from nbc news in washington, the world's longest running television program, this is "meet the press" with david gregory. >> and good sunday morning. a live picture from sochi, russia, and the winter olympics where the temperature hit 64 degrees on friday. these games could end up being the warmest winter olympics ever. i call them the spring olympics. just to be clearer. quite a different story here, of course. even more snow in the northeast overnight, if you can believe it. as much of the country struggles to cope with one of the worst winters in recent memory. power outages, flights canceled, deadly road conditions to go along with all of it. today, we're talking about the politics of weather. are the paralyzing storms in the east, the drought in the west

creating new urgency to take on climate change? i'm going to speak to two people on opposite sides of the issue. bill nye the science guy and republican congresswoman marsha blackburn of tennessee. plus, the terror threats in sochi. how is russian president vladimir putin cracking down? richard engel has a look at exclusive ways they've cracked down on security. and we're going to look at the cost of the games both financially and politically as we watch the competitions and the pageantry. how much is it worth? i'm going to have an exclusive conversation, interview with the man who ran the games is salt lake city, former presidential nominee mitt romney. i'm joined now by our roundtable. chuck todd is here and new to the roundtable is chief white house correspondent for the associated press julie pace. david axelrod and also new to the roundtable as long as i've known her, former communications director for president bush, nicolle wallace. welcome to all of you. i want to start with the olympics, chuck todd. there is a genuine patriotic

moment that happened on the ice, the shot heard around the world. oshie. it was the sixth round of the shoot-out. >> eighth round. >> eighth round. >> usa-russia hockey and the shot which we can show here of that final shoot-out which is always great in a hockey game. and what a moment, but -- >> poor jonathan quick. >> pretty good goaltending, too. >> oshie, yes. >> and it's not the sports moment and this moment of patriotism comes at a time when the this sensitivity between russia and the united states is real. >> that's what struck me about it. this suddenly collective almost cold war-esque rallying, and that's why there was so, it seemed as if there was such relief to beat putin. and putin was in the audience. my god, it was like "rocky iv" met the miracle on ice.

where's drago? the only thing, and i'm sure you must have felt a little bit of this. the only weird thing, as a capitals fan, you see ovechkin once again on the losing side of the game. >> david, you do remember this cold war moment in the miracle on ice. a new generation watching the olympics. yet, that sensitivity is real at a time of reset in our relationship with russia, what played out there was a genuine moment of we triumphed over the russians. >> part of it is that putin is trying to reset the reset. he seems nostalgic for the old days. the fact he was there, we want him to see it. a shout-out to the patrick kane from the blackhawks who was instrumental in the victory, as well. i don't care about the capitals. >> did you watch? were you caught up in it? >> i saw the highlights. i think this dynamic with putin is so interesting to have him in the stands. we think of our athletes from being walled off from domestic politics, international politics, but they're very aware. it's that sixth sense of what

they're fighting for. >> we talk about the bush years. you go back to that time when after 9/11, there was this feeling that somehow russia was in the u.s. orbit in a way it hadn't been before. to watch over the course of the bush presidency that to fall away and get to a point where things are as strained as they are now, it's a compelling backdrop to all of that. we talk about the olympics, not just the competition but the security backdrop and the terror threats in sochi. i want to go to nbc's richard engel live with exclusive details about russia's security crackdown. good to see you, richard. >> good to see you, david. i was actually in the stadium yesterday during that usa russia hockey game and i can tell you it was a very exciting moment. in terms of security, so far so good and the arrangements in place reveal a great deal about vladimir putin and how he runs this vast country, especially the north caucuses.

the most threatened olympic in modern history has so far been safe, not because of the ring of steel around sochi. we traveled to the north caucasus, the heart of russia's insurgency and saw how vladimir putin is using a combination of crackdowns and payoffs to secure the games. this is grozny today, the capital of chechnya, clean, modern, a downtown that lights up like the vegas strip. russia flattened this place twice in the 1990s when chechnya tried to breakaway after the collapse of the soviet union. at grozny's new central mosque we met the man who runs chechnya, ramzan kadyrov. it was a special day, a lock of hair believed to come from the muslim prophet mohammed was on display. the relic brought kadyrov to tears.

he's deeply religious and has aligned himself with russia. two days later, we visited kadyrov's palace for a rare interview. very nice to meet you. the city of grozny was famous for being completely destroyed. it has now been rebuilt. how did you rebuild the city? >> translator: we were tired of the war, of looking at the destroyed towns and villages. we asked for god's help and we constructed the entire republic. >> he also gets billions from putin and lives like a king with toys, a private zoo, model helicopters. this is your private gym. and as we discovered an interview with kadyrov is exhausting. this is his boxing ring. you're not expecting me to get in with you, are you? yes, he was. and kadyrov wasn't finished yet. he likes to show off but he's also feared in chechnya and is accused of ordering the deaths of his adversaries. people call you a dictator in

chechnya. how do you respond to those critics? >> translator: everything the newspapers say is nonsense. >> opponents say he's brutal but islamic militants, including the groups that threaten sochi, have mostly fled chechnya, some for the neighboring republic of dagestan. when we visited there, we found a poor and drab place. where putin's forces are hunting down suspected extremists. no carrots here. just a stick. a war that athletes and fans will never see just over the mountains from the olympic park. it's too early, david, to celebrate a complete security success. there's still a week to go till closing ceremonies. >> richard engel, thanks so much this morning. i'm joined now by the man who headed up the olympic games the last time they were here in the u.s., former governor of massachusetts and republican presidential nominee in 2012, mitt romney.

governor, welcome back to "meet the press." >> thanks, david. good to see you. >> i want to ask you about the security threats. last weekend on one of the sunday programs, the chair of the house homeland security committee said about the games in russia, he fears that something electric detonate, something will blow up. do you think the security concerns have been overblown? >> no, i think they're very real when you have the kind of specific threats that were leveled at the games, you have to take them seriously. at the same time, i think russia has shown not only through the application of their security forces, but also, through their intelligence work that they have the capacity to keep the games reasonably safe. there's no such thing as 100% guarantee, but i think at this stage, people feel pretty comfortable that the games will be safe. >> where you've been critical of the russian government is $50 billion that it spent to host these games in sochi, and you wrote a really pointed op-ed about it this week. i'll put a portion on the screen.

you write, if a country wants to show off, what's the harm? waste is harm, particularly when need is as great as it is, harm occurs when a country spends more than it can afford to keep up appearances with big spenders, harm occurs when a country is excluded from hosting an olympics because it can't afford the fabulous frills and harm occurs when the world's poor look in anguish at the excess. time to limit that excess and why? >> well, i really think so because you don't need to spend $50 billion as russia has or as china did to put an olympic sport. olympic sport can be demonstrated at $2 billion or $3 billion. and all that extra money could be used to do some very important things in terms of fighting poverty and fighting disease around the world. that's what we really ought to be using those resources for as opposed to wasting them in many cases to show off a country or i think more cynically to show off the politicians in the country.

and to take money from some people so that politicians can be puffed up and shown around the world i think is something which is very distasteful at a time when there's so much poverty and so much need. >> do you think putin views it as worth it? i assume he's among the politicians you're talking about being puffed up on the world stage. >> oh, i think there's no question but that the politicians who take this money and spend $50 billion to host the world for tv appearances, i think they think it's worth it or they wouldn't spend it. a lot of that money certainly could be going into corruption, as well and paying off various folks. it's a very unsavory thing. i think the international olympic committee is going to have to take action to limit how much is spent on olympic games. >> in terms of city cities like boston vying for future games, definitely worth it, you would say go for it, don't pass up the opportunity? >> it's a great experience to host an olympic games. everybody that touches the olympics that i've ever seen has said it was one of the greatest experiences of their life. not because of all the fun they had, but because of all the

service they were able to give to others. it's a great unifying thing. boston would love it if the games came home. >> let me talk to you about politics and, of course, the issue of gay rights around the world, particularly in russia has been part of the backdrop of these games. you think about the issue of same-sex marriage in america. ten years ago, almost to the month, it was massachusetts when you were governor that really set a same-sex marriage rights into motion, and you wrote about it at the time rather pointedly where you said after that decision by the court, the definition of marriage is not a matter of semantics. it will have lasting impact on society. ten years later as you've seen same-sex marriage now in 17 states and the district of columbia, has it is had a negative impact on society in it your judgment? >> well, i think marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. and i think the ideal setting for raising a child is in a setting where there's a father and a mother. now, there are many other

different settings that children are raised in and people have the right to live their life as they want to, but i think marriage should be defined in the way it has been defined for several thousand years, and if gay couples want to live together, that's fine, as well. that's their right. >> let me follow up, do you think it's had a negative impact on society that you have so many states now recognizing it? >> oh, i think it's going to take a long, long time to determine whether having gay marriage will make it less likely for kids to be raised in settings where there's a mom and a dad. that's not going to happen overnight. it's something that happens over generations in fact, and again, i think the ideal setting is where there's a mom and dad that can invest air time and resources in supporting the development of a child. >> as you look at the progression of this issue as a republican, do you think republicans have lost the fight politically over this? >> you know, i don't know that you have to worry about who wins and who loses a particular fight. i think you stand for various principles. you communicate those to the

american people, and they either support those or not. sometimes if something is lost, you move on to the next issue. you wish you'd have won that one but you move on. i think in this case, it continues to be an issue that people find relevant and important and something which is being considered in various states across the country. i do believe, by the way, that it's best decided by the people rather than by the courts. i think when the courts step in and make a decision of this nature, they're removing from the people something they have the right to decide themselves. >> 2016 politics is a topic that keeps coming up for you. i'll ask about you in a minute. but i want to ask about the democrat. and the prospect of hillary clinton running. it is interesting. senator rand paul started on "meet the press" and has said it elsewhere that basically the clintons should be judged on bill clinton, impeachment, his relationship with monica lewinsky. he called him a sexual predator. is the prospect of a hillary clinton candidacy, should that be judged on the record personal and otherwise of bill clinton,

do you think? >> well, i don't think bill clinton is as relevant as hillary clinton if hillary clinton decides to run for president. and in her case, i think of people will look at her record as the secretary of state and say during that period of time, did our relations with nations around the world elevate america and elevate our interests or were they receding. i think her record is what will be judged upon, not the records of her husband. >> it's interesting that the republican party now on its website is really resurrecting the '90s and part of that message is keep the clintons out of the white house again. do you see this as a pair and not just hillary clinton? >> i think hillary clinton, if she becomes the nominee, will have plenty to discuss about her own record. i don't imagine that bill clinton is going to be a big part of it. that being said, the times when he was president were by and

large positive economic times for the country. on the other hand, he embarrassed the nation. he breached his responsibility i think as an adult and as a leader in his relationship. and i think that's very unfortunate, but i don't think that's hillary clinton's to explain. she has her own record, her own vision for where she would take the country. i think that's something which we debated extensively during the 2016 campaign. >> what about mitt romney? when the question was posed as "the new york times" reported it, january 19th it, romney asked if he would consider a third presidential run and the answer, are oh, no, no, no, no. i can't count all the nos. maybe you should be more definitive. is there something, governor, that might make you change your mind? reagan ran three times, didn't he? >> you know, i'm not ronald reagan. that's been pointed out to me before. and i'm not running for president. we've got some very good people who are considering the race, and i'm looking forward to supporting someone who i think will have the best shot of defeating whoever it is the democrats put up.

>> i know you've said there's quite a stable of folks. but i want to go back to this documentary that was made about you and your candidacy allowing rare access in, and you addressed this issue of what would happen if you lost, and i wonder -- we'll take a look and i'll ask you about your impact on the debate going forward. watch this clip. >> if i get beaten up, that goes with the territory. and i have looked by the way at what happens to anybody who loses the general election. they become a loser for life, all right. all right? it's over. mike dukakis can't get a job mowing lawns. we just brutalize whoever loses. i know that. i know that. and so, i'm going in with my eyes open. >> do you see yourself as a loser for life or rather do you think that you have a real impact on the future of the republican party? >> well, maybe i was

exaggerating somewhat in that clip, but i think by and large, people who lose a presidential race are -- they step aside. in my case, he had the blessing of having a big family and i'm actually spending time with my kids and i enjoy that a great deal. i do also hope to continue to have an impact on the country and our way forward. i'm very concerned about america. for a lot of reasons. in -- i think on monday, it's the five-year anniversary of the president signing a stimulus bill that was supposed to get unemployment below 5%. and here we are with millions of people have dropped out of the employment system. we're finding ourselves less competitive globally. our deficits continue to be a real burden for the american people. these are things i care about. and just because i lost the presidential race doesn't mean i'm not going to keep fighting for the american people and for a future that's more prosperous than what we've seen over the last five years. >> you saw usa hockey beat the

russians yesterday. that's not the end of the story. do you think they'll win gold? >> boy, i sure hope so and i think so. there's such heart and passion with our athletes there in sochi. i know we're not getting as many medals as i would have liked to have seen, but i have been very very proud of watching our athletes. when shaun white, for instance, didn't get that medal, he showed a level of maturity and thoughtfulness and sportsmanship that i think was a model for people around the world. so yeah, go usa. i'm very excited to watch these hockey games. >> well, said. governor romney, thanks so much for your views. always a pleasure to have you. >> thanks, david. good to be with you. now i want to turn to the politics of weather. what a big story this week. and this morning, in jakarta, indonesia, secretary of state john kerry gave the first in a series of speeches on climate change saying it is threatening the world's way of life. i'm going to discuss the debate over climate change policies in just a moment with science

educator bill nye and the science guy and republican congresswoman from tennessee marsha blackburn. but first, is the growing cost of our recent weather disasters creating a new focus on the need for action on climate change? this week's storm left half a million georgians without power at its peak, buried cities in snow and ice, stranded flyers and practically shuttered the capital. extreme cold has frozen lake superior to levels not seen in decade and led to ice caves off the water. in california, prolonged drought gripping 90% of the state has parched crops and dried up food supplies for livestock. >> is it a natural cycle? is it due to human interference or human conditions that we have created? that remains open to debate. but there is no doubt the climate is changing. >> president obama toured a fresno farm friday to tout federal support to address

california's water crisis. in his state of the union speech, he was adamant. >> the debate is settled. climate change is a fact. >> the extreme weather is not limited to the united states. massive flooding has left large parts of england underwater over the past two months. the chief scientist of uk's national weather service said all the evidence suggests climate change is to blame. skeptics say the forecasts of doom and gloom are overblown. >> after you adjust for the fact that there are so many more people living in so many more places, there's no change in weather-related damages. >> bill nye and marsha blackburn, welcome to "meet the press." >> good to be with you. thanks, david. >> thank you. >> so here was "the guardian" newspaper after all of the flooding in the uk and here's the headline, climate change is here now, it could lead to global conflict if the politicians squabble. in the scientific community, this is not a debate whether

climate change is real. the consensus is that it is. the majority of those who believe that it is caused by humans. there are certainly some in the scientific community who don't believe that's the case. and who are skeptical about some of those conclusions. but nevertheless, there is still this level of consensus. my question to begin with both of you is, in this moment of this kind of extreme weather moment, is it creating new urgency to act? bill nye, i'll start with you. >> well, i would say yeah, and what i've always said we need to do everything all at once. this is an opportunity for the united states to innovate, to be the world leader in new technologies that if you could invent a better battery, a better way to store electricity, you would change the world and if you were to do that in a way that you could manufacture and export it, you would also do very well financially. >> congresswoman, is there new urgency to act? you've heard the president any drought stricken california saying these weather emergencies in effect are creating the

conditions the government has to act. >> david, i think that what it brings to mind is how we utilize the information that we have. and we all know and i think that bill would probably agree with this. neither he nor i are a climate science. he is an engineer, an actor. i'm a member of congress and what we have to do is look at the information that we get from climate scientists. as you said, there is not agreement around the fact of exactly what is causing this, even the president's own science and technology office had mr. holdren says no one single weather event is due specifically to climate change. so it drives the policy to look at cost benefit analysis, what we do about it and the impact that u.s. policy would have in a global environment. >> well, and that's another question that i want to get to. but there is consensus, as you say, congresswoman, there is

some skepticism about the degree to which humans may cause climate change or can you specifically say a weather event can be blamed on climate change? some disagreement with that within the uk. nevertheless, within the scientific community, there is consensus, bill nye, among the scientists themselves on both of those questions. >> well, got to say once again, what people are doing is introducing the idea that scientific uncertainty in this case about cold weather events and what we call back east are -- is the same as uncertainty about the whole idea of climate change. and this is unscientific. it's not logical. it is a way apparently that the fossil fuel industry has dealt with our politics. and this is not good.

everybody -- this is not -- you don't need a ph.d. in climate science to understand what's going on, that thing that we have overwhelming evidence that climate is changing. that you cannot tie any one event to that is not the same as doubt about the whole thing. >> but is the issue, congresswoman, the cure or the disease and what's worse? here's the atlantic magazine on some of the views within your party within the republican party on global warming conservative policy positions often seem to be conduplicated or confused with rejection of the consensus that the plant has been warming due to human carbon emissions. the vast majority do not reject the science of global warming. the catch, conservatives believe many of the policies put forward to address the problem will lead to unacceptable levels of economic hardship. the fix can be very expensive in the short term for long-term gain. >> well, i think what you have to do is look at what that

warming is. and when you look at the fact that we have gone from 320 parts per million, 0.032 to 0.040, 400 parts per million, what you do is realize it's very slight. now, there is not consensus, and you can look at the latest ipcc report and look at dr. lindzen from m.i.t. his rejection of that or judith curry who recently from georgia tech. there is not consensus there. i think what we have to do -- >> hold on. i just have to interrupt you. let me interrupt you because it's not -- you can pick out particular skeptics but you can't really say, can you, that the hundreds of scientists around the world have gotten together and conspired to manipulate data and that industry folks, like pg&e, a natural gas producer saying as a provider of gas and electricity to millions of californians and

emitter of greenhouse gases, pg&e is keenly aware of its responsibility to both manage emissions and work to advance policies that put our state and the country on a cost effective path toward a low carbon economy. so the issue is what actions are taken and will they really work. first to you, congresswoman, and let me have bill nye respond. >> you're right. let's say everything that bill says is wrong is wrong. let's just say that. then you say what are you going to do about it? what would the policy be and will that policy have an impact? now, even director mccarthy from the epa in answering questions from congressman pompeo before our committee said reaching all of the 26 u.s. goals is not going to have an impact globally. and david, what we have to look at is the fact that you don't make good laws, sustainable laws when you're making them on hypothesis or theories or unproven siciences. >> bill nye? >> well, once again, the

congresswoman is trying to introduce doubt, and doubt in the whole idea of climate change. so what i would encourage everybody to do is back up and let's agree on the facts. would you say that the antarctic has less ice than it used to? when you asserted, congresswoman, that a change from 320 to 400 parts per million is insignificant? my goodness, that's 30%. i mean, that's an enormous change, and it's changing the world. that's just over the last few decades. you go back to 1750 with the invention of the steam engine. it everybody's been over this a lot, it's gone from 250 to 400. there is no debate in the scientific community. and i can encourage the congress woman to really look at the facts. you are a leader. we need you to change things, not deny what's happening. >> let me inject this point. i want to inject this point. >> weather event is important. >> i want to stick to the point about what's going to happen in the future with policy. >> yeah.

>> the reality is that something is happening. and in whether you're along the east coast, if you look at all the money that was spent on infrastructure after hurricane sandy or you look at flooding, you have state and local governments, congresswoman, who have to deal with the realities of climate change and it's expensive. >> you're right. >> you're very concerned about the future of our debt. there's a lot of cost involved here. how does government responsibly even where there might be differences on the policy and cure respond to the very realtime impacts of weather and a changing climate? >> that's exactly right. it is expensive when you look at the clean-up. david, one of the things we have to remember is cost benefit analysis has to take place. and that is something -- that goes back to a clinton executive order. and it is required. and it is unfortunate that some of the federal agencies are not conducting that cost benefit analysis. they're focused on the outcome. and they need whether it's the epa, whether it is the science and technology agencies, they

need to be doing that cost benefit analysis. now, you know, when you look at the social cost of carbon and there is a lot of ambiguity around that, what you also need to be doing also is looking at the benefits of carbon. a lot of good study out there about that, and scientists and biologists have done that study. >> one of the things, bill nye, if you look at the polling on this, this is the issue of what do you do about something that to many people is very important but for a lot of voters may not feel urgent. look at the pew research poll, global warming ranking 19th on that list. yet, environmentalists seen buoyed by the fact that the president says with executive orders to curb carbon emissions from power plants, will take care of, via executive action, two-thirds of the carbon that's emitted into the atmosphere in the united states. is that an acceptable solution without political consensus?

>> well, that will be up to the politicians. certainly the longest journey starts with but which a single step. we all have to acknowledge that we have a problem. i think it would be in everybody's best interests. i was born in the u.s. i'm a patriot. and so on. it would be in everybody's best interest to get going to do as i like to say everything all at once. so the fewer very dirty coal fired power plants we have, the better. the less energy we waste, the better. the less inefficient our transportation systems are, the better. the more reliable our electricity transmission systems are, the better. and so, we all get into this thing that big governments are bad. i know that's a very strong claim that for me, as a voter and taxpayer, is somehow tied to climate change. but what we want to do is not just less. we want to do more with less, and for me, as a guy who grew up in the u.s., i want the u.s. to lead the world in this rather

than wait while you made reference to the united kingdom, what china is doing with energy production, solar energy production. this is a huge -- the more we mess around with this denial, the less we're going to get done. >> i want to be specific, though, congresswoman. as you know as i just outlined, the president is proposing regulations. this is executive action. how do you respond to that as a member of congress who doesn't agree with the policy? >> i think the president should realize congress has taken action. whether it was cap and trade or any of these regulations we have said no to that. and one of the reasons is the cost benefit analysis and another is the impact. look what is happening around the world. bill doesn't like coal fired electricity plants. you've got 1,200 coming up in other nations right now. and what we need to be looking at is the way to achieve efficiencies. carbon emissions are at the lowest they've been since 1994.

the reason for that is efficiencies. we need to look at the cost benefit analysis and make certain these technologies are affordable for the american people. >> we are going to leave it there. this debate goes on. i thank you for your time this morning, both of you. >> absolutely. thank you so much. >> okay. coming up next here, back to the never-ending squabbles in washington, not just over climate change. the fight over the debt ceiling, as well. gop cave-in or compromise? plus fighting words from joe biden about the republicans. >> i wish there was a republican party. i wish there was one person you could sit across the table from, make a deal, make a compromise and know when you got up from the table, it was done. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. oh, it's great. yeah. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. ♪

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back now with the roundtable, chuck todd, julia pace, david axelrod and nicolle wallace. i want to pick up on the politics of weather, david, because there is agreement about where we are, about climate change being real, that it's caused by humans. pockets of skepticism there again. but the politics is gummed up on this and nothing's really getting done. >> i'm not sure there's complete agreement. i don't know that we heard complete agreement there. the fact is, i think we all have to concede when you have a flood of a century, the storm of the century, the fire of the century on an annual basis, droughts of

the century, something's happening and it's serious. the problem with this is it requires long-term solutions. we don't have a political system that copes with short-term sacrifice for long-term solutions. >> julie, i know within the white house, their feeling and john podesta has worked on this issue, extreme weather event is the way in to getting something done because states and local government do have to deal with the cost of that. that's the way to tackle climate change. >> absolutely. it's something real people feel also impacts their daily lives and they look at the money that their state or city is having to spend on this, but in terms of actual action, i had i we're still at eight point where you and you heard this in the debate it's going to be very difficult to imagine congress doing something significant over the next three years. that's why they focused so much on executive actions, are but there is always going to be a limit to what he can do or any president can do on this matter. >> urgent versus important is the question.

>> $41 billion, i think you get it, $41 billion weather events in 2013 around the world. 41, that was an all-time record. it's not just podesta that believes that. there are a lot of people who say, okay, let's not debate who's right. man-made or just nature that's happening. the fact of the matter it's happening. and i wonder if there's too much -- i know some environmentalists are frustrated with that portion of the debate. but maybe you steer away from it and say it doesn't matter. we have to tackle this infrastructure problem, you got to build higher seawalls in some places, figure out a different way to distribute water in california. the fact of the matter -- the federal government is going to have to pay for all these things. i wonder if everybody should say let's table this debate. we know what's happening. table that be part of the debate because when you do that, then it becomes like clubbing each other with political argument that takes away from what we have to do. >> the politics of weather gets very local as a former president you worked for. when you thank the mayor to fill the potholes.

whether it's filling the potholes or responding well -- responding well to disasters, look at the tabloids in new york this week after the decision to keep the schools open. let them eat snow. the head of the schools saying it's a beautiful day. there's a price to be paid and big debate about safety and the right call to make when it comes to these storms. >> as julie said this does affect everyone. i think the debate we're having even around this table is about our domestic politics. i think most republicans feel that we could cut off both our arms, both our legs, do everything we can do in this country, hamstring our economy and we still might not make a dent in the problem which i think we all agree on. i think most republicans do acknowledge global warming is real and happening. i think in some ways you cartoon the party by suggesting we don't acknowledge it's real and happening. during the bush years, you covered president bush, there were global compacts that the

united states did not participate in because to not have all of the developing nations on board, we don't actually make a dent. >> they want to get them on board by the end of next year. long-term problems that could become legacy issues beyond climate change, chuck, you've written about it this week and talked about it and that is syria. the president appearing with france's president hollande talking about the horrendous situation in syria, john mccain saying a future president will apologize for inaction on president obama's watch. >> it's interesting mccain put it that way. this is consuming president obama in a way we in the press haven't been able to fully report on. sometimes it's hard to get inside somebody's head. advisors admit he knows this policy isn't working. but the country has this sort of iraq syndrome and a similar syndrome that we had with vietnam. so there are certain aspects off the table. he's frustrated. putin's not -- you know, the

pressure on putin isn't working. hundreds and thousands of people are dying. he is frustrated. let's look at his week this week. it was interesting. on one hand they want to talk about minimum wage and their special events on climate and drought, but with hollande, during that state visit, he was admitting his policy isn't working. he never said it but he talked about it. he called it a horrendous situation and talked about the only good news out of geneva 2 is that they both showed up. what was he doing this weekend? meeting with king abdullah of jordan who, by the way, this is the biggest economic crisis in his -- >> since the refugee issue. >> this is consuming. they don't have a good answer. >> you do get the sense at the white house they're at a point where they have to find something new on syria. so much of the process has been on geneva 2, the diplomatic process to get them to the table. the russians were joining in. there is no way to look at what happened at geneva 2 and say there was anything successful that happened there.

there is no military solution. what is the middle ground? that's the debate right now. >> i think chuck put his finger on it. the politics are very bad. there is a hangover from iraq and afghanistan. the country is looking inward. there's not a great interest in this. the president's looking at 100,000 people killed, these horrific images, the refugees and so on, and looking for answers but the country wants him to be focused on the economy and that's a thing that presidents have to wrestle with. >> but your president was the one that said he's going to walk and chew gum. i think the republican moment of i think grave concern about the situation came when he stood in the rose garden after saying that he had drawn a red line and refused to enforce his own red line on chemical weapons. i think that was the moment where republican senators like john mccain and lindsey graham who were willing to hold hands with the white house and try to garner that support, the country is weary but i think anyone that has looked at the white house that presidents are always. >> of course, but first of all,

i think they would argue that they made more progress on chemical weapons than they would have had they gone in to intervene. >> we'll never know. >> the question isn't walking and chewing gum at the same time. the question is, what is a policy that that will work here. that is a complicated issue. >> but you were saying that people wanted to focus on the economy. people expect him to focus on the economy. >> i'm saying it's a matter of public -- it's a matter of how he spends his time in public in front of the camera, people are interested in him focusing on the economy. >> it's not an excuse. >> i have no doubt he's spending a lot of time on issue of syria. i don't think it's front of mind for the american people. >> but i think the thing with all these foreign policy issues as we all know, they can quickly become front of mind. one of the big concerns you're hearing from both the u.s. and allies overseas is issues of foreign fighters in syria and the impact on the region. so again, the spillover and the managing kind of behind the scenes is so crucial. >> there's a lot of things that are hard that require leadership. clinton looked back at rwanda and said it was a huge mistake. on the other side of that, we have demonstrated under the past decade under president bush

the limits of what the united states can accomplish in terms of reengineering countries in the u.s. image or even a more western image. it becomes very difficult. so does it work? you know, this intervention, does it work even if you fulfill a moral imperative. >> you're getting at the something that's essential here. this will be a topic of debate in the 20916 presidential campaign. has america's standing in the world been harmed by that moment when president obama refused to enforce his own red line? >> a lot of republicans do not. >> you draw a red line and you're the leader of the free world and you refuse to enforce it, there are repercussions and that's part of what we're saying. >> where was the u.s. congress? >> this isn't about the u.s. congress. >> look, he didn't -- you could tell he didn't want to enforce his red line with a military strike. okay. but he knew he had to do this because he drew the line. he knew he had to do it, but he had no political apparatus support both internationally and domestically. and is so he felt he couldn't.

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now we want to head back to the olympics and the issue of gay rights in the u.s. and around the world. a big week of developments from virginia, the latest state to have its same-sex marriage ban overturned by the courts to missouri where all-american college player michael sam announced he is gay. and in russia, the question remains, is this a temporary period of detente or will the cold war on gay rights return once the public games are over? nbc's harry smith has more. >> reporter: same-sex marriage an equal rights for gays and lesbians took a few more steps to becoming a national reality last saturday. >> i will formally instruct all justice department employees to

give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition to the greatest extent possible under the law. >> thank you. >> reporter: while proponents applauded, opponents were dismayed. america is changing. and changing quickly. michael sam, a star football player from the university of missouri, came out this week. a heretofore unthinkable act for a player with pro potential. >> i'm michael sam. i'm a football player. and i'm gay. >> the fact that his teammates all knew and this was an open secret for so long is what really blew me away. >> reprter: andy cohen is the host of bravo's watch what happens live." >> it seems like in missouri he was judged for how he played on the field, which is exactly how it should be. >> reporter: which is more than i an measure of tolerance. it's acceptance. >> i'm 45. i grew up not thinking that i

could be openly gay in the world. so the idea that i'm hosting a talk show every night as an openly gay man saying whatever i want to say is incredible to me and the rights that are being afforded to me and what's happening every year, i can't believe what's happening. >> reporter: a stark contrast to russia where the olympic games are being played. cohen refused to go to russia in november to host the miss universe pageant. >> it seemed very disingenuous of me to go to russia and do a travelogue about what a great time the pageant queens had in moscow, what a wonderful city, when i could be stoned in a square for throwing out a gay flag. >> reporter: the russians though seemed to be on their best behavior for the olympics. >> when you watch the olympics now and you see putin in the box, what do you think?

>> when i see putin, my blood boils. you know? i think he's living in a fantasy land where gay people -- the mayor of sochi said there are no gay people in sochi. there are now, by the way. a lot. >> reporter: among them, gold medal winner brian boitano who was part of the american delegation to the games. >> by bringing a lot of attention and realizing that other countries like america are moving forward with this, are it brings attention to how they're not moving forward if they don't agree with this. we are america. we're moving forward. you can either come with us or we will leave you behind. >> reporter: boitano is convinced that the games will never again be held in a country that is proud of its prejudices. >> i truly believe that the ioc will never again choose a country to have the olympics in that doesn't have a good human rights record or a country that is not tolerant. >> reporter: earlier this week,

vladimir putin inadvertently hugged a gay gold medal speed skater interest holland. >> we all get carried away in the magic and pageantry of the olympics. i mean, wouldn't it be great if that bastard did, too? i mean, it would be. he put on a huge show. learned something from it. >> we're back now. thank you, harry smith. with final thoughts from the roundtable. nicolle, we look how quickly things have moved in america for the gop, for republicans, what drives the agenda on social issues? how do they play it? >> i think on issues like gay marriage, we are a party divided by generations. i was -- i signed on to a republican friend of the court brief that laid out a conservative case for gay marriage, and i think that the policy argument and the debate has to be careful not to become personal. i think we have to be the party that has for the room for conservatives believe that gay marriage is good for society. >> we're a country divided by generation.

everybody over 65 people are opposed. everybody under 65, majority supports. 67% of americans under the age of 35 support same-sex marriage. there's a -- >> including evangelicals. >> and republicans. overwhelmingly. this is an inexorable movement. >> the what did we learn from mitt romney about how republicans deal with social issues more generally? quick response. >> i think he was a reminder the evangelicals are a huge wing in the party. and they're just not ready to do this. i have a feeling the supreme court not wanted to take up this issue. they're going to take it up. there are too many lawsuits. >> thank you all. great to have you here. that is all for today. tonight, nbc's coverage of the olympics continues including meryl davis and charlie white. and we'll be back next week on the final day of olympic competition and the closing ceremonies. we'll be on after the gold medal hockey game in most cities so that's going to be very exciting. check your local listings. as always, if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

we will continue to wait for justice for jordan. >> he's going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son. >> race is the elephant in the room that was not discussed. >> what was the jury listening to? >> we are not going to sit this one down right here. >> still seeking justice for jordan. hello to you all. i'm t.j. holmes. craig melvin is off today. you are watching msnbc. right now, reaction to the verdicts in the michael dunn case. lawyers plotting the next move.