council as part of the opposition. and that is in reaction to what we have seen in syria. but you know, it is, i think instructive to look at the past for guidance when it comes to the need to be very serious about gathering all the facts. establishing chain of custody, linking evidence of the use of chemical weapons to specific incidents. and actions taken by the regime. and that's what we will do, because that's the responsible thing to do. >> and on tuesday, the u.s. quote not come to the conclusion that there had been one of these attacks. we've since learned that the administration has known about this for a number of weeks. how do you square those two statements. >> what i said -- you're talking about conclusion versus varying degrees of confidence that

weapons were used. i talked about conclusion in the context of crossing the red line. what i'm saying today and what the white house said in the letters that were sent by the director of legislative affairs to two senators on capitol hill, is that we are continuing to work to build on the assessments made by the intelligence community. that the confidence, the degrees of confidence here are varying. that this is not an air-tight case. and that is entirely the responsible thing to do. as i think many observers on this with a little historical perspective have made clear in the last 24 hours. >> yesterday's senior administration official told reporters on a call that all options remain on the table. which i think you've said before. >> uh-huh. >> ha does that mean now, in the context of these letters? and how far away is the united states from making a decision

regarding military force. >> the second part of your question goes to timelines and i'm not going to set any. because we need to be about the business of assembling the credible set of facts, assembling the evidence, assembling corroborative information and that's what we're doing. and we're pressing for a united nations investigation into this as well. >> on the first part, all options remain on the table. the president has been clear about this. i have, as you noted. and that remains the case. i'm not going to speculate about what action we might take. should we firmly establish that the red line has been crossed. but it is absolutely the case that all options remain on the table. >> so what are the next steps, then, as you work on getting more information? will there be more outreach to russia and china about this in terms of diplomacy in terms of

getting them on board? what does the united states do next as you're looking at this evidence? >> well we work with our allies -- >> that was white house press secretary jay carney, insisting that the administration will wait for credible and corroborative evidence regarding the use of chemical weapons in sirria it's friday april 26th and this is "now." confirming months of speculation and raising serious foreign policy concerns, the white house announced chemical weapons had been used by the sir yab government in a letter sent to members of congress, the administration said u.s. intelligence agencies now believe with quote varying degrees of confidence, that the syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale. just last month president obama made clear that chemical weapons would be a game-changer. >> i've made it clear to bashar al assad and all who follow his orders, we will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons against the syrian people or the transfer of those weapons to terrorists. the world is watching, we will

hold you accountable. >> given the fact that the administration has made the use of chemical weapons a theoretical red line not to be crossed. yesterday's announcement could mark a turning point in foreign policy. but the appetite for intervention, at least domestically seems less than vashs, so far the white house is proceeding with caution, saying before any action is taken, more intelligence is needed. and this morning on capitol hill, secretary of state john kerry briefed house members on the situation. but when it comes to assessing intelligence in order to go to war, the legacy of iraq looms large. and in its letter, the white house made clear that the administration would not repeat the mistakes of the past. given the stakes involved and what we have learned from our own recent experience, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient. only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making. not everyone shares a taste for caution. yesterday senator john mccain said the administration has waited long enough.

>> it's a shameful chapter in american history. and i hope that this new revelation of chemical weapons will move the president to do what he should have done two years ago. from the statement that's coming out of the white house, i'm not sure they will. >> john mccain is not alone. among an increasing number of republicans, there's a growing consensus that the administration has been two ambiguous on syria. last month the chairman of the house intelligence committee, mike rodgers, urged the president to take a harder approach. >> if you issue a red line for our allies and our adversaries, it can't be a pink line it can't be a dotted line, it can't be an imaginary line, it has to be a red line. >> it is not just republicans who are urging action. in a statement released yesterday, senator dianne feinstein says it is clear that red lines have been crossed and action must be taken to prevent larger-scale use. but criticism of the white house's action or inaction on syria still leaves unanswered this question -- if intelligence shows a so-called red line has been crossed, then what?

at this point, the white house is saying that all options are on the table and experts are already sounding their warnings. former c.i.a. officer bob bare says going into syria would be utter chaos. going into syria will be like walking into a giant lawn mower blade, this worse than iraq in terms of putting troops inside syria's borders. while military intervention could be chaotic and bloody, the situation inside the country is decidedly so. in the past two years, the conflict in the country has claimed 70,000 lives. last month was the deadliest month yet with 6,000 syrians killed. given that, the imperative to take action, some kind of action, remains strong, jeffrey goldberg writes in "the atlantic" if it is proved to a certainty that assad is trying to kill his people with chemical weapons, then obama may have no choice but to act. not only because he's put the country's credibility on the line. but also because the alternative, allowing human beings to be murdered by a monstrous regime, using the

world's most devilish weapons when he has the power to stop it is not a moral option for a moral man. joining me is glen thrush, the "huffington post" political editor and white house correspondent, sam stein, former director of the domestic policy council under president obama, melanie barnes and "washington post" columnist and msnbc political analyst, ezra klein and ayman mohyeldin, msnbc correspondent. i want to go to you, ayman, the president, they keep doubling down on the terms, credible and corroborative. needing more evidence as to whether assad is using chemical weapons. how much do you think the international community and specifically syrians are taking stock in this notion that the white house is moving perhaps towards action of some kind in syria? >> well you know, i've been speaking to people overseas. and trying to gauge their reaction from the syrian opposition leaders, the syrian coalition, they put out a statement yesterday, in which

they said that time has come for u.s. action. that the evidence is so overwhelming, not only from an anecdotal level, but also from the u.s. intelligence assessments and some of its closest allies, that there is no more excuse for inaction and the blood of the syrian people is now really weighing in on the countries that are not getting involved to put an end to it. this is no longer a situation that is just simply about security and regional security. there is a moral imperative from the perspective of the syrian opposition for the united states to act. and i think not only is the red line comment, which is getting certainly a lot of play in u.s. about the chemical weapons important factor, but there is as we also just saw, a moral imperative that is increasingly being called for u.s. intervention in some sorts. and it doesn't necessarily have to be in the scope of pure military intervention with boots on the ground. there are a whole host of options that can tip the balance in favor of the rebels, to put

an end to the blood-letting that is taking place in syria. and that is what increasingly, the syrian opposition is calling for and also arab foreign ministers in washington, d.c., to meet with their counterpart here in d.c. pushing forward. >> what about the u.n. piece of this? the u.s. seems increasingly reliant in working in a multilateral way in conflicts around the world. and the idea that the u.n. is going to be their next sort of body of choice as far as syria. how optimistic are you, how optimistic should the u.s. audience be, in that the russians and chinese will play ball in doing something serious in syria? >> the short answer to that is it has been stalled by the russia veto at the security council. several resolutions that have been introduced calling for greater international resolution to the conflict have been blocked by the russians. and russia makes no, it doesn't make a secret that it supports the assad government. more importantly, even with the question about the use of chemical weapons, russia insists that the chemical weapons could have been used by the rebels. and as a result, they are

calling for both sides to refrain from using chemical weapons. they say that that is also a red line and they condemn it in the strongest terms. but they are ambiguous about who is using the chemical weapons. and that also is an indication that if the situation were to go back to the united nations, you can expect more stalling, if you will, in the security council. and in other floors. i think that's why the syrian opposition and arab league foreign ministers are pushing the united states to bypass the united nations, sure you can have the united nations try and collect the evidence for the use of chemical weapons, whether or not it was used. but the intelligence and the anecdotal evidence has suggested that it has been used in addition to the growing moral imperative for action. that is when is driving the calls for u.s. military intervention. >> ayman, i want to open it up to our panel in d.c. glenn and sam, you guys are

gadflies in terms of the white house. one is the moral imperative here, the blood that's been shed in syria is unconscionable. and i think there's a sense that as jeffrey goldberg says, obama is a moral man. and as someone with a moral compass, that i think tries to keep pointing north, would like to do something to stop the bloodshed. the question is, what options does he even have at this point, glenn? >> george w. bush was a moral man as well, and he was at his library opening and nobody was able to talk about his tenure because iraq went so horribly wrong. i thought that from the moment president obama took the podium, the memo came out documenting for the first time that the syrians may have been using this. we can't pay for our faa -- >> we can't pay for air traffic controllers. >> and i think that jay carney, as we were watching this, it was

so clear, he was using every variant of "might" "should" and "could." i think they're going to take this slowly and do everything they can to avoid boots on the ground. >> one of the things that jay was saying is to make sure we know all the facts before we make determinations and one of the facts they need to know is who exactly is constituting the rebel forces? there's conflicting reports about that. there's troubling reports about that, too. and also as glenn rightly pointed out, what would the costs be? how much would it cost the u.s. government now? it could be very cheap, it could be a no fly zone that could be done with a budget authority and it could be more expensive if you put boots on the ground. if you read between the lines, some of the hawkish people on this understand it can't just be the united states. lindsay graham's statement included the world international component a couple of times. it cannot just be the united states that's going alone on this. and that will take time. >> melody i will quote former defense secretary bob gates in 2011 said any future defense

secretary who advises the president to send a big land army into asia or middle east or africa should have his head examined. military analysts will say this is like walking into a giant lawn mower i think was the quote. but the president is going to get pressured to do something. how dangerous, maybe dangerous isn't the right word. but the fact that this red line has been established. and it is theoretically been crossed. and if the white house does nothing about it or sort of is seen to stall on it, how damaging is that to the president in terms of foreign policy. and the sort of quote-unquote strength of his administration. >> well, i've been thinking about the powell doctrine, when you go in, you better know how you're going to get out. it also goes to the jeffrey goldberg quote you're using. the president wouldn't be able to live with that. because he is is a moral man. i know that having worked for him. the question is, what you do and are you going to make things worse? and making those judgments. this is extremely complicated.

obviously the humanitarian aid has been stepped up. now they're looking toor more evidence to builded case for the reasons we just described. because we know they have to bring the entire international community along with them. there are a series of different options that they will be looking at. if in fact they can establish whether or not chemical weapons can be used. and the chain of control goes back to assad. we know looking back to 1998 and the bombing in sudan, that they saw or they thought that chemical weapons had been used. but in fact, what they found was something different much much later on, the evidence didn't bear out what they originally thought. >> i feel like the drumbeat -- the sheer number and i don't mean to denigrate the gravity of what happened in sudan. but because this has happened in such a concentrated period of time, the 70,000 dead. the fact that there was a red line that is real, is pressuring action. the fact that there are regional actors that want something done as ayman said, arab leaders are meeting.

ezra, how much time feasibly do you think the president can take? jay carney said we are not going to establish a time table. but the republicans in specific are making hay about the time is now. >> this is a terrible answer to give on cable news. i don't know. i genuinely don't know what kind of intelligence -- >> it's a good answer, an important answer. >> i don't know what they need to do in order to establish certainty. i think one way of reading what carney is saying up there, which i think is going to be the normal way of reading it. is a kind of jaded they know they're just trying to buy time. that's very possible. on the other hand, we knew that iraq had weapons of mass destruction, that's not a joke that we thought that. that was a very, very mistaken judgment. i'm not shocked that if they do need more time to establish that, as sam says pulling together an international response, not a quick thing to do. but i think there's a broader thing. syria has already killed tens and tens of thousands of civilians. the reason they're talking about this red line, it's not just rhetorical, right? they want to create a situation

in which other regimes do not have the incentive to stockpile or create chemical or biological weapons. if they're laying around, it's more likely they get sold to terrorists. a lot about what's happening is setting up future incentives and future precedent around the use of these kinds of weapons and that creates a rationale that's as much about national interest as it is about humanitarian concern in syria. >> and it's important to note how this connects with the iranian situation. that is the larger geopolitical context to this. assad is close to the iranian regime. he is in some, in some ways hezbollah seen as a proxy for the iranian regime. so the need for the united states to assert itself in this regard, particularly vis-a-vis chemical weapons will allow them, give them breathing space in lerms of the looming confrontation with iran as well. >> i think the shadows of wmds and bush and not mentioning iraq playing out at the same time as

this is happening, probably for an administration that would be cautious anyway, the stark reminder of that, the legacy of that will make them even more cautious. we have to leave it there, ayman mohyeldin, thank you very much as always for your thoughts and insight. coming up, new details emerge about the boston bomber's plan to target times square as a surviving bomb suspect goes site. the latest with nbc's michael isikoff, next on "now." [ male announcer ] this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only

once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious,

and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com.

boston marathon bombing suspect, dzhokhar tsarnaev, whose condition was recently upgraded from serious to fair was transferred overnight to a federal medical center at fort devons, a decommissioned

military base 40 miles outside boston. prior to that tsarnaev revealed that he and his brother had planned to carry out the next part of their plan in new york city. >> last night we were informed by the fbi that the surviving attacker revealed that new york city was next on their list on their list of targets. he told the fbi that he and his brother had intended to drive to new york and designate additional explosives in times square. >> the two brothers had at their disposal six improvised explosive devices. one was a pressure cooker bomb, similar to the two that had exploded at the marathon. the other five were pipe bombs. judge dzhokhar tsarnaev revealed the plan to investigators under the public safety exemption, which allowed for him to be questioned saturday night into sunday, without being informed of his miranda rights. tsarnaev stopped talking 0 monday after a federal judge,

mary anne bowler determine he had should be read his miranda rights, setting off a debate about the power of the judicial branch to interfere in a case of national security. >> we can't have the judiciary deciding because it's on tv and it might look bad for them, to allow the public safety exemption that deemed legal by the united states supreme court, that they were going to somehow intercede in this, is a, it's confusing, it is horrible, god-awful policy and dangerous to the greater community and we have got to get to the bottom of this and we've got to fix it right now. >> as details of the bombing surface, gop lawmakers are also raising concern about intelligence failures resulting from a lack of coordination between the c.i.a. and the fbi. according to the hill, the fact that elder brother tamerlan was placed on a terrorism watch list at the request of the c.i.a. a year before the bombings has heightened fears of an intelligence failure on parallel

to 9/11. lindsay graham said i have no idea who bears the blame, the ultimate blame i think with the administration. joining me nbc news national investigative correspondent, michael isikoff. i want to talk to you about the fbi -- failure, the fact that both the c.i.a. and the fbi eventually had tamerlan tsarnaev on their watch list. but not in coordination with one another. the fact that the russian government had to intervene. what are you hearing about how serious this intelligence coordination or failure of it may be? >> well, there are clearly a lot of questions that people on the hill have about what actually took place here. although it's far from clear, this is as big an intelligence failure as the run-up to 9/11 for example. here's what we know. that the fbi got this report from the russian fsb. back in 2011. suggesting that he was a follower of radical islam, they investigated. they did not find any evidence

to back it up. no evidence of violent activity. but he does get placed into an fbi database. and does get put on a watch list. he gets entered into a watch list. again, the russian fsb contacts the c.i.a. later that year. offers the same evidence the c.i.a. puts him on a watch list. in january 2012 as we reported, as we reported yesterday, when tamerlan tsarnaev goes, goes to the airport to make his reservations, fly out of the country, go to russia. there is an email automatic email alert sent to the joint terrorism task force in boston, about his travels. now, that is one of the threads of evidence here that people are looking at. because there was some alert. so the terrorism task force knew he was leaving the country. it's not clear they had grounds to do anything further.

six months later he comes back. again there's notification, but the question that, the issue that fbi people are saying is -- what grounds did we have for further investigation at that point? there's still no evidence of a crime. still no evidence of any radical connections. people on the hill are saying, yes but should you have looked further? >> if anything, it's a testament to the tenacity of the fsb that they sort of would not let this guy go and kept contacting american law enforcement officials. i want to ask you about the miranda rights question. it's interesting to me, it sounds like dzhokhar tsarnaev did not have a lawyer present, he had not been read his miranda rights when he confessed to the bombing. how much of the fact that he was still under this public safety exemption and didn't have his miranda rights read to him and then basically has clammed up in the days since -- how much do you think that affects sort of the weight of the confession, if you will? >> it's not clear that the

government needs that, those statements to make its case. there seems to be overwhelming evidence here, forensic, photographic, video, that's going to be able, that they'll be able to use to convict him. so whatever statements he made was, were for intelligence purposes that have helped the fbi try to piece together what happened here. but they're not really needed to make the case in court. >> nbc's michael isikoff, thank you as always. coming up, mayor bloomberg has already taken up fights against soda, salt and cigs. his next battle? garbage. next on "now." ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.

[ male announcer ] when you wear dentures you may not know it, but your mouth is under attack. food particles infiltrate and bacteria proliferate. ♪ protect your mouth, with fixodent. the adhesive helps create a food seal defense for a clean mouth and kills bacteria for fresh breath. ♪ fixodent, and forget it. ♪ hoo-hoo...hoo-hoo. hoo-hoo hoo. sir... i'll get it together i promise... heeheehee. jimmy: ronny, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? ronny:i'd say happier than the pillsbury doughboy on his way to a baking convention. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and the streetsmart edge trading platform from charles schw... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 gives me tools that help me find opportunities more easily. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can even access it from the cloud and trade on any computer. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and with schwab mobile, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can focus on trading anyplace, anytime. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 until i choose to focus on something else. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 all this with no trade minimums. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and only $8.95 a trade. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 open an account with a $50,000 deposit, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and get 6 months commission-free trades. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 call 1-866-884-2828. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+.

it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. what that's great. it won't take long, will it? nah. okay. this, won't take long will it? no, not at all. how many of these can we do on our budget? more than you think. didn't take very long, did it? this spring, dig in and save. that's nice. post it. already did. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. dig in and save with vigoro one-quart annuals, four for just ten bucks. could jeb bush lead his party back into the science lab? politico reports that during his recent book tour, bush embraced

america's gas boom as an economic way to curb greenhouse gases, one reporter wrote former aides and even some greens admit we could be repositioned to nixon to china moment. 2012 went down as a banner year for droughts, wildfires and disastrous storms, but legislative action to improve the nation's environmental record has been nearly nonexistent. if congress has been slow to move or more precisely failed to move at all, action to make the earth a slightly greener, safer place is happening at the state level. one city at a time. this is waverly, virginia, a whole lot of new york city is buried right here. new york pays big bucks to ship out its trash. >> the here and now with recycling is, it costs us a lot less to recycle than to send it to a landfill. >> new york city has no active landfills. so it currently ships three

million tons of trash a year to be buried upstate, as well as in pennsylvania, virginia, ohio, and south carolina. at a price tag of $300 million. >> real value of recycling is short-term. instead of $90 a ton. it could cost us $70 a ton. >> by 2017, mayor bloomberg wants to double the city's recycling and composting rate to 30%. the effects would be significant. considering that every new yorker sends 700 pounds of trash to landfills every year. >> waste is simply an indication of inefficiency. it's inefficient for society and environmentally. >> according to the epa, americans produce 250 million tons of garbage in 2010. and recycled or composted about a third of it. 85 million tons. another 29 million tons of trash

were burned to make fuel. but the majority of america's garbage was buried in landfills. 135 million tons of trash. the equivalent of 370 empire state buildings. >> in a landfill, you let things break down as best they can. what you're left with is the remaining recalcitrant substances you'll have to take care of for a long time. >> not all cities recycle equally. >> san franciscans are converting 80% of our waste from the landfill. >> no doubt part of that has to do with the city's garbage tax. >> the more you recycle and compost, the lower your garbage bills. >> in new york, mayor bloomberg is spending money to save money. a new recycling facility will recycle all kinds of plastics, including takeout containers. >> it used to be you could only recycle certain kind of plastic if there was a mark on bottom. number one, i could never remember which was the good mark or the bad mark. number two, i could never find

it. and with my eyes i couldn't really see it. the new processes are if it's rigid, we take it. >> the mayor estimates that by 2017, this recycling push will save $60 million a year. >> i'm 71 years old, i'm probably not going to see 2050, i hope but -- >> we hope you do. >> you're nice to say so. not clear everybody else does. but the bottom line is, i'd like my kids, who are going to be around in 2050, god willing, to be able to breathe clean air and to live. >> with each piece of trash recycled, a little less of america and its future is buried in the ground. coming up, with thousands of sequester-inflicted flight delays paralyzing air travel, president obama and congress jumps into action. next on "now."

moments ago, the house gave the nation a sequester band-aid, one which the senate unanimously approved late last night. the this morning the house overwhelmingly approved the reducing flight delays act of 2013. which protects the faa from furloughing its workers and causing continued airline gridlock. the sequester cuts forced delays on a total of 1200 flights on monday, about 1,000 on tuesday and 900 on wednesday. the bill is being trumpeted by republicans as a giant democratic cave-in. writing to his members this morning, eric cantor high-fived himself. by last night, senate democrats were adopting our targeted cut this not that approach. this victory is in large part as a result of our standing together under the banner of

#obamaflightdelays. plenty of other americans have little to celebrate. specifically those struggling the most -- the quick fix for flight delays misses the broader problem of the sequester. there will be no reducing cuts to meals on wheels act of 2013. nor will there be an insuring cancer treatment for medicare patients act of 2013. according to the editorial board of "u.s.a. today," as long as the cuts affected relatively powerless constituencies, few lawmakers seemed to care. this week, though, it hit well-heeled executive who is travel. the powerful airline industry and two unions that represent faa workers and also conveniently the fix is happening on friday, as lawmakers prepare to fly home for a week-long recess. speaking at the -- surprise -- airport, two senate republicans pointed out the perks of the timing of the frequent flyer fix. >> well you know i have to travel probably more than most of my constituents. >> i don't have to now wear a mask or a disguise as i go

through the airport, i'm happy to say. >> but what of those who aren't platinum sky miles members, but whose lives are being affected by the $1.1 trillion in sequester cuts? said washington congressman, rick larsen. no 3-year-old or 4-year-old is going to call my office and say, i've been kicked out of head start. replace that money. so while the jet-setters may have an easier time at 30,000 feet. those below them physically and economically seem even farther away than ever. >> we just fooling ourselves. if we think that we are doing the american people any favor by not finding a real solution. >> ezra, are we kidding ourselves with this? the sequester? band-aid or the faa band-aid would seem to draw attention away from the actual pain being felt by many people who aren't actually in congress and boarding airplanes this friday. >> we're not kidding ourselves, we're saying to the american people, we're the worst people in the world.

we are terrible people who don't -- i find this stuff appalling. i find the washington reaction to sequester genuinely infuriating. we went from white house tours, literally everything one might cut in the government, should be the very first thing you cut in the government. it could not matter less except to members of congress. now we get mad about airline travel. this month and next month, unemployment checks for people unemployed longer than 24 weeks, get cut by 11% across the board. that's what's going to happen under the sequester and we're sitting around cutting the one-half of one percentage point of the sequester that is the faa? this was the day and i just think it should be set clear. the democrats lost the sequester. it became permanent. if they're going to go through this and every time a politically powerful constituency is heard, they will take that constituency out of play, this will never go away. at that point they should just accept the toomey bill to have full discretion across the

sequester because then you can have discretion on everything and make it better if instead you decide you are not going to do any of the hard stuff required. >> it brings into sharp focus those who have powerful voices in washington and those who don't. the powerless remain as powerless as ever. sam stein, i'll quote your tweet yesterday, head start kids should just start complaining about the long tarmac delays they're dealing with. honestly it is shocking that the cuts to unemployment benefits, to education, to cancer patients who are on medicare, those don't get dealt with. but long airline delays do. >> first of all, this is what many of us said would happen when the sequester went into action. we said it won't happen immediately, but eventually people are going to start to feel the pain. the problem is, that we aren't serious enough about policy-making and long-range thinking that we can't look behind our immediate discomfort for those of us who are flying all the time and ask ourselves a question about serious long-term

investments, making tough decisions as ezra just mentioned. and deciding how we're going to grow our economy, what matters in the long term, issues like education, issues like energy and the environment. other places where we have to make these investments, but we have to make tough choices if we're going to be able to do that. >> ezra's choice, the obama administration is forfeiting leverage, saying we can fix one part, but not all. the cuts will be so indiscriminate, so horrible, that the whole thing had to be fixed in total. just one more point before glenn jumps in. the part about the powerfulness versus the powerless is very valid. before the show i was talking to a national head start figure about how they were going to handle this in light of the faa reversing its furloughs. she said we have a lot of kids who are going to be sending messages to the hill, they have these great schemes where they're going to put the hand prints to show the flag and i said that's nice and touching

and i'm moved by it, personally. how does that compare to a pafrl lobbyist for an airline industry and she said, it doesn't. that's an important point, there are some groups in this country that do have representation at the table and they will get exemptions like the faa, or the airline industry and others will suffer because of this and there's no political fix. >> sam, i think credit where credit's due, you've done a great job and some of your fellow reporters at the the "huffington post" in terms of documenting what's actually happening in practically in terms of the sequester cuts. the notion that it's 4,000 elderly people in georgia who don't have lunch for a week. you know, that changes people's lives. people are in pain. but that's not documented with the same sort of urgency and fierceness that a delay at the airport is. >> a shout-out to your sarah cliff who has done some good reporting. >> a festival of love. >> high fives today. >> but to put the onus on the

white house a little bit. apart from surrendering leverage, this from with all due respect from a communications perspective and messaging, they're extraordinarily reactive on this stuff. what if the president, because this is an option, if the president said no, we're not going to take this ala carte approach, on the day that i'm supposed to be signing this bill, i'm going to go to a couple of head start clinics. why not put, it's an open question to the white house, why not put the force and power of the presidency behind this point? >> i think this is not only exactly right. i want to note something about the way that republicans have acted in congress over the last couple of years. you've had them take pain in order to get leverage, right? almost threatening government shutdown wasn't popular. threatening the debt ceiling wasn't popular. but it gave them leverage to get things like the sequester. there's no similar willingness among the democrats. >> melody, i want to follow on glenn's suggestion here. the president was very tenacious about the sequester cuts, saying

they are going to be painful and there was some sense that when they kicked in, there was a backing down or the republicans were sort of high-fiving themselves as they are wont to do, and saying we won this one. and the white house backed off the message. now the cuts are actually painful and taking place. should the president be more aggressive about this? should he not go with the ala carte approach? >> we've seen this in other instances where people say the president has given too much. and ultimately the strategy has played out in the end. ultimately when you look at the high-end tax cuts, ultimately the strategy played out in the end. so i wouldn't say that the white house has tossed the white flag and surrendered on this. they've made the message again, made it from the very beginning, saying this is going to be tough. i think we have to see how the rest of it plays out. you know, today they're hearing from a lot of different people beyond the lobbyists. you no he, whether or not we were, would be willing to withstand that and say let this play out is one thing. they've made this decision. but i don't think that it necessarily means it's the end of the day on this. >> maybe a grand bargain is

possible. maybe? wow. skepticism at the table. we have to take a break. coming up, word association with george w. bush's presidential library speech. yesterday he said the word "happy" four times, the word "awesome" twice, a third time on a hot mic. history was mentioned two times and the word "iraq"? guess how many times that was brought up. we'll discuss ahead on "now." [ female announcer ] birdhouse plans. nacho pans. glass on floors. daily chores. for the little mishaps you feel use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster. neosporin. use with band-aid brand bandages. [ female announcer ] what does beauty feel like? ♪ and where does it begin? ♪

it begins with your skin. venus embrace. every five-bladed stroke gives you 360 degrees of smooth revealing goddess skin you can feel and feel. only from venus embrace. also in disposables. [ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs... to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ from finding the best way... ♪ to finding the best catch... ♪

wireless is limitless. some brokerage firms are. but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder -- isn't that a conflict? search "proprietary mutual funds." yikes! then go to e-trade. we've got over 8,000 mutual funds, and not one of them has our name on it. we're in the business of finding the right investments for you. e-trade. less for us. more for you. the fund's prospectus contains its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information and should be read and considered carefully before investing. for a current prospectus, visit etrade.com/mutualfunds. before investing. when ouwe got a subaru.s born, it's where she said her first word. (little girl) no! saw her first day of school. (little girl) bye bye! made a best friend forever. the back seat of my subaru is where she grew up. what? (announcer) designed for your most precious cargo. (girl) what?

(announcer) the all-new subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

[ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ge has wired their medical hardware with innovative software to be in many places at the same time. using data to connect patients to software, to nurses 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? ♪

officers and sailors of the u.s.s. "abraham lincoln" my fellow americans, major combat operations in iraq have ended. and the battle of iraq, the united states and our allies have prevailed. >> the bush presidential library is set to open to the public on may 1st. ten years to the day that bush declared an end to major combat operations in iraq. but the mission accomplished banner is nowhere to be found. instead, at yesterday's bush presidential library dedication ceremony, there was plenty of praise for the decider in chief. >> i'm filled with admiration for you and deep gratitude for you, about the great contributions you've made to the most needy people on earth. >> i like president bush, we do a lot of speeches together and i

like it when we have disagreements. he's disarmingly direct. >> to know the man is to like the man. because he's comfortable in his own skin. he knows who he is. he doesn't put on any pretenses. he takes his job seriously, but he doesn't take himself too seriously. he is a good man. >> our 43rd president remembered as a good man with deep convictions who made big decisions. >> my deepest conviction, the guiding principle of the administration, is that the united states of america must strive to expand the reach of freedom. >> there was lots of talk about big decisions at yesterday's ceremony. but no mention, no suggestion of the one decision that will forever define the bush legacy -- iraq. the war was sold to the american people as part of bush's global war on terror and it is still being sold that way. inside the library, iraq is conveniently folded into a

larger exhibit on fighting the global war on terror. territorial strategies aside, bush made clear that even ten years later, he remains comfortable with his decision. >> people make their own judgment. some will agree, some will disagree. i will give you my judgment. removing saddam hussein was the right decision and the world is better off without him in power. >> glenn thrush, is the world going to remember bush as a good president. can you gloss over the history? >> my favorite speech yesterday, bar none, was dick cheney's heart-felt address. >> right, right. >> conspicuously absent. >> i don't think, you know, the fact that the principal himself decided not to talk about it, i think speaks louder than anything else. >> i did think, melody, a lot of people have different ideas about these moments, they are ones to sort of honor a president's legacy. a lot of other people, myself included, thought this is kind of weird to see everybody

talking about bush, but not mentioning the 5,000-ton elephant in the room. >> i guess it was a day for miss manners. and that's time and a place for comedy and i think that that's what that was about. the critical thing is that we can't change facts and we can't change data and we can't change history. it is important going forward to have an honest assessment and continue to have an honest assessment about what happened. the good things in terms of his work on hiv-aids, but then you take the war, you take torture, you look at what happened to the economy, you look at the continued deregulation on wall street. the list goes on and on and we have to be honest about that. to understand not only what happened, but also its effect on what's happening now. the conversation we were having earlier about syria. >> i think they're going to remember his presidency much like the paintings, the effort was nice, some strokes were decent, but overall -- >> the paintings may end up being part of the bush legacy,

ezra. >> these are very polite events, george w. bush was a very bad president, whose legacy, the fact a that his numbers are creeping up a bit. jimmy cart certificate in the 60 perce percentile now. "andrea mitchell reports" is coming up next. with your spring weekend forecast, there's two things going on this weekend. one is warmer temperatures, just about everywhere. the other one is some heavy rains that are today in areas of oklahoma and arkansas, they'll be spreading overnight tonight into the weekend. into areas of tennessee, kentucky and the southeast. one rainy spot this weekend, that will have to deal with on

and off rain, the rest of the country, enjoy. every two weeks. now our plants get the food they need while we water. so they're bigger, healthier, and more beautiful. guaranteed. when you feed your plants, everyone grows with miracle-gro. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

stay top of mind with customers? from deals that bring them in with an offer... to social media promotions that turn fans into customers... to events that engage and create buzz... to e-mails that keep loyal customers coming back, our easy-to-use tools will keep you in front of your customers. see what's right for you at constantcontact.com/try. (annoucer) new beneful medley's, in tuscan, romana, and mediterranean style varieties. ♪ just mix it in, and take play to new places. three cans in every pack. new beneful medley's.

in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our history matter to you? because for more than two centuries, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. ♪ and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ right now on "andrea mitchell reports" -- where is the red line? now that the white house suggests chemical weapons could have been used in syria. secretary of state john kerry briefed lawmakers today, asking, they're asking what's the plan. >> i think it's very important for us to continue to talk to russia, because i think russia could really make a difference in helping to resolve this seriouer