should never happen. the whole idea is that you're going to dismantle government to such an extent that people have to get together, republicans and democrats and work it out and we're watching ourselves destroy ourselves destroy ourselves. i just hope that the business sector, the religious sector would say this is too important for a handful of politicians to do to our country. >> now, when it came to negotiations on the debt ceiling deal those came down to the wire. we saw the same thing with the fiscal cliff that didn't get resolved until after the deadline had passed and the sequester was supposed to take effect in january, but it got pushed to march. i have to ask you as a member of congress, why does congress put everything to the last minute, right down to the wire. is there a procedural reason for that? a tactical reason? >> it's like poker. you wait until you get the last

card in order to find out whether you think you can win or not and then you normally assess what happens if you lose. but when you have a handful of people that can't lose and they want to win and if they stop government they've won and they don't feel the pain like it's their mom or their kids that are losing. they believe that their conservatism is enough to be a patriot to bring their own party down, but to bring the country down with it. and so i heard you say that we'll do this over and over again until people are numb, but even with russian roulette, there is a live bullet in the chamber and that live bullet means the integrity in terms of national security and fiscal stability of our country. >> now we're starting to see both sides play the blame game.

the president has said the sequester is congress' idea and some are starting to say this is the president's initiative and even members of his own party. this week max baucus told a local tv station, the president is part of the sequester and he continues i don't want to say the president is solely to blame. he's not. how did we get to this point? who is ultimately responsible for where we are right now? >> i -- i really don't see where that question has anything to do with where we find ourselves now. who is responsible for it is not nearly as important as how the heck do we get out of this situation. so whether the idea came from the congress, republicans, democrats or the president, nobody thought we would ever be so stupid to get to the point that it could happen, and so i can only make an appeal for those who love this country as much as i do. get on the phone. call your member of congress in

the house or the senate. tell them that what we are doing irreparable harm and it is totally insane and the voters will remember, but no one should be able to say that they couldn't stop this. so we have religious leaders. they preach and we're supposed to take care of the sick and the aged. think about the kids in school, those in the hospitals and those in airports and those men and women that are overseas and for god's sake, tell our country's representatives that they're not going to tolerate this going on. >> i want to talk to you about a different issue that's also very important to you. you have many times called for the traditional draft to be reinstated and last week we called for it again to be reinstated and this time including women. can you tell me about that? >> women have been volunteering and fighting and combat receiving all types of honors and they've never been recognized as equals. they don't receive combat pay and it's absolutely ridiculous. so recently, the pentagon

established that a woman that serves in combat is entitled to receive all of the things that go with it to show our country's appreciation. so it seems to me that if we're going to have a draft and i really believe that if we did have a draft set up that congress would not be so anxious to the democrats and republicans to put our young people in harm's way. >> tell me why you say that because you're introduced this legislation multiple times and it's clearly something you're very committed to. you bet your life because the people in the congress that allow these things to go on, they have no fear that anyone in their community and their families are going to be making any sacrifice at all. less than 1% of americans, most of whom volunteer for economic reasons paid the price in terms of 6600 lives lost, tens of thousands of people wounded. veterans, american veterans

coming home, disoriented, unemploy unemployed, some homeless and no one pays a price. i submit to you, we would not be in iraq, afghanistan and a whole lot of other places that we've introduced our troops if when we voted into congress, members of congress said oh, my god, they're talking about my grandkids. >> quickly, before we go, some members of congress are making cuts in preparation for the sequester kicking in is that something that you're thinking about. no, i'm not thinking about that. >> that's not a drop of water in the two oceans that surround us. no. we don't need is imbelsymbols. we need ak and the lives that will be placed in jeopardy, the hospitals, the airport, the -- the schools, there's no need for us to do this to ourselves and i would think that there's enough people concerned about our country that they're just not going to sit at the side and say

what a shame. what a shame is us is our lives and our kids' lives and the security of our nation. >> congressman charlesy rangel. >> constituents are the most important people in the world. >> i appreciate you saying that. take care, sir. >> he took on conservative of his own party on his way out the door. what does he think of his former colleagues now as they battle over the sequester. he'll join me in the next hour, but first, big bird gets political again. we'll tell you what the feathered star of sesame street is up to now. you're watching msnbc. ♪ ♪ ♪ copd makes it hard to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator

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dancing. last night mrs. obama appeared on "late night with jimmy fallon wto "kicking off the let's move campaign. is the first lady on the verge of a whole new agenda and we'll have that in the second hour. the first lady is pretty new to twitter so it's fitting that she chose a bird to tweet with this week. it's all part of mrs. obama's let's move campaign featuring none other than big board. tweeted so fun exercising at the white house at flotus. i hope your husband didn't mind the loud stomping. i'm not exactly light on my feet. >> you are welcome to the @white house any time. you are one good egg. >> i was once and then i hatched. ha-ha. >> big board wrote this handwritten thank you note to the first lady saying in part, maybe next time you can visit me at my home on sesame street. my nest doesn't have a west

wing, but it has two wings to give you a big hug when i see you again. elizabeth colbert bush, she's running for the house seat vacated by tomorrower congressman tim scott. the fund-raiser is being held in a charles torn bowling alley followed by dinner at a private home. in case you're wondering colbert bush pronounces her last name as colbert, not colbert. former secretary of state hillary clinton, mrs. clinton is set to make more than $200,000 per speaking appearance. now that she's left foggy bottom, she was making $186,000 a year as secretary of state. not bad money. well, coming up, is there a method to their madness? our war room will have the president versus the republicans on the sequester battle as drastic cuts are set to take effect in six days. >> first, an italian newspaper is out with a bombshell report on why it says the pope really resigned.

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a nasty winter storm is making its way across the country today from chicago. it's bringing snow, sleet and ice and headed straight for new england. this is the third weekend in a row of severe weather in the region. i'm mara schiavocampo and here's a look at other top stories making news now. olympian oscar pistorius is spending time with his family in south africa today. a judge let the runner out on jail. he's not allowed to have gun, drink alcohol or leave south africa as he awaits trial for allegedly killing his girlfriend. and drones in africa? president obama announced yesterday that a new drone base in niger will be used to conduct surveillance throughout africa including mali. the vatican is lashing out this morning at a new report resigned after finding out about an underground gay network of priests in the vatican. it was published by the italian

newspaper "la repubblica." >> reporter: the vatican issued it's a strong word and angry at statements by the secretary of state in response of those allegations made yesterday. now let me read you part of it so you can get a sense on what tone they used to answer to those allegations. it says in it that it is regrettable as we draw near to the beginning of the conclave when cardinal electors shall be bound in conscience and before god to treatly express their choice, news reports abound which are often unverifiable or not subsequent damage to people and institutions. >> mara, these are strong words for a strong denial by the vatican. >> claudio, tomorrow is the pope's last sunday blessing before he retires on february 28th. what do we know about the timing of when the next pope will be elected? >> well, we don't have the beginning -- the beginning of

the conclave, and the election of the pope yet and the spokesperson to the vatican two days ago said that we're going to know that the day after the pope abdicates and that's on march 1st. the time now, the law says that we need to wait 15 minutes -- 15 days, of course, since the time of the holy see becomes vacant and those rules were made with the assumption that the pope, of course, will die. we'll see if the law can be changed to anticipate that date. >> claudio lavanga in rome. thank you for that. the national debate over immigration debate unfolds there's a small town in the rural midwest that will be watching it all very closely. how the debate ends will have a direct impact on many families there and their employers. here's nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: in a state where only 5% of the population is hispanic, tiny west liberty, iowa stands out. 52% of its residents are

hispanic, mostly mexicans. for decades they've been drawn here by jobs in the town meat pa packing plant. the mayor moved here 15 years ago. >> we liked the fact that there was a fair amount of diversity which is not something you normally get in iowa. >> in a town fewer than 4,000 residents, where students in grades k through 12 volunteer to take part in a dual language program. for half a day, all their classes are taught in spanish. >> they're sprouting. >> for the other half, everything is in english. >> so they're going to be able to go just about anywhere and be able to be employed and successful. >> for fifth grader haley lehman and her friend ashley ibarra whose parents are from mexico, the dual language program opens up doors. >> i'm meeting a lot of people that i never thought i'd meet because i've been speaking spanish. >> in the business district, many of the restaurants, offices

and stores are either run by or cater to hispanics. >> there you are. >> half the staff at jeff's market speak spanish and half the products are geared toward hispanics. >> we try to reflect in the store the population that's in the town. >> reporter: given its make up, west liberty is closely watching the national debate over immigration reform. town leaders say at least some of the hispanics living and working here are undocumented. jose zacarias, the only hispanic city council member believes a path to citizenship will empower more hispanics to help run the town in which they are the majority. >> maybe a generation more will be integrated, established in this community. >> reporter: two communities in one trying to grow together in a changing world. mark potter, nbc news, west liberty, iowa. >> meanwhile, in washington, we are six days away from budget cuts known as the sequester going into effect and with

congress having taken the last week off it doesn't seem we're any closer to a deal being reached than we were at this time last week. just how are both sides playing their sequester strategies? joining me to discuss that in the war room is admiral joe sestak, former navy officer and pennsylvania congressman and republican strategist and former aide to george h.w. bush. thank you for being with me, gentlemen. >> good to be with you, mara. >> let's start with the president's strategy. this week he did a bunch of local interviews and the white house issued a bunch of press releases all pertaining to stopping the cuts. next week he takes the show on the road. he'll be traveling to virginia on monday in hopes of urging citizens to put pressure congress to stop the sequester. why is he taking this directly to the public and is that an effective strategy? >> i think he learned a lesson from his very first four years. he'd been elected by a majority, obviously, including moderate republicans. >> when he went to washington as he said about a year ago, he found out he couldn't change

washington from the inside and he forgot his power as the president came from the people, but at the same time i don't think he should swing all of the way over. he still has to govern because government is for the people and he has to sit down with the republicans, i believe, and not have this absence of dialogue between the two parties because at the end of the day the people are going to be harmed by this are the people because this is going to hurt. it's going have a bad impact and i think it isn't just about blaming the other side when the two parties should be holding themselves responsible for having gotten us into this mess. >> and joe watkins, conservative columnist peggy noonan wrote this week, quote, mr. obama has finally hit on his own version of national unity. everyone gets scared together. the president thrives in chaos. do you think that the message he's trying to convey on the road is one of fear? >> i don't know that the message that he's trying to send is bon of fear. obviously, he's trying to figure out what the can cuts would mean for millions of americans and

they would have drastic implications for lots of americans, but joe sestak makes a good point and the president has a chance to be one that he can work for congress. the challenge is not to give speeches to the public about what's wrong with washington and sitting down with members of congress and figuring out where there's consensus and where they can agree together for the sake of the nation and it hurts us to be in this position as congressman wrangle said earlier, we're facing this sad deadline yet again and the president has a real deadline to show just how great a politician he is by actually working with republicans to cobble together an agreement that can move our nation forward. >> admiral sestak, there is a new bloomberg poll that says three in five americans says that the deficit should be curbed by the spending cuts and high earners.

mixing cuts in ord toer to avoid shutdown has been president obama's mantra. if they don't compromise on those issues are the republicans going to lose ground as the deadline nears? >> i don't think it's going to be about losing ground. the bipartisan national debt commission laid out a very good template. it says we needed $2 of spending cuts for every dollar of closure of tax expenditures. i think that's the model. we need $4 trillion, debt reduction over the next decade to have sustainable debt to gdp ratio to where our economy is growing faster than our debt. we already have $1 trillion. two years ago we got cuts on discretionary spending. the let's take this sequester right now, and there's another $trillion. and instead of doing it mindlessly where every program is cut the same, good programs as well as bad once should be stopped, let's make sure it's

the right programs and second, get the other trillion dollars by getting it on tax expenditures as well as debt reduction by spending cuts where it's a two to one ratio. that's the bipartisan principal, constructive and compromised way to do it and that's what the president is the republicans should be about. it's not about party again and it's coming to something where americans might believe that the biggest deficit in america is not the debt. it's the trust deficit. >> joe watkins, that same bloomberg poll found 55% of americans had a favorable opinion of president obama and that's a three-year high. if the deal is reached march 1st. >> he's won the election decisively a couple of months ago. for me it's not really about popularity. for anybody that's listening that knows what it takes to be a good parent, for instance. to be a good parent isn't about being popular. it's about doing the right thing.

he's won a success term and he can't run again as president of the united states. he has a chance to do something good for this country to find ways to get past this -- this impasse and to look as congressman sestak says, at ways to wisely cut the deficit where you look for ways to wisely cut spending and to see where this revenue actually works and to come to an agreement with republicans right now who may be standing in the way of an agreement so we can actually get this thing done. >> if he can get this done, whether he's popular or not it would be a great thing for the united states of america. a great day for us. >> admiral sestak, when it comes to scheduled cuts to the pentagon, he wrote this in the washington gentlemaner washington examiner. after no war in afghanistan, defense spending is scheduled to rise even with sequestration cuts. sir, you were a naval officer and you sat on the armed

services committee, wouldn't you say it's time to cut military cuts anyway? >> there's no question that it could be a shared ak si sacrifice. don't do it in a crazy way. look, we know that like, for example, in 2008 fiscal year 2008 we had $200 billion of cost overrun in our defense department. we actually have -- we cannot follow the money. the defense department can do so much with accountability and the problem with the way we're doing it. when both parties put a gun and play russian roulette to our head are saying just cut everything and rather than stopping a cold war platform from being produced anymore, what they're actually going to be cutting are satellite funding to where we listen in to what al

qaeda's doing and yes, you can be part of shared sacrifice in the defense department, but do it wisely. >> joe watkins, crossroads gps, a super pac released a new ad blaming the president for blaming the sequester in the first place, so let's take a quick listen to that clip. >> the so-called sequester was obama's idea in the first place. he signed it into law. >> the president is part of the sequester. the white house recommended it back in august 2011. >> and it seems like every three months around here there's some manufactured crisis. >> now, joe watkins, you just said it's not about assigning blame and it's about doing the right thing and now we do see so many groups focusing on assigning blame. are they bracing for the fallout from this? >> some people are looking to see how they can diminish their losses in all of this. it's in the big picture for the sake of americans it's not about assigning blame. it's not a matter of blaming the president. it's more important to find a way to fix the problem. $70 billion in non-defense

spending could be cut. dl there are lots of ways to get this done without pointing the finger of blame. the president has to work hard to talk to republicans. >> former pennsylvania congressman and joe watkins. thank you both for being here this afternoon. >> great to be with you, mara. >> coming up, we waved the time machine when the world met the most famous sheep and when former president george h.w. bush announced the first iraq war. you're watching msnbc. [ male announcer ] marie callender's puts

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16 years ago today the world was reacting to the news that scientists in scotland had successfully cloned a sheep. dolly's birth set off a debate among scientists, and many others. six years later she was put down after developing a lung infection. since then dolly, named after dolly parton has been stuffed and put on display at the national museum of scotland in edinburgh. just a few years before dolly hit the scene all eyes

were on the middle east and specifically kuwait. saddam hussein's army had invaded the tiny oil-rich nation in the persian gulf and it was on this day in 1991 that then president george h.w. bush announced the beginning of the allied ground offensive against iraqi forces. here's the nbc news special report from that evening hosted by tom brokaw in saudi arabia. >> the dawn is coming up on the persian gulf and it's 10:00 p.m. eastern standard time and the president of the united states is about to report to the american people in the briefing rom. good evening. yesterday after conferring with my senior national security advisers and following extensive consultations with our coalition partners, saddam hussein was given one last chance set forth

in very explicit terms to do what he should have done more than six months ago, withdraw from kuwait without condition or further delay and comply fully with the resolutions passed by the united nations security council. >> it was about two months later that the late general norman schwarzkopf negotiated the cease-fire with iraqi military leaders ending what was known as operation desert storm. coming up, how using the term gun control has become a bad strategy in the fight against gun violence. plus, new details of how former congressman jesse jackson, jr., lived off his campaign war chest. we'll bring you that right after the break. d. now find the most hard core driver in america. that guy, put him in it. what's this? [ male announcer ] tell him he's about to find out. you're about to find out. [ male announcer ] test it. highlight the european chassis, 6 speed manual, dual exhaust, wide stance, clean lines, have him floor it, spin it, punch it, drift it,

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illinois voters will go to the polls tuesday in a special primary to fill the congressional seat vacated by jesse jackson, jr. jesse pleaded guilty connected

with his use of $750,000 in campaign funds. he resigned after winning re-election. let's bring in ed o'keefe, and lynn sweet, washington bureau chief from "the chicago sun-times." i want to start with you. you were at the courthouse when the former congressman entered his plea and let's listen to what jackson said as he left the court. >> it's not a proud day. i'm sorry i let everybody down. i'm sorry i let everybody down. >> what has the reaction been in chicago from jackson's fall from grace? >> i just saw the back of my head there. >> i thought that might have been you. >> that was me. the reaction is this has been a long time coming. we've been reporting on these charges pending so it's no surprise. i think people are ready to move on. there's great sadness, however, and disappointment in the jackson family for a very important part of chicago's

political fabric and to have this fall come so deep and, remember, it's not only the fall of former congressman jackson, it's also his wife with sandy who was the chicago alderman until just a few weeks ago. she also pled guilty to charges on the same day. their hearings were just a few hours apart. so this may be in the case of the city council, i think she's the 35th alderman since the erle willy '70s who has been convicted of corruption. they've had a string of public officials and two governors in prison in the last few years and this is yet another sad chapter and you're looking for the overview and specifically the jacksons are a family very important to chicago, people are sad and mad. >> on tuesday there will be 22 candidates on the primary slate. the front-runner appears to be former state representative robin kelly. a recent campaign ad focused on

a view on guns and that was funded by mayor michael bloomberg which was spending a reported $2 million on this race so how is big money from the outside changing this and other local races? >> this is the big proxy test. the bloomberg organization now spending much more than just about everyone in that race and if they are able to successfully knock off the woman who was leading at one time, lynn, you can remind me of her name. >> it's former congressman debbie haller haveson. >> if bloomberg is able to pump her rise and push her down and have her lose that's a shot across the the bow at any other democrat or republican who might be a fence sitter when it comes to gun control or might be one way or the other. this is what gun control advocates have been hoping for for years that a well-funded organization would come along to match if not exceed the spending of the national rifle association and possibly become a counterbalance to their

efforts. >> if i can stick with you for a minute, you wrote this week that the group 1 million moms for gun control have used it partially because of the term gun control. how has that come to be something that they could avoid. >> a woman based in indianapolis and she started this group from her kitchen since the days after newtown and was so upset and said i have to do something. she went with that name. 1 million moms for gun control and in the weeks since, in talking to other gun control groups, they've advised her that they've got to change the name, that gun control and we use it in journalism terms is considered a loaded term among gun rights advocates and it's sort of seen as a government grab of firearms and this group made it very clear. we're not trying to take weapons away, we're merely trying to limit them and keep them from people who shouldn't have them. she changed her name, to moms demand action for gun sense in

america and that use of the word sense, common sense or gun safety, gun violence, that's what advocates now prefer to use. >> the washington with post, lynn sweet from "the chicago sun-times," thanks to you both. >> thank you. first lady obama? her element last night and we'll dig into how the first lady's second term in the white house might look more political than the first. first, this wasn't the guy that they were expecting. leon panetta is in europe today representing the u.s. as secretary of defense in the meeting of world leaders. chuck hagel was supposed to be there and we'll let you know how the congressional haggling is playing out on the world stage. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. [ female announcer ] total effects user kim scott still looks amazing.

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i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. let's be clear. it won't be withdrawn. >> absolutely not.

any suggestion to the contrary might be in the results of the meetings. good afternoon, i'm mara schiavocampo and you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. we'll have the latest on chuck hagel's con filmation coming up as well as the sequester backlash that's got both sides pointing fingers. >> former ohio congressman says why he of courses it should be bigger. oscar pest istorius makes bail. what is next for the troubled olympian. >> the nation's governors are meeting today in washington and many are concerned with the sequester and the effect it could have on already hard-hit state budgets. >> the governors should continue to have a seat at the table. we know the cuts are coming and we don't want to suffer disproportionately and we want to have some input in terms of what that looks like. >> republican wisconsin governor scott walker says he supports the pathway to citizen for some

illegal immigrants. it's an issue beth parties need to del with. >> 'democratic lawmakers -- the white house may release some of the benghazi documents and republican members of the senate have been asking for. there are signs the senate will move to condition firm former senator chuck hagel as secretary of defense next week, but it's been a rough go for the nominee and the white house. let's bring back white house correspondent kristen welker. hello again. how likely is it that hagel will be confirmed this week? >> reporter: good afternoon, mara and hello again to you. it seems likely if you talk to democrats and republicans that chuck hagel will be confirmed, but as you point out this has been a rocky process. case in point right now, leon panetta is in brussels representing the united states at that summit discussing things at that summit including the drawdown of troops in afghanistan. that was supposed to be hagel's debut. he is not there, so every day

that goes by, not good for hagel and not good for president obama. if you rewind a little bit, earlier this week on thursday, a group of 15 republican senators wrote a letter to the white house asking president obama to withdraw the nomination of chuck hagel, making the argument that it would be unprecedented for someone to be confirmed without a broad base of bipartisan support. the white house scoffed at that notion and said that they had absolutely no intentions of withdrawing the nomination. white house press secretary jay carney accused republicans of putting politics above national security. chuck hagel certainly didn't help himself. he had a bit of a rocky confirmation hearing according to a lot of people who watched. they felt as though he seemed uncertain, unsure on some of his answer, but again, as things stand right now. if you talk to the people who count the votes in these matters, they believe that chuck hagel does have enough votes to be confirmed. one thing that's interesting, john mccain, remember, has said that he believes chuck hagel

will be confirmed ultimately. john mccain, by the way, was not one of those senators who wrote that letter to the white house asking the president to withdraw chuck hagel's nomination. >> kristen welker e thanks so much with you and we'll check back with you later in the show. >> sounds good. after nearly 40 years in public office, defense secretary leon panetta may have thought he'd be retired by now, but he thought wrong. panetta is still on the job. at a nato brussels in conference, a conference that was supposed to be intended by former senator chuck hagel. hagel has not taken the mantel as they blocked him heading out to recess. mallika henderson, political reporter at "the washington post" and john stanton, washington bureau chief, thank you both for being here. >> john, i want to start with you. citing panetta is not the man that the audience thought they'd be hearing from. does washington's ability portray any weakness to the international community? >> i don't know if it's so much

weakness as more of an inability to sort of get our old house in order which could hurt our hand going forward on afghanistan and dealing with pakistan and, you know, a lot of areas where we're trying to sort of enforce certain notions about how governments should be operating and we really can't get our own government together to take care of the basic functions like having a new secretary of defense in place. you know, that does weaken us a little bit with the partners in europe. we are able to sort of do these kind of things. >> and mallika, now that the house has been out on recess for a week it does seem that the dust has settled and that hagel will be confirmed. so what was plan of the extreme opposition to his nomination? did they accomplish anything? >> they accomplished dragging this out and having their say and airing some of their grievances with hagel over iran and over his break with the republican party in terms of endorsing -- pretty much

endorsing obama and not endorsing john mccain and breaking with bush over his policy on foreign affairs and the war in iraq, specifically, so that was pretty much their point. i think point taken and they wanted to use the stretched out period when they're on recess to see if anything else would come out about senator, the former senator hagel. it hasn't happened. this looks like it will happen next week. he will be confirmed. i think the question going forward not only what signal does this send internationally, but what sort of secretary of defense will hagel be now? of course, he's going have to preside over some of those defense cuts to the pentagon. does this weaken his hand going forward with members of congress on both sides of the aisle? >> if i may follow up on that nia-in alika, the confirmation hearings, what does that suggest the kind of secretary of defense he will be? >> there was a sense from those confirmation hearings that he

wunt real wasn't really prepared on some of the issues specifically the administrati administration's position on iran. he wasn't prepared on those questions and hadn't been reading up on what this administration's policy is in terms of containing and not even containing, but stopping iran from getting a nuclear weapon. so i think that really didn't do him any favors and really ended up dragging this process out much longer than it needed to be. i think it goes to show that in many ways hagel was a nominee that didn't have a cheerleading section in the democratic party or the republican party and so i think he's got some work to do in terms of mending fences going forward. >> john, in an op ed for the hill, major general roger blunt wrote with the 66,000 u.s. troops that remain on the ground in afghanistan and the american forces they protect deserve a secretary of defense not political theater. are those still persisting in their opposition to hagel hurting their own status among military ranks? >> no, i don't think so. i think most of them, several of

them, lindsay graham, for instance, are in the reserves or have served in the military. i think most of the people fighting this are fighting it over some fairly serious notions about him. they're concerned about some of his policies and there are some sort of personal differences, but i don't think it's hurting the republican party with the military at this point, no. >> nia-malika, one republican branch seemed to be his connection to fends of hamas which we learned earlier was justa i result of shoddy journalism and he was not tied to that group which was completely made up, by the way, but as we know false information sticks to people, and for years people believed the president wassa i muslim which proved over and over again. >> the republicans didn't necessarily do themselves any favors with the way they conducted themselves in terms of his friends with hamas which was something that was made up from a journalist and made its way into that hearing. some of the insinuations that

ted cruz made as well, he was in many ways criticized by republicans for going too far in terms of making these insinuations about senator hagel's character. i think this hopefully be water under the bridge for senator hagel. the republicans have made their point. again, we look at the republican party that hasn't had a lot of victories in terms of shaping the debate around foreign policy and in some ways this is what they wanted to do in terms of what senator hagel was able to do at the pentagon. >> and john, a friend of hamas rumor spoke to a concern that many had which is where exactly hagel stands on the u.s.-israel relationship. so is that still his biggest challenge even now moving forward? >> i think so. in the public, i think it will be something that does dog him as he goes forward. he has a problem with putting out the documents. he hasn't handled it very well and it isn't going to be difficult from getting out from

underneath it and certainly in the front end of his tenure, it's going to be tough. >> nia-malika henderson of "the washington post" and we'll come back to you both later this hour. >> thank you. he's out on bail, but faces a murder trial in june. how does oscar pistorius build his legal case? we'll have a live report from south africa. >> after the break, the man who took on his own party. how does steve latouret think he's doing now? he joins me next. you're watching msnbc. ♪ they see me rollin' ♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling they tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to -- [ woman ] hi there. why do we always have to take your mom's car? [ male announcer ] the security of an iihs top safety pick, the 2013 volkswagen tiguan.

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washington who are talking sequester. my next guest who served in

congress for nearly 20 years has quite a bit to say as well. former nine-term ohio representative steve latourette recently wrote an op ed for "the daily beast," who used a word that i can't exactly say on television, former congressman steve latourette joins me now. >> happy to be here. >> the governor's association is meeting in washington and some had a press conference moments ago. let's listen to what governor hickenlooper had to say in this clip. >> sequestration was designed by both the administration and congress as something soed onnious, so repellent that it would force both sides to a compromise. so it can't be any question. this is something that nobody wants. >> so in television-friendly term, please, sir, can you tell us what you think has been the biggest obstacle to reaching a deal here some. >> think the biggest obstacle is that nobody's talking to each

other. the president is going around the country and trying to talk about how it's going to first first responders, hurt this and hurt that. the republicans weren't in town this week and hopefully everyone will be in town next week and that leaves five days and that's not enough time to get this done. as was the case that began with the first budget problem in august 2011 when they do talk, they talk past each other and they're talking to their base rather than talking to each other to try to get the big deal and the op ed that i wrote talked about the fact that people have been saying you haven't gotten a big deal done and you're playing small ball and i have another term of what i thought about that, but the fact of the matter is they're not playing small ball and all they do is govern by crisis. and so even if the republicans came back and said oh, president obama will take your $85 billion deal and even though it raised taxes again, it fixes it for ten months. it's sad. >> when you say they govern by crisis and you spent a long time there in that governing body,

can you tell us a little bit about why it is so hard to change washington and the way they do business? >> absolutely. because if you look at, particularly in the house which is my experience, if you look at the country for the last number of cycles and certainly being from ohio, it's ground zero, we're a very split country between red and blue. so as a result everybody is afraid that if you give an inch you're somehow surrendering or in my case you become a rhino, a republican in name only and you're not the same thing on the democratic side and you have on the republican side the tax problem with of gthe norquist s. and even though people are living to 79 today if you do anything to upset that upper cut you're not a good democrat and that's not conducive to working something out. >> now, house majority leader john boehner is a fellow ox high owe statesman of yours and a longtime ally.

how do you think he's handled this crisis? >> john has the toughest job in washington, and a lot of people think it's the president and after the 2010 election when he became the speaker, there's about 40 of them that really aren't interested in governing. they're more interested in keeping issues alive and the president has the same thing, you know, in his party, as well. it's very difficult, and if you look at the fiscal cliff, one of the last speeches boehner made and i heard in the closed-door meeting was, look, two things are facts. the president's been re-elected and taxes are going up and our challenge is how to work within that set of facts to get something done and there are some people in my party and the other party, as well, that just aren't interested in listening to that. >> i'm curious in that you talk about how difficult speaker boehner was and they're starting to assign blame with this already. how do you think it got to this point and what are the factors that got into this and

ultimately who is responsible? >> i think it's on both houses. if you read about woodward's book and i think it will be in the post tomorrow that clearly sequestration was something that jack thought up during the discussions and you know, the republicans adapted and i voted for it and so to say that it's the president's fault here, it's counterproductive. we got here with at least in this last generation, in my opinion in august 2011 when the president and the speaker were meeting behind closed doors that reached the simpson-bowles type agreement, and they were both pulled back from the extreme wings of their party and ever since then nothing productive, nothing good has happened in washington, in my opinion, since then. >> let's talk about your life after washington. you are heading a centrist organization called republican mainstream partnership. what's the version of what you think how you think we can solve the budget problem? >> i think people should grab

whatters kin bowles came up with and the 600 billion in taxes that were raised in taxes only leaves you with 2.4 drill twron and i can say 2.4 trillion only in washington speak, but they just embrace what they came out with, it would actually solve the problem and you wouldn't be revisiting this question every 60 days and every 90 days and president obama could push his bowles agenda that he wants to push for the second term and america can get back to work because business people would know what the taxes are and what their regulations are and what the health care costs would be and we could go back to main street and leading our lives. >> the state of ohio, every election cycle is a crucial swing state that has both parties desperately coveting it. it voted blue in 2012, what do you think it would take to win a republican candidate to win in 2013? >> they have to be normal and by normal, the reason we're at the center of it all and that's what

my license plates say, we come from all walks of life. we really are the melting pot and you don't have the extremes of right or left. people just want the government to function in ohio and the reason in my opinion that president obama was successful in 2012 is governor romney had been taken so far to the right in those republican primary debates that by the time he got back and attempted to come back to the center after the colorado debate it was too late and people said this guy, you know -- this guy's way out there and the president, even though some people were not quite in love with what he'd done in his first term, they thought he was a safe bet and mitt romney was not. >> that's great political advice. be normal. i like that. >> former congressman stevela tourette, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. we'll talk to one of the organizers of the day of resistance about the message they hope to send to washington. >> but first, who knew there was a papal popularity contest?

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can make any old day a special occasion. so she makes her new mini cream pies with real cream filling and milk chocolate on a cookie-crumb crust. marie callender's. it's time to savor. the vatican today is strongly denying rumors about a gay underground network and blackmail involving priests at the vatican. the italian newspaper "la repubblica" published a bombshell report and said that he decided to resign after the gay priests that some were products of blackmail. it is regrettable that as we draw near to the beginning of the conclave news reports about which are often unverified, or not verifiable or false are damaging to people and institutions. tomorrow is the pope's very last sunday blessing before he steps down on february 28th. in america, a new poll out

this week shows that pope benedict is well liked and the majority of emergency 64%, to be exact, support his unusual decision to abdicate next week, while considering a popular pope with the 54% favorability rating he is 13% less popular than his presses predecessor likability rating. not personally as popular, pope benedict xvi does have something on pope john paul ii, the catholic church experienced a 6% increase in favorability, up from 56% during pope john paul ii's tenure and that's what the survey says. coming up, she beats out her husband in almost every popularity poll. now michelle obama is back on the road and we'll look at what the second term may hold for the first lady. first, the latest from south africa on where the olympic star accused of murder is now a day after being released on bail. you're watching msnbc.

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more than 100 days after hurricane sand e some storm victims in new jersey are going home for the first time. officials of the small beach town are finally letting people move back this weekend. it's the last jersey shore town to give resident the okay, but there's still a long way to go. about 60 of the town's houses were completely destroyed and hundreds more were badly damaged. i'm mara schiavocampo and here's more of the top stories making news now. massachusetts police tell the a.p. report that the gunman at m.i.t. was a hoax. they put the college campous lockdown. now they say the reports were unfounded and there was, quote, no threat to public safety. more nasty weather in new england. states like boston and providence are bracing for the third weekend in a row of snow, ice and rain. the national weather service says some areas of massachusetts could get as much as another foot of snow. nascar fans are gearing up for the daytona 500 this

weekend. all eyes are on danica patrick. the first woman in history to earn a top starting spot in the race. this afternoon, olympic star turned murder suspect oscar pistorius is free on bail. hiftorius is accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp on valentine's day. prosecutors say he shot her through the bathroom door in the dark. michelle kosinski is in prooe pretoria, south africa, with the latest. >> reporter: we saw him go back to the home of his uncle yesterday after the ruling was heard in court and he was with his family. it's assumed for now that is where he will be because he's not allowed to go back to his own home which is the scene of the alleged crime and that's just one of many conditions of bail for him. he has to surrender his passports, guns, can't use alcohol or drugs. needs permission to leave his town and needs to check in with police twice a week starting, we are told, on monday. that's for the time being.

his next court appearance is not until june. presumably, that gives him plenty of time to live his life under those restrictions and the hearing to have a judge formally read against him and he's accused now of premeditated murder and he has not entered a plea and we can presume based on the defense has laid out that he will plead not guilty, but that has to happen officially. from there, it will move on to trial and we know here that in serious cases, similar cases with these kinds of charges, it could take two years for it to get to trial, but with the eyes of the world on this, many think it could be sped up and there are no jury trials here. so when he goes to trial heel be before a judge and that's because with so much diversity of culture and language here, so difficult to assemble what would be considered a jury of peers that they did away with juries. so his case will go before a

single judge and depending on how it turns out, if he wanted to appeal, say, a conviction he would then go before a panel of five judges. that, though, as we said could be a long, long way out at this point. mara? >> michelle kosinski in south africa. thank you for that. >> that was michelle obama on "late night with gemmy fallon," showing off her evolution of mom dancing. she's on a tour to promote exercise and eating. the white house released two public service announcements featuring big bird set to run on several pbs stations next week. >> no matter what your age, it's important to get your body moving every single day to help keep you healthy. >> look, mrs. obama, i'm getting moving right now by jogging.

>> joining me now for more on this, is leah goldman with "marie claire" magazine. >> we've seen the first lady enlist rachael ray to dr. oz and how would you rate the success of it? >> it's been a successful platform for the first lady, impressively so, i would say. she's seen some really significant results, actually, and typically you see first lady adopt these platforms and they go on the road with them and they do appearances for them, and we've actually seen some effects of this tour. for example, she's going out to mississippi, and since she started this let's move campaign, mississippi has seen a 13% drop of childhood obesity rate and that is the heaviest state in the nation so that's pretty impressive. >> let's look at poll numbers on the first lady. a poll taken two months ago shows that 73% of americans approve of the way she's handling her job. so should she leverage this popularity more for political

issues and should she step into hot button issues like immigration and same-sex marriage? >> look, it's very early in the second term and i would argue she's leveraging her popularity and this fallon appearance was huge. you go to facebook and twitter, that's all anybody is talking about today. it was fun. it was accessible and it spoke to young people in a really fun and light way and so she's amassing all this capital and down the road, maybe we'll see her use it for other issues, but she's got two big impressive campaigns right now. the let's move campaign and she's working on behalf of military families and this is no small thing. >> does it transfer over to her husband? does he see benefits of that? >> there are some gains, it says a lot about a man who he's married to and she's a very likable personality. i'm sure it rubs off. >> i want to talk about the very important issue of her bangs. >> the bangs! >> the bangs! last week or it might have been this week she unveil herd new

official white house portrait which i think we have a picture of, they are cemented in history because they're in the official portrait and show she spoke to rachael ray and she said the bangs were a result of a mid-life crisis and you write for women's magazines that women get bangs when they're going through a period of crisis, whether it's a breakup or a job change or mid-life crisis. what's the deal with that? >> i hope that when i go through a mid-life crisis i come out looking as good as the first lady does. i would say she's having a spotlight moment. she looks great and she's in shape in the best shape of her life. if that's the crisis, we should all be in such a crisis. >> she looks great. leah goldman with "marie claire" magazine, we appreciate your time. >> the tea party has declared today a did i of resistance. several rallies are under way in response to the 23 executive orders on gun safety next month.

he hopes to send a message to every politician to oppose gun control measures. >> with me now on the phone is the organizer of the day of resistance, dustin stockton with teaparty.net. thanks for being with me this afternoon. >> thanks for having me. can i have one -- >> i want to say hi to ashley, emily, abigail and tell them i love them and to give their baby brother a kiss. >> who are those people? >> those are my daughters. >> oh, that's very sweet. you can always give a shout out to your kids. now that we've got that out of the way, tell me why are you holding these events. >> i believe there is something wrong with the government. there are a lot of policy that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. my life was violently disrupted as part of the housing collapse and i don't believe that that has been solved yet, and i don't believe that the second amendment is negotiable at all. the only way that it can be

changed is through the constitutional amendment process and if people want to control gun ownership they have to do it the legal and just way, and it's also about just getting people together in person so they're not so afraid of each other. >> now, the rallies that are taking place today, february 23rd and some of the promotional materials including on your website, the event is day of resistance .223. we're showing the website on the air right now and some say that's a reference to the 223 magazine, the same kind used in the rifle in the adam lanza shooting. is there a significance in the day that you're choosing. >> you're taking a bit of a leap going back to sandy hook. we did select januafebruary 23,

because it's also the day we raised the flag that we raised the flag in iwo jima and it's a day that people can come out that work regular work hours. >> what we often hear from those who support your position is that this is really about the will of the people, but a lot of americans do, in fact, support some form of gun control reform. in a gallop poll the americans -- >> i'm sorry, i didn't hear you. >> polls do not make right. >> i will let you -- i'll give you an opportunity to respond to that, but let me quickly go through the numbers about what americans say on the issue. we have the gallup poll, 91% said they would support background checks and 54% limit the amount of gun magazines to ten rounds and 56% of americans support a ban on assault-style weapons and how do you respond to those numbers with what you're doing with these rallies. on one, on background checks

that there are background checks in place and i have no problem if i want to discuss the cost benefit analysis of changing those things, but on banning the ar-15 that's a step too far. an assault weapons ban, a, they're not assault weapons and most of them are used as defense weapons and not assault weapons and if you want to change that. it doesn't matter what the polls say, you have to go through the legal process to change that and that's not what's trying to be -- that's not what's being done with dianne feinstein still or the executive actions taken by the president. >> and dustin, speaking of using them in a defensive capacity, vice president joe biden made a lot of waves this week when he had to say about that in the facebook form. let's listen to that, quickly. >> if you want to protect yourself get a double barrel shotgun. you don't need an ar-15. it's harder to aim.

it's harder to use and, in fact, you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself. buy a shotgun. buy a shotgun. >> so what do you say, dust snin do americans need a high-capacity magazine for home protection? >> i believe i am not the judge of what people need to practice their natural right of self-preservation. it is not my judgment to make for them and nor is it anyone else's judgment to make for me what kind of weapon i feel comfortable defending my home, my property and my family. >> organizer of the day of resistance. >> what the impending budget cuts may mean for main street usa. the perspective coming up. there was talk about the gop restraining, itself. it looks a lot of the same. you're watching msnbc, the place

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flights to major cities like new york, chicago, and san francisco and others could experience delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours because we have fewer controllers on staff. delays in these major airports will ripple across the country. >> that was transportation secretary ray lahood friday warning how the looming mandatory cuts could affect american people. the impact of sequestration could reach beyond to employees directly affected. let's bring in gene marks. he writes for small business for "the new york times" and forbes upon. thanks so much for being on. >> thanks so much. >> we heard of secretary ray lahood talk about air travel if the cuts are imposed. you could that trickle down to the economy? >> when you talk about small businesses and how they'll be impacted by the sequester cuts you have to kind of take into consideration that there are 20 to 30 million small businesses.

so people that are doing work in certain areas, certain regions or certain industries that might be affected by a government cutback, those people will be affected, but if you're a small business owner and the accountant and the lawyer, even, a lot of them aren't going to be seeing a whole lot of effect of any cuts coming out. >> let's take a look at what the white house had to say about that. they say, quote, the automatic cuts triggered by a sequester would reduce loan guarantees to small businesses by up to $102 million. what do you have to say about that effect? >> it could reduce loan guarantees and that's exactly right expect and that depends on small businesses looking for loans. we're still in a credit crunch right now. a lot of the businesses that i know and i write about that a lot of my clients are still struggling to get loans because they still can't even meet some of the requirements even under the loan guarantees. most of the owners i talk to no one's panicking because there the 3% to 5% cut if spending for

the federal government next year. a lot of small business owners do that themselves and they get and understand what that's all about when there say budget cut. >> in what way will average americans feel the results of the sequester. >> it also depends on where those average americans are. if they're working and living near an air force base or if they happen to work in an industry that's dealing a lot with, say, the military, they may feel a lot of cuts or a lot of pain because of this, but that will be gradual over the years. again, when you're looking at the military, they've doubled in size over the past ten years and cutting 5% of the military's budget, you and i both know there's probably a lot of waste and a lot of ways to find those savings and just from the small business owner's standpoint, we get it. we understand that sometimes it has to happen and, look, i don't think you or me want to pass down the debts and deficits of the government running down to our kids and we know something has to be done and a lot of

business owners i talk to may know that too. >> the sequester was trying to force both sides of the table to feeing thur out. do you think the administration and republicans in congress are doing what they need to do to prevent the cuts from taking place? >> the super committee never came to any kind of an agreement to reduce the budget deficit so the sequester automatically took place. look what it's doing though, mara, it is reducing the deficit. unless something happens those cuts will take effect. when i speak to other business owners like myself and we see trillion dollar deficits being whacked off every year with the debt and growing it concerns us very much. frankly, the fact that the super committee didn't come to that agreement and these automatic sequesters are now taking effect and it's actually some real action that's happening to reduce the deficit. and i think a lot of business owners are happy to see that. you're the first guest we've had that sees the silver lining in the sequester.

>> doing my best. thanks so much for being here. >> take care. >> look whoeya coming to dinner, the re-emergence of mitt romney and what it might mean for the gop coming up. this is msnbc, the place for politics. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ club scene music ] [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. this is what it's like... paying full price for a hotel room. and this is what it's like getting a high-end hotel room for 45% off published prices... ... with travelocity's top secret hotels. ooo, tingly.

are the republicans rebranding or is the gop staying set in its grand old ways. more speakerser were announced for cpac, among those that made the cut, sarah palin, and rick santorum, a former presidential candidate and former massachusetts governor and presidential candidate, mitt romney. we have our panel here to discuss this further with us. so, i will start, republicans got crushed in the 2012 election, what is the point of inviting a bunch of people who lost to a conference that is intended to fire up the base? >> we have to ask the folks who

are accepting the invitation and want to go before that crowd. mitt romney has laying low since losing in november and perhaps it's part of his effort to rebrand himself. we know of course, he was never too close to the conservative wing of his party, he went to cpac last year and declared himself a severe conserve. for him, as well as somebody like santorum and sarah palin, this is an opportunity for them to step back in the spotlight and try to rebrand themselves. >> john, cpac is the conference where mitt romney dropped out of the presidential candidate in 2008, and herman contain brought down the house saying stupid people are running america. >> i think it will be a bit of entertainment. they bring a random mix of interesting speakers that give us a lot of great quotes to

write about. >> and, you know, the national governor's association is convening in d.c. this weekend and there are republican governors that are shifting from hard line conservative issues, john, should we expect to see more of a shift to the middle when it comes to republican governors accepted president obama's health care law? >> among the governors yes. it's the law of the land. these benefits are out there that their constituents are taking advantage of. if they do not take advantage of it, they will be harshly dealt with. they are dealing with a political rally at this point. at the national level, members of congress, you will not see anything like that. they are planning to votes to repeal obama care and parts of obama care later this year. the governors have a more real problem that they are facing

right now. >> and speaking of shifting to the middle, on friday, the obama administration filed a brief calling for the supreme court to strike down the -- do you think that same sex marriage something -- is something that we will see republicans supporting? >> we have seen a lot of softening as being opposed to same sex marriage. with don't ask don't tell in 2010, there were eight republicans that voted for the repeal of that. we have seen a cultural shift and i think that republicans will be swept along by this tide where most people back same sex marriage. it's difficult for republicans to on the one hand argue for limited government. government get off milan sort of politics. but, at the same time, say that government should legislate who

should be allowed to get mary. . >> former utah governor john huntsman who ran for president last year wrote, conservatives should start to lead again and push states to join the nine others that allow their citize s s to marry how much pull does he have? >> he that has no pull. if you ask them privately about this issue, a lot will say, it's something they should not be worried about or they have no problem with gay people getting married but they have groups putting pressure on them. if the majority of the country has shifted, which a lot of people are going to sort of argue right now, that part of the country has not shifted and they sort of dug in and retrenched to a certain degree and the leadership of the party is just unwilling to do anything to upset them over an issue like this right now.

>> yet, you know, we have seen in republicans in the past come out of this dick cheney and former first lady laura bush was used in an ad this week which she asked to be removed from. are we seeing a shift? >> a little shift. ken melman came out as gay, and so, maybe under a behind the scenes, we are seeing something of a shift. there's the religious right that is still a big part of the republican party, but there's the the part of the party that has a view that government should not be involved in this level of legislating people's lives. we are seeing a rebranding that is going on with the gop and also younger republicans not necessarily wanting to go into this period where the social conservatives really dominate the party in the way they did in the' 80s and '90s and i think it

will take time. john is right, there's still a pretty substantial wing of the republican party that because of religious reasons and legitimate religious reasons do not want want to see same sex marriage. >> okay, we will leave it there, thank you both. >> thank you. >> still to come, john kerry's world tour, what it's all about. coming up. and a guide inside the sequester, what that is all about and what it will mean for you, this is msnbc, the place for politics. for your first day? yeah. ♪ dad: you'll be fine, ok? girl: ok. dad: you look so pretty. ♪ i'm overprotective. that's why i got a subaru.

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try to accomplish and why is he not going to israel. a former fbi cyberer security weighs in. and defending private manning. i will speak to a representative of the bradley manning support network who is rallying for the whistle blower's release. the nation's governors are meeting in washington today, the governors are speaking out to make sure that washington is not putting the burden of the sequester on their states. >> don't pass the balancing the federal budget on the backs of the state governments because we are still recovering too from the national recession that we have been through. >> wisconsin governor scott walker, a republican said friday that he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. take a listen. >> i think for anyone who is standing in line, and at a minimum for people waiting to come into the country legally, we need to make sure they have gotten status first, they have

been waiting and following the rules. after that, if you enable people to come in and provide a legal path way to do that, that is something we have to embrace. >> and this just in, secretary of state john kerry is campaigning for a movie. tweeting good luck ben aflack and "argo." kerry signed the tweet with his initials. jk, president obama is making it clear that he believes congress must take action to prevent the sequester, mr. obama said friday, after meeting with japan's prime minister that it's not too late to solve the crisis. let's take a listen. okay. we do not have that sound. we will try to bring it to you later. let's bring in our white house correspondent. thank you for coming back. how likely is it that the sequester will be averted? >> i have been talking to economists, people who are watching this from the outside,

it seems like hopes are diminishing for a deal to get done by march 1st. at this point in time, it seems like what is more likely is that we will see the sequester kick in for a few weeks and then see congress and the white house deal with it when they continue with continuing resolution. it's something that is giving a lot of people kenner as they watch these events unfold. of course, that march 1st deadline just six days away now. and economists have warned that the economy could be impacted. the obama administration painting a dire picture of what we could see if the sequester goes into effect, as many as 800,000 defense department civilians would be furloughed, you would see thousands of teachers potentially furloughed as well, it could impact the faa, out going transportation secretary ray lahoud on friday warned that the entire air travel system could slow down, that could impact travelers and

could see flights cancelled or delays. some republicans accused the obama administration of using scare tactics to try to strong arm republicans, they say they are not going to be moved by that. the sticking points are really similar to what washington has been arguing over now in these budget battles with president obama saying that any deal has to include new tax revenue as well as -- reform. it is solely focused on reform, and president obama said he is not going to go along with. that he believes he has the public on his side. if you look at the polls the majority of americans agree with president obama's approach. not a lot of negotiations going on behind the scenes. i can tell you that president obama has said he will be in contact with members of dwres throughout the weekend and in to next week, very little to show for those conversations at this

point in time. there's really no deal in sight. just six days out. >> all right, thank you, live from the white house. thank you for that. >> thanks. >> in six days a mandatory $80 billion spending cut will you envelope congress unless they come to agreement. thafrmgs for being here. >> thank you. >> now, you tackled the washington impass this week in the confused person's guide to sequester politics. what are we liked to see on march 1st? >> we are liked to see the sequester go into effect for everyone to release statements claiming how angry they are about this. and then negotiations to go on to deal with a resolution. this is not what people wanted when they put it together. if you talked to republicans a month ago, they were describing sequester as one of the great leverage points to force white house to the table and agree to

cuts. frankly, i want to say, they misunderstood the politics. it's not great for democrats or great for the presidents if there's a negative impact. but he does not have to run for re-election, they do. they are scrambling in their districts talking about maybe, we can undo some of this at the end of the movement you are looking at a messy month negotiation. nothing this week. >> we have spoken to a few politicians that say it's not who is blame, but a lot of people are setting up blame, bracing for the fall out. you mentioned, this was supposed to be a deterrent, if the sequester goes into place. whose fault is that? >> well, the only reason this was set up in the first place is that republicans wanted the debt limit in 2011, the increase of the debt limit to come with mandatory cuts and the white house said, okay, we will create a program so bad, we will undo it and we will negotiate down the line on a package of cuts

and reform that we can deal with. it's depressing to cover. nothing has changed in 18 months. if you looked at what john boehner was saying to his conference when they passed this, telling them to please go along and support thmpt he was promising that no sequestration was going to have tax increases and the white house was saying that it had to include tax increases. even with the super committee, that was what collapsed it. the democrats said they wanted to race tax increases and again, the leverage that republicans thought they had here does not exist. that is why they tried to create it out of thin air, by having some allies in the media, point out that it was hr idea in the first place. the problem is that people understand correctly that republicans are the party that want to cut things. if you read this week, what republicans are saying when they go back to the district republicans are saying it's not a big deal. members that do not have bowing

plants and defense contracts are saying look, we need to cut something, republicans are not in a good position to undo it or blame anyone. >> you say that the public intuitively sees the republican party as the party that wants to cut things. does that mean that the party by default will accept responsibility for it if it happens? >> they will try and blame the president for not leading. but what i think -- i'm not sure how they will do it yet, democrats have come up with a framework, a bill they can pass to replace this with basically 48% tax increases, 53% spending cuts. let's replace the sequester with that. the house has dared them to do that. if you ask them, there's no sequest sequester replacement that has passed this year. they will say, we have done our part, passed the senate. the democrats will try to shift the blame back, republicans do not have a plan. if you called up ten republican lawmakers you would not hear ten

identical answers. you may hear -- some of them know how hard it is to cut spending and if this is all they can get, they are willing to do it and negotiate it later. that is the problem that was set up when they had this confrontation in the first place. >> thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> well, tomorrow, secretary of state john kerry sets off on the first official trip on his post, he will go to germany, england, france, italy, turkey, the uae and cutter. so what is the significance of where he is going and where is he not going? joining me now is former u.s. ambassador, who was a key negotiator. thank you for being here. >> time is running out for the

government, and secretary kerry said, i'm not going to be accused of enter fearing in the process. are there kenners about what it will do to the relationship with america? >> because of the somewhat dysfunctional relationship between the president and the prime minute ter, there's people that will read too much into it, but secretary kerry has a close rep with the prime minister and they are quite comfortable with that. >> in the first trip of former secretary of state hillary clinton, she went to asia, what is the significance of where kerry is going? >> it's the pivot to asia. and as i wrote over the past weekend, the pull of the turbulence in the middle east compels the secretary of state to make the trip to the middle east. he should be given a great deal

of president. he is really determined to try to break the impass with respect to syria and explore how arab tates are going to deal with the inevitable confrontation that is looming if negotiations fail over iran's nuclear weapons program. >> i'm glad you raised the issue of syria, do you think he will be able to accomplish anything in regards to this conflict on the trip? >> when he was chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. secretary of state kerry went often to syria. he had made it a goal to try to ween the president of syria away from iran and try to effect reform him. well, we know what has happened since then. he has turned into one of the greatest tyrants in the middle east history. but secretary kerry at this point in time, believes that he has a plan that would bring the russians as well as more arab states into try to prevent syria

from -- exploding. the longer the bloody problem in syria continues, the worse off the situation will be. they are trying to fashion a joint approach to show us the exit. >> now, hillary clinton left her role with great pomp and circumstance. we know a lot about benghazi, what are the other possible complications that she left behind? >> one of the northeast important issues is the situation in egypt. secretary kerry will go to cairo and meet with morsi. he is the president of egypt, who is going to visit in april in washington. there's great kenner over his grab for power. there's also the spread off al

qaeda cells and it's the iran issue that is most upsetting to our arab ally states in the persian gulf, i have not mentioned iraq or other challenges, and there's a lot including mali that the secretary of state has on his agenda as well. >> how much can he do in a trip like this? if we talk about how the u.s. is perceived. all of the different challenges, what can we expect him to do. >> they are disenchanted with the america's stand-offish attitude on syria. for the last two years we have been unwilling to in effect engage full throttle to try and resolve the diplomatic crisis.

most people understand it would be a bad idea to provide weapons to the syrian opposition at this point in time given the configuration of the country. the most important point is to try to engage and get the sectarian leadersh sectarian leadership to be more responsive. secretary kerry has a grasp of the issues and he goes into the issues really knowledgeable but mindful that it will be a hard situation. >> he mentioned during the confirmatin hearing. how do we expect him to be different? >> one thing, secretary clinton had a lot of czars. she appointed several people. george mitchell to handle the middle east. and i think secretary kerry has a desire and an ambition to put

the range of diplomacy in his own hands. >> thank you for providing a segue to our plug for tomorrow's show. coming up. comedian coman o'brien gets ready to take on one of the toughest crowds of his career. and later, he is the man who gave wikileaks hundreds of thousands of classified do you means and rallies are held around the world to call for his release. we will sixty one of the supporters why. and some of the worst cyber attacks are coming from china, what that means. you are watching msnbc. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke.

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>> it is possible that the next pearl harbor could be a cyber attack. that you could in fact cripple our, as i said, our power grid system, our government systems, and it would have one hell of an impact on the united states of america. >> a report was released that chinese hacking has been attacking u.s. chinese media have dismissed the reports as groundless. >> let's bring in sean, he is a former high ranking official of the fbi's cyber crime branch. thank you for being here today. >> thank you for having me. >> the number of washington institutions hacked in recent years is quote, huge, saying the list of those hacked in recent years includes law firms, think

tanks, news organizations, human rights groups, contractors congressional officers and federal agencies. how vulnerable are the merp -- are the american businesses to the cyber attacks. >> anybody connect to the internet is vulnerable. a determined adversary will get into any network. >> we heard from leon panetta talking about the disaster that could happen. what are the ways that it could be used against the american people? >> you can see adversaries trying to get into infrastructure to try to get into the country, the same way they did trying to fly planes into buildings. looking at impacting power systems. the power grid, transportation, communications and the like. the very infrastructure that keeps the country running and by impacting that infrastructure, disrupting it, it would have a

cascading effect on the country and have a long-term impact. >> if we are evaluating the threats, the loss of life, the disruption of services, what is the impact on the country if something like that happens? >> so far what we have seen is what many call electronic spying. with the depth and breadth of the access that they have on the network they have the ability to turn off networks or turn seths of them or destroy them. if you can imagine, portions of seths of industry, if they are shut down for a longer period of time, you can see what that impact may be. >> china is denying reporting that they are behind the tacks. if they are behind them, why are we interested in getting into the american business systems? >> the dna of all the organizations online right now. everything that we do, day in and day out, is transmitted or

stored on the network. and corporations are putting their most sensitive intellectual property. financial information, corporate strategies, etcetera, on the network, they use it to make our lives more effective and efficient. but the adversaries know that is where the information is, and it's of incredible value. if you imagine, sucking out the data and being able to utilize it and to inform your manufacturing firms and you would only have to items for pennies on the dollar because you do not need to do the research. the adversaries he know it and they are using it for a competitive advantage. >> the u.s. has been involved in a computer attack. it's widely believed that the u.s. and israel created and implanted a computer worm, is

that the new front on which countries will confront each other? >> anything that is connect to a network is vulnerable. and adversaries will seek always for that type of advantage. and they will use the network as a tool or a weapon to impact their competitors and to try to gain that type of advantage. >> all right, sean henry of crown strike services thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> coming up the u.s. mill tear sends troops to kren rally africa, even though they will not be the ones on the front lines. first, the first lady breaks it down right here at 30 rock. watch michelle obama and jimmy fallon bust a move. that is coming up. you are watching msnbc. i have low testosterone. there, i said it. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor.

we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. 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 breastfeeding, 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.

so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. so i can't afford to have germy surfaces. but after one day's use, dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of new bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's durable, cloth-like and it's 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel. the durable, cloth-like picker-upper. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox.

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>> check out these moves. that is michelle obama showing off the evolution of mom dancing on late night with jimmy fallon, she travels to mississippi, chicago next week to promote healthy living. who said that you have to go to medical school to be a doctor believe it or not. former governor david paterson is now a doctor. he is going to teach health care and public policy. so that is dr. paterson to you. the question everyone is asking is did jose conseco tweet his way to the white house correspondent dinner. that chuck hagel will be confirmed. he asked at least 1 journalist to introduce him to a former indiana senator. he was invited to the dinner on

buzz feed. conan o'brien will headline the correspondent dinner. he hosted back in 1995 when president clinton was in the white house and oj simpson was on trial. let's take a listen to the sample of the performance. >> when i got the invitation i was thrilled that i would be speaking in the same room with the most powerful man in the country. and -- well then i heard that judge eto cancelled. >> the white house correspondents dinner is scheduled for april 27th. coming up, a d.c. game of operator that went wrong this week. we will bring you the details later and barack obama promised transparency in his presidency, did he overplay his hand? you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. ♪ they see me rollin' ♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling they tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪

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>> more winter weather for new england, a storm from chicago is heading straight for that region, and bringing snow, sleet and ice with it. this is the third weekend in a row of severe snow in boston and providence, they are still digging out from the earlier blizzard this month. here is a look at the other top tors. oscar pistorius is out on bail today. he was let out on bail yesterday, he is not allowed to have guns, drink alcohol or leave south africa as he awaits trial. he is accused of killing his girlfriend on valentine's day. drones in africa? president obama said that 100 american troops are setting up a new drone base in niger, they will be used to conduct surveillance. and the oscars may be tomorrow but the razzies are tonight t golden razzie's are given out for the year's worst movies.

well, it's been nearly thousand days since private first class bradley manning was arrested on suspicion of releasing sealed records. joining me now from san francisco, a site of a rally, is brad patterson of the bradley manning support network. thank you for being here. >> absolutely. no problem. >> manning has been in prison for three years and has gone through pretrial hearings but is til waiting for trial. what is happening this week? >> we have a motion to dismiss, based on him not getting a speedy trial. he is guaranteed of a trial under 120 days. the military has gone beyond the 120 days. he is nearing 1,000 days without

a trial. and we have events in 70 different locations around the world in weekend to protest the fact. >> the charges against manning, if proven do not make him a sympathetic character and a lot of people feel that way right now. why is it a cause that you took took on? there's a lot of people that see the benefit of what he provided to the world. basically, he released data of government wrong-doing and of war crimes. we know we have a much better idea of what our government did with our tax dollars in iraq and afghanistan, than without him. it's important to remember, that no single person was harmed because of the release of this information. and there was no harm to our foreign policy beyond hillary clinton, you know, having to speak to some people. so, we are looking at a young man, who was trying to do the right thing by exposing

wrong-doing. that harmed nobody. he was 22 years old at the time, an army private, and yeah, he is facing life in prison. if we look at just hsbc, the banking money laundering settlement, $1.9 billion last week. and not one banker is going to prison for the high crimes and yet, again this yoing 22-year-old -- >> so then, if i may, what is the he key issue for you? is it that you do not see that much wrong with the crime he committed and you think it may be honorable or is that it that he has not received a speedy trial as guaranteed by the constitution? >> he has not received a speedy trial and he was tore churd by the marines in the marine base. something that has been admitted to. and in fact, and then he is facing life in prison. so, yes, he may have broken

military regulations. but, is the punishment of life in prison for trying do the right thing equal to these military regulations that were violated. if he is, you know, a reasonable person could say, well, we need to punish this kid. but, the reasonable person would also look at the,0 thousand day and the nine months of torture that he endured and say the military made their point. if he is facing decades in prison. we are talking about a young man who is going to be left behind after the wars are long done and yet, the benefit to society from knowing what happened with our tax dollars far out weighed the inconvenience and you know having hillary clinton having a bad day or two over this information. >> all right, jeff paterson, thank you for your time this afternoon. >> absolutely. >> president bomb promis-- pres

obama offered transparency. there was an effort to not endajer tendaj danger the confirmation of the new director. we have a panel here, thank you for being with me. >> great to be here. >> i want to ask about the bradley manning case that we just discussed. president obama came into office saying he would close guantanamo bay and promised a more transparent administration. so with bradley manning sitting in jail for three years, does that fly in the face of the white house message of openness? >> there's an irony here that everything that bradley manning helped release was embarrassing to the state department, the it

was not a threat to the national security. the irony is that it showed a well functioning state department. but most people understand there's a line between transparency and risking the national security and while there was nothing damaging in those cables, there certainly could have been. the question to his punishment is a different thing. but as to their potentially being damage here, i think that people understand that. >> and this week the new york times said that the president is going to try to release information on the republican's role in the benghazi attack. but they will not be releasing information on drones that democrats have requested. how will the strategy play out? >> this is tricky. i think, you know the dangers that the more information they give them and the more documents, the more e-mails they release. you have to wonder when will

they be satisfied. they going to just demand documents and more information are they using it to possibly damage hillary clinton in the up coming election. and so we have a approximate president, as you mentioned, he set his own bar high f. one thing that is important to remember. i think, you know, people like the president. people generally trust him. he is popular. that does not mean he gets a pass on anything that we say relates to national security. we have to look at this in the most impersonal terms and not base it on whether or not we support this president. >> as we mentioned the president campaigned on the issue of transparency, he spoke about wanting to change washington in that way and there were critics that say he has not in fact done that. does this show that washington has changed him in effect as

opposed to the other way around? >> it shows what happens to people who get in power. they get in power and start to behave the same as the person they replaced. he has prosecuted more whistle blowers than george w. bush. let's thing about it. they are trying though holdup brennan's nomination, because they want him to recognize that drones could kill american's on american ground. >> any republican president, think if it was different how would -- how would the public react to in? >> the do you think there's a double standard in the way it's

being covered? of course, there's a double standard. it's well documented at the point. and remember, the technology is moving. president obama has opportunities to do things that george bush does not have. he can subpoena millions cell phone conversations, and we do not have the right to see who they are spying on. sms thg they can do now. there's a affiliation with the media and the president -- >> and the personal affiliation. he is well liked. guys, stay there. and coming up, we will talk about inindications of a kumbaiya, all of that just ahead. jenna shared her recipe with sharon,

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bipartisan group in the white house -- in the house is making quote, good progress on i am gragds -- on immigration reform bill. thank you for being here with me. i want to start, several lawmakers agree on capitol hill on coming up with a immigration reform bill, what is next for this? >> i think there are still a few stumbling points and the big one, the big one is the path to citizenship, we have seen people in the -- leaders in the house, they are tending towards legalization, meaning people will be given the lawful right to stay. but not citizenship. that is huge, you know, that is a big deal, not only to the overwhelming majority of latinos that support it. but at this point a majority of americans support the citizenship for the undocumented. and there's going to be a discrepancy for the timeline for citizenship. the republicans favor a longer

and vague path. whereas the senate plan and president's plan want it more streamlined and accessible. those are the points that i think, will be very controversial when they come to nailing it down. >> and kristi, the bipartisan party is working on this. ed rendell and others agree in getting immigration reform passed. is there anything that can break the rare bipartisan comradery? >> there's a striking amount of bipartisan ship going, and it started after the election, when the republicans had a stunningly low amount of latino support. you saw the u.s. chamber come together on shared principals. we believe that the senate gang of eight is going to release their plan next month. so it's an issue where very strange bed fellows have come together. the sticking point, again of course, is the -- the house

republican party saying that they don't want a path to citizenship. that is really politically short-sighted for them. something like 3 in 10 latino voters say they would be more likely to vote republican if they supported comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. >> there was an article about democrats wanting to turn texas blue. 38% of people in texas are hispanic. could a passing on of a reform bill turn texas to a democratic state? >> let's keep in mind, george w. bush came to prominence because he was a pro immigration supporter. he had strong support in texas and nationally, and he went through this exercise in 2007 that we are going through now. he was a president that wanted

to get it done and congress wanted to get it done. it's hard to get this done. that is kind of the problem. when you make the reform comp henceive, there are going to be major deal breakers for everybody involved in this this and then there's the question of do people really want to get this done or do they want to have an issue with which they make politics out of it. >> coming together on capitol hill is one thing, but when lawmakers take breaks and go home, they have to listen to constituents. let's hear what they are hearing. >> build a dang fence, where is the fence? >> in case you -- you have had enough time, pal, you have had enough time. >> that is how we will end the seth. you is have had enough time now. seriously speaking, how do they overcome the constituents? >> they have to do what john mccain is doing. they have to face it. this is the mondsteday -- this

the monster they helped to create. they go home and a new point of view and their constituents and their public who are still on the old plan, they have not gotten the new memo that we have to support it. they have to bite the bullet and sell it to people. that it's good for them and the party to stay relevant and to stay main sfreem and competitive. they have to come around this. and one big difference, you mentioned the last time we attempted comp henceive i immigration reform. this time we do not have a group that wants to take credit for knocking it out. that is different from last time. >> i want to end on a lighter note. jimmy fallon asked michelle obama about her future political goals. >> i said it here first, dream team in 2016, hillary and michelle. >> i have my eye on another job.

you know, i hear when jay leno retires. >> oh, yeah. >> that "the tonight show" position will be open and i'm thinking of putting my hat in the ring. >> is there any way that we will see another obama in the white house? >> oh, god i don't know. i mean -- with this country, it's become so happy with the politici politicians. >> you want to weigh in on that. -- sounds good, everyone stay here, we are coming back with all three of our guests and we will talk to the brain trust about the d.c. game of operator that went wrong this week. i have low testosterone. there, i said it. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests.

showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. 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 breastfeeding, 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. so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up!

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friends of hamas was injected into the political hexicon this week.

there was a story about how a rumor was started about chuck hagel and no such group exists. he was asking a source about criticisms of chuck hagel, and he made up some things to get sa response. but the news was threaten reported by conservative media outlets as a real deal. the game of telephone gone bad. so, this next question is, for all of you, you can put on your creative hats what is the next fake news item that the press core will create on its own especially as we look at the cabinet nomination process? >> it's hillary clinton running for president of france. >> why france? any particular reason for france? other than conservatives are not crazy about it. >> yeah, why not there?

>> and villaragosa really wants to be part of the recon group in the party of mexico and people will focus on that. >> you have an active imagination. >> people will be demanding his birth certificate. they want to know where he was born and what are his connections to the radical gangs running all over east l.a. >> i want to say that was far-fetched but anything can happen. i will ask if you get your crystal balls out and in the weeks ahead. what are the biggest stories coming? >> i think we will see more information being leaked to the public of what up to now is behind the scenes negotiations in the house on immigration reform. it's been secretive so far. there's decent process. more will come up through the

public. we will cece quester escalation, we will have three hour waits in the airport and we will not have a u.s. navy anymore and teachers will be opening weeping in the streets and destitute. >> we have been talking about the negative effects of the sequester and he agreed, it's a budget cut. >> it's 1% of the budget. it's $44 billion after the cbo said it's shaved off. it's incredible the hysteri over this. >> it will be the come back of the conservative argument which is the sequester, no big deal. >> thank you for being here. i appreciate your time on the saturday afternoon. well that is our show for today, tune in tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. craig will be back. be sure to tune in to in the

meet the press tomorrow. keep it here for the latest news updates throughout the evening and have yourself a great saturday night. go do something fun. great, everybody made it. we all work remotely so this is a big deal, our first full team gathering! i wanted to call on a few people. ashley, ashley marshall... here. since we're often all on the move,

ashley suggested we use fedex office to hold packages for us. great job. [ applause ] thank you. and on a protocol note, i'd like to talk to tim hill about his tendency to use all caps in emails. [ shouting ] oh i'm sorry guys. ah sometimes the caps lock gets stuck on my keyboard. hey do you wanna get a drink later? [ male announcer ] hold packages at any fedex office location. hey do you wanna get a drink later? i've always kept my eye on her... but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.