>> or a past life -- >> yeah, we're going to get you on "jeopardy." >> get you some meds. >> what do you do, you and angela lansbury hook up in the past? >> i don't kiss and tell. i don't kiss and tell. >> yeah, yeah. >> let's leave it at that. >> wow. >> that was mortifying, angela lansbury. >> for you. >> what's coming up next? >> next is the best show that you're going to see on cable tv any morning, apart from what we do here on "morning joe." chuck todd has more great guests and more terrific stuff on that stuff -- politics and everything like that. but chuck todd right now. noets ♪ death and chaos in a former soviet state. president obama and other leaders call for stability in ukraine. but russia's president, vladimir putin, makes it clear he thinks

the west is treading on his turf. also this morning, a texas tangle, as wendy davis grabs national attention with the bid for governor, and some bumps in her bio road. the likely republican opponent sparks a head-scratcher campaign move by hanging out with conservative rock-on-tour ted nugent. plus, what's really driving the latest wave of conservative clamor over the clintons? is it about poisoning a presidential bid, or making mischief for the midterms? good morning from washington, thursday, february 20, 2014. this is "the daily rundown." doing a "deep dive" into new republican efforts to reach out to african-americans, and whether there's actually any there there. we begin in ukraine, a country americans may not know much about, but one that's become the latest pressure point in a deepening confrontation in the russians and the united states. anti-government protests have been going on for months in this

country, but they've exploded lately into major confrontati s confrontations. in late january, and they escalated again over the past week. up to 50 people have been reportedly killed, including police and protesters. nearly half in the last 24 hours alone. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has been on the ground in the middle of the fighting. he has more on the streets of kiev. >> reporter: chuck, just last night in this square, there was talk of a truce, that the riot police would be withdrawn and promised not to invade the demonstrators in the square. and this morning, that seemed to be in the works. buses showed up to take the riot police away, and as they were pulling back from their positions, the protesters advanced on them. they started throwing molotov cocktails and moving out of their fortified camp in the center of the square. then, things got very ugly. the police under attack, started opening fire. according to witnesses, snipers were even used, and then the injuries started to pile into makeshift clinics.

we personally saw at least three people killed, all of them demonstrators, and dozens of people wounded. >> the government has evacuated the parliament for fear it would be overrun. the defense ministry is warning it may call out the military. on wednesday, president obama went out of his way to warn embattled ukrainian president yanukovych not to take that step. >> we'll be monitoring very closely the situation, recognizing that along with our european partners and the international community there will be consequences if people step over the line, and that includes making sure that the ukrainian military does not step in to what should be a set of issues that can be resolved by civilians. >> but russia is pushing back hard against the west. keep in mind, ukraine isn't just another country. it's a former soviet republic, known as the breadbasket of the soou soviet union, and it has

strategic importance to moscow, its buffer to the west. if you think vladimir putin has taken a hard line on syria, ukraine is more vital to russia's interests, and putin isn't about to let the u.s. call the shots in his own backyard. on wednesday, sergey lavrov took aim at the west, encouraging the opposition to act outside the law. remind what the russians just did with ukraine when it came to giving them new loans. anyway, president putin is putting the onus on the so-called extremists, is who he's calling them, while trying to paint yanukovych as the victim. according to his office, the two men spoke by phone last night. the close communication isn't surprising given that ties between putin and this ukrainian president are one of the key reasons for the chaos. it goes back ten years to the orange revolution. that's what it was known at the time. the uprising marked a break between ukraine and pro-russian politicians, including yanukovych. but economic struggles put him back in power, and it fed

concerns that appeared to be confirmed when ukraine backed away from a trade deal with the e.u. in favor of closer ties with putin. that's fuelled the protests and calls for the president to step down. one of ukraine's olympians, by the way, announced today she will pull out of the sochi games in solidarity with demonstrators. now, secretary of state john kerry says the ukrainian president has to do the right thing and start peace talks immediately. >> president yanukovych has the opportunity to make a choice. the choice is between protecting the people that he serves -- all of the people -- and the choice for compromise and dialogue versus violence and mayhem. >> while kerry was discussing the diplomatic carrot, the obama administration announced the first stick. a package of visa sanctions against 20 ukrainian officials, and later today, the european union is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting to discuss

further action against ukraine. in the meantime, diplomats are pressuring yanukovych into cutting a deal. foreign ministers travelled to meet with him this morning. we got word that angela yes,le has reached out to yanukovych personally, encouraging him to accept the e.u.'s help with the peace negotiations. meanwhile, the chaos itself has now spread beyond kiev to at least four other cities in the country, and threatens to grow worse with each passing hour. as a result, president obama is trying to keep the focus off of broader tensions and on the need to stop the fighting in the short term. >> our approach as the united states is not to see these as some cold war chessboard in which we're in competition with russia. our goal is to make sure that the people of ukraine are able to make decisions for themselves about their future. >> steven piefer served as u.s. ambassador to ukraine during the

clinton administration. he's with the brookings institution. ambassador, let me start with that comment specifically from president obama about this idea of this isn't a cold -- this is -- we're not going back to the cold war chess board. it seemed to me a response to some quiet advice or critiques that the president's been getting on his handling of all of the current sticky issues that the united states has with russia right now -- syria, iran, and ukraine. and some are suggesting to him, you know what, lump them all together, it's time to deal one on one with russia right now. >> well, i think you have the sides actually looking at this in a very different way. for russia, this is very much a geopolitical issue. vladimir putin's image of moscow as a superpower including a spear of influence. if that does not include ukraine, if ukraine is moving closer to the european union, that's a huge hole. and it's important for mr. putin in terms of the domestic constituency working to bring ukraine closer to the main political base in russia. for the west, it's a slightly

different picture. had the european union viewed this strictly as a geopolitical fight, they would have signed the association agreement two years ago, but instead the european union said, no, before we sign the association unit that we'll bring you closer to the european union, you, mr. yanukovych, need to take steps to move back to a more democratic trend. >> and it seems, though, that the other then that's going on here, and i'm curious of your experience there, is that this divide between essentially russian-ukrainians, you know, former russians, and the non-russian-speaking ukrainians, just has never been bridged, and that we're still -- you know, that's what divides this coun y country, and it may always divide this country, and that it's an uneasy peace that they've had in previous years, and now it's, obviously, no longer a peace? >> yeah. yes, although i think sometimes that divide between eastern ukrainian and western ukraine is overstated.

it's true, about 45% of the ukrainian population speak russian as their first language, but only 17% of the population is ethnic russian. moreover, although the demonstrations in kiev three months ago started about drawing closer to the european union, i think since then they've broadened. you have people out there tired of the corruption that's grown worse in the last four years. they're tired of the authoritarian tendencies. and it's not just a western ukraine thing. i saw a survey a couple of weeks ago that a big demonstration in kiev three weeks ago, 20% of the people came from southern and eastern ukraine, regarded typically at the pro-russian parts. >> well, are there leaders in this country that can basically figure out how to be allies with both moscow and the e.u.? we're presenting this as if it's a black and white issue. >> yeah. no, and i think for president yanukovych, actually, my guess is he wanted to have it both ways. his ideal picture would have allowed him to draw closer, do

the association and be with the european union, but still have a constructive, positive relationship with russia. i think for many ukrainians, that would be the ideal picture. but the russians seem to be trying to push kiev to make it an either/or choice. and you saw already last summer with the ukraine talking about getting ready to sign the association agreement, the russians imposed trade sanctions, embargoed certainly ukrainian products as a forte of what they said would come if they signed the agreement. >> all right. so now put on your advisor hat, if you're advising the white house here on how to deal with this. president obama, obviously, is saying he doesn't want to treat this as if it's a return to the cold war and have some sort of direct diplomacy with the russians, but if russia believes this is how they're going to deal with the ukraine situation, then it is incumbent upon the united states to realize, well, that's going to have to be the starting point, and we move from there. >> yeah.

i mean, i think with the obama administration, needs to do -- and they're doing much of this already -- is focus on ukraine, trying to promote a genuine dialogue between yanukovych and opposition, which will be very hard to do, particularly the last couple of days. if you don't have that kind of dialogue, it's hard to see a peaceful way out. i think last night's decision by the united states government to impose visa sanctions on 20 regimes officials was a good step. i hope the european union follows. one additional step they might take is targeting visa and financial sanctions, not just on officials connected to use of force, but on the intercircle around yanukovych, some of the oligarchs who want to travel in the west, do business there, and get them to start pressuring yanukovych to take a different course. >> what do -- how concerned are you that this becomes a full-fledged civil war? >> i'm not sure i'd use the term civil war, but i think it is on the verge of spinning out of control, and we could see many more dead, many more injured. and here, i think, the government of ukraine has the primary responsibility, they

control the guys with the guns, they need to draw back, and create an interlewd where there could be a genuine dialogue to find a way out of this mess. >> all right, steven piper, former ambassador to the ukraine during the clinton years, at the brookings institute these days. thank you for come on. lots of handshakes and little promise as president met with leaders of mexico and canada. the politics at home seems to hamper the president's ability to deliver anything. and later be a blast from the past. the political world is having '90s flashbacks as the republicans resurrect the clinton-era scandals. why are they doing? first, the politics planner. a quiet day. the president with wheels down at 2:00 this morning. so it's not even going to be jay carney that briefs. it will be a west rested josh. u 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.

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it's been called recently the three amigo summit, an annual display of regional friendship between the leaders of the u.s., mexico, and canada, that began during the bush administration. but obama's fifth trip to mexico as president lasted just eight hours, and it ended late yesterday with few concrete deliverables. the president met with two of america's closest allies, and frankly, had nothing to give them. instead, the summit put tensions on trade, immigration, and the keystone pipeline on full display. canadian prime minister steven harper, one of few major western leaders, who've been in office longer than the president and has a good relationship personally with obama, but has poured a lot of political capital into getting the pipeline approved. and he called yesterday keystone a no-brainer. >> there is a process that has been gone through, and i know it's been extensive and at times

i'm sure steven feels a little too laborious. i said previously that how keystone impacted greenhouse gas emissions would affect our decision. >> in terms of climate change, i think the state department report already was pretty definitive on that particular issue. >> on wednesday, a nebraska judge put another hitch in the keystone approval process, literally keystone kop scenario here. you just can't help yourself, can you? the nebraska judge struck down a law that would allow the pipeline to carry crude through the state. now, meanwhile, president obama came to mexican president pena nieto's hometown, and while nieto praised nafta saying we're obliged to go ahead with the same spirit, the u.s. president did something he hasn't done since the ohio primary in march

2008. he appeared to criticize nafta, though he did so not by name. >> i've said this to some of my own constituents who are opposed to trade, that's who are concerned about losing jobs or outsourcing need to understand some of the old ingredients put us at a disadvantage. that's exactly why we've got to have stronger agreements -- >> and instead of announcing new policies, the leaders were left to march through staged photo ops and joke about olympic hockey rivalries. >> my brother in-law's canadian, so you know i have to like canadians. [ laughter ] although i will note that i think we're going to have both the men's hockey teams and the women's hockey teams battling it out. so for a very brief period of time, i may not feel as warm towards canadians as i normally do.

>> telemundo's jose diaz-balart is live for us in mexico city. jose, i want to pick up really on the failed deliverables, if you will, as far as mexico is concerned with what president obama couldn't bring home, which is obviously mexico is interested in this new asia-pacific trade deal. they want to be, i think, a part of this deal, and they want to make nafta -- people feel good about nafta, even though 20 years later, there are some americans that don't feel so good about it, and also on the immigration front. how disappointed was mexico in the summit? >> well, i think, look, you know, i've been covering the summits of different kinds for 30 years now, and i can recall maybe one or two where something really important has emerged from summits. i'm thinking maybe the reagan-gorbachev summits of years past. but these things are photo ops and really all the work has been done. i think that the president -- i think we have to mention this signed on air force one, an executive order which was far

more interesting and far more relevant than whatever happened at the summit for nine hours here in toluca, yesterday. and the executive order is streamlining a process for export and import cargo information. >> right. >> that's going to have a direct positive impact on companies that do import and export to mexico and other countries around the world. but at the summit, photo ops are the thing. immigration reform is something the mexican government is really key on talking to the president about, and the president, as you very well said, chuck, really doesn't have the possibility of bringing any concrete news on immigration reform, because it's in the hand of the house of representatives. right now, they're on break, but it seems on immigration reform, the house can't get its act together. >> right. it's a total pause button there. i want to pick up quickly on the nafta comments, on one hand nafta has been something that has been very good for mexico's economy, they would argue, over the last 20 years. the united states, and you heard president obama himself, it's the most critical i've heard him

of nafta, frankly, in six years. again, he didn't say it by name. but i tell you, it is exactly what a lot of people in the middle of america feel that nafta did, which was it essentially drained -- or it sped up the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs. >> yeah, on the other hand, you know, increase in trade has happened at a dizzying speed since nafta. i mean, more than 500% increase in trade between mexico and the united states. and so, a lot of the products that are indeed made here -- for example, just out of toluca, there's a chrysler factory. there are nestle chocolate factories in toluca, which the president nieto's hometown, so a lot of foreign-based companies are in mexico, but they're selling products back to the united states. we just have to see what the future brings, and tpp is key for any future growth, and the president has problems with the democrats on this issue. >> no, that's for sure, and

something i'm sure he brought up. congress bei ining the biggest problem for him in trying to deliver anything to canada or mexico. jose, thank you very much. up next, lone star power. the wendy davis personal story is very captivating and a rapid rise to national prominence is creating more than a few growing pains for her campaign. so today, it's her likely of republican opponent who seems to be committing some of the same unforced errors on the campaign trail himself. we'll do a little bit of unofficial "deep dive" into that campaign after the break. before we go, today's trivia question. which republican broke the democrats' more than century long hold on the governor's mansion? bloating? one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three types of good bacteria. i should probably take this. live the regular life. phillips'.

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databank" and the document dump that could cause problems for another republican governor. the number is 27,000. that's how many pages of e-mails and other documents linking scott walker's former county office to a major campaign fund-raising effort. governor walker is downplaying the release of the e-mails, but the documents show that walker asked for a daily conference call between official aides and campaign staffers while in county government. they were collected during a probe of the former deputy chief of staff. she's been sentenced to six months in prison for doing political campaign work on official time. one thing to know about wisconsin, by the way, is wisconsin has very tough laws on this front. so what may look like to a lot of folks outside of wisconsin as something like, oh, shocking, and elected official is practicing politics and worrying about his campaign on government time, in wisconsin they have some pretty tough laws, they're pretty strict, and that's why it turned into a criminal investigation. this is a bigger story for walker in wisconsin than perhaps it will be in 2016. the next number is bad news

for another republican governor right now, that's 13. that's how many percentage points hillary clinton is leading governor chris christie in ohio. a new quinnipiac poll shows clinton is widening her lead over christie in ohio. she also leads jeb bush, marco rubio, paul ryan, ted cruz. next up, 98, as in the number of millions of dollars that colorado is now getting in its marijuana revenue via taxes and fees, and that $98 million is $28 million more than the state originally projected for next year's budget. it's more than $80 million that is budgeted for prevention and substance abuse treatments. guess what? they have a surplus. they've got to spend their money somewhere, and a whole bunch of governors and a whole bunch of other states are noticing that marijuana equals revenue, which means they'll have another way of looking at legalization soon. next up, $42. that's how much facebook is planning to spend per user when it buys this program called whatsapp. whatsapp has 450 million active

users and facebook is offering $16 billion for the company. finally, an american first. the number is two. ted ligety becomes the first american male alpine skier to earn two gold medals at the olympic games. his win for team usa put them in the top spot in the medal count with 23. russia and the netherlands each have 22. tonight, south korean skater yuna kim is the favorite to win the gold in the free skate. american gracie gold is currently fourth. up next, the texas tangle. between wendy davis and greg abbott, to be the lone star state's next governor. later, a "deep dive" in how the gop is reaching out to african-americans. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc.

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from the moment that her 11-hour filibuster captured the attention of the left and turned her into an overnight celebrity, texas state senator wendy davis looked like an elixir for

advocacy groups hoping to fire up donors in an off-year election, looking for a post-obama superstar, and in a state, texas, desperate to get a democratic party into relevancy. abortion rights advocates seized on davis as a symbol of movement of new statewide efforts in texas to restrict abortion. emily's list saying it's a story of grit and service. national democrats immediately saw davis' fund-raising potential, inviting her to washington for fund-raisers, which were attended by nancy pelosi and dozens of u.s. senators. even davis' bright pink wave rider sneakers became iconic for democrats. and the lightning rod for conservative critics and now it looks like too much too fast. in a cover story for "the new york times" magazine, robert draper paints the picture of a gubernatorial campaign full of growing pains and a new national star exhibiting first-time jitters. from the outset, davis let consultants drive her narrative.

texas has not elected a democrat since ann richardson in 1990. all statewide officials are texas republicans and president obama lost in texas by 16 points, so searching for a campaign message, the davis campaign turned to her personal story, and draper writes this. the campaign chose at its lead narrative heroic story of a teenage mother, while raising two daughter, bootstrapped her way into harvard law school and soon possibly the governorship. >> texas made it possible for me to go from that tiny trailer to a successful business and to the texas senate. >> it was a potent story line for a party searching for inspiration. to be inspired by a charismatic new voice in texas. and overnight, a once obscure state senator had become the democrats' appealing new face, perhaps nationally. i felt like she was joan of arc standing up for women all across the country, former michigan governor jennifer granholm said to draper.

democrats in washington were enrapt. from the outset, her campaign has made some mistakes. the campaign made the mistake of taking an already great narrative and making it just a little too gauzy, spinning too good of a yard. "the dallas morning news" took apart davis' story a bit, and it didn't hold up to perfect scrutiny. "morning news" reported she was 21, not 19 when she was divorced, she lived a few months in a family mobile home while separated from her husband, and her second husband, jeff davis, who paid for her harvard education and raised the two daughters while she studied in boston. texas attorney general greg abbott has pounced on the inaccuracies saying her words can't be trusted and prompting davis to aggressively defend the details of her own story. >> you can attack my record. you can challenge my ideas.

you can play holier than life with my life's story, but i draw the line when it comes to lying about my family. >> while davis is on her second pollster, clearly not quite sure how to campaign against abbott, abbott's campaign has made his own set of unforced errors, bizarrely choosing former rocker ted nugent as a campaign surrogate. nugent, a one-hit wonder four decades ago, called president obama a subhuman mongrel. for some reason, abbott, who doesn't have a primary challenge, and doesn't need to look to the fringe, has decided to make ted nugent relevant. >> greg abbott. and only greg abbott will keep texas free, will keep texas texas. my friend, greg abbott. my blood brother. >> well, thank you, ted nugent, a fighter for freedom in this country. >> joining me now, a texan and

author and contributing writer for "the new york times" magazine, robert draper. well, robert, first, let me start -- before we get into wendy davis. >> sure. zoo you're a texans, and you wrote it in this way, you said texan are very proud, and expect texas-based campaigns. are either davis or abbott running a texas-based campaign yet? >> not a very competent one, that's for sure. for one thing, i guess greg abbott can be excused for basically, you know, playing very much the front-runner. this is an unforced error, this business of wedding himself to -- >> and prompted -- now two biggest endorsers are ted nugent and sarah palin. is that really -- >> no, this is a guy -- he's not facing primary opposition, you know, to speak of, so he could be playing towards the center. this is who greg abbott is, a very, very conservative guy, much more so than rick perry, but he's been largely staying quiet, as expected of a front-runner. it's davis who's had to run, you know, a very competent statewide

campaign to become the first governor, as you said, since ann richards in 1990, to win. and thus far, there've been a lot of flaws in that campaign. >> and it's interesting, when you read the entire profile you did of her, i guess let's go back to the campaign narrative. >> sure. >> her story, the actual story, somebody went from community college to harvard law school. that's pretty impressive story. >> pretty good, yeah. >> this tale of sort of how -- and this is -- this happened to a lot of candidates where one person 20 years ago said, hey, when you run for the city council, say this. >> right. >> shorthand your life story to this. and then, everybody is copying it through. is that what happened? >> and stipulate at the same time, chuck, that the picking apart of her narrative, the focus on choices that she made as a mother juggling school and raising her kids, very, very gender-specific, the kind of thing that -- >> no male politician would be given -- he'd be praised, hey, went from community college to

boston. >> that's right. >> and a supportive wife at home who raised two kids while he did it. >> that's exactly right. >> end of story. it doesn't happen for a woman politician. >> it doesn't. having said that, having led with a very personal account, it would only -- i mean, it's an open-ended invitation, examine my narrative. that's what the press has done, we'd be remiss in our fiduciary we'd be remiss in our fiduciary obligations if we didn't do so. if i can impart one lesson to a

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how fast? mine got paid in 4 days. wow. that's awesome. is that legal? big fat no. [ male announcer ] find out how fast aflac can pay you at aflac.com. and now a "deep dive" into the republican party's ongoing effort to try to win over african-americans. a block of voters that once sided consistently with the gop, but have found themselves largely outside the party tent in recent decades. throughout the late 19th century and early 20th, the african-american vote belonged largely to the republican party. the party of lincoln. not necessarily surprising, since it was lincoln, a republican, and a mostly southern segregationist governors who were a bunch of democrats trying to stop -- trying to encourage segregation. that started to change under fdr, thanks to his local support for racial equality and sewing programs that benefited the

working class including a lot of african-americans, but democrats in the south hadn't completely embraced the new paradigm. dixiecrats being the most notable example. in fact, black leaders were still openly backing the gop as late as the early '60s. jackie robinson famously backed richard nixon over jfk for president in 1960. but after lyndon johnson passed the civil rights act of '64 and voting rights act of '65, the transition was complete. no republican presidential candidate has received more than 15% of the african-american vote since. today's republican party is now trying to reverse that trend, and to do so, the party is trying to turn the focus inward. spotlighting african-americans already in the party as part of an effort coinciding with black history month. a few weeks back, the rnc held the second annual trail blazer awards in washington, d.c., honoring influential black republicans and the party is trying to capitalize on it running print and radio ads spotlighting this year's honorees. >> please join us as we celebrate those who make a

difference, made history, and remain an inspiration to us all. >> as part of a broader outreach effort, the gop is hoping that some black republicans can help make their case with minority voters, people like south carolina republican senator tim scott, saratoga springs mayor mia love, taking another shot at winning seat in congress in utah, and perhaps more help could be on the way, j.c. watts, still considered a potential contender in oklahoma, while the state speaker, t.w. shannon, is considered a conservative rising star for the oklahoma gop. by the way, he's already thrown his hat into that senate ring in oklahoma. but it's still an uphill climb for a party scarred by mitt romney's disaster showing among african-americans in 2012 when he captured just 6% of the vote. afterward, rnc rinse priebus announced the party would spend some $10 million to put staff in urban communities. the rnc has made some head way in that regard, opening offices and placing aides in at least 11 states, including north carolina, louisiana, and virginia.

but priebus said he knows more needs to be done. >> we've got to grow our party through addition and multiple occasi multiplication, and that means building the party where we're weak and building where we're strong. we've got to make the door even wider so that people can come through, and that means all as pecks of our party have to be welcomed in that door. >> the party appears to be gaining some ground, maybe. but not much. according to an nbc news/"wall street journal" polling, 11% of americans had a positive view of the gop in 2012. in january 2013, the number was 12%. that's a margin of error business. last month, the number was up to 16%, although there's a significant margin for error. combine that with a 55% negative rating, and it's clear there's still a long way to go. with me is the former head of the republican national committee, michael steele. >> hey. >> who, in many ways, a lot of people thought you might be the anecdote to -- >> wow. >> -- having an african-american chairman of the party. >> knowing that, that was not

going to be the case. you don't solve this problem by putting up, you know, a black face -- >> faces don't solve this problem. >> this problem is 50 years in the making. it is deep-rooted. and it has become exacerbated over the last two election cycles by the tone and rhetoric of the party, which has created a greater distance between blacks and the party itself. >> but what's interesting to me is that actually there's been no change in people -- in some ways i went through the history about the republican party and afri n african-americans and democrats and african-americans, but it's really the same block of politicians. it's the same southern block of politicians. they were democrats in the '30s, '40s, and '50s. >> and now they're republicans. >> now they're republicans, but this is the symbol to african-americans who say it's this crowd that doesn't care about me. >> absolutely right. and it manifests itself in policies that sort of move further away from the concerns that blacks have on voting

rights, on -- >> see, voting rights to me -- >> it's a no-brainer. >> this is the symbolic things, and african-americans say, you say all the right thing s rinss priebus, but these are hurting one thing. >> and the fact of the matter is, you look at the arguments we could be making on the economic front especially -- african-americans are the entrepreneurial people on the planet, and the wealth is generated and created there. it's a great starting point for conversation about ownership and empowerment and those types of things, and yet we get side tracked when we have state legislators doing things that undermine that message. >> it seems to me that jack kemp is missing -- >> absolutely. >> jack kemp was the guy trying to bridge this divide before it was cooled. >> what's important about that distinction, chuck, jack brought us to the point of where we had a rising tide lifting all boats. today in this economy, and

particularly the concerns that african-americans have, i think the party should talk about, let's help you get a boat first, so when the tide comes in, you can benefit from prosperity as opposed toto, as always the case, getting washed over by it. >> so what would you be doing differently? he's putting staffers in urban communities. >> it's not about that. i didn't waste my time on that. we built a network of people in the community. we went there. you know, my first trip as chairman was to harlem, and we have a town hall in harlem and people ask me -- >> he's been doing that in detroit. >> right. but we didn't have a conversation among black republicans. >> right. >> you know, i didn't go to harlem to talk to black republicans. i don't have events in washington. >> you're saying republicans don't have events with african-americans who disagree. >> who disagree with you. that's where the conversation needs to be had. >> michael steele, we'll leave it there. shannon in oklahoma -- >> that's a door opener.

>> it will be interesting. >> how the community responds broadly. >> the u.s. senate has two african-american senators and they're both republican. that's not insignificant. >> it's not. >> michael steele, thank you very much. trivia time. it was bill clements jr. who was elected governor in texas in 1978 and became the first republican to hold the office since 1870. congratulations to today's winner, steven anthony. re rheumatoid arthritis, like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections,

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bulldog: oh boy! television announcer: ...is on now. ♪ mattress discounters it's take-away time. it's been back to the '90s in politics these last few weeks. get the old vcr out and watch singles, right? as republicans with their eye on 2016 seem to have resurrected all the clinton rather scandals again. rand paul seized on pc bc's affair with monica lewinsky, repeated his claim that the former president was a sexual predator and warned democrats to disown bill clinton if they want to be deemed credible on women's issues. and he also suggested that bill's indiscretions could be an

issue for hillary if she runs in 2016. then of course you had the washington freebie continue. they reported on the papers of diane blair, an old clinton confidant. on tuesday, fox news aired an interview with kathleen will, who back in 1998, alleged that bill clinton had sexually assaulted her. the conservative media complex's intent appears to be to knock hillary clinton and feed the clinton fatigue narrative. but this bash bill effort could have a short-term impact on 2014, potentially aimed at hurting red state democrats who all are looking to bill clinton to come out and campaign for them. while bill clinton's favorable numbers are above 60% in all of the states having senate contests this year, reviving these scandals perhaps is an attempt to remind conservatives what they didn't like about clinton in the first place. drudging up bill clinton's past has never hurt hillary clinton. if anything, anytime it's been done, it's galvanized support for her. but it doesn't help bill.

remember who the swing vote in many of these senate races are. they're older white women. so we'll see if this effort to bash bill again is a way that ends up undermining a bunch of red state democrats in 2014. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." up next on msnbc, chris jansing. [announcer] word is getting out. 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. save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.d everybody knows that. well, did you know pinocchio was a bad motivational speaker? i look around this room and i see nothing but untapped potential. you have potential. you have...oh boy. geico. fifteen minutes could save you

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[ mawhile a body in motionat restends to stay in motion... staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers.

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report. good morning. i am ari mellford filling in for chris jansing. we start with the latest reports from ukraine. today new street battles have resulted in at least 22 deaths according to the ap, and that has effectively ended a truce. now, the total death toll has reached at least 50 this week. and reporting from kiev, nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel says some of the injuries are from live ammunition. >> reporter: protesters have turned this hotel lobby into a field hospital. the injured are still streaming in. we've seen volunteers using bed sheets to try and treat the wounds, and some of the injuries at least appear to have come from live ammunition. the hotel lobby quickly turned into mayhem. no supplies have been stored here. the injured given care on the floor. >> ukrainian president viktor yanukovych and the opposition remain