that's good. anything else? >> vinnie writes, i guess it's been awhile since i watched. i spent the first part of the show wondering why willie was s >> who is the other one that compared me to chris? that is tough with '80s mullet look. i'll take a stamos comparison any day of the week. thanks, john. "morning joe" starts right now. >> the irony is we read about these events. we experience them. but the truth is on every frontier, terrorism is a weapon is losing it is not gain is

adherence and what gulls the most is that america does remain that shining city on the hill. we are a symbol of the hopes and dreams of the very aspirations of people all around the world. >> vice president biden yesterday speaking at the public memorial for m.i.t. police officer sean collier killed on wednesday night in the shoot-out with the boston bombing suspects. we will have the latest into the case including the questions over what warnings the fbi got about the older suspect just ahead. plus, political fallout, over the background checks vote. just as joe predicted on the show and warned, new hampshire senator kelly ayotte sees her disapproval numbers jump 11 points in thanks to her vote on that amendment. we will get into the numbers straight ahead. thursday, april 25th.

with us on the set is "time "magazine magazine analyst and mark halpern and vice president and executive editor of msnbc.com richard wolf. in washington, nns chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell. >> i was going to wear that dress. >> i was too. that would have been three of us so that would have been really embarrassing. >> would have been weird. >> so much to talk about today. we are the syria campaigning. the u.s. change sides and talk to andrea about that. >> absolutely. >> talk about kelly ayotte. i'm telling you, that is not going to happen in montana or north dakota. >> but you predicted that one. >> but that was going to happen in new hampshire and you knew it was. we will talk about that later. so much to talk about. we got richard wolf here and we can even talk about louis suarez. >> we could talk about

everything. >> we have got lots of news to cover. >> we have a mayor's race here, willie geist. i think the daily news put it best. >> to me on this. >> as you looked at "the daily news" today you said the campaign hasn't started and yet it has begun. >> he goes it's going to be a long one. >> you said it's going to be a long one. >> it's going to be a long campaign. anthony weiner announced yesterday and can't say with any degree of certainty there aren't any more photographs out there. >> stop. >> what is the headline? >> you can't even do it. >> let it speak for itself. >> over here. >> oh, my god. it is 6:00 in the morning. joe. 6:00 in the morning. >> great lighting. thanks. >> mississippi case. this mississippi ricin case. we learned more things yesterday. >> we learned that mr. curtis

who we now know falsely accused. update it's dutske. >> he wrote a novel about black body market parts and claims to have found while working in a hospital. >> if you work in a hospital? >> the hospital says these claims are untrue which i think is important to point out. what else? >> why don't i get to the news and save you from yourself. what is wrong with you all? what does "the daily news" say about this? >> let's talk about the news. they didn't say tip of the iceberg. >> no, they didn't. i have tell you i like the newspaper very much but that is too much. boston marathon bombing investigation. we are learning more about what u.s. agencies knew about the tsarnaev brothers before last week's attacks. russian authorities reportedly asked u.s. intelligence twice

about tamerlan tsarnaev, the older of the two suspects, because of concerns he was becoming more rad. >> caller:. in 2011, the cia cleared tsarnaev of any ties of violent extremists and did not take any further action because the fbi had interviewed him earlier that year and found no sign of terrorist activity. on both occasions the russians asked american officials for their request but the russian government failed to provide any. however, they added tamerlan's name added to a government counterterrific watch list as a precaution. >> so the russians told the fbi twice? the russians told them twice? >> uh-huh. >> you need to -- you need to worry about this guy. the cia told the fbi, put this guy on the watch list. >> andrea? >> well, the fbi was told once the cia was told once. what they are pushing back on is

that the russians did not, when asked, give them any follow-up information so you've got the russian security information services not sharing with the u.s. both the u.s. and the russian authorities, very reluctant to disclose methods but basically the fbi says we went back to em this and said we can't find anything on this guy. what is it about his so-called radicalization that has alerted you? and never got a response twice. the cia then got the same inquiry from the russians with no more details and, again, went back to them. obviously, something is wrong here and, as you know, kelly ayotte who you've been talking about and john mccain both written today we have clearly not solved the problems of follow-up or information sharing. what some officials are saying, guys, this means that we have to, again, change the laws, that people have to be put on watch lists with a lower threshold. >> yeah. >> now since those questions were raised by kelly ayotte and john mccain, authorities are turning to the suspect's parents

for answers. both are said to be cooperating with investigators and the suspect's father anzor tsarnaev is expected to arrive in the u.s. tomorrow for more questioning. i do think -- i mean, you could argue this until the end of the day. if they had no reason as to why they were investigating them and they couldn't find anything and they went further, then perhaps somebody's rights could have been violated and you could make that argument, but having said that, something awful was missed and the communication between two countries trying to look at these guys. what do you think? >> mark halpern, any political ramifications? what is happening on the hill? obviously john mccain and kelly ayotte wrote a letter and asked really good questions about what happened. >> this is a case we need a coequal branch to be aggressive. not political grandstanding but real serious hearings by the

legislative branch about what went on. the president is not going to run for re-election so it changes the whole color of looking at this. the stakes are different but that means congress needs to be very aggressive and saying do we have the right system in place to balance national security and civil liberties? >> yesterday, thousands of people honored m.i.t. plivers sean collier at a public memorial in cambridge, massachusetts. collier was on patrol last thursday evening when officials say he was gunned down by the tsarnaev brothers and sparking the citywide manhunt. vice president joe biden gave his condolences to the family and the community of boston before turning his attention to last monday's bombings. >> whether it's al qaeda central out of the fata or two twisted per verted cowardly knock-off jihadis here in boston, why do they do what they do? i've come to the conclusion, which is not unique to me, but i

do -- they do it to instill fear. it infuriates them. they refuse to bend. refuse to change. refuse to yield to fear. the doctrine of hate and oppression, they have found out cannot compete the values of openness and inconclusiveness and that is why they are losing around the world. >> okay. moving on now to guns. gabby giffords super pack is using twitter to go on the offensive against 11 senators who voted against expanded background checks for gun buyers. one of those senators kelly ayotte in new hampshire is taking a hit in the polls. her approval rating is now under water. her approval marks have dropped four points from october while her disapproval numbers have jumped by 11 points. the survey shows 50% of respondents say the senator's

opposition to extended background checks would make them less likely to support her for re-election. the poll shows 75% of new hampshire voters support requiring background checks for gun purchases at gun shows while just 21% are opposed. meanwhile, you want to jump in here, joe? because this is the thing that you talked about a couple of weeks ago as this was all unfolding. >> richard, first of all, i'm sure you've seen this as well as myself on twitter. i think it's hilarious what extremists are doing. there is this poll that says 49% of americans oppose any new gun legislation and there is this poll and now they are going inside a pew poll saying 2 out of 1 margin that 3 out of 5 people aren't as intense as 2 out of -- it's hilarious. they see 90% and 85% and see the 75% in new hampshire and see the 91% of gun owners in virginia. they see the 95% of people in

new jersey and 96 -- it's driving them crazy. and m just wondering if this morning, people on capitol hill that are waking up to watch this show obviously, if there is a way to -- maeb we shouldnybe we listen to the 7% and these people in this very small bubble are trying to gin things up because, i mean, this was to predictable. we said this was going to happen in new hampshire. it's not going to happen in north dakota or alabama. it's going to happen in new hampshire. >> sure. >> you only need six more votes to get this bill through the senate. >> i suspect they are waking up this morning thinking, hoping that we all are going to stop talking about it. >> we are not. >> and that the voters will forget about it and their numbers will go back to where they were before, right? that is the best hope that in the time between now and the run for re-election this will just fade. so the question is is there any sustaining power behind this to remind people of this vote? because it takes a certain kind

of courage to go against 70 or 90% of the people who are going to vote for you and it's a stupid kind of courage because it's a dumb calculation. the calculation is we are going to forget about it. >> the thing is, of course, as you know, mark halpern, somebody like kelly ayotte is not up for four years so you can go, that's great but we all know, we have been around this business long enough to know that when any politician is in the low 40s and then slips into the 30s, that stays on you. right. >> that is a cloud that doesn't go away. and this has only begun for kelly ayotte. this is just the beginning for kelly ayotte. she is going to have so much political firepower poured on her political operation and she is a northeast republican. that's a vanishing breed.

she's got some decisions to make moving forward. maybe she helps rewrite a new background check bill with pat toomey? i'm telling you, we are not going away. americans are going to remember newtown. they are not going to forget easily 20 first graders gunned down and not forget what what happened in oregon or in a mall or what happened across america. >> what can done to pressure her now. >> i think it's happening. >> and so you've got elements like gabby giffords and mayor bloomberg's operation and like the president's grassroots operation. and i think that the key will be can they find some vehicle where she and other republicans who voted no last time and maybe some of the democrats can say, this is a different bill. they improved it. is there some sort of big leaf operation and vehicle? and i think she is very gettable in that situation. not just because of these polls,

but my suspicion is she would rather vote for a bill than not. >> by the way, john mccain, obviously, who supported this bill, obviously, has a lot of influence on her. and maybe john mccain can help her, along with pat toomey, figure out a way out of this mess because mccain has been on the hill for 20, 30 years. >> she would have to have a position that actually means something and she would actually have to say why she voted no on this, that makes sense. andrea mitchell, i'm sort of been combing through things here. she voted no. has she said why? does she explain she wants something more? does chef any ground to stand on if she were to try and revamp and get hearsrself out of this mess? >> i don't know if she has made that explicit but last night at the white house with the 20 women senators with the president, amy klobuchar told me yesterday this came up and the president did talk to them and they were discussing and lisa

murkowski were there and heidi heitkamp. you had the women they had been hoping for and they did talk about coming up with some way. klobuchar said i think they are going to do this and some way to recast this. you know joe manchin is trying but hard to see what they do to make it different enough to bring together all sides. >> willie, all they need, they need the democrats and one republican and kelly ayotte is that one republican. if you don't think her numbers wouldn't go up in a big way if she were the republican that made the difference at the end for voters in new hampshire, would be huge for her. >> that would have been courage. >> she won her race in 2010 by 23 points. it wasn't a close race. for her to have the numbers she has this morning tell you what the voters think in new hampshire about that vote. a question we have been asking a couple of weeks what is the logic and common sense? what you just asked. if 75% of your constituents are for something, why did you vote against it?

i haven't heard her give a full explanation of it. 75% in new hampshire, why did she vote against it? a question she ought to answer. >> we are hearing from more and more people. it's amazing. they are admitting this on the air that they got a lot of phone calls from the minority. the vocal minority was really vocal and so, you know, yes, owl% of the people in my state are 90% support this but, oh, my gosh. the 7% were the ones that were calling in. i must say i never ever, mika, ones had a vote where i went to the interior and said, oh, my god, the 7% are calling and sending e-mails. >> i think she has revealed herself in a bad way here. senator heidi heitkamp is one of four democrats to oppose the amendment and she is defending her vote saying her office was flooded with calls from constituents who opposed background checks by 7-1 ratio. >> you can't handle that?

>> i have a feeling -- >> you can't handle people like making phone calls to your office when the polls show the overwhelming majority of people want to go the other way? >> recent polling shows 94% of people in north dakota. >> 94% of people in north dakota! but heidi heitkamp is worried about -- i don't even think it's the 6%! it's probably the 4% who are making phone calls. heidi heitkamp wants to be a united states senator but she is not tough enough to handle 4% of her constituents calling in her office a lot? she's not even taking phone calls! >> that's what they do. >> she doesn't face the voters. this is one the saddest most pathetic votes i think i've ever seen in washington, d.c. what heidi heitkamp has done cowarding in the corner because 4% maybe 5% of the people in her state were making phone calls

that her staff had to answer. >> what about her own opinion? does chef one or is it the 4-1 that called her office or whatever the numbers were? that was her opinion? that is great. >> pathetic. >> >> 94% of people in heidi heitkamp's state want criminals and terrorists and rapists and former felons to go through criminal background checks. >> again, another -- >> hold on. i'm sorry. wait. she got a lot of phone calls. hold on. the 4% is really vocal. >> that's true. >> they are really vocal. oh, my gosh. when she has to walk past her staff and saying a lot of people are calling. i've done that. they are calling! i said, that's great. i'll be back. >> read the blog. just not accurate. >> do you actually read the comments like at the end of blogs? >> yes. >> do you actually go to the comment? >> they do. >> seriously. >> they must. >> 4%. she is obsessed with a 4% when

94% of people in her state want background checks for terrorists, want background checks for criminals. want to make sure that domestic terrorists can't walk into a gun show or get a gun online without an internet check. this is pathetic. what a pathetic vote by heidi heitkamp. she should be ashamed of herself this morning. >> we asked what kelly ayotte's explanation was. i believe restricting the rights of gun owners from obtaining or misusing fin misusing firearms to commit violence. >> i agree with her 100%. i agree with that statement 100% but since this doesn't restrict the rights of lawful gun owners -- wait. seriously one of the stupid things. this is the most mind boggling thing. >> i'll speak for the democrat

in this conversation. again, someone knewly elected what you got in your state is someone you elected and has no courage and no personal convictions, none at all and phone calls coming into her office in washington. that is where washington stands today. that is pathetic. >> good luck, north dakota. >> these no votes are pathetic. they are pathetic. a piece of sobering data morning from the government accountability office that shows that over 1,300 people on terrorism watch lists purchased firearms or explosives from 2004 to 2010. >> any way, mark halpern, have you ever -- did i just see camera work? nice camera work, t.j. hey, t.j., do you not have a cut-away? you could have gone to this shot and here i'm here and now you go to mark. >> it's like the mtv quit

cutting. the kids love it. >> very good. >> can held. natural. behind the scenes. >> i've never seen anything like this before. i've never seen -- i have never -- it's -- we could are talking. >> we should be doing mental health right now. >> the cotton candy substance. we could be talking about any issue whatsoever and i'm just blown away that somebody ignores 94% of their constituents on an issue of public safety. this has nothing to do with guns. only the most extreme, extreme minority think this has anything to do with gun rights or the second amendment. nobody believes that. >> what is fascinating to me if you can get john mccain and pat toomey why couldn't you get more people? what separates them from these other republicans who all went

in lock step? i suspect it's mostly the pressure from the leadership and then the question is what can you do to peel them off? >> wait, wait, wait. why would the leadership pressure? >> from senator mcconnell. >> why would mitch pressure kelly ayotte? doesn't he like kelly ayotte winning elections or want her to lose elections? >> wants her to lose. >> it's a question that is fascinating to me because pat toomey, did he do it because he feel passionately about it or for the politics of his state? >> voted that way in 1999 when he was in a conservative district and it was a conservati conservative's deserve iconserv. if mitch mcconnell can suede republicans. like heidi heitkamp, we need six senators. heidi heitkamp is one of them. she can't ignore 94% even if the election is six years away. kelly ayotte is another.

right? i mean, the president ought to be able to move. max baucus. >> can we talk about max baucus for a minute? >> sure. >> he is not even running for election again! >> i think that is the reason. >> he didn't know that. >> oh, it was a week later. >> if there is another vote, a fig leaf change in the bill i think they can get max baucus. >> i think so took. we need a fig leaf. we want to cover these people and love instead of contempt. i really don't understand, willie, i don't understand the vote. i don't understand the logic. i don't understand anything about this. it's one of the -- i don't think i've ever seen a special interest group miscalculate as badly as the nra has miscalculated. this is one of those -- they are going to teach this. they really are in political science classes years from now the miscalculation of the nra on

this. you always give a little. especially on an issue like this if it's important. they have just made a colossal mistake and the worst thing you can do, as a lobbyist, is force somebody to take a vote that cost them politically because the next time the vote comes around you go, oh, really? yeah, thank you so much for what you did to kelly. you want to do that to me on this vote? i don't think so. >> has president bush been asked about this yet? do you know? >> we will hear from him today. a lot from him today. >> he supports background checks. he did in 2000 and 2004. >> interesting if he spoke out about this latest thing. >> more of your questions answered. senator heitkamp interviewed by politico this week and asked about that poll showing more than 90% of her constituents says she does not believe the poll is indicative of public opinion. she said there was a poll week prior to her election that showed her down double digits and that wasn't true either. >> okay.

so she is a mitt romney denier? she seems like one of those people that kept telling us not to believe the polls that mitt romney was going to win. >> what was her reason? >> the people are calling in. >> she says -- here is her phone calls were telling her this is my second amendment right and part of our culture in north dakota and she expressed those opinions to me loud and clear. >> 4% of the people in north dakota want terrorists to walk into gun shows and part of the culture 4% of people in north dakota. god bless them. >> oh, my god. >> is that mind boggling? >> i can't believe we are having this conversation. >> 94% of the people support -- 4 percent say the polls are wrong. >> i think we are realizing how broken it is in washington. >> my teeth hurt. this is just bizarre. who were these people? who are these people? can we get a clip from the courtroom scene of the verdict? who are these people? >> retired general stanley

mckimcki mcchrystal will be on the set and bassem youssef and jon gruden of the nfl and roger goodell, the nfl commissioner will be here to review tonight's draft. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> yesterday kicked off a beautiful stretch of weather in the northeast and mid-atlantic. we were almost at 80 degrees in d.c. yesterday. a little cooler today but perfect spring conditions. yesterday 75 in hartford. the warmest day so far in new england. a cold front just went through. a few showers left over. south of boston out towards the cape. we are also watching a few showers exiting the jersey shore and m.d. and delaware coast too. after that is gone sunshine developing this afternoon. this is perfect spring weather and where we should be this time of the year. temperatures in the 60s on the

i-95 corridor and a few chances of showers in pittsburgh and buffalo late today. the other story finally the midwest is warming up! we are 12 degrees warmer in dallas and denver than this time yesterday and all of that warm air is heading north. even montana is going to warm to the 60s today. denver, it was snowing a couple of days ago. you are 63. as advertised, one more cool day in the great lakes and then even chicago mid-60s starting tomorrow. finally, that april sun is going to work! you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. ♪ [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. governor of getting it done.

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time 30 past the hour to take a look at the morning papers. "the dallas morning news." the george w. bush presidential center will be dedicated later today. seen here in a time lapse video taken during the construction process, the center will provide access to presidential records

and documents and historical materials and artifacts. president obama will be on hand today for the dedication. >> mark halpern, this looks like a fascinating library and what "the new york times" is reporting george bush isn't trying to suede anybody. you look at the tough decisions had he to make and asking you, which way would you go? it's a fascinating approach. >> i'm a huge fan of presidential libraries. i think they are great. president bush is very aware, very aware of sort of how he is perceived now and how he will be perceived over time. his argument is there is one particular exhibit is look at the decisions i made. implicitly they were tough. i did the best i could and i made the decisions and he's not a guy that believes in a lot of regret. for the wmd he wants people to

see his view. >> he has 47% of approval. november of 2011, a year and a half ago, 23%. >> every year that has gone by and barack obama learned this between 2001 and 2009 don't look quite so clear in black and white. "sun herald" multiple explosions near mobile, alabama. three are hurt. they decided to let the barges burn overnight. the cause has not been determined but we know one of the natural gas barges was docked in the mobile river waiting to be cleaned. the "chicago tribune." fast food and retail workers took to the streets in downtown chicago yesterday making a public plea for higher wages. the demonstrators are seeking $15 an hour.

illinois's minimum wage has been at $8.35 since 2009. "wall street journal." this is a terrible story. rescue workers frantically working for survivors in a bangladesh building collapse. the building houses near 2,500 factory workers and many were hesitant to enter the building after cracks on the walls on tuesday. according to survivors the owners of the factory told the workers the building was safe. let's go to poe lit knlitic. mike allen has a look at the playbook. one of your top stories this morning on the site lawmakers and their aides may get exemption from the insurance agents as part of the affordable care act. what does that mean? >> this is an explosive story and this could be on the scale of the post office scandal in congress, if congress moves

ahead on this. these talks have been going on between the two parties. the very top levels of the house and senate for months. today, politico reveals what is going on. members began to worry that if their aides were required to join the federal health care exchanges that will be mandated under the president's health care plan there could be a brain drain from capitol hill. there is so much additional health care costs people up there that they are going to lose some of their valuable workers so they are talking about ways to exempt members of congress and the people who work from them from having to join these exchanges in case there is extra coverage. >> who is trying to get exemptions? please tell me. nobody that actually supported obama care? >> listen to this. the number two house democrat steny hoyer is among the people who became worried about this, went on to speaker boehner and

help to start these talks. speaker boehner's office tells us us, they said if the speaker gets a chance to save anyone from obama care, he will. so there is a great quote in the story saying everyone has to hold hands on this together and jump or nothing will happen. so if they move, it will be house and senate together, republicans and democrats together, all saying we're special, we're different from the rest of america. we are not going to be subject to these requirements that you are. congressman henry waxman of california one of the most knowledgeable about health care saying not wind up additional costs to the aides that the subsidies from their part of the federal government will continue and democratic leaders are among those who sounding alarm about this. they say if they do something they will attach to a bill that has to pass, for instance raising the debt ceiling. >> it's not just politicians but

the capitol hill aides who is mandated to be a part of this act. >> one would be lawmakers and aides and one would be be just aides so they are trying to crack the code on this but they know there is an explosive result from this and they will be seen as hypocrites and it's a terrible story, but the impact on their wallets they fear is worth taking the chance. >> mike allen, thanks so much. talk to you later. we are hours away from the nfl draft and manti te'o, a lot of people are watching him. where will the notre dame linebacker end up? we will talk about it when we come back. we had never used a contractor before

and didn't know where to start. at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. no company can pay to be on angie's list, so you can trust what you're reading. angie's list is like having thousands of close neighbors where i can go ask for personal recommendations. that's the idea. before you have any work done, check angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. i love you, angie. sorry, honey.

time for some sports. tonight, the first round of the nfl draft right across the street. actually about 50 yards from where we are sitting right now. unlike previous years, you won't expect flashy picks at number one. luke joeckel could go number one and protecting johnny manziel at texas a&m last year. eric fisher out of michigan is probably one of the first two

picks. quarterback has been top pick in four of the last five drives. thanks to 2-14 last season, the kansas city chiefs get the first pick followed by the jags, raiders and eagles and lions. a lot of people wondering today where manti te'o will end up. the notre dame linebacker probably going to be in the first round, could be late first round. we will see after all the drama this past year surrounding his fake girlfriend. some saying he could go to the giants at 19 and others like him to the ravens at the end of the first round replacing ray lewis. we will see. stick around. on "morning joe" we will talk to nfl commissioner roger goodell and jon gruden to preview tonight's draft. lakers and spurs. lakers couldn't get anything going in the second without kobe. behind the back from manu ginobili to tony parker coming up here. he knocks down the three. he had 28 points and spurs win

102-91 and lakers in deep trouble without kobe. thunder and rockets. james harden reminding his former team how he won the sixth man award last season. finished with 36. here is another guy that is named kevin durant who comes through with a late clutch three. thunder hold and they also have a 2-0 series lead. dodgers and mets in baseball. bases loaded, danny valdespin goes deep. walkoff grand slam for the mets and first one of those for them in 22 years! tampa bay rays off to a slow start. penguin hanging out with the players in the clubhouse before last night's game. >> i thought you were saying he

brought in a pair of strippers. are you serious? >> penguins from the local zoo. >> the ultimate in relaxizatiat. he said it was a stunt to get our players to chill out. they won 3-0. so it worked. coming up next, he managed compensation for the victims of 9/11. the virginia tech shooting and the 2010 gulf coast oil spill. he has become a familiar face. ken fineberg heading a charity for those hurt in the boston bombings. we will talk about him with the challenge ahead when "morning joe" comes back. revolutionizing an industry can be a tough act to follow,

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washington, d.c. here with us now is the massachusetts native who have handled compensation victims for 9:00 and ken feinberg who is the commissioner of the one fund boston which to get donations to the victims of the boston terror attacks. >> ken, talk about the scope of the suffering beyond, obviously, the deaths that we're aware of. >> horrible physical injuries. double amputees and single amputees and brain injuries and then the fallout, the others shrapnel, wounds, broken arms and legs and we are trying to get a handle now on the total number of claims and how many people have been actually physically injured. >> how do you begin to quantify a sum of money who somebody who lost two legs more than someone who lost one leg? how do you work that out? >> we have found at virginia tech and in aurora in the colorado movie shootings look basically quickly how long were people in the hospital?

hospitalization, other than death, of course. hospitalization is a pretty good barometer of seriousness of injury and without asking for medical records and bogging things down and experts and all of that which just is inefficient waste time and is costly, claim it. how long were you in hospital and pretty much gives us a sliding scale how we should compensate based on the amount of money you have. that's the other thing. 7 million in aurora and 7 million at virginia tech and, so far, so far, over 20 million in boston. >> enormous amount raised from all over the country. a lot from boston in a short pertained. how much more do you think you'll get and how much more would you like to get and how much do you need to compensate these people? >> you'll never have enough. when you look at the seriousness of injuries, when you say how much more do you need, i mean, the mayor and the governor and that whole team up there are working diligently to come up with the compensation. whatever the amount, when you

look at the injuries and the number of deaths, the idea -- you have to dampen expectation. the idea that someone is going to get a check that is going to give them the financial certainty they need, that isn't going to happen. this sort of an expression of the national community sense to come to the aid to the victims but you won't compensate people in a way that will give them absolute certainty. >> andrea mitchell is with us from washington. she has a question. >> there are other injuries that are less visible but no less profound. we are hearing that people have lost their hearing and there is also ptsd and all of the other psychological trauma. is there any way to quantify that? >> i don't know about quantifying it. if it's a permanent hearing loss that is a physical injury and that will have to be calculated into any final protocol for compensation.

ptsd and mental trauma, in virginia tech, we decided that we would compensate mental trauma only for those virginia tech students who are actually in the classroom and witnessed the carnage but through the grace of god, escaped. in aurora, all of those people in the movie theater who saw what happened, didn't have any bullet wounds or anything, we simply didn't have the compensation, we didn't have the amount of money, so they were all exempt. we couldn't pay them. and that is going to happen here in boston undoubtedly. you're going to be able to pay some but not able to pay others. >> at the end of the day, though, i mean, this is how do you compensate somebody that is a double amputee? this is really much about the community feeling like they are helping out as it is actually helping the people who can't be made whole, whether it's newtown or whether it's boston, or whether it's aurora. >> that is the irony here. insofar as there are gunmen or

terrorists who think that they will divide america or instill fear, two things i learned about a program like boston. one, it is the community as a whole, a sense of cohesiveness, we are one and we will protect our own. so it has the impact of actually bringing the country together. the other thing that is amazing, and you guys, joe, you guys have talked about this before in connection with 9/11, the charitable impulse of the american people, i've never seen anything quite like this. after some of these attacks, money just pours in, private donor money. not like noiv9/11, which was taxpayer money, you'll never see that again. but in all of these other crimes, these tragedies like aurora and newtown and now boston, all over the country, people send in $25, $10, $5,

over 50,000 people. >> it adds up. >> that have made donations to boston. >> here is something to end this segment on and something to think about. from the "the wall street journal," whatever their eventual opinion of bush-cheney, bostonians and americans generally would have happily signed off on a warrantless wiretap of the tsarnaev phones before the deaths and mutilations of april 15th, 2013. the long fight over the bush domestic antiterror effort was a case study in part as an extremism run a muck in washington as silent majority of americans wanted such protections. if it at last we have consensus on the anti-terror war, so be it. >> mark halpern, we have consensus certainly among presidents. barack obama is much closer to

dick cheney and george w. bush than he ever could have imagined but i don't know if boston or other attacks have moved americans that much closer together on what daniel henninger is talking about. >> i think at times like this, the people tend to go much heavier on national security. you need some check on executive branch power. we want to have justice and make sure we are safe ago a nation but part of what makes us great and understanding that lots of warrantless wiretaps are not a great idea. >> our greatness is being tested. you can donate by visiting one-fundboston.org or call 855-617-3863. >> ken, we loved having you on. >> ken, thank you. >> thank you so much. >> thanks for bringing this constantly. when we have one of these funds, you guys always try to educate

and explain to people what it's all about and i think it's a public service. thank you so much. >> thank you. an honor. >> rick stengel will be here along with "time" magazine's 100 most influential people. bassem youssef. this coming monday, way too early and "morning joe" will be marketing, if you can believe this the six-month mark since superstorm sandy. we will be live from three of the hardest hit spots for a look how the region is still trying to recover. that begins at 5:30 a.m. on monday. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans.

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♪ live look at the white house on a beautiful morning in washington, d.c. welcome back to "morning joe." we are here in new york. mark hall better than is still bus. joining on the set is cnbc brian sullivan. >> a lot of news today. >> yeah. >> you see this daily news? >> what are you talking about? >> the gwyneth paltrow story. why are both tabloids hating on her today? >> she is voted the most beautiful. >> she is also 41.

i'm glad they didn't pick some 24-year-old. 41-year-old mother. >> look at that. >> it sends a great message. >> sure. >> it does. gwyneth paltrow, i'm sorry, i think the woman is absolutely gorgeous but the haters. >> a whole online world of gwyneth paltrow hating. >> why? >> i don't know. she's a movie star who tell other people how to live their lives and she has a website buy this 800 dollar cream for your face. >> you don't need to be heavy. make this pineapple smoothie at home and cake kale. >> that is the answer to everything. >> i don't have a nanny driving my kid to soccer practice. >> it's kale. she is beautiful. >> she is gorgeous. >> no mika. >> but everybody is saying -- >> it's the tone of gupe. >> tell us about that? >> what is it? >> goop. >> i love kale!

what is kal snerks. >> -- what is kale? >> a green leaf that you eat. >> if she spent the time working on her tone like mika. >> i could help her? >> goop. >> we love gwynny. >> i feel like the "new york post" is editorializing is this the world's most beautiful woman? >> the question answers itself. >> she is beautiful. she just is. >> poor anne hathaway. she seems like a sweet girl and they hate her. cher is like the nicest person. >> i've never met her. >> you've never met her? i think she won an oscar. in the princess movie. >> i don't get it. >> i have a terrible anne hathaway story but it's not for television. >> is it a personal story for you? >> no. it was a true story at a

fund-raiser. >> come, let's go. >> very embarrassing. >> mika, what you're telling me people eat leaves? >> yes. >> really? >> yes. i cannot -- you know what? i'm just going to get ready to do the news and you let me know when you are too. >> a segment where whip up kale shakes so stay tuned for that. >> had you ever a mangrove smoothie? what the latest on the boston bombing investigation. we are learning more what the fbi knew about the tsarnaev brothers before the boston attacks. because of concerns he was becomiing more radical. in 2011, the cia cleared tsarnaev of any ties of violent extremists and did not take any further action because the fbi had interviewed him earlier that year and found no sign of

terrorist activity. on both occasions, the americans asked the russian officials for more on their request. but the russian government failed to provide any. however, they added tamerlan's name added to a government counterterrorism watch list as a precaution. senators john mccain and kelly ayotte are questioning whether or not the u.s. intelligence community adequately shared information leading up to the boston marathon boston. in a joint statement they write in part, quote. it does not appear the money spent toward the information sharing environment put into place after 9/11 were useful in apprehending the tsarnaev brothers specifically tamerlan tsarnaev. now authorities are turning to the suspects' parents for answers and both are said to be cooperating in the investigating. the father anzor is expected to arrive in the u.s. tomorrow for more questioning. that should be interesting. >> what do they know and when did they know it? brian, we now have two times the

russians reached out to our intel agencies and said you guys need to be worried about these brothers. >> can you call it a failure when there is 500,000 people on a watch list, joe in i don't know. this was, obviously, a failure. right? the fbi went and spoke with them. i'm more curious about the mother. if she saw the pictures of her sons on television and did not alert authorities, hey, these with are my kids, here's their names, did she aid and abet? >> wow. >> more questions. >> a good chance she didn't see them. she was in russian and they just came out thursday night. who knows. >> exactly. we don't know what she knew and she also thinks the oldest one is still alive. it's half the man of him and not my son. >> gabby giffords super pack is using twitter to go on the offensive against 11 senators who voted against expanded background checks for gun

buyers. one of those senators kelly ayotte is taking a big hit in the polls. her approval rating is now underwater. her approval mark has dropped four points from october while disapproval numbers jumped 11 points. the survey shows 50% of respondents say her opposition to background checks would make them less likely to support her in re-election. >> keep that up. even though we are doing this show in real-time and talking about people are trying to spin this on and on twitter saying only 4% of americans say gun control is -- that's fine. that's great. ask kelly ayotte this morning in washington, d.c. whether this vote doesn't matter who to her constituents. 50% of her constituents are less likely to vote for her, brian, because she voted against background checks to try to stop terrorists from getting guns and trying to stop rapists from getting guns and trying to stop

other violent offenders from getting guns. 50%. this spin is nothing but spin. this is impacting some politicians. >> for the last two months, a couple of hours a day nearly seven days a week, i've been working with cnbc on this documentary which is why i'm here. what i've learned about the gun infrastructure, not the gun culture but the gun infrastructure. >> you're talking about the business of guns? >> not only that but no gun crime is by the people who purchased the gun. >> say that again. >> about 3 to 3.5% of gun crime is committed by person who actually owns the gun who is the legal owner of the weapon. brian sullivan's name is on the weapon, i bought it at a sporting goods store and they can trace it back to me. i also went to the tracing center in west virginia atf where they try to link this stuff up. it's something out of 1978. no offense to people that work there. >> or 1978 but go ahead.

>> it is boxes of papers filled out by hand some of it 40 years ago of somebody who bought a rifle wherever it would be that it now being manually entered into a computer system by these women at the atf and put it through a microfiche machine. you remember those? a million documents a month written by hand. you can't trace guns. >> this is intentional. this is intentional the atf have been defunded and handcuffed and not allowed to do what they are supposed to do and then the people who oppose background check to stop domestic terrorists from getting weapons they say the a it tf is broken and background checks don't work, when they are the ones that have been part of this -- this -- this effort to defund them and handcuff them over the past 20 years. they are not allowed to do their job. they are not funded to do their job. heck, do they have anybody running them right now?

>> atf? >> yeah. >> they do but they they are the only major agency that doesn't have its own director. >> right. >> there is documents that are water stained. one person's job who literally looks through a water-stained document to make out what the words are and who might have owned the gun. they did a good job in newtown and all hands on deck. we interviewed sudany was shot in aurora and realized her stomach was hanging out. even she is not let's ban gun sales. what she is saying we need more background checks. it's not guns this is her words, not mine. this is somebody who almost died. the guns that cause problems? it's the looneys who buy them. >> and actually it's not each just the looneys who buy them. as you say, it's like you said only 3% to 3.5% of the people

who commit the crimes actually own the guns. mark halpern, this goes to the two things i've been talking about in the show nonstop. we don't have tough federal gun trafficking laws. you look at chicago. those two issues would not only address challenges across the country, not newtown specifically, but other challenges in the next newtown, but also that would stop a lot of the killing in chicago. >> mayors want to see it. law enforcement wants to see it. the president wants to see it. public opinion suggests most of the public wants to see it. the road block right now is the republican members of congress and some democrats, and the question is, again, what can you do differently before there's another vote? i think it's fascinating, willie. you got republicans, for the most part, that are on the other side of what law enforcement wants. but the cops on the street who are putting their lives on the line every night, leave their families at home every night to keep city streets safe, the cops want background checks.

they want tough gun trafficking laws. 90% of americans want it. >> generals. >> generals. it's pretty -- >> what do you think when kelly ayotte goes home and walks around and interacts with her constituents? >> i don't think she interacts with her constituents. a former attorney general she ignored what law enforcement officials in her own state wanted. she ignored 3 out of 4 voters in owner own state wanted and the same thing with heidi heitkamp ignoring 94% of north dakotans want. >> the one thing we try to do in this documentary is show most people are normal gun people. most people are normal human beings and even the gun guys that we talk to, right? they are -- leach them are pro background checks. they say when the killings happen it makes us look bad.

99% of gun owners are responsible human beings. >> let's stop and underline that point. people look and say, gee, north dakota is conservative state. why do they support background checks? because the hunters and their fathers a member of the nra say the same thing. i play by the rules. sure. let them play by the rules. if somebody has -- if somebody has a felony in their background or is on the terror watch list, i don't want them to go into a gun show in north dakota and be able to get an ar-15 and walk out without having the same type of background check that i get when i take my son or daughter to a gun shop. >> yeah. and that is what we tried to -- i'm going show a clip and what we tried to highlight is that almost everybody is law abiding, responsible, and they even want more background checks.

this next clip from our documentary which airs tonight, it may render some of this stuff moot. the only part of a gun right now that is traceable they call the lower receiver and a serial number on where you have the trigger, manufactured and metal stamp and you can scratch it off. we went to austin, texas to interview a kid who is making these things out of a 3d printable and wants them untraceable and wants everybody to have them. watch this. wilson is on his way toward making the first disappearing ar-15. is your goal to design a gun specifically that can't be detactable at airport x-ray machines? i'm reaching out for more. i don't think guns should be observable in congress and i don't think there should be registries. >> reporter: he is not there yet but, piece-by-piece, his goal is to perfect a do it yourself a.r. based on down loads at his web side and create on 800 dollar 3d print at home. what is the goal? >> the goal is to create contempt.

>> america's gun, the rise of the a.r. 15. >> i don't get that. terrorists have to be cheering what this guy is doing. what is he doing? >> what you saw he was doing there is making ak-47 magazines that work and he makes ar-15 low receivers. i shot one of the guns. they work. >> what is the goal? >> to make guns untraceable? >> why? >> because he is a self-described anarchist. he says he is condoned violence. he is a law school student at the university of texas. he's not some guy -- that is what we are trying to show is the very gun culture in america. you can download the plans on the web. by the way, this kid just got his federal gun making license. >> this is a domestic -- >> the federal government just gave him a license. >> this is a domestic terrorist's dream. dream. >> that's why i was talking about the background check issue may become moot because of some of the other things that are going on in the gun -- listen,

folks, tune in if you can tonight. we are trying to dispel myths and trying to show people responsible gun owners why some people are more gun control. we interview victims of aurora and trying to play it right down the middle. it's hard, though. it's hard. everyone has got an opinion. >> mika? >> brian, thank you. we will be watching that tonight at 10:00 eastern and pacific on cnbc. up next, retired general stanley mcchrystal will join us. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. the humble back seat. we believe it can be the most valuable real estate on earth. ♪ that's why we designed our newest subaru from the back seat

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to the right people and machines. ♪ helping hospitals treat people even better, while dramatically reducing waiting time. now a waiting room is just a room. [ telephone ringing ] [ static warbles ] [ beeping ] red or blue? ♪ ♪ 20 past the hour. here with us now is former commander of the u.s. forces in afghanistan retired general stanley mcchrystal.

general, welcome back to the show. it's great to have you. you're part of a new campaign to promote national service to urge young americans to spend a year giving back to the nation. it's called service nation. something we have talked about, a concept we have talked about on the show here in terms of how to sort of get this country in a more cohesive place again, because there is such a separation between the rich and the poor, those serving and those not serving, that seems like such a good idea whose time is more than come. >> i think it has and i think we have got a young generation with an extraordinary appetite and energy to do this. what we need to do is give them an opportunity because they are going to be us in 20 or 30 years, and it's important that they have the opportunity to make the contributions that tie them to the nation. >> so first of all, how does it work and why would you focus your energy on this with all of the different choices you could make? give us a sense of maybe what

you're concerned about in terms of where young people are headed right now? >> i think that as you said at the beginning, people like charles murray have in his book "coming apart," has captured that america has grown into a number of different catches or tribes because of politics or economy or other things and what we need is a nonpartisan commitment to the nation. the idea that you have a responsibility to other people. because a nation is a big community. and my experience in the military taught me you bring people from all over the nation, they come together and they come out differently. it's not just what they do, why they serve. they come out as different people. my belief is if we give young generation an opportunity to serve, they will get to know each other better, and they will have a different sense of responsibility and they will feel that being a citizen is more than just voting and paying your taxes. >> right. >> it's wider. and that is what i think it does. >> general, you've given your life to this country. your life has been all about

service. there is an idea, though, in this country that the american dream is connected to material things. so that when kids graduate college they want to find that job and make as much money as they can. can you talk about what living a life of service has meant to you, what it's felt like and why it's rewarding? sure. i got an e-mail this morning from an individual i served with and he is back in afghanistan now. he just talks about contributing to a wider cause. and he reaches out and he thanked me for my service. even though i've been retired now. you develop bonds between people that you did something that you're very proud of. and there may not have been a direct material gain or there may not have been something else tangible but there is something that you have, bonds in a sense of satisfaction. i almost think we deprive a generation of that opportunity if we don't give them that chance, if we don't do everything we cannot just to encourage but, in some cases, to resource and in cases, to cajole people into that. you know, a lot of the things

that you choose when you're 17 or 18 are not what you necessarily would do later. so i think if we give them a little bit of nudging for people who don't and then there is a great appetite for people right now, there are many more applicants for things like americorps than we have funding to support. i think one do start by providing more resources but i also think we can change it. what we really want is people to feel like they have some expectation to contribute. >> what are some of the activity you think are best for this kind of program? what kinds of things can the young people do in this country to get that experience? >> i think military is one small part of it. i think teaching. everything around education is so important to the future and if you think about if young people contribute to education, they can see the future as they build it. i think there are things like health care. we certainly have a need in areas of health care. there are physical things, with

the civilian contribution corps did and making enough money to survive but built things that still last. i think is thethere's a range o activities if you put people in teams, i'd like to see them work on teams about a year and something i think they will feel good about afterwards. >> a great concept certainly and we wish you the best about it. i want to ask you about some of the other big stories that are taking place rice now, specifically, the background check vote. the last time you were on this show, you supported even an assault weapons ban. what do you make of what is happening in washington and how this didn't go through? >> i'm disappointed. i believe that there is a very difficult issue in front of us and that is how are we going to deal with everything about weapons. we have such an incredible number of americans harmed each year by weapons that i think not having an unemotional informed discussion is unfortunate. and so i think that things like

background checks, to me, are very, very logical. >> it's almost basic, which is why -- i mean, i'm certainly on one side of this and have my viewpoint. i don't understand why we are not moving on to the next level now and dealing with what is an equally big of a problem which is the mental aspect of this. what is causing, do you think, given your insight and knowledge of the weapons that we have access to in this country, what is behind this sort of attitude in washington that we can't move forward on this? >> i think there are probably lots of levels that are obvious to everybody. there's a political level. there is also a cultural tie to the idea, not only of weapons, but the idea of individual freedom, and i certainly support individual freedom. and so what we have got to do is hit a balance. i think we have got to make sure

that people understand that we are not talking about a police state where people are disarmed entirely. what we are talking about is responsible activities. because some of these weapons are horrific in their capacity. >> horrific. >> and if you don't understand that, then it's difficult to come to grips with it. >> before we let you go, general, i wanted to ask you about afghanistan. you've got to dig pretty deep in the newspaper these days to find anything about it or watch tv for a couple of weeks before you hear about it. does that trouble you that afghanistan has fallen off the radar by and large? >> i think it troubles me because i think the afghan people, for all of the challenges that they have been through and the challenges they still have, have a very good opportunity to shape a future that is something that they want. they are about 8 million kids in school now. up from about 800,000 in 2001. there are females with rights. i don't think they are going to go back and i don't think they

are going to go back. i think what they need from us is the reassurance we are going to partner and we have said that. the government has said that but as you say i don't think it gets enough discussion to reassure people who are naturally fighting. >> what does a partnership look like to you? if combat troops leave at the end of next year, what is that american partnership going forward with afghanistan? >> yeah. i think it's -- it's an intangible thing. it's as though you have a friend or a brother that says i am here for you, they don't have to come and do anything for you on a daily basis but they are guaranteeing your survival and your security. at times, it may take resources. at times, it could take military power. but i think it's more a guarantee that they have somebody who is going to stay parned with them in the minds of the afghans after 1989, we essentially turned our back and that's probably a fair perception on their part and i think it's key now that we signal that that's not our plan for the future. >> general stanley mcchrystal,

thank you very much. thank you for coming on the show. the conversation with the general will continue in the afternoon portion of our website. hear his thoughts on a variety of other subjects including the role service members need to play in america. see his web exclusive interview today. coming up, jon stewart calls him a personal hero. bassem yu sef wioussef will joi. we will be right back. ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me.

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still ahead on "morning joe," former nfl head coach jon gruden will be here to help us preview tonight's first round of the nfl draft. but, first, rick stengel joins us with "time" magazine influential people. a heart surgeon turned comedian. bassem youssef. keep it it here on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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♪ did you have a nice time? this time 100 dinner. >> yeah. >> that must have been a lot of fun. the time 100 is also a good honor. what was the dinner like? >> they had like little entrees where they have three peas and every pea had a story. like serve a duck. this duck was left to roam into the fields of vermont. you have a pedicure before you kill it? did it have a massage? his name was frank. yeah. >> that was egyptian comedian bassem youssef with his friend in american counterpart jon stewart. bassee honored "time" magazine one of 100 most influential

people. it's so good to meet you. >> i'm so thrilled. i'm watching you guys and hearing the same thing. yes! >> rick, rick, actually willie told me that before that you went to cairo. >> they have "morning joe" in cairo. let's begin how you became a comedian. you were a heart surgeon. how did you get from heart surgeon to a guy with his own show? >> very quickly, i was a heart surgeon and i volunteered with so many doctors. thousands of doctors including the during the clashes and watch what has happening in the news and so i decided to make amateur youtube videos five-minute youtube videos and it went viral. two month later, i had fellowship offer in cleveland for heart surgery on one hand and tv contract in the other. cleveland and i went to the tv. >> i was going to say.

help people, tv. tv! >> here is the thing. it's like what youtube actually has transformed the country. there are so many transformations. now when we talk about freedom of speech, youtube it's not like dogs on skateboards any more. this is why in certain countries, they close it down. >> seriously it's hard to be dogs on skateboards. >> squirrels. >> it's very difficult. >> they do have the squirrels. >> water-skiing? >> nothing better than that. >> explain how why your english is so good. that's another example of the power of television. >> i went to an english school, of course, but they give you the language but the humor, the reference is like seinfeld, frazier, friends of "the daily show" of course, but the reference. humor is a totally different

language. >> so tell americans what got you in trouble. >> oh, what got me in trouble? i make fun of authority and authority back home is consisted of brotherhood and i got in trouble for saying a few jokes. i am facing charges over insulting the president in southern islam while i'm a muslim myself, it's weird. spreading rumors. i think coming up insulting the city of pakistan and spreading and eighaethism. >> we talked about this yesterday. americans who can't stand the muslim brother could have worked for a hundred years and not hurt the muslim brotherhood in egypt more than the muslim brotherhood have hurt their own standing. >> they did.

we have a notion the muslim brotherhood are very organized but when they come to power instead of being more inclusive, they becoming pretty much closed up and they are not -- they had the chance to get this altogether. instead, they went more to the right, more dramatic, more religiously based and what happened is there were other people who become more right. and there is no stopping. yesterday, on jon stewart i said here it's like you have like republican party, then you have the tea party and then you have sarah palin. it doesn't stop. it doesn't stop. >> sarah palin jokes even kicking in egypt? >> they are the best ones! >> they are legal in egypt. >> is that legal? >> we are joking about it now, but when he it's at risk to his life and his career, right? we make jokes. there aren't that many

consequences. there are consequences for him. >> i wonder then how you consider your role. you have 30 million viewers every friday night bassem watch parties at cafes and villages? >> it's amazing. willie and i are going to start doing this at the holiday inn at 57th and 11th. >> can you imagine this, first of all and what do you do with it? you have to, obviously, be a little bit worried about your own security, but now you've got a voice and a role. >> well, this is it. we cannot give in for the pressure. we can just say we will be -- we will tone it down because if you choose to tone it down today, you would be forced to shut it off completely tomorrow. this is the space we covering our own freedom. people didn't get afraid of mubarak to compromise on freedom and tools like internet are essential. they will use things like, oh, it's the porn, it is national

security. but it's all about putting a gag on people's mouth and we will fight through this. this is very important now. and one message that i want to put up there everywhere i go is that it's not about between secular and muslims. it is between muslims and people who use islam as a political tool. religion should be used as a spiritual leading path but not a tool of tyranny and we are -- so many people like me who want to reclaim their religion, our religion again and it's much better to be left in the hands of people who use it to push a political agenda. >> i love what you said when word came down that you were going to be arrested. you said you would turn yourself in unless they kindly send awe police van -- you a police van. when you were brought in for

questioning, what were the threats, explicit or compliment from the morsi government to you? >> didn't they ask for your autograph, the police officers? >> i can't say that. still open investigation. >> what did they say to you? >> the investigation went well. they were very decent and to be honest, the presidency are not directly linked to this investigation but the same game weed had mubarak. they had their people doing it for the sake of like the reputation of the country, reputation of the president, the reputation of islam. so it's is not morsi as a person. it is the muslim brotherhood who i was very happy when they came to power because this was democracy. i was waiting for them to see what are they going to do with it? i think they are abusing it and they are -- once they play the religion card, then they play other cards, democracy didn't

work this way. you came to power, you had obligations toward the people, writing the constitution and making a balanced constitution and they bailed out on these promises. >> so in the middle of such a difficult transition, you have probably one of the most powerful tools that people wouldn't predict and that is humor. >> here is the thing. you can go after -- you can go after tv anchors but once you go after the joker -- you can't take a joke! come on. >> having said that, it gives awe voice to say a lot more? >> yeah, i will continue saying it a lot more and i want to actually propagate this message, because i am sick and tired of having people of my religion being peoplized for the act of a few angry bigoted people. i said yesterday, if you going to judge a whole religion because act of a few you better

judge krivechristianity of the baptist church. all this notion in american media why don't modern muslims speak up? we are speaking up right now. a country like afghanistan, afghanistan is not an extremist country. it is taken over by extremist people but the rest of the people just want to live a normal life. so it is about a time to take back, to reclaim the beautiful basis of the spiritual parts of our religion. >> rick, it's an amazing story. >> it's an amazing story. and bassem is an example of, you know, this kind of democracy that can be born in the middle east. obviously, moderate islam is the predominant thing but we do see this distorted example of it. you are a fantastic example of not only the "time" 100 but the freedom we hope will be true in the middle east. you also are an equal opportunity humorist because you make fun of people on the left and as well as progressive

governance. >> but you have a satire goes against right wing and authority. this is gold in right wing. eight years of bush. i mean, we should split our profits with him but here is the thing about thee oklahoma craoc. you need it once to get immune and we are passing through it and i think things worse before it gets better but hopefully it will get better. >> thank you so much, bassem youssef. a pleasure to meet you. rick stengel, thank you also for coming by. we are hours away from the nfl first round draft and joining us is jon gruden. >> this guy is an extremist! you don't want him out of your country! maybe your football team but not your country. we will be right back.

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so i sit up here on this draft set. look at me, man. i got my ears pierced, suit on, man, i got chris berman. they start talking about manti te'o from tonotre dame. they talk about what happened off the field. they talk about what happened against alabama. they talk about what happened at the combine with your 5.3248 40.

people doubt you. we're all sitting up on this panel daoubting you. how do you handle that? >> i know who i am. i know what i can do. you strap on the football pads, step on the field and you'll see what i can do. >> there it is. espn nfl analyst jon gruden -- >> does he not have the greatest show? walter cronkite? this show is good. >> sitting down there with manti te'o. coach gruden joins us now. also cnbc's brian schactman at the table. so good to have you here on draft day. let's start with that guy there. manti te'o. you spent some time with him in the film room. do you like him as a first round pick? what kind of guy is he? >> i like him as a first round pick. you got to have a quarterback on your defense. all the offenses are going no huddle. calling plays before the defenses line up. you have to have -- >> you like him as a first round pick? >> i really do.

he ran 4.71. he's productive for four years and he is a good kid. i like his leadership traits. >> he played one great team last year. i'm dead serious. i'm a bama fan. i was watching him, the guy got used. he got run over. he was confused. i'm not saying it to knock him at all. if i'm a coach i'm more worried about that performance than i am about his twitter feed. >> first of all, i'm not going to disagree with you, joe. this is your domain here. when you watch alec ogletree, another star linebacker from georgia play against alabama, the same thing happened. you watch missouri play against alabama, same thing happened to them. alabama is that good. they have a lot of kids that are going to go high tonight in the draft. they dop naminated the entire f of college football. >> we got to talk to you about the jets. >> let's talk about jets as it

relates to quarterbacks. it's not a star filled class like we had the last few years. gino smith is a guy a lot of people are talking about. you like the kid from syracuse, right? >> i do like him. because he put that program on its back. he was 21-17 as a starter. syracuse was down and out before ryan nassa started playing at quarterback. he brought the orange men back nine times to win in the fourth quarter. he beat geno smith three times. >> joe asks about the jets. they got 9 and 13. two very high picks. if you're running that organization do you take geno smith or ryan nassa? >> i got to look at that. i got to strongly consider taking another quarterback. they're changing leadership in the gm office. they're changing leadership on the grass. they're getting rid of a lot of players. they might like to geno smith, ryan nassa, manuel.

>> that team -- >> it doesn't bother me a bit. i'm a patriots fan. it's one of those strange things to see that they have no depth. that's the thing, they say there's a lot of depth. it's not that sexy. how excited can people get about a draft where the top two picks could be offensive tackles? >> well, you watch pro football carefully, some of these quarterbacks have no chance. they're getting their brains knocked out because they can't protect the passer. there's seven or eight teams that are in dire need of a left tackle that can pass protect. we have three or four of those guys that are going to go early tont. lain johnson from oklahoma. luke joeckel from texas a&m. eric fisher. >> how many bama guys? >> joe knows that better than anybody. seems like every year they dominate the first round. i think they'll have four kids go in the first round. eddie lacy, the running back. three offensive lineman.

mi milliner is going to go in the first round. >> let's talk about the giants. what do the giants need? >> they might be interested in manti te'o. chase blackburn left. who knows what tom coughlin's going to do. maybe they'll take a receiver. you never know. >> i got to ask you about one quarterback who i think if he came back last year we would be talking about very high, matt barkley at usc. what happened to him? he was a shoo-in top 10, 20 pick if he came out last year. >> matt barkley and landry jones have thrown for thousands of yards and been four-year starters. matt barkley had the shoulder injury late in the season. usc underachieved as a football team. they were preseason number one. and they got knocked out cold in the month of november. and he did not play as well. that's just the bottom line. matt barkley through

interceptions. he wasn't consistent. he's paying for it in this year's draft. >> what do the redskins need for rg3. a lineman? >> they don't have first round pick. they made a great trade last year. >> unbelievable. >> i think they could use a corner. they tried to get antoin winfield in free agency. i wouldn't be surprised if they try to get another defensive back to cover the pass. >> coach, when are you going to coach again? >> i'm having a blast. i haven't lost a game in four years. it's been great. >> yeah, baby! >> i brought you guys an ffc, fired football coaches association t-shirt. hope you guys never get fired because i love watching your show. >> oh, trust me, we will. we live on that edge every day. jon gruden we'll be watching tonight. >> great to have you here. coming up next, how one democratic senator is explaining her vote against expanded background checks on gun sales. her reasons and what the poll numbers are telling some people who voted against it when "morning joe" comes right back.

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good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast. 5:00 a.m. on the west coast. get up. >> stay in bed. >> get up, get up, get up. take a live look at new york city. back with us onset, mark halprin, richard wolffe. we're learning more about what usa agencies knew about the tsarnaev brothers before last week's attack. russian authorities reportedly asked u.s. intelligence twice

about tamerlan tsarnaev, the older of the two suspects. because of concerns that he was becoming more radical. in 2011 the cia cleared tsarnaev of any ties to violent extremists and did not take any further action because the fbi had already interviewed him earlier that year and found no sign of terrorist activity. on both occasions, american officials asked the russians for more information related to their request. but the russian government failed to provide any. however, the cia says it did recommend tamerlan's name be added to a government counterterrorism watch list as a precaution. >> so the russians called the fbi twice. the russians told them twice you need to worry about this guy. and the cia told the fbi, put this guy on the watch list. >> andrea? >> well, the fbi was told once, the cia was told once. what they're pushing back on is

that the russians did not, when asked, give them any follow-up information. you've got the russian security services, the infamous fsb not sharing with the u.s. both the u.s. and the russian authorities very reluctant to disclose methods. basically the fbi says we went back to them and said we can't find anything on this guy. what is it about his so-called radicalization that has alerted you? and never got a response twice. and the cia then got the same inquiry from the russians with no more details and again went back to them. obviously something is wrong here. as you know, kelly ayotte has been talking about and john mccain, both have written today we have clearly not solved the problems of follow-up or information sharing. what some officials are saying is this means we have to again change the laws. that people have to be put on watch lists for -- with a lower threshold. >> yeah. >> now since those questions were raised by kelly ayotte and

john mccain authorities are turning to the suspect's parents for answers. both are said to be cooperating with investigators. the suspect's father anzor tsarnaev is expected to arrive in the u.s. tomorrow for more questioning. so i do think, i mean, god. you could argue this till the end of the day, if they had no reason as to why they were investigating them and they couldn't find anything, and they went further, then perhaps somebody's rights would have been violated. you could make that argument. having said that, something awful was missed and the communication between two countries. look at these guys. what do you think? >> i was just going to ask mark, are there political ramifications? what's going to happen on the hill? john mccain, kelly ayotte wrote a letter. >> good questions. >> had some really good questions about what happened. >> this is a case where we need a co-equal bench to be very aggressive. not show boat hearings, not political grand standings but real serious hearings by the

legislative branch about what went on and whether the current policies and procedures are the right ones. the president's not going to run for re-election. it changes the whole color of looking at this. the states are different. that means that congress needs to be very aggressive in saying, do we have the right system in place to balance national security and civil liberties? >> yesterday thousands of people honored m.i.t. police officer sean collier at a public memorial in cambridge, massachusetts. collier was on patrol last thursday evening when officials say he was gunned down by the tsarnaev brothers, sparking the citywide man hunt. vice president joe biden as you saw gave his condolences to the family and to the community of boston before turning his attention to last monday's bombings. >> there's al qaeda central out of the fatah or two twisted, perverted, cowardly knockoff jihadis here in boston, why do they do what they do? i've come to the conclusion,

which is not unique to me, but they do it to instill fear. it infuriates them that we refuse to bend, refuse to change, refuse to yield to fear. the doctrine of hate and oppression, they've found out, cannot compete with the values of openness and inclusiveness. and that's why they're losing around the world. >> okay. moving on now to guns, gabby gifford's superpac is using twitter to go on the offense against 11 senators who voted against expanded background checks for gun buyers. kelly ayotte of new hampshire is taking a hit in the polls. according to public policy polling her approval rating is now under water. her approval marks have dropped four points from october while her disapproval numbers have jumped by 11 points. the survey shows 50% of respondents say the senator's opposition to expanded

background checks would make them less likely to support her for re-election. the poll shows 75% of new hampshire voters support requiring background checks for gun purchases at gun shows while just 21% are opposed. meanwhile, you want to jump in here, joe? this is the thing that you talked about a couple of weeks ago as this was all unfolding. >> you know, richard, first of all, i'm sure you've seen this as well as myself on twitter. i think it's hilarious. what extremists are doing. you know, there's this poll that says 49% of americans oppose any new gun legislation. oh, there's this poll. now they're going inside of a pew poll saying there's a 2-1 margin that 3 out of 5 people aren't as intense as 2 out of -- no. it's hilarious. they see the 90%. they see the 85%. they see the 75% in new hampshire. they see the 91% of gun owners in virginia. the 95% of people in new jersey.

it's driving them crazy. and i'm just wondering if this morning people on capitol hill that are waking up that watch this show, obviously, if there's a wait a second. you know, maybe we shouldn't listen to the 7%. and these people in this very small bubble that are trying to gin things up. i mean, this was a little predictable sf predictable. yeah, we said this was going to happen in new hampshire. it's not going to happen in north dakota. it's not going to happen in alabama. it's going to happen in new hampshire, and you only need six more votes to get this bill through the senate. >> i suspect they're waking up this morning thinking, hoping we all are going to stop talking about it. >> we're not. >> and that the voters will forget about it and their numbers will go back to where they were before, right? that's the best hope in the time between now and they're up for re-election, that this will just fade. so the question is, is there any sustaining power behind this to remind people of this vote? because it takes a certain kind

of courage to go against 90% of the people who are going to vote for you. a stupid kind of courage. because it's a dumb calculation. the calculation is we're going to forget about it. >> as you know, mark halperin, somebody like kelly ayotte, she's not out for four years. you can go, that's great. we all know, we've been around this business long enough to know when any politician goes into the low 40s, and then slips into the 30s, it stays on you. >> right. >> that is -- that is a -- that is a cloud that doesn't go away. and this has only begun for kelly ayotte. this is just the beginning for kelly ayotte. she is going to have so much political fire power poured on her political operation. and she's a northeast republican. that's a vanishing breed.

she's got some decisions to make moving forward. baground check bill with pat toomey. but i'm telling you, we're not going away. americans are going to remember newtown. they're not going to forget easily 20 first graders gunned down. they're not going to forget what happened in aurora. they're not going to forget what happened in oregon in a mall. they're not going to forget what's happening across america. >> i think the question from a practical point of view is what can be done to pressure her now, now that the vote has taken place. >> i think it's out. >> you've got elements like gabby giffords, major bloomberg's operation. i think that the key will be can they find some vehicle where she and other republicans who voted, and maybe some of the democrats can say this is a different bill. they improved it. is there some sort of fig leaf operation and vehicle. and i think she's very gettable in that situation. not just because of these polls,

but my suspicion is, she'd rather vote for a bill than not. >> by the way, john mccain, obviously, who supported this bill, obviously has a lot of influence on her. and maybe john mccain can help her along with pat toomey. figure out a way out of this mess. because mccain's been on the hill for 20, 30 years. >> she would have to have a position that actually means something. and she would actually have to say why she voted no on this that makes sense. andrea mitchell, is there -- i've sort of been culling through things here. she voted no. has she said why? does she explain that she wants something more? does she have any ground to stand on if she were to try to revamp and get herself out of this mess? >> i don't know if she's made that explicit. i do know the night before last that the white house -- amy klobuchar told me yesterday this did come up. the president did talk to them. and they were discussing. you know that lisa mer cow ski

was there and kelly ayotte and heidi heidcamp. klobuchar things they're going to do it. there is going to be some way to recast this. and as you know, joe manchin is trying. it's hard to see what they do to make it different enough that would bring together all sides. >> you know, really all they need, they need the democrats. and they need one republican. kelly ayotte is that one republican. and if you don't think her numbers wouldn't go up in a big way if she were the republican that made the difference at the end for voters in new hampshire, that would be huge for her. >> that would have been courage. >> it's worth pointing out she won her race in 2010 by 23 points. it wasn't a close race. for her to have the numbers she has this morning tells you a lot what people in new hampshire think about that vote. it goes back to a question we've been asking for a couple weeks. what's the logic? what's the common sense? if 75% of your constituents are for something, why did you vote against it? i haven't heard her give a full

explanation of it. 75% in new hampshire. why did she vote against it? it's a question she ought to answer. >> we're hearing from more and more people, it's amazing. on the air. that they get a lot of phone calls from the minority. the vocal minority is really vocal. and so, you know, yes, 80% of the people in my state or 90% support this. but, oh, my gosh, the 7% were the ones that were calling in. i must say, i never, ever, mika, once had a vote where i went to the floor and said, oh, my god, the 7% are calling and sending e-mails. >> i think she's revealed herself in a bad way here. senator heidi heidcamp that we mentioned is one of just four democrats to oppose the amendment. she's defending her vote. she says her office was flooded with calls from constituents who opposed background checks by a 7-1 ratio. >> you can't handle that?

>> i have a feeling -- >> you can't handle people making phone calls to your office? when the polls show the overwhelming majority of people want to go the other way? >> recent polling shows 94% of people in north dakota. >> 94%? >> are actually in favor of tougher background checks. >> 94% of people in north dakota. but she's worried about -- >> a bunch of phone calls. >> i don't even think it's the 6%. it's probably the 4% who are making phone calls. heidi heidcamp wants to be a united states senator but she's not tough enough to handle 4% of her constituents calling in her office a lot? she's not even taking the phone calls! >> that's what they do. >> she doesn't face the voters. this is one of the saddest, most pathetic votes i've ever seen in washington, d.c. what heidi heidcamp has done, cowering in the corner because 4%, maybe 5% of the people in

her state were making phone calls that her staff had to answer. >> what about her other opinion? does she have one? or is it just the 4% that called her office? that's her opinion? that's great. thank you. >> 94% of people in her state want criminals and terrorists and rapists and former felons to go through criminal background checks. >> so, again, another -- >> wait. hold on. i'm sorry. wait. she got a lot of phone calls. hold on. the 4% is really vocal. oh, my gosh, when she has to walk past her staff and they go, a lot of people are calling. i've done that. i've gone and said, they're calling. that's great. >> it's like reading the comments on a blog, guys. they're just not accurate. >> do you read the comments like at the end of blogs? >> yes. >> do you actually go to the comment? >> they do. they must. >> seriously. 4%. she's obsessed, willie, with the

4% when 94% of people in her state want background checks for terrorists. want background checks for criminals. want to make sure that domestic terrorists can't walk into a gun show or get a gun online without an internet check. this is pathetic. what a pathetic vote by heidi heidcamp. she should be ashamed of herself this morning. >> we asked what kelly ayotte's explanation was. i believe restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners will not prevent a deranged individual or criminal from obtaining or using a firearm to commit gun violence. still ahead, nfl commissioner roger goodell previews tonight's draft and weighs in on what the league is doing to help keep the next generation of players safe on the field. up next, five living presidents gather in dallas today to dedicate the george w. bush presidential library and museum. former top staffers ed gillespie

and dan bartlett join us to discuss what it means for the legacy of the 43rd president. first, bill karins. i liked it yesterday when we cursed. can we always do that? >> yes. >> no, i don't think so. >> all right. let's talk about windchills. you can start cursing when i mention that word, too. this will probably and should be the last time we show this map. we're going to warm it up significantly in the midwest in the days ahead. it's a chilly morning once again from denver to minneapolis. chicago and kansas city. but as i mentioned, the warm air is on the way. cold front heading off the east coast. there's no real bad weather out there across the country. today's a pretty good travel day. the good news is for the first time in a while the warm air is coming up from the south. it is heading all the way up through the central plains. even montana is going to warm up today. so far this morning we're already about 13 degrees warmer right now in dallas than this time yesterday. we're a little bit cooler in the ohio valley. the bottom line is, we've been waiting for the middle of the country to warm up. they're the last ones. the east coast got your great

warmup yesterday. as far as the forecast goes, a beautiful spring day out there. not too warm, not too cool. maybe the great lakes a little cooler than you'd like, chicago to minneapolis. but that warm air that's currently in kansas city and denver this afternoon will be heading your way as we go throughout what should be a fabulous friday. 67 in minneapolis. by far -- i mean, it just snowed about a foot about a week ago. we are going to melt all the snow, be done with it. of course, we'll have to watch those rivers up there, especially that red river going through fargo. overall it looks like winter, we're finally giving it the boot. leaving you a shot of a nice new york city. looking for a nice sunny afternoon. clear, crisp, blue skies. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. meet the 5-passenger ford c-mc-max one. c-max two. that's a super fuel- efficient hybrid for me.

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i noticed that you say in the exhibit, no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were found. >> right. that's -- so we're just laying out the facts. that was a fact. >> 58% of the people saying it was not worth it in their view? >> i can't remember the numbers, but 58% of the people initially said it was worth it. i think the removal of saddam hussein was the right decision for not only our own security, but for giving people a chance to live in a free society. as far as i'm concerned, the debate is over. i mean, i did what i did. and historians will ultimately judge those decisions. >> 22 past the hour. president george w. bush on what

people can expect from his new presidential center being dedicated today. joining us now from the site of the center in dallas are two former counselors to president bush, ed gillespie and dan bartlett. mark halperin and brian schactman are back at the table as well. gentlemen, good to have you both on. big day today for really the former president's legacy. moving forward. ed? >> yeah. we're very excited about it. we all got to have a preview of the museum and the library last night. it's a fantastic -- it's a beautiful place. really moving. and we're eager to see, you know, all the former presidents and the current president of the united states. a very historic occasion. we feel very fortunate to be here and be part of it. >> and i'm going to tell you both this. i don't know if you've just heard what we had -- a lot of different networks and parts of nbc covering the unveiling of the bush center.

and what we're getting from the "today" show is former first lady barbara bush on whether her son, jeb, should run for president. and her answer, no. we've had enough bushes. there's room for other families. dan, would you like to comment on that? >> i can only imagine as a parent already having one son go through the grinder of running for president, i'm sure she's bracing for yet maybe another one. our former boss, president george w. bush, obviously is a big advocate of his brother, jeb, potentially running. none of us can really get into his head and whether he's going to do it or not. and think ed and i can both attest to his capabilities. he would, regardless of his last name, his vision for our -- the party, for the country, is one that i think would be great to have as part of the debate going into the next cycle. >> i'll open it up to the panel in just a moment. here's what the former president had to say about his brother's potential run for president in 2016. take a look. >> he'd be a marvelous candidate if he chooses to do so.

he doesn't need my counsel because he knows what it is, which is run. >> your brother versus hillary clinton? >> well, it would be a fantastic photo. i'm fascinated by all the gossip and stuff that goes on, but the field won't become clear till after the midterms. >> all right. so i -- mark halperin, this news that just crossed, though. barbara bush's comments. do you consider that to be -- >> -- first in line outspokenness among members of the bush family. others have -- including laura bush and president bush 43 have been encouraging him to run. i think it's certainly going to get a lot of attention. but obviously part of the bush mosaic today will overshadow with the reopening and incredible of former presidents.

all the bush aides from over the years who were there. >> should be amazing day there today, brian schactman. >> my question really is we had this poll out today, gentlemen, from the "washington post" and abc news that the approval rating of the former president bush basically doubled since 2008. what is your sense of -- of why the perception of him has changed and so dramatically in just the last couple years. >> i think he's demonstrated -- he's been very gracious. he's been very classy as a former president. i think his view of the role of the former president is the right one. he stepped away from the politics of the day. i also think that over time people recognize that he confronted a lot of very difficult challenges for our country. i know a lot of people don't afwree with all of those decisions. that's the nature of our country today. not everybody agrees with all of president obama's decisions. president bush served honorably and with distinction and commitment. i think that's why he enjoys so

much commitment from people like dan and me and thousands of others who are here today to be with him to celebrate the opening of his library. proud of our service to him and proud of his service to our country. >> got to also add to that, i just add to that, when a president is out of the heat of the moment and making those decisions that, you know, obviously can cut partisan lines or ideological lines, and in a post-presidency, what comes forth again is the personal characteristics of the president. i think as we saw when he was still president, even though it was very difficult times politically, his personal approval rating always outperformed maybe his job approval rating. i think some of those personal characteristics which will be on full display today, i believe, is something the american people start refocusing on in a post-presidency. >> ed and dan, joe scarborough here. i was taking a break. i see you in my office. mika's going to ask them about

guns and food. has she been good so far? >> what? >> she's been great. >> very, very good. we've been focused on the president which you aappreciapp >> sounds like it took you guys a while to figure out -- >> you're like a bat out of hell. >> i never run. i sort of lope around. i saw you guys and shot upstairs. you know, it is so fascinating talking about what's happened over the past week or so, americans being refocused on the terror threats again. that, of course with refocuses on the decisions barack obama and his administration have made. the overlap between the obama doctrines and the cheney/bush doctrines, pretty damn remarkable. don't you think those numbs have gone up also because people realize you guys were in the white house in some extraordinary tumultuous times? >> well, absolutely. i think it's one of the interesting process -- an

interesting process that a president goes through from being a campaign -- or a candidate and then actually having to be in the office to make those hard decisions. that's why i think you saw more of a validation or a continuation of a lot of anti-terror policies that president bush put into place by the current president. i know they don't tout that very often but it's a reality. i think last week was a stark reminder to the america people and to the world that there's still a threat out there. and it's one in which any living president understands better than anybody else. obviously the current president has to deal with those realities. >> guys, i've been watching all the interviews. i haven't been spending time with the president of late. i'm wondering how you think he's different now in his post-presidential life. how his attitudes are different, what his priorities are? >> he paints. >> one of the biggest differences is he's a grandfather today. i think that changes you. i know he's very much going to enjoy that role, he and the

first lady both will be great, wonderful grandparents. i think that he's very much focused obviously not just on the library, but on the institute. making sure that he continues to be engaged in the issues that he cares deeply about. education reform and improving our schools and making sure that we alleviate disease and pain wherever we can. and to engage on those fronts at the institute. as he says, it's not just a think tank. it's a do tank. we're going to do things. we're not just going to do white papers, but we're going to engage. i think he's very excited about that and rightly so. >> i'll add to that. >> go ahead. >> i was just going to say, a lot of people come up and talk to us and say, hey, you've had a smart strategy in the post-presidency keeping him low profile. i say it's not strategy. it's who he is. he's out of the lights. he's enjoying life here in dallas, texas. and he's not starving to be back

on stage. obviously today is one of those unique moments. but in general it's not a strategy, it's just who he is. >> can i ask you guys a question? because you guys were there. very close to him. and i will ask the gun question here. but it's not -- not to pull anybody into this debate. i ask this as a person who's interested in republicans winning national elections again. and certainly, ed, i know you understand better than anybody in america the special challenges that the republican brand faces in 2013. dan, can you go into the president's thinking back in 2000 and 2004 when he supported background checks, trigger locks, assault weapons ban? dan, what was his thinking in those times? i don't want to ask him where he stands today. just in 2000 and 2004 when you were talking to him about what he was going to say in debates, what he was going to say on the campaign trail, why did he support background checks, trigger locks and assault

weapons ban? >> it predates his time in the office of presidency. when we were working in the governor's office these issues came up. many states grapple with these issues and the technical aspects of making an effective background check system. this is something we dealt with in texas. he signed legislation in texas pr concealed carry. that brought a lot of focus to the broader issue of regulation of guns and those things. what he always looked at and what he did on a lot of different issues was the practical aspects of it. can we do this in a way that doesn't infringe on people's constitutional rights but also put an effective system to make sure that criminals and others who shouldn't possess guns don't get them. and so we always put forward what we thought were common sense reforms. and, you know, obviously the politics in washington as we see today have not allowed legislation like that to go forward. but he's just brought a practical view to those things. maybe it was because he had a record and credibility on the issues because he demonstrated

his support for the second amendment that maybe people didn't question his motives. >> ed, that's really so important, isn't it? you've got -- if somebody comes from the right position on this issue, that's a strong second amendment supporter, especially a president, they can sell background checks and some of these other measures, gun trafficking laws, perhaps more easily and tell people on the right it's going to be okay? >> yeah. you know, it's a difficult issue. it's one that obviously has brought a lot of emotion to the table. it's one that we try to take a more dispassionate view and just look at the technical aspects of whether it could be made more effective. >> all right, ed, thank you for being with us. dan, thank you for being with us. what an exciting day for you guys. i know you're really proud. and good luck. have a great day. enjoy it. >> thanks so much. >> thank you, gentlemen. all right. up next, we'll talk about that. >> wait, don't you want to talk about barbara bush? she's special. i love barbara bush.

>> this thing's going to drive the day. >> put up a breaking news banner. the former first lady barbara bush on whether her son jeb should run. roger goodell, commissioner of the nfl, roger goodell. good to see you. thanks so much for being here. we'll be right back. >> all right. we'll be right back. ♪ before tori was taking her kids to lunch in her new volkswagen...

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these are grown men. they're well compensated. they know the risks that are involved. but as we start thinking about, you know, the pipeline, pop warner high school, college, i want to make sure we're doing everything we can to make the sport safer. and that means that the game's probably going to evolve a little bit. for those of us who like to see a big hit and enjoy, you know, the rock em, sock em elements of the game, we're probably going to be occasionally frustrated. i know defensive players in the nfl get frustrated now because of some of the changes of the rules. but i do think that we want to make sure that after people have played the game, that they're going to be okay. >> that's president obama back in january weighing in on football safety. something we talked about a good

bit here. roger goodell, mr. commissioner, i grew up in a football family. started playing football when i was 8. our year, our year was centered -- we had spring football down south. >> right. >> i've got three boys. i didn't let my two older boys play football. got a younger boy, too. i'm not so sure i'm going to let him play either. it's changed so much. so much of it has to do with me watching nfl on sunday and sometimes having to turn my head. the plays have gotten so big. they're so fast. the hits are so violent. and they're only going to get bigger and faster in the future. so what do you do to not only protect the players, but protect the sport? >> well, you're talking two different levels here, of course. at the nfl level, they are bigger. they're great athletes. they play at the highest possible level. what we have focused on is making sure that we can adjust the rules so that we can make the game safer at that level.

keeping the head out of the game. what we have found is that players are using the helmet as a weapon rather than what it was designed for which is protection. >> it's so interesting, when i talk to people from overseas and they say, oh, you've got to watch rugby. it's too dangerous. no, we don't use our heads. that's the difference. it does all come down to that. >> joe, one of the things, a lot of our teams are doing this now, they're actually using rugby tape to teach them how to tackle properly. our coaches are going back to the philosophy here you use your shoulder to tackle and keep your head to the side. that's what we're teaching. we're doing it on the youth level also. we announced yesterday through usa football, a program called heads up football, it's designed to keep your head up. because either you're going to have a head or neck injury if you don't tackle properly. >> how did that change? when i played football late '70s, early '80s, i'm sure you played football as well. >> yep. >> coaches always told us that.

keep your head up. >> that's right. >> use your shoulder. wrap. you watch tv today. i sound like an old man. my sons say, come on, wrap! wrap and tackle! keep your head up! but they don't really tackle that way anymore. i wonder, they do go in with their heads, sometimes their heads are down, of course that's -- we had kids killed in northwest florida in football games before. >> it's an unsafe technique. and that's what we've really worked on is identifying those unsafe techniques and get them out of the game. when you put your head down, you can't see, you're risking not just a head injury but a spinal cord injury. so the heads up program i think is going to have a great effect. >> i'm very excited about that. i also was reading up on you. i had no idea. you were pete rosell's driver. >> that's correct. >> i always -- you know, it's so funny. you know, people when they come to work, there's i want a producer's job. i want that. i said, no, you want to follow me around and you want to see

how crazy i am. but you were pete rosell's driver. one of the great -- the great commissioner. >> he was. >> what did you learn from pete rosell? >> the worst part about that story, it took four years just to become his driver. i started as an intern. i think pete rosell is the gold standard of commissioners. i was fortunate to be able to work for him. he really understood the business. and he grew the business. and he borrowed us the success we have now. i think the best thing you learn from pete is, it's not about you. it's about the game. you've got to deal what's right to make sure the game continues to grow. >> what a responsibility you must feel being that close to him, driving him around, seeing how hard it was for -- i mean, you have to feel that great responsibility every day to carry on his legacy. >> i do. i feel not just from pete, because i know how much the game meant to him. but i know what -- what points of emphasis he would take. but i also feel that responsibility for everyone

involved in the game and our fans. i mean, we have 200 million fans. i feel a little bit of responsibility to them. >> i want to ask you, i don't want to go back into the head injury stuff because i think joe hit it. the beginning of your tenure you dealt with so many off field problems with the players. now you're dealing with some say an existential problem with the head injuries. which one has been more challenging and which one was sort of more unforeseen to deal with, one or the other? >> i think some -- both of them, i think, have just developed. and we learn more as we go on in the off the field stuff. it's something that i felt was reflecting poorly on the nfl and the brand. and we owe the players who i think are outstanding young men, and really do great things in their communities, when somebody does something poorly, it reflects on everybody. on the off -- on the on-field issues, it's something as we learn more from medicine, as we learn more that we've invested in research, we wanted to make sure we're changing the game in

a way that's positive and making sure we can do what's right for these guys for the long term. >> what is it about the nfl. we sit around this table every day. people come and they're wringing their hands. manufacturing has changed radically and the jobs are going away. you know, media. you know, the great, you know, media empires have collapsed. you can go down every industry, every brand. it has been, you know, get the -- roll james earl jones talking about change as a freight train, all this stuff. the nfl is still the nfl. it just keeps getting bigger, keeps getting more popular every year. what is it about the nfl? >> i think the first thing is that we have five networks promoting the nfl, that are carrying the nfl and games. we're still on free television. i think that's a big difference, too. i think the fact that people can put us on on sundays and watch it on free television is a big plus for us.

second, i think live programming is always a positive. particularly in today's environment. and our ratings are continuing to grow. our demographics are continuing to grow. and we look very optimistically towards the future. >> as a fan, what excites you about the draft in general and what are you looking for tonight? >> well, i spent about an hour and a half in line with all the fans who were waiting to get in last night. it is incredible passion. they're saying we're waiting five or six hours. i think this is a day where, you any, you really see every team get better. and the fans love that. obviously the teams love that. for me, the part that i love the most is watching these young men who work so hard, you've got four alabama guys that are here in new york today. they work so hard to get to this point. and today their careers really begin in the nfl. that's a really emotional moment. when they walk across that stage, it's a good -- it's a good moment. >> i think it's funny about guys like roger who runs football teams, all these men? and he in high school, even, was

a three-sport athletic star, athlete of the year. he gets girls. he has twin girls. good luck with that. >> best of luck with that, buddy. >> men in sports. you're so in trouble. for more information -- >> you're screwed, man. it gets harder from here. for more information on the heads up football initiative go to usafootball.com. good luck to you. >> this is so important. thank you. >> commissioner roger goodell, thank you so much. business headlines with brian schactman. don't bore me. next. [ female announcer ] how do you define your moment?

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oh, angie? i have her on speed dial. for sein a whole new way. for seeing what cash is coming in and going out... so you can understand every angle of your cash flow- last week, this month, and even next year. for seeing your business's cash flow like never before, introducing cash flow insight powered by pnc cfo. a suite of online tools that lets you turn insight into action. welcome back to "morning joe." brian schactman with your business before the bill. jobless claims just came out. down several thousand to 339,000. a piece of good news in the marketplace. >> good. that's great.

>> stock futures to the upside. also just quickly want to point out that general social survey says the fear of being laid off is back to prerecession levels. even though the jobs numbers might not be through the roof, there is a little bit of optimism in the labor market. >> well, that's good. that's a little different than the durable goods number yesterday. >> yes. >> pretty good news. >> right. more "morning joe" -- >> you don't have to listen to alex. were you going to ask me a question? >> no. i just wanted to do the right thing. >> more "morning joe" in a moment. flying is old hat for business travelers.

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this coming monday, way too early on "morning joe" will be marking six months. >> six months already? >> it has. since hurricanes and superstorm sandy devastated the eastern seaboard. we'll will live from three of the hardest hit spots. look agent ting at the region t still struggling to recover. next, what if anything did we learn today? i'm meteorologist bill

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he's by far a qualified man. it's a great country. there are a lot of people that are very qualified. we've had enough bushes. >> thank you, mom. >> wow, i thought my mom was blunt. >> you know what, your mom -- >> think of my e-mails. >> she's blunt. but your mom and mrs. bush share a lot of really, really great characteristics. >> yes, they do. >> they both scare the hell out

of me for one. >> i love them. i love her. she's great what did you learn today? >> barbara bush is not done being straightforward. >> no. >> isn't she something? >> brian schactman? >> i'm focused on -- >> buzz of dallas today. >> the average nfl coach is less than three years. he's smart. does what he does. gets to talk about it all the time. why would he go back to coaching? >> that's a good question. you said something earlier very interesting about barbara bush's statement today that the bush library is going to have to work really hard. we're serious about this. to make sure that that's not the headline tomorrow. >> four presidents probably can do it. maybe 43 will have to insert something in his speech to make some news. >> yeah. i guess so. mika, you know, it's -- it's a fascinating time. george w. bush. a lot of reflection. i'm glad his poll numbers are up. i've obviously been tough on him. but it's -- i'm glad he's around 50% as he opens his library today. >> yeah. i think we can learn a lot from

what happens today. it's a big day in dallas as well on many levels. many different presidents, former presidents coming and joining him. it will be an important day. >> twitter has noticed. >> very well behaved in the interview where you burst in the door as if you thought the ceiling was going to crush you. >> i was scared. chuck todd's live in dallas now. and so let's go to chuck. i'm sure he won't ask anybody about obesity down there today. chuck todd live in dallas, stick around. the show will change your life. bill clinton's there. this is a place to educate people, to explain some of the decisions i made, to talk about the principles that guided me. but also to encourage people to serve. ultimately history will judge whether krit you ccritics are r wrong. but this is a place to educate people. >> good morning from the campus of south