darwitz, keith jones, i am liam mchugh. we will see you live from the sochi winter olympic games. i'm craig melvin. we go from olympic women's hockey to political gamesmanship with a busy week in washington. president obama playing host to his french counterpart as a new debt ceiling debate picks up and, of course, 2016 posturing on the left and the right. our power panel sets the table. plus, a pro football prospect steps out of the closet right before he's expected to step onto the nfl stage. the president of glaad and a former player who waited till he was out of the league to do the same, they'll both join us. and we will also go back to sochi for a live look at the olympic games now in full swing.

but there may be a problem with one event in particular. we'll talk about that. plus we'll also talk about what's up with all the empty seats. but we start with a midwinter flurry of activity in the nation's capitol. while the president awaits the arrival of the french president, holla hollande and tonight's state dinner at the white house, conservatives are gathered at the 2014 conservative policy summit in d.c. a live look there, ted cruz is expected to speak shortly. the day-long event organized by heritage for action comes as the party has its best chance in years to retake the senate. but it must also ask itself, how to balance the interests of establishment republicans with the tea party wing. on the issue of immigration, for instance, heritage ceo and former senator jim demint this morning echoing the words of john boehner last week. >> we need immigration reform, but as we've talked about at

heritage, we don't need this big conglomeration of comprehensive bills, especially at a time when americans have lost trust in this president to faithfully carry out the laws. >> meanwhile, john boehner who, as you might remember back in december, said heritage action had lost all credibility. as a different more immediate concern as 2014 aapproaches, th debt ceiling. the treasury department says the government is going to hit the nation's borrowing limit february 27th, just two days before it returns from a recess that starts wednesday. crystal ball, my colleague and one quarter of "the cycle," david nakamura of "the washington post," and john theory, quinn gillespie communications, also a republican strategist. good to see all of you. thanks for being with me. >> thanks for having me. >> ted cruz has apparently been making nice with his fellow senators there. today he's talking about energy policy being more than a fight

over keystone, not spending a great deal of time talking about the evils of obamacare. have there been some lessons learned by the senator from texas? >> i think so. and you know, after his big year last year, he was very controversial in a lot of quarters. obviously for some of the tactics he used, the long filibuster put him on everybody's radar. but i think his -- he and others like marco rubio are saying, you know, we're trying to bring some ideas forward that could actually be useful to the party. and as you said, heritage is one of those outside groups that is trying to say hey, we're going to change tactics and play a little more inside game to try to make the establishment more comfortable with what we're doing. but i think even jim demint, you talked about the immigration reform. if you recall last year, heritage rolled out their immigration piece, and the author of the study, which, you know, sort of cast doubt on this idea that immigrants would help the economy, turned out to have had other writings that a lot of people found were racist. you know, i think this is the problem that this think tank and others are facing as they go

forward now and talk about immigration again. but as you said, john boehner does seem to be on the same page. it may be they have influence again. >> crystal, is it fair to think heritage is a different organization than it was a year ago? >> not a lot of reason. i think they were badly burned in the last debt ceiling and the government shutdown fight. they lost a whole lot of credibility there. members felt like they had been sort of thrown under the bus because they essentially had been thrown under the bus. heritage and ted cruz essentially forced them into the government shutdown and promised their base that they could repeal health care when that was really never credible. so i do think they're a little chastened from that. that being said, they've still got the same players in place. they still have an aggressive stance. and in a lot of ways, they're still driving the ship. you can see it in the turn in immigration reform. you did have john boehner. you did have the leadership of the republican party really trying to push that forward with talk radio and heritage being much more reluctant, now you see them pulling back. so you can see the way that heritage still what is a whole

lot of influence. >> this is senator chuck schumer's response this weekend to this idea that president obama can't be trusted on immigration reform. take a listen. >> there's a simple solution. let's enact the law this year but simply not let it actually start till 2017, after president obama's term is over. >> is that a good idea, john? >> well, i put it in my own blog last week that they should think about doing something like this. listen, i think that there is deep distrust that the republicans have with president obama. and that's a problem. and that's a problem on a variety of subjects. >> but john, is that distrust -- is that distrusting the president to implement laws, or is that a different kind of distrust? >> well, i think it's implementing laws. it's following laws. >> why? if you don't trust the president -- >> listen, craig, i agree with you. i think ultimately they've got to find a way to fix a broken immigration system. you've got to get it done.

if it means implementing the law after the president is out of office, that's fine by me. and i think ultimately to make government work, you no ed to find a way to work with one another. you don't have to completely trust one another. i think the president makes sure that he implements laws around the books. and i think that would help to lead to greater trust with the republicans. i think that's part of his problem. >> that argument continues to fascinate me, against pursuing immigration form because you don't trust the president to implement it. >> yeah. >> and what's even more striking about the argument to me, it seems as if that's -- i just heard that a week or two ago. if that's really how they felt, why was that not the argument three months ago? >> because it's just an excuse. i mean, that's what it comes down to, right? they're finding a lot of reticence from the base. they're getting a lot of pushback from talk radio. they have to find a way to essentially scuttle immigration reform for now without just coming out and saying we don't want to do this. our base doesn't want to do this right now. so they're putting the blame where republicans put the blame where it's comfortable for them to put the blame, on president

obama. it's a pretty remarkable turn, and i think that the proposal from schumer there essentially calls their bluff. he says, fine. if you don't like this president, we can do this under the next president. we can push it off, but let's pass the bill now and get things moving. >> apparently speaker boehner this morning has already all but dismissed that idea from senator schumer. david, one of the conservatives' favorite targets, hillary clinton, conservative free beacon has reported on a trove of documents about and by hillary clinton that became open to the public four years ago. listen to what rand paul said about her this weekend. here it is. >> but then the coup de grace and the thing that i think should limit hillary clinton from ever holding high office, when she was asked for reinforcements, she turned down reinforcements, and we should never, ever have a commander in chief who won't send reinforcements. >> all right. so david, we just heard that. is there a legitimate strategy

here behind repeating, you know, monica and benghazi right now? >> well, i think that the strategy that's -- is not going to go away. these areas really incite the republican base. it plays to the fears that they have about hillary clinton. what i don't know that it does, though, is bring anything new to light that could affect the sort of wide middle ground in an electorate. i don't think republicans are worried about that right now. i think they want to get their base fired up even this early for fund-raising issues, organization. i think, you know, and they're also going to paint her as a bo boogey woman. they have to do something to counter that. that's not going away. and you know, when you look at what the free beacon put out there, i don't know that there's a lot new there. >> john, really quickly, is what we're watching now unfold over the past two weeks or so, is this a preemptive strike of sorts? >> well, sure. hillary clinton is the presumptive nominee for the democrats. almost every other possible opponent other than joe biden is

saying we're not going to run until she makes her announcement. and so she's the nominee. so for rand paul, he might as well not only go after hillary clinton but also against bill clinton because, you know, there's some vulnerabilities there. bill clinton's going around the country right now including in kentucky to raise campaign money for the democrats, making him kind of a political, you know, target is not necessarily a bad strategy by rand paul. >> david nakamura, john fury, krystal ball. thank you. >> thanks, craig. coming up, michael sam, one of the best college football players in the country, a top nfl prospect and oh, by the way, he's gay. he's likely to be the first openly gay pro football player. what that means for the sport and lgbt rights as well. we'll also head back to sochi. we'll check in with my colleague, chris jansing, for a look at one event that has organized concerned. also why there seems to be so

many empty seats at those venues. here in philadelphia you can access a philly cheesesteak anytime, day or night. just like you can access geico anytime, day or night. there is only one way to celebrate this unique similarity. witness the cheesesteak shuffle. ♪ cheesesteak, cheesesteak ♪ ♪ it's the cheesesteak shuffle! huh! ♪ ♪ every day, all day, cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ every night, all night cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ 9 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 2 p.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 4 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ any time (ruh!) >>geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. purina dog chow light & healthy is a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend. with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow. purina dog chow light & healthy. for aveeno® positively radiant face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] aveeno® with soy helps reduce the look of brown spots in 4 weeks.

for healthy radiant skin. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results. [ male announcer ] wintcannot take a sick day. [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] so when he catches a cold, he's got to power through it. ♪ vicks dayquil. powerful non-drowsy 6 symptom cold and flu relief. winter olympian ted ligety can't take a sick day tomorrow. [ coughs ] [ male announcer ] so he can't let a cold keep him up tonight. vicks nyquil. powerful nighttime 6 symptom cold and flu relief. ♪

a steel cage: death match of midsize sedans. the volkswagen passat against all comers. turbocharged engines against...engines. best in class rear legroom against other-class legroom. but then we realized. consumers already did that. twice. huh. maybe that's why nobody else showed up. how does one get out of a death cage? avo: the volkswagen passat, starting at $21,945. that's the power of german engineering. i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. pcentury link provides reliable yit services like multi-layered security solution to keep your information safe & secure.

century link. your link with what's next. a few other headlines we're watching as the week begins. in florida, dunn is accused of killing 17-year-old jordan davis over an argument over loud music outside a convenience store. he is claiming self-defense in that shooting. georgia governor nathan diehl, well, you're not going to fool him twice. after a botched storm response on january 28th, diehl has already announced a state of emergency for 14 georgia counties today. that announcement is in preparation for this. a storm system moving up from the gulf of mexico. that's expected to bring heavy ice across the south. and later this week, potentially heavy snowfall to the northeast as well. we're keeping a close eye on that forecast. and finally, here in new york, a pair of annual events that

generate international attention. get this. you could theoretically spend part of your day watching the models on the catwalk during fashion week. and then another part of your day watching the dog walk. that is the westminster kennel club dog show. how about that? only in new york city. turning back to sochi where the third full day of competition is under way. and here's the medal count. norway and the netherlands are tied for the lead right now, as you can see there. as seven. the united states in a three-way tie for second place with russia and canada at five. team usa has walked away with two golds and three bronze medals so far. one of those bronze medals coming earlier today. julia mancuso living up to her reputation as a big event racer. the 29-year-old won her fourth olympic medal in the women's super combined downhill competition. that makes her the most decorated american female skier ever.

msnbc's chris jansing joins us live now from sochi. good to see you, chris. she struggled at the top, but man, did she come back in the end, huh? >> reporter: and i was actually there. and i tell you, it's something to see. julia mancuso loves the olympics. she's won more medals than any woman skier on team usa in the olympics. now, it's the super combined, so the first race, which was this morning, is the downhill. that's her specialty, but the second race that you're talking about, craig, is the slalom. she hasn't even practiced it all year long. she said at the top she did feel a little sketchy, but boy, she pulled it together, really raced down at the bottom. and as you said, came in third. i'll tell you, the crowd went wild. she is now fifth on the all-time list of most decorated female winter skiers, craig. >> chris, what more can you tell us about these problems with the halfpipe? >> reporter: they're over there right now, as a matter of fact. they had to cancel the practice this morning. they just had a practice this evening. and here's the problem.

the americans, in particular, one, danny davis, said that the course is garbage, in his words. some said it was unsalvageable, but they've been working on it. and they were over there practicing. anne thompson, nbc's correspondent, up on the mountain is talking to both davis and shaun white right now. so we should get some more information about how they think some of these changes may or may not have helped. i think it is worth noting that there were problems in vancouver with the course, and they were able to make it if not the best course, some of these snowboarders have ever seen, at least to the point where they felt like it was okay. >> yeah. >> reporter: we'll see what happens. the weather certainly not cooperating. i just started to feel a little rain here. when i was up on the mountain, it's really warm. that's obviously part of the problem that's making the slow really slushy. >> really quickly, it seems as if we watch some of these events, it looks like there are a lot of empty seats. >> reporter: well, it depends on the event. luge, of all things, yesterday

was 100% sold out. figure skating, more than 90%. in fact, they say most of the events are in the 90s. look, there are some lesser events people don't go to. they've actually had some volunteers kind of filling in the seats not just for the televisions but also to make the competitors feel good. that has happened again at previous olympics. i can tell you when it's free as it is now -- and i don't know if you can see the people streaming out behind me. they just had a medals ceremony. yesterday they had 70,000 people. my producer, stephanie cargill, who's been in this location every day says she thinks this crowd is even bigger. so people are starting to come out, craig, as these games get more into the action. >> sounds good. chris jansing for us live in sochi, our thanks, as always. and a reminder, full coverage of the sochi olympic games continues all day on nbc, msnbc and the full family of nbc channels. coming up, a top nfl prospect who's come out and what

michael sam could mean for pro football. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

it's not the "juggle a bunch of rotating categories" card. it's not the "sign up for rewards each quarter" card. it's the no-games, no-messing-'round, no-earning-limit-having, do-i-look-like-i'm-joking, turbo-boosting, heavyweight-champion- of-the-world cash back card. this is the quicksilver cash back card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere, every single day. now tell me, what's in your wallet?

which will cause me to miss the end of the game. the x1 entertainment operating system lets your watch live tv anywhere. can i watch it in butterfly valley? sure. can i watch it in glimmering lake? yep. here, too. what about the dark castle? you call that defense?! come on! [ female announcer ] watch live tv anywhere. the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity.

as millions around the world tune in to watch the olympics in sochi, it's not just the athletes that have been getting the attention. it has also been russia's anti-gay laws that have been in the spotlight. so it is perhaps somewhat appropriate that it was during the first week of the olympics that all-american college football player missouri's michael sam came out of the closet. >> came to tell the world that i'm openly proud gay man. i was afraid that it would leak out without me actually owning my truth. i wanted to let the world know and tell them that hey i'm gay. let me tell my own story. >> sam who had already come out to his teammates last year is expected to be drafted into the nfl in may which would make him the first-ever openly gay professional football player. the nfl releasing the following statement this morning -- or last night, rather. "we admire michael sam's honesty and courage. michael is a football player.

any player with ability and determination can succeed in the nfl. we look forward to welcoming and supporting michael sam in 2014." i'm joined now by the president and ceo of glaad, sara kate ellis, former nfl player, advocacy group called you can play, wade davis is here. let me start with you because i understand you've actually been counseling michael sam about his decision to come out over the past few days. what did you tell him? what did he tell you? >> well, i think counseling is a strong word. michael sam doesn't need any counseling. he's a football player. he knew exactly what he wanted to do. he really just wanted to say, look, i'm ready to play football. i'm an nfl guy. i've played on the biggest stage in college. so, you know, let's change this conversation. so i can start to prepare. >> how big of a deal is this for the lgbt community? >> this is a groundbreaking deal. i think not only in the nfl but

for the youth in our culture so that they get to see an openly gay man head toward the nfl at the beginning of his career is a major taking on. >> as you know, wade, you know, you talked to "the new york times" about telling his teammates last year. he said, in part, quote. i looked in their heads and they just started shaking their heads like, finally, he came out. as if they all knew. >> and they did. >> it seems like it wasn't a big deal for them. the questions have already started swirling over the last 24 hours, what's this going to mean in the locker room? how is this going to change the culture? how big of a deal is this going to be in an nfl locker room? >> you know, i would say 40% of the nfl rosters of made up of guys who played in the s.e.c. and if it wasn't a big deal at missouri, it's not going to be a big deal in the nfl. i think we don't give playe ere enough credit for being worldly, for having experiences with lgbt people. the nfl is ready.

we've been collaborating with them on other initiatives, so this is no different. >> you say players are ready, the league itself is ready. but some unnamed coaches and executives, they've already started talking. one assistant coach saying, in part, quote, there's nothing more sensitive than the heartbeat of a locker room. if you knowingly bring someone in there with that sexual ori orientati orientation, how are the other guys going to deal with it? it's going to be a big distraction. what's your response to that? to that unnamed coach? >> every nfl player has played with a gay teammate. they all know it. whether or not they want to admit it. and if he didn't have an issue at missouri and helped this team go to a 12-2 record and he's an amazing player. he's the co-defensive player of the year in a conference that's basically the minor leagues of the nfl. if he can take a team to win and celebrate like a seattle seahawks did, i think every coach would want him on their team. >> sara, where do we go from here? >> well, i think we go big and we have great things ahead of ourselves. i think that this is going to

change the conversation, and it takes someone really brave to do that at the beginning and onset of their career. so i think we're going to see a lot of great things come from this. and there's been so much support in the community. >> and it was very interesting to see how fast missouri got on top of this thing, too, yesterday. coming out with a statement and holding a big news conference this afternoon as well, making sure that folks knew how much they supported michael sam. one of the things i also found very interesting, he came out not just before the draft, before the combine as well. what was the thinking there? >> i don't think that he wanted to deal with the type of questions that come when you're trying to hide a secret. he wasn't like me. he transcended his fear. he lived openly and honestly. he didn't want to have to go through that double consciousness. he said look, i want to play football, focus on football, get back to training. let's get the media hoopla out of the way so i can be who i am, and that's a football player. >> sarah kate ellis, wade davis, big thanks to both of you. that's going to do it for me.

i'm craig melvin. i'll see you back here at 2:00. up next, though, "andrea mitchell reports." i'm meteorologist bill karins. another arctic air mass is heading down from canada. it's going to be cold today from minneapolis all the way down into the ohio valley. now, that's going to meet up with a storm system in the gulf, and we are going to see winter weather in the deep south starting late tonight and through the day tuesday. and it looks like a possible snowstorm moving up the east coast wednesday and thursday. [ children yelling ]

[ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. this is shirley speaking. how may i help you? oh hey, neill, how are you? how was the trip? [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... [ shirley ] he's right here. hold on one sec. [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. i dbefore i dosearch any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready.

and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor

before you begin an aspirin regimen. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," cool runnings. another action-packed day in so sochi. the women's hockey team in a blowout win over switzerland. and on the snow, american skier julia mancuso adds more hardware to her medal case. we'll have the latest live from sochi as team usa jumps off to a golden start after dominating the weekend performance on the slopestyle course. >> i just winged it and ended up landing it. it was pretty cool. as the competition is heating up and president putin steals the spotlight, leader of the u.s. delegation, former homeland security secretary janet napolitano joining me just back from attending the opening ceremonies. decision 2014.

gearing up for the midterms, we'll talk to republican national chairman reince priebus about the party's strategy for holding the house and taking the senate. football first. all-american defensive lineman and nfl prospect michael sam announces he is gay. is football ready for its first openly gay nfl player? for his university of missouri teammates, there is no question. >> i came out to my team this last august. and coming out to them, they rallied around me. they supported me. and i knew in that moment that this could happen, if my team can support me, any team can support me. ladies, the beatles, 50 years after appearing on "the ed sullivan show" and kicking off beatle mania, we'll look back on the fab four's lasting legacy in the u.s. >> people like us a lot more when we're older. you watch.