fourth hour of "morning joe." i don't think so, instead, i think chris cillizza is on deck. a good friday flight to florida. president obama heads south to talk about boosting the economy. we'll get an exclusive preview from the white house communications director. air force one will fly over south carolina where things got pretty hot last night in mark sanford's bid to get back into public office. this republican runoff could get ugly. also this morning, tension is rising on the korean peninsula. we'll go live to the pentagon for more on kim jung-un's latest threats. >> south rim of the grand canyon,ility it's friday, march 29th, 2013, "daily rundown" with chuck todd. the incorrigible chuck todd.

thanks to the green bay packer fans on spring break at the grand canyon. georgetown basketball broke my heart, again, why not move on to football? keep those videos coming. we begin now with developing news out of north korea where kim jung-un is warning that he is ready to take military action to "settle accounts with the united states." after the u.s. flew two stealth bombers over the korean peninsula, the north korean leader put his missile units on standby to attack american bases in south korea, the pacific and the u.s. mainland. >> i think they're very provocative actions and belligerent tone. it has ratcheted up the danger. the fact is that this is the wrong way to go. >> both china and russia are calling for restraint and while north korea has a history of saber rattling, chuck hagel says the u.s. can't dismiss the threat outright.

>> we don't have any choice in dependi defending this country. but to anticipate, worse-case scenarios. we know that north koreans had missile capability. we know that they have significant capability. only needed to be wrong once. and i don't know what president or what chairman or what secretary of defense wants to be wrong once when it comes to nuclear threats. >> with me now nbc pentagon correspondent jim micklaszewskm. we mentioned the saber rattling that goes on with north korea. is this more of the same or different in kind? >> well, you know, chris, we have seen this before. a series of rocket threats out of north korea, military movers aimed primarily in the past at getting the u.s. and other nations back to a bargaining table to lift sanctions and provide more food and money in terms of aid to north korea.

what is different this time? this round of provocative threats comes on the heels of advanced missile development and testing by the north koreans. a third successful underground nuclear test, according to u.s. officials and the real wild card here is this young as u.s. officials are are now calling him, north korean leader kim jung-un. he's still a wild card in many respects. some have even advanced the theory here that even his youth is playing into this because he appears to be on a more aggressive track than his father ever was. so, there is some concern here that because of the uncertainty, the sort of unaccountability so far of kim jung-un that he may be even more dangerous than his father. chris? >> jim miklaszewski, thanks for staying on top of it. i know it's a developing story.

we appreciate it. faced with growing opposition and waning public support, president obama is using the bully pulpit to push gun legislation. the president lashed out at his opponents for trying to change the subject. >> they're doing everything they can to make all our progress collapse under the weight of fear and frustration or their assumption is that people will just forget about it. the notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in newtown happens and we've moved on to other things. that's not who we are. >> nbc national investigative correspondent michael isikoff joins me now with more on the newtown investigation. mike, we found out a fair amount or more at least about the case on thursday. tell us sort of where we are and how much more we expect to learn in the coming days as this

investigation proceeds. >> right, chris. well, first of all, this was a partial disclosure. a lot more we haven't learned. the chief prosecutor made clear in the statement yesterday that this is an ongoing investigation and there were redactions in the material. but we did learn a lot about the arsenal of weapons that adam lanza had stored both at his home and in his car and brought to the scene at sandy hook elementary school. in totality, two rifles, a loaded shotgun in the car, a pistol, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition at his home and let's go back to that scene and i think this is probably the most significant. 154 bullets fired in less than five minutes from that bushmaster assault rifle. how is he able to do it? he had ten 30-round high-capacity magazines at the scene that he brought to the school. three of them were empty, which means he had fired all the shots

in those high-capacity magazines. the others were, some of the others were partially, partially loaded, which means he had been able to get off. he would be able to continue to load, reload and fire those bullets from the assault rifle at these kids and the teachers and adults at sandy hook elementary school. if you look at all the information that came out and how it is relative to the debate in washington, that is the single most significant thing, but as you know, chris, asoft rifle and high-capacity magazine has been the toughest to try to push in congress. it hasn't gotten through the senate. very little prospect in the house. so, while we've learned a lot more, how it relates specifically to the debate that's going on is still unclear. >> that's just frightening stuff, mike. i want to ask you one other thing, which, you mention, a partial disclosure. do we have any indication out of what we know now of motive?

>> that is the biggest mystery of all here. we know he had mental troubles and we know from other reporting we've done that he studied mass shootings over the years and he has been particularly obsessed with the norwegian killer in 2011. but what triggered his rage? you know, mental health experts say you can't really connect the asperger's issues that we believe he had to this kind of violent attack. so, where it stands, that's something we're all searching for and all waiting for and whether we'll get that in the final report in june, we still don't know. >> nbc mike isikoff, thank you. >> thank you, chris. every friday we take a quick look at those 2016 tea leaves. now, not that much on that front this week with the exceptions of senator rand paul and marco rubio both threatening to filibuster president obama's gun control legislation.

paul said he takes issue with the way the president has handled it. >> i think it's a mistake for either side to polit size this. but my message to the president is call me if any of your reforms would have saved those kids at sandy hook. >> of more immediate concern for lawmakers are the races coming up in 2014 with south dakota democratic senator tim johnson's earlier this week. that's five senate democrats leading the chamber. two republicans are also leaving. so, which party stands to gain the most in 2014? to answer that and much more is nbc senior political editor mark murray here with today's first read. let's talk about 2014. tim johnson far from washington, but important in terms of both his seat and the race for his seat and also the broader senate

picture. tell us about it. >> overall democrats are pulling defense. if you're the republicans and you want to take over and win a senate seat, always better to do so than taking down an incumbent. your chances are always a little bit better. as you look at the overall broadcast, not only do republicans need to get the 2010 political wins if they're back, again. right now they're in the same situation they were in march and april of 2009 with their brand and poll numbers down pretty significantly. so, they need things to actually improve for them. then, chris, they need to run the table. they need to win almost all the open seats and they need to actually take down several democratic incumbents. >> just to set the tables, it's essentially 55-45. democrats control 55 seats. they need six seats. i want to talk about one of the seats that is a real opportunity for both sides. a fascinating race. iowa. we showed tom harkin, long-time senator elected in 1984 retiring.

democrats look like they're coalescing behind democratic member of congress. republicans are all waiting for steve king. tea party conservative represents western iowa. if he runs, what does it do to the race? >> chris, most important contest for us to watch in all of 2014, regardless of steve king runs or not. if he does decide to run, he will clear the field. he will be the republican nominee. we have seen the other republicans who might be, including kim reynolds. >> who said she will only run in evidence to your point that nobody can beat king on the primary. >> just like the presidential contest for democrats, like how everyone is waiting on hillary clinton. if he runs, he has a chance to win, but given that, you know, he's had some troubles in the past, iowa the state that president obama won. so not going to be easy for republicans, but, again, king did win a very competitive house race in 2012, as well.

>> one other race where there is tea party versus establishment. georgia seat is open, saxby chambliss leaving. a lot of republicans talking about running. paul brown, a tea party guy already in the race a lot of other candidates talking about getting into the race. this is georgia, right? still a republican state. but does it matter who republicans nominate? if they nominate brown, are we looking at a situation -- are we looking at a potential christine o'donnell from four years ago? >> nominations always do matter. since 2010, republicans typically go for the most conservative candidate in these primaries. it's not always true, but, traditionally, that's what we've seen over the past three years or so. but equally important, democrats have to find a candidate, as well. >> they have no one right now. >> the reason they were able to win in indiana and beat murdoch in 2012, they found the best

person they could recruit. democrats will have to find somebody in georgia to take advantage of anything opportunity that presents itself. >> they have the congressman from the athens area, form eer r.e.m. lawyer, random factoid. they're circling his name because he's the joe donnelly of that state for them. okay, we're getting there. both last night at verizon center watching the actual march madness. let's talk about senate madness. you know i love this. appeals to my nerdiness. tell me where we stand in some of the matchups going into the weekend. >> we now completed our entire first round of all of our senate madness. we're approaching our second round. some contests that will be amazing as we look into them next week. steven douglas going up against sam houston. of course, as a texan, sam houston is someone very near and dear to my heart. we're also going to end up seeing two very important senators for their respective

eras. >> henry cabot lodge, terrific facial hair. >> dirksen, a very famous squaring off another 20th century senator. fulbright. two people you and i are very familiar with. ted kennedy and robert byrd. >> i mean, ted kennedy versus robert byrd. that is a clash of the titans. >> chris, as we've seen in this current tournament, seeding sometimes doesn't really matter. >> georgetown was a two-seed. thank you for your time. make sure you go to firstread@msnbcpolitics.com. you can vote in senate madness. much more ahead here on "daily rundown" including a republican congressman'smia

copa. marc sanford's affair is front and center just days ahead of the election. president obama said he is keeping nelson mandela in his thoughts and prayers. we have the latest on the health of the former south african president. a look ahead at today's politics planner. president obama in miami, good friday mass and, of course, the cinderella story, florida gulf coast against florida. fascinating matchup. that should have been georgetown versus florida. i'm shedding a silent tear and you are watching "daily rundown" only on msnbc. more than two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy. we've shared what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. bp's also committed to america. we support nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs

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on our radar this morning, a congressman's controversial comment and a "compromised candidate." but first an update on nelson mandela's condition. the former south african president spent another night in the hospital where he's being treated for a lung infection. leaders from around the world, including president obama, expressed their well wishes for the 94-year-old nobel peace prize laureate. released an update on mandela's condition today saying the former president is in good spirits and doctors report he's making steady progress. alaska republican congressman don young is clarifying a racially charged comment he made during a radio interview this week. speaking to krbd radio, young used the term a slur used to refer to undocumented immigrants. on thursday, he released a statement apologizing for that word choice stating, "i used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central california. i know that this term is not

used in the same way nowadays and i meant no disrespect." former south carolina governor sanford and curtis bostitck squared off in the final debate for the congressional seat left vacant by scott. the subject of infidelity was not off limits with bostic using the opportunity to speak about trust. >> the issue is still the same. trust is not had. a compromised candidate is not what we need. >> sanford acknowledgesd he failed publicly. the winner of next tuesday's runoff will face off against elizabeth colbert bush, that name is familiar because she is the sister of comedy central steven colbert. cate edwards sat down with savannah guthrie for her first

interview since her father's trial. she opened up to savannah about the trial, her father's infidelity and shared some fond memories of her mother. >> i imagine you misher every day. >> it's big things that go by like my wedding. she wasn't able to be there and then the small things. i get away with bad grammar. never used to get away with bad grammar. i miss her during march madness because she loved college basketball and we were very superstitious. she would call me and say, are you sitting in your living room, you need to go down to your kitchen because we're not playing well. >> you can see more of savannah's exclusive interview tonight on "rock center." next up, presidential bush. from economy to immigration to guns. jennifer paulmary will be here next. a surprising shift in the country's attitudes about same-sex marriage as another republican senator says her views are evolving. but, first, it's today's

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when it's more than a bad dream, be ready. for the times you need to double-check the temperature on the thermometer, be ready. for high fever, nothing works faster or lasts longer. be ready with children's motrin. republican opposition to gun control legislation is growing. florida senator marco rubio has joined the group threatening to fight the bill which he says infringes on the second amendment. but the president hasn't given up and he's taking his case on the road next week. joining me now is white house communication director jennifer palmieri. i understand this is your main voyage on "the daily rundown" since coming back. first question, what took you so long? >> obviously, i had to wait until you were guest hosting. >> that's the right answer. i appreciate that. jen, let's talk about the gun control legislation. president obama spoke about it

passionately and emotionally yesterday. but then utah republican senator mike lee put out a statement that i want to read to you. it was tough, he said it is deeply unfortunate that president obama continues to use the tragedy at newtown as a backdrop for pushing legislation that would have done nothing to prevent that horrible crime. and, as we now have, we have marco rubio joining with mike lee and ted cruz threatening the possibility of filibustering that gun legislation. did the president wait too long after newtown? could he have done this faster and might that have gotten a better package for gun control advocates with more momentum behind it? >> well, chris, after newtown we thought, we understood that it was a huge priority for congress to act quickly on legislation to reduce gun violence and for the president and the administration to do everything that they could. as you recall, we acted really quickly to put forward a package, both executive actions and what we thought the congress

should do. we did this not as part of the state of the union, we did it not even before the state of the union, but before the president was sworn in because we knew there was a window here that was really important to act on where we thought we had the best chance of getting gun legislation through, which, as you know, has been historically very difficult to do. so, that is why the president acted. that's why the president acted as quickly as he did. i'm not sure congress moves as fast as even members of congress would like. the senate judiciary committee worked very hard to report out legislation that has, you know, all four elements that we think are really important. to deal with, to deal in a comprehensive way of dealing with dwgun violence and we'll he votes on each of those pieces that we think is critical. in terms of what the senators said about yesterday's event, this is about trying to save lives and trying to save children's lives and this is an event with women, some mothers

from newtown. mrs. pendleton, who lost her daughter in chicago. these are women and mothers who chose to join this debate because they want to try to save lives and they were so moved. people are so moved by what happened in newtown that they want to be part of trying to make a change here. >> jen, i take your point. but we both know well and the president knows well that this is a -- there's politics in everything. including this. the president is going next week on the road to denver to talk about gun control. he has said he may campaign more. is this an attempt to build momentum and pressure politically speaking on some of the folks, including some of the folks in your own party in the senate who may be weary of voting for this gun control package? >> it's an attempt to build support to get the senate and to the house to act on these measures. i mean, there's not any, there's not any hidden objective here or

i think a mystery about what the strategy is. the strategy is for the president to draw a lot of attention to this issue to go to places that have. colorado has had enormous gun tragedy as recently as last week when they lost the head of their prison bureau. and a place that has passed background checks as recently as last week. governor hickenlooper signed that into law and colorado is a state with a lot of gun owners. this is not a problem with background checks. not when the american people get involved, not a partisan issue and not even an issue for gun owners. big majority of american people support it and big majority of gun owners support it, too. >> is there any plan for the president to go to connecticut? >> i don't, i don't, as my colleague jay carney would say, i don't have any scheduling updates for you, chris. we do plan to go to colorado and then we do plan to do more

travel. >> now, let's switch to immigration. i want to play something that president obama said in terms of a timeline in an interview with telemundo earlier this week. let's play that and come back and talk about it. >> if we have a bill introduced at the beginning of next month as these senators indicate it will be, then i'm confident we can get it done. certainly before the end of the summer. >> so, this is a place, jen y don't want to sound overly optimistic, but it looks like both sides are sort of sounding positive notes on this. end of the summer and the president seems to think it will happen. does this comprehensive immigration bill from the perspective of the white house have to include a path to citizenship? >> yes, it does. the president has said that from, you know, when we first unveiled our proposal on this in january. that from the onset, there has to be a path to citizenship. and we are also optimistic, as you are, chris, that we think

the gang of eight, the bipartisan group of senators have made a lot of progress on this. we continue to be in close contact with them. the president is anxious for legislative action to begin on this issue, too. and, you know, we believe that that is going to start in early april and we hope that, expect that the gang of eight will have a bill introduced by then and the senate will begin legislative action on this. everything is always, you know, takes a little longer and harder than he would like but we feel optimistic we'll get legislative action going on this soon. >> one thing before we let you go. the president is headed to miami to do an infrastructure event. a lot of balls he's juggling at the moment. infrastructure is addressed by every president and yet we never really sort of move forward in a meaningful way on it. is this president going to commit in a second term to really focus and try to spend money on roads, bridges, ports?

>> there are a lot of balls that we're juggling, but the president's north star, what he thinks about every day is what am i doing that will help the lives of middle class americans and, particularly, with the economy and infrastructure, it's important not just as a job creator, but it makes the united states more competitive. we are putting together more tax incentives that will do that. this is something, as you know, a reason why a lot of presidents support it. it's always been bipartisan in the past and we feel like we have a good chance of working with congress to get these types of tax incentives in place and, you know, miami is part to show what kind of potential there is for doing that. >> jennifer palmieri, thank you for waiting until i guest hosted to appear on the show. >> my pleasure. sorry you're having a bad march, though. >> thank you. we're super sizing our

gaggle. i always super size it when i get fast food. from joe biden's jokes, portland's pivots and rand paul's filibuster. the ten moments that mattered most in congress so far this year. we'll count them down. you're watching "daily rundown" only on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] from the way the bristles move to the way they clean, once you try an oral-b deep sweep power brush, you'll never go back to a regular manual brush. its three cleaning zones with dynamic power bristles

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♪ back against the wall ♪ ain't nothin to me ♪ ain't nothin to me [ crowd murmurs ] hey! ♪ [ howls ] ♪ >> need any help on your pics, let me know. >> look at that guy, still working out. come on, mom. your reputation here. that was vice president joe biden kicking off 2013 by a new group of senators on capitol hill. it was the definition of biden being biden and also number ten on the fix list of most

memorable moments in congress so far in 2013. countdown that top ten political editor for theglobe.com and cnbc contributor and political director sarah fagan and chris cafinas. one thing i find fascinating about him, democrats love what we just watched republicans say, please, nominate joe biden in 2016 for what we just watched. >> democrats love biden. they say, most of them i talk to, ultimately because of the way biden and et cetera. but i actually had the joe biden experience myself where he like hit my in the chest. not unusual. >> some of that rock band in the '70s. sarah, i want to move on because i want to get your take on this one, on a more serious note. the violence against women act. reauthorized earlier this year. many republicans voted.

87 voted for it and president obama signed into law and this gives victims of domestic abuse, helps fund these sort of programs. a lot of republicans voted against it arguing about native american provision and some about gay and lesbian. as a female republican, the optics of this do not seem good to have a majority of your house caucus voting against. correct me if i'm wrong. >> don't look good and you saw the speaker move past this. i think that was important for the party to get past it. burt the democrats have perpetrated this phony war on women that republicans tee up when they let bills like this just languish. there were issues with that bill and some that voted against it because of indian tribes and institutional reasons, which is important to note. >> politics. >> chris, do you, to sarah's point, is the war on women trumped up or not?

is it something that democrats created? it's a created thing. republicans may play into the storyline, or is there something real here? >> yeah. they've trumped it up the fact that this is the record. they're not very good on women's issues. they're not get on education and not good on choice. when you have a piece of legislation like this, which should be a no brainer by any standard and you hold it up for either your opposition to gay and lesbian issues or some kind of manufactured constitutional question, it makes people wonder what are you doing? this is, i think, a pattern of behavior that, this is why the republican party did an autopsy, appropriately described. they have a problem in terms of communicating to minorities and this is just another example. >> it's not a -- >> no, it's both. >> you cannot separate the two. >> look, i'm sure we could spend the whole second half of the hour. bei would say one thing about this is it is politically

speaking. regular people don't focus on the little things in the bill. the violence against women's act you can say republicans vote against it. >> it was well named. >> perry, i want to go to number eight. i think important. with seven senators are retiring, including a lot of old. these people have been there for a very long time. jay rockefeller selected in '84 and tom harkin from iowa elected in '84. carl levin elected in '78. i was a mere two years old when carl levin was. bob bennett losing a few years ago. it's a very different place now than it was even two years ago. >> we always say that. becoming more and more like the house where more and more your role is to speak loudly and be fiery. sort of what ted cruz is doing instead of passing bills. if you look at what these retiring senators are are saying, they're all but saying,

i can't get a lot done here like they used to. and that's the thing, the partisanship makes it to the point where i can't get much done and that's why i want to go home. that's not a good thing for americans overall. >> sarah, go ahead. you now have lugar and the faces of the party are ted cruz and rand paul. >> and marco rubio. >> newly elected senators. is this a good thing for the republican party that you had the turnover that you had? >> i think it's good for the republican party in the sense that we have a lot of younger, more dynamic speakers. some of those folks need to mature and wilmature in the coming year as they get experience beneath them. but, no, i do think it is a good thing and it's a healthy thing for the party to have new faces in it. our party, especially, needs that. >> chris, many of the names i read are democrats. add to that the death of ted kennedy, the death of robert byrd. you're talking about people who sort of defined the senate over

the past five decades. where does your party look in terms of new senate faces? because sarah is right, they have marco rubio. when you think of marco rubio and ted cruz, they're big national figures. >> it's a challenge any time you have both, you know, the cycle where you have, you know, senior centers retiring. i think it a lot depends on the new blood. this is a challenge that every party goes through. you have to bring in new, fresh faces. >> right. >> joe manchin, my old boss, a very strong new voice. i think you have senator, up for re-election but a very powerful new voice. warner, not necessarily new, he's been there for a little bit. >> michael bennet. >> elizabeth warren was -- >> let's go back. i want to circle back because number seven on our list was ted cruz. i called it the ted cruz experience. let's play a little something that ted cruz had to say at the conservative political action conference.

>> we did have a certain of the republican party described rand paul and me as whacko birds. if standing for liberty and standing for the constitution then count me a proud whack-a bird. >> sarah, he was talking about john mccain's criticism. the sort of mccain wing and the cruise wing. wrong or right? >> i think you have the old guard and the new guard and they have different styles. the thing about ted cruz is having work with them, in any given room, probably the smartest person in the room but he would be wise, i think, personally to take a longer view. the politics of today is not going to be the politics of ten years from now. >> ted cruz, good thing for democrats? >> are you kidding, any time you have a candidate going out there and not only feeding the division with the republican party and feeding the division within the country to the benefit of moving people to the democrats. of course, it's a good thing.

>> perry, quickly. >> they don't take the long view because they want to run for president and make a change really quickly. you look at the long view in anything. >> men in a hurry. >> do not move. i'm warning you. the countdown of the most memorable moments in congress continues. we still have six more. but, first, the white house soup of the day. tomato. fine. i have no opinion about that. don't forget to check us out on facebook. we will be right back. zap technology. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life.

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>> i see the president reaching out. everybody wants to, you know, dr. phil about what he's doing. i'm assuming the president wants to talk seriously about the issues of the day. and if he just wants to have a dinner so we can get to know each other better, that's fine with me. we're going through the top ten moments in congress so far

this year. that was south carolina republican senator lindsey graham the day after a dinner date with president obama and 11 other gop senators. which brings us to number six on the countdown. president obama's new charm offensive. let's bring back our gaggle sara taylor fagen and chris kofinias. after a campaign he didn't make nice with the republicans. do you think it bears any fruit? >> it can. depends on how much each side is willing to give. the thing about washington, sometimes difficult for people outside of washington to understand, it is a relationship business. >> even amongst, i mean, even amongst the top, elite of the people, being the president and the leaders of either the republican party or the democratic party. and the better they know each other, the better they can find maybe some common ground. the more they don't know each other, the more difficult it is. >> sara, you spent timen the

political director of the white house. people think of it as pure party, but it's not pure party. >> i would argue he needed to have done it earlier in his first term and the fact that we're talking about it probably means that it's less effective and more staged. >> does it beare fruit? >> he has to work at it every single day. >> he is doing more. perry, quickly. >> the guest list lindsey graham, john mccain, people who want to compromise. the group of republicans. the key is can they take this deal and discussion and move it to the republicans outside of the sort of -- >> john cornyn weren't invited. you're going to see, i think, immigration bill right there be the first example which would be fascinating and would be movement. number five. the senate passed a budget and they have to come to some sort

of deal and we expect to happen when the debt ceiling. let's talk about number four. i found this fascinating. robert portman reverses his decision. my son who is gay influenced me. sara, i want to start with you. rush limbaugh a moderate voice within the party says, we lost the fight. this is inevitable, let's move on. should republicans say, look, this is an issue of the past. we're for same-sex marriage. let's go forward? >> this is a great example of separation of church and state. the reality is more and more people recognize that they have family and friends who are gay. it's very hard to look at those people who you love and say, you know what, i don't think you should be able to get married. that's what happened to rob portman and that's what's happening across the country to people and the social movement is changing the politics of it. >> chris, i do want to bring this up.

portman gets a lot of attention. in the last 76 hours, mark warner, these are there democal. say they are opposed to it and now for it. >> relative near term? >> i don't think it's political. can you make the, ament politically that, hey, are you sure you want to do this? i think this is something where people have emotionally and cognitively come to the conclusion this is the right thing to do, it's the right thing for the country. if you look at how much the country has shifted, this is where we're going. >> rob portman was for gay marriage before hillary clinton was. i think we have to say the political movement has happened here. karl rove said -- lots of things are happening quickly. things are moving. >> we'll be back. you're right. trivia time. how many schools remaining in the ncaa tournament can count a u.s. president as an alum? the answer is two. michigan, president ford's alma

mater and duke, where president nixon went to law school and thanks to john bailey, a duke alum, who did the number crunching on that one and congratulations to today's winner edward doyle. you're famous! we will be right back. ♪ everybody's going off the deep end ♪ [ coughs ] [ angry gibberish ]

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we are wrapping up our countdown of the top-ten moments in congress so far in 2013, number three was senate majority leader harry reid saying an assault weapons ban would not be included in the bill. the sequester, number two, spending cuts started taking effect and, number one on our

list, rand paul's filibuster. let's bring back our gaggle. rand paul, stand with rand. how much good, bad or indifferent did he do during that time period? >> for him and for the country, he started a real conversation on public policy, which is great for all of us. two, he made himself into a real presidential candidate, which i would not have thought of. >> i keep saying to people rand paul is a top tier 2016 candidate. am i wrong? >> potentially. it's a bit early. he has all of the great things about his father and very few of the quirky things about his father. >> he's sort of ron 2.0. >> this was a breakout moment for him. >> ron widen was the only one to speak out. should there have been others? >> in terms of whether rand paul is a top tier candidate -- >> shameless plug. >> louisville tonight, headed to

the final four with a win tonight. >> sara? >> happy easter. >> my syracuse orangemen and parents 50-year wedding anniversary. >> you only get one. my shameless plug, bob witten, a wonderful behind-the-scenes man here is retiring today. congratulations, bob. a wonderful man, hard hittin' bob whittin. never fear, chuck todd will being back on monday, just in time for april fool's day and baseball's opening day. draw no conclusions. have a great weekend. coming up next, chris jansing and company. and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing.

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