it looks like another loser for johnny depp. "transcendence" took in a disappointing million bucks.$20. that's going to do it for "way too early." thanks, gang. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ on this date one year ago, we gathered together as one. one unified, resilient community. it was here that we heard a great philosopher say this is our city. no one's going to dictate our freedom. >> good morning, everyone. it is monday, april 21st.

welcome to "morning joe." with us on set we have the host of "way too early," thomas roberts. hello, thomas. >> hi. >> msnbc and "time" magazine political analyst mark halperin. >> morning. >> and president of the council on foreign relations, richard haass. and from boston where we begin today, contributor mike barnicle. mike, good to have you from a very, very and important place today. >> glad to be here, mika. >> so mika, first of all we're going to boston in a second, but how was your weekend? i'm sure every easter is it niese or monaco? where are you exactly? >> usually i'm in connecticut. >> that's exciting. >> south of connecticut. >> exactly. how about you? >> talk to us. >> that's not an easter thing.

just exciting. >> got a new baby. >> i got a new baby. well, no. a new pickup truck. >> 150? >> yeah. i have pictures. >> you have pictures? >> are we supposed to coo and awe? >> is this what the easter bunny brought you? >> it's a steely gray. >> that's a powerful vehicle. >> it is. it's fun. i'm using it for my business. >> there you go. i love it. to run over me. it's tax deductible. >> how about you? did the easter bunny come? did you dress up as the bunny? >> i did not. i broke that. >> the bunny suit didn't fit again. >> it's really sort of freaky wearing that big bunny suit. >> kids love it. >> they do love it. but not this year. the easter bunny spread eggs all over the place. so we had a great hunt.

>> well, good. >> all right. so let's go to the news. >> there's a lot to get to. a lot going on in ukraine and politics as well. but of course we're going to begin in boston this morning where it's going to be a bittersweet day for the city. in just a few hours the boston marathon will be held for the first time since the bombings last year. there will be 36,000 people taking part in the 118th run. second largest field in the race's history. hundreds of thousands will be cheering them on. security will be extremely tight with more than 3,000 officers both in uniform and undercover. and more than 100 high-tech surveillance cameras. let's go to mike barnicle standing by in boston who's going to watch it all first hand. mike? >> well, mika, that was a pretty good description. bittersweet. that's the sense of the day here. there's a lot of excitement. a lot of anticipation. obviously a lot of emotion. most of the runners i think probably all the runners and all of the participants along the

sidelines for all 26 miles, a million people witnessing the race. they are intent on saying this is our race not their race. this is our day, not their day. they're take back the race, taking back a special day in the city of boston. the red sox game at 11:00. the crowd spills out and mixes along the spectators on the route. in reference to what you just said, the security shutdown in the city is enormous. they began blocking off, closing off full streets and whole neighborhoods at 5:00 a.m. this morning. the area around the finish line will be very difficult to -- you can approach it on foot, but there's not going to be any vehicular traffic within an eight square block area. but nobody's complaining about it. other than me, of course. >> it's what you do, mike. >> it's going to be a good day. >> all right.

>> mike, boston is a big city but it's also a small town. my sense is everybody is engaged more than ever with the race here. what are the signs of just how much focus there is locally in that city? >> well, mark, as you know -- and that's a pretty good way to put it. it is a little big town. you can watch the entire length of the city in about an hour and a half, actually. everyone is so into this. and a lot of it has been driven by the regret over what happened last year. obviously. but the memory of those who lost their lives and those who were maimed. they have been a constant presence in the civic atmosphere of the city. again, a lot of the wounded were at fenway park for a ceremony prior to the game. the family of martin richard, the 8-year-old boy killed at the marathon, their family has been so dignified in their grief. they've all been symbols to

carry the city for an entire year. this is their day as well. >> no better guy to commemorate the day than you, mike barnicle. thank you very much. onto other news, joe biden will be in kiev today to meet with the acting prime minister and president of ukraine. his arrival comes with tough timing. on sunday an truce was violently broken. a ukrainian nationalist group is being blamed but members say the gun battle was staged to make it look like they were at fault. at risk is the fragile truce that was struck last week. the u.s. tlentening to levy additional sanctions if it fails. hesitance to issue more economic punishments is sending the wrong message to moscow. >> and i think that's what we're saying to russia today by the

actions that we're not taking. don't embarrass us, but you can continue the black ops activities. but don't do it in a way that embarrasses us. again, the world is watching. our allies in europe are watching. our nato friends and others know that this is where we are. and i think we need to step on out and do the things that we threatened. because i don't think putin will respond to anything else other than us overtly doing the things we've laid out. >> here's how david brooks framed it on "meet the press." >> borders are basically going to be borders. once that comes into question then all over the world -- >> all bets are off. >> all bets are off. and let's face it. obama whether deservedly or not, he does have it i'll say pipt is he strong enough to stand up to somebody like putin? >> richard haass, is that fair? does the president -- especially

what david brooks was saying. >> you can't control how people view a crisis. just because we see it as one square on a chess board, people all over the world are seeing how involved we're getting in europe. how robust the u.s. is. you never want to see things to come back to haunt you elsewhere. also at the same time a lot of politics is local as tip o'neill would say. that's what vice president biden is doing is so interesting here. we're focusing so much on sanctions against russia. that's a big part of it. i think corker is right we ought to be moving tougher faster. but you've also got to build up ukraine. strengthening them economically is important. it's getting elections to stay on track for a month from now. also militarily. ukraine has been doing terribly. one of the things that has to happen quickly is make them a functioning nation. >> david brooks said the president had a manhood problem.

corker saying the president is sending a message to russia saying don't embarrass me publicly. then last week dr. brzezinski even saying the president has to have a tougher response. jane harman, former democratic congresswoman, saying the same thing. that the president's not being tough enough. nick kristof saying ukrainians will never forgive us if we let them down. a lot of harsh criticism directed at barack obama. is that fair? >> a lot of it is. the general outlines in the administration is right. what's missing is the degree of urgency and intensity. where is pushing exports of oil and gas helping europeans develop their own shale industry. that part is not in play. why not push ahead with more sanctions? why sanction just the largest

financial institution? why isn't senator kerry essentially setting up shop in -- i'm sorry. secretary of state kerry. >> why would you target 16 instead of one through fife? what's going on? >> it was to keep this measured. >> the guy is moving eastward towards kiev. how measured does barack obama want to be? >> again, you want to do more there. what the russians are doing is what i would call intervention without invasion. what we're trying to do is keep some of our stuff dry. i think some are getting it wrong if not using enough sooner. simply being too cautious. >> you know, nick kristof had a piece in "the new york times" which crystallizes the why should americans understand more. he writes this and calls it in dad's hometown european souls.

here in the village ukrainians watch television and loathe the propagan propaganda. if you listen to them, we're all carrying assault rifles and beating people. for people with such fondness for american culture, president obama hasn't embraced ukrainely more firmly. the u.s. is being very slow and cautious. you should be firmer and quicker with financial assistance. in the battle between putin and taylor swift, i go with swift. we love your culture and we want to be part of you. one man from donetsk told me. if you abandon us, we will never forgive you. he went back to his hometown and wrote this piece from the heart. >> it's interesting to see how this is all playing out. they have this truce over easter. the blood shed that happened at the border there. richard as we saw in '08, we know the russian forces invaded

georgia to get to the black sea. there remains a russian occupation in georgia. we did nothing then. and if we hear david brooks talking about the president using the term manhood problem. do they have a manhood problem when they haven't done enough to sanction part of the g7. a client state of russia refuses to use her influence to helm in. >> i'm not comfortable with that. the last time person that criticized the manhood problem was george herbert walker bush. and weeks later saddam hussein learned that it was anything but. keep those aside. the real question is how fast and how tough to consider. angela merkel is incredibly cautious. that is the hallmark of her entire career. other have conflicts of

interest. about how tough to be in russia. that is a hallmark of the entire cold war with the united states with seeing something they saw as confrontational. so there's very little new under this. i think it's a question of tactic versus strategy, how fast, how hard do you o confront russia. part of the problem here is reading putin. i would simply say all things being equal, the united states are ering on the side of hoping against hope. i would be pushing particularly on the economics. no one is say -- i'm not saying and i don't think we should be bringing ukraine into nato. that's not the answer. strengthen their internal capabilities and be tougher with russia on economic sanctions. that's their weakness. >> we've got two other political

stories to get to. an interesting one of jeb bush on the front page of "the new york times." but first the future of the keystone pipeline is in question once more as the obama administration pushes back its deadline to make a decision. cited an ongoing case in nebraska's supreme court over the route. but bloomberg reports federal officials have long said the nebraska court case wouldn't impact its ongoing review. the court's decision isn't likely until after the midterm elections. the announcement is angering conservatives. senator mary landrieu of louisiana called the decision irresponsible, unnecessary, and unacceptable. mark begich of alaska says he is, quote, frankly appalled at the continued foot dragging by the administration. as politico notes, the delay puts renewed focus on democrats who have not yet issued a firm position on where they stand on the project. the national republican

committee issued a statement saying the delay reinforces how ineffective and without power and influence the senators are. just last week they urged president obama to decide on the pipeline. and took a swipe at the president's year of action. saying i guess he wasn't serious about having a pen and a phone. >> mark halperin, i will associate myself with these democratic senators' remarks. it is unacceptable. i don't understand it. especially when you look at the jobs. we could have the debate people against this pipeline says it's going to create two and a half jobs, which is ludicrous. but also energy. energy is in the news. we're talking about russia. we're talking about making europe less dependent on russia. we have an opportunity to build an infrastructure here. and the president in all of this is wringing his hands saying hold on. how long can they put this off?

until after the -- >> nebraska is key to this, but there's going to be litigation forever. to put it off for one court case when there's a lot of study out there. just to go to jobs and the ability of the united states to do big things, i don't understand the delay. zb there's been like four state department reviews opening the door for it to move forward. it's hard to defend. >> what i don't understand is let's just look at the politics of it. it's all about politics. but if you look at the politics, you're actually leaving democratic senators who have the biggest chance of losing and hanging them out to dry. >> and labor unions and public opinion. >> right. >> progressives who were against it. they're not going to vote against democratic senators in congress.

>> wealthy donors who don't want it. >> so it'll hurt financially. >> mega-gifts from people. i don't understand if they're doing it for the politics as the white house points out it's not great politics, but there's no -- if you're open to the project, if you look at the state department reviews -- >> what will the dunner class do? $100 million. will they just keep their money in their pocket? >> they'll keep their money or direct it towards primaries. i don't get what the president's posture is. >> i just don't understand this. i think it's bad policy. i think it's bad for jobs. we need jobs. i think it's a bad message to vladimir putin. but let's just look at it politically. i don't understand the politics of it. because it hurts the very state democrats that need -- >> you're right on the policy side. it doesn't change the

fundamental climate change issue. all it does is alienate canada which is one of our two most important training partners. and you're right. this is an opportunity for the united states to embrace a serious energy policy that reflect this fact we actually have the energy sufficiency. this is actually a moment of taking a tough decision which we could accomplish a lot for ourselves in places like ukraine but also iran. we're entering the final part of our stages there. >> we didn't get to the jeb story. but what's going on? >> it's an article in "the new york times" about his financial background. some investments he made that didn't go so well. and other kind of connections that he had that might make him a little bit of a target during the presidential campaign if he were to run. but we'll get to that a little later. i think people have been beginning to look at him

seriously because he looks serious. >> looks like the vetting process is officially on for jeb. >> exactly. and isn't this how it's done? you let it drip a little bit to see how it goes? >> i guess. had a family intervention last week. people going to talk to the family members. >> oh, that. i was just talking about his mom. >> that's what i was saying. good luck talking to barbara. and then there's -- yeah. well, anyway, we'll get more about that later on. it does sound like they're checking him out. all right. coming up on "morning joe," "the boston globe" on the marathon. >> mazzie is here. and roger bennett is here with football frenzy. apparently a big weekend. >> a big weekend. >> up next the top stories in the playbook. how's your son doing? >> he's not doing as well as i

am. >> not doing well. >> i was watching that match with him. i had to pretend that i was very upset because something happened extraordinarily well for liverpool. >> speaking of not doing well, here's bill kairns. the forecast. >> i gave you a beautiful weekend, mika. >> i was wearing my winter boots. >> it was a little chilly. but the afternoons turned out nice. the southeast was very rainy. let's talk boston today. we have two big outdoor events. the elite runners kick off at 10:00 a.m. then the baseball game starts at 11:00 today. cold start there. 31 in hartford. 37 in boston. but the sun is going to go to work. the high sun angle, we're going to warm up in a hurry. a nice, warm finish. it's perfect conditions for marathon runners. mika knows they don't like it too hot. should be right in the middle.

it should be perfect. probably fast times. as far as the middle of the country goes, that's where the wet weather is from florida to oklahoma to missouri. you'll get wet weather. all the rainy weather is in the middle of the country. that makes it to the east coast tomorrow. we've really been lucky so far. we have not had a lot of severe weather. still amazing up to this point in the year we have yet to have our first tornado fatality. i'd be surprised if we get it this week. we're looking very quiet. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ vé

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okay. time now to look at the morning papers. "the times." more troubling violence out of venezuela this morning. burning effigies of nicolas maziro yesterday. set up barricades and threw molotov cocktails at officials. water cannons were used against people. 41 people have been killed since the demonstrations began about three months ago. >> and this from "the chicago tribune" general motors says it's going to build five new plants in china over the next three years. they're trying to ramp up manufacturing. the u.s. auto giant expects china sales to improve as much as 10%. rival car maker volkswagen, now it's the top selling foreign brand and the world's largest auto market. >> pope francis made a call for

peace in ukraine and syria during his traditional eastern message yesterday. the pontiff celebrated mass in front of a crowd of 150,000 people in st. peters square. the largest in vatican city this year. in his blessing he called for an end to the use of force in syria. he also asked for the support of the international community to chart a path for ukraine's future. >> also in "the washington post," high school students and their families are protesting michelle obama's involvement in some kansas graduation ceremonies. there are now concerns for the first lady's participation stealing the spotlight from the kids and limiting the amount of seats available for family members. the speech is tied to the 60st anniversary of the supreme court's decision on brown v. education. and i have got to say if you have the opportunity to have the first lady of the united states come out and speak at your high school graduation, keep those concerns to yourself.

that is asinine. and the historical -- >> the symbolic value of having her there. >> and the 60th anniversary of brown v. board. that is absolutely unbelievable. >> every step should be made to accommodate everybody. "the los angeles times," a california teenager is alive today after hitching a ride in the wheel well of a flight bound to hawaii. >> i still do that. you save a lot of money. >> uh-huh. officials say the 16-year-old was unconscious the majority of the five-hour flight across the ocean. >> you get to 40,000 feet and get woozy. >> he hopped a fence after a fight with his parents. the boy was turned over to child protective services. he will not face charges. how horrible. >> and "the star ledger." the boxer who spent years behind bars for murders he didn't

commit died yesterday. carter was convicted of killing three white men twice in 1967 but he became a free man in 1985. carter's fight outside the ring to regain freedom was the basis for bob dylan's 1975 famous song "hurricane." and also the movie "the hurricane" starring denzel washington. rubin hurricane carter was 76 years old. >> miss america is stepping in to help a teen who did nothing wrong. who wrote this? aside from blatantly ignoring school administrators who told him not to do this. >> i know you had several questions. so you can go to the questions. >> miss america, i have a question. would you go to prom with me?

>> patrick favres was suspended from his school for three and a half days for disobeying some school leaders and asking miss america nina davuluri to prom. she's asking to reconsider the suspension because she encourages students to follow their dreams. and world peace. >> i'm sorry. that's really all she wants. >> but she still said no. just so you no. she told the kid no. she's busy. >> well, she's busy. >> follow your dreams there,

young man. >> maybe he'll find somebody to ask. >> there's always miss usa. >> let's go to thomas right now. >> that's my prom advice. let's check in with the chief white house correspondent for politico mike allen who his prom date was. no. we're checking in on the morning playbook. good to have you here. >> hope you had a great easter. >> thank you. you too. one of the stories you're following, rick perry's extreme makeover. this comes as the texas governor is facing one of his toughest political fights yet. we have eight months in his job as governor and he's the focus of a grand jury charge of abuse of power. how does this all play out for his political future? >> thomas, we saw governor perry here on "morning joe" and he was on jimmy kimmel and he spoke to the conservative political action conference. and politico has learned this is part of a deliberate strategy to

reintroduce him. they're trying to remind people that "a," the governor is healthier after his last campaign. we were told a lot of his problems stem from the back medication that he was taking. and second, he's more experienced. he gets the national stage better and is less likely to stick his foot in his mouth as he did before. he's staffing up. we're told he's going to make some more trips to early states. and remind people of his former record. ten straight elections that he won before the bad primary. and also the great jobs record in texas trying to broaden that. talk about economic policies. >> what are you hearing out on the campaign trail? what are the chances of rick perry who is very gracious here, i thought he was charming here. did a great job on jimmy kimmel. what are you hearing about his

ability to turn around? are there second acts if you're rick perry? >> he believes he gets a chance. he underperformed last time. the back surgery and pain problems there was listed. he thinks he can do better without the back problems. i think he's a huge gap between what people think about him and what he's really like. if he can bring that forward, i think he's hugely along with mike huckabee, i think he's hugely underestimated as a potential candidate for next time. >> all right. so are you hearing that other republicans think he has a shot? >> no. because they don't think he can make a good second impression. he's not being talked about much by donors and activists. but i think watch out. he's a strong candidate. >> all right, guys. let's talk about the supreme court. we've got former supreme court justice stevens talking about the politics of retiring from the high court even though he said he retired for his own

personal reasons. take a listen. >> you're interested in the job and the kind of work that's done. you have to have an interest who's going to fill your shoes. >> so if ginsburg is coming for your advice? >> i'd say she doesn't need my advice. >> very wise. >> she did ask my advice when she became the senior associate justice. basically gave her the same answer. >> he said don't come to him agent mike allen, great to see you. up next, a great comeback. "morning joe" sports coming your way next. ♪

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♪ here we go. let's get you some sports. we start with the nba playoffs. you all watch this? >> exactly. the blazers. >> the blazers visiting the rockets in game one of their first round series. so we head straight to the end of the fourth. this is where houston is up by

two so the blazers go ahead and miss a couple of shots. but lamarcus aldridge finds a way to tie the game and send it into ot. he had 46 points, 18 rebounds. was in the extra period with james harden with the chance at the buzzer. but he comes up short. blazers take that game. we show you the heat hosting the bobcats. check out josh mcroberts. nasty dunk over the bird man. that was nasty. that was the bird man chris andersen. a healthy dwayne wade makes the heat the favorite to win it all. he knox down that three. miami takes the game there 91-88. the top seeded spurs outlast the mavs and the wizards get the upset in chicago. they are both up 1-0 in the series. now watch this because there's nothing like a good old fashioned brawl. the boys of summer get you going on a monday morning. the brewers and pirates. admiring this long ball. winds up hitting off the wall.

so after sliding safely into third base, this is when things get a little ugly. >> and now garrett cole and gomez having some words and the benches are going to empty. what prompted this? as carlos gomez is throwing punches and now the pirates are retaliating. we've got a full fledged brawl at pnc park. >> what prompted this? i don't know. human growth hormones, perhaps. >> what is -- come on, boys. >> seriously. come on. >> i don't know. but gomez showing a little gymnastic ability there by rolling over on his back. >> that was good. >> would have done better if he had run out the hit. >> gomez and the pirates travis snyder, they were ejected.

and the brewers got the lead and the win. >> nobody jaunts around the bases. they just stare at the ball. >> like the expression bench clearing brawl. >> that is a good one. also take a peek. i like that one too. >> i learned that on espn "sportscenter." >> of course you did. >> orioles visiting the red sox. boston on display before the game with a special ceremony honoring those that lost their lives, the wounded, and the first responders. as for the game itself, this would come down to the final at bat. >> fields. caught by lowe. pedroia. now he's coming home as the throw gets away and the red sox win it! >> so things got a little sloppy at the end. boston takes the 6-5 win over the orioles. they're going to face off again with the patriots day early start today. >> yea. >> i see how they do it.

>> go sox. >> two days from now pack your bags. "morning joe" and "way too early" live from wrigley field. >> i am getting out my best wig for this. >> celebrating 100 years at wrigley field. this is happening on wednesday april 23rd starting at 5:30 eastern. >> we've got mr. cub there. interviews with sayers. >> it's going to be fun. >> friends at wrigley have opened up the park. >> it'll be the second ballpark i've been to. i mean, fenway being the best. >> you picked the best two, actually, to start with. >> really? i've heard the one that competes with fenway is wrigley. >> and of course we need to go to st. louis. you couldn't go last time. >> you've only ever been to fenway? >> she's pacing herself. she has no rush. >> oh. i went to that -- oh. never mind. i don't have nice things to say. >> what about memorial stadium.

>> what's that? >> but i will now that i'm going to be sort of a semi-baltimore person. i'm going to go. there's a lawyer involved that knows more. larry lucchino is taking me to a game. and he was on the flight that landed on the hudson, sully. that guy. yeah. he was in the very back of the plane. and tells the most incredible story of being the last guy out. >> orioles have to be your team now. >> this is a long way to get to i'm going to camden yard. >> we're going with jim hanks. >> you know what else is going to happen here, mika is going to get invited to the prom by some high school guy. >> no. you don't understand when it's forced and too late and you have to ask for it, it doesn't feel good. >> could you imagine the kid having to meet your parents? >> that would be awful. >> hi, dr. brzezinski. and your mom with a chain saw. so coming up next, victoria

defrancesco soto. don't go away. we'll be back with more "morning joe." ♪ why relocating manufacturingpany to upstate new york? i tell people it's for the climate. the conditions in new york state are great for business. new york is ranked #2 in the nation

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♪ you have to let me know [ female announcer ] when sweet and salty come together, the taste is irresistible. sweet and salty nut bars by nature valley. nature at its most delicious. ♪ time now for the must read opinion pages. here with us now victoria defrancesco soto. i'll just call her vicki. let's go to al hunt. we love al hunt. >> but it's going to drive you crazy. >> it is. do you think it's all right for me to express a tad bit of personal opinion? is it all right, joe? >> you do it every day. >> i know. >> you do it every day. >> i think this president is

going for the long view which is very -- especially with obamacare it is very hard to do. so here's al hunt's view. >> you just gave your opinion. >> i did. >> do it. it will free you. >> the ratings just dropped like a rock. >> don't -- you think inside. don't calculate. >> all right. obama's good news isn't getting across. the president continues to alternate between telling americans how much better things are and deploring how many are being left behind. both statements are true. but that makes for a message that's muddled, incoherent, and too negative. he had a similar problem of tone during his 2012 re-election campaign. as he struggled to frame the message of an improving economy. that turned around almost exactly two months before election day. the moment? former president bill clinton's speech to the dnc in which he

articulated how much the economy improved since obama took office and why continuing that progress hinged on his re-election. that sound you hear from the capital's democratic cloak room these days, bring back bubba? vicki? >> life is complicated and it's mixed and the president would get dinged if he were to pollyanna and pleatly positive. and he would get doomed if he was doom and gloom. life is messy and he's saying what the reality is. it's not pretty right now, regrettably. >> and i think some of his efforts will get lost in the shuffle because it's very hard to do a completely positive gloss of the state of our country right now. everyone would know he's lying, right? >> we're coming out of a recession. i mean, we're getting better, but we still have a long ways to go. why don't we call it like it is. >> richard haass, you've written about foreign policy beginning at home spp the.

is there a better way to frame our state at home right now? >> absolutely. what i think he should be doing is make the case we're putting back into place the foundations of american power. the only problem is then you'd have the gap between the rhetoric and the reality. and the president, you know, we talked about the keystone pipeline so we're not going things on the energy front, not on comprehensive immigration reform, comprehensive tax reform and so on and on so. you make the argument he thinks he's going in the right direction. the policy simply isn't there. >> when we think about what this country can do and get back in the business of doing big ideas, we can see what they're doing in the big idea of obamacare and how that has been strongly objected by republicans voting 51 times to get rid of it. how do we get back to the big idea country. >> when you have midterms coming up that are just going to -- >> i think what al is talking about here has more to do with style over the substance of it

all. you have substance but then you have to go out and sell it. and there's no doubt anybody that knew bill clinton whether they were on his side or against him that he absolutely loved his job. he was up and engaged. there aren't a lot of people that are around barack obama that have observed barack obama that would suggest that he loves his job half as much as bill clinton loved the same job. >> oh, he loved it. >> bill clinton. >> yeah. >> yeah. but he's dour. >> every selfie i've seen he's smiling. >> who's that? >> barack obama. >> but that's the professor in him. and that was his brand coming into it. he's a little bit more intellectual. he was a professor. in some ways we wanted that professor. we wanted that cerebral power. and he's not bill clinton. and we understood that going in. >> you know, we have a guy that

if he sees himself a as a professor or above washington which i think most evidence of people that report on him he does say he sees himself above the fray of washington and pure politics. that's something that comes out. >> is that a good or bad thing? >> well, i think if you're trying to sell an agenda, it's a very bad thing. if you're a professor, it's a great thing. if you actually are the most powerful politician in america and the world and you have to move other politicians, may not be a positive thing. you have to be able to sell and give off the impression to other people around you who you depend on that you actually like them. >> there's two kinds of politicians. there's those who put up with it and those who enjoy it. and barack obama gives off the message that he's one of those that puts up with it. the problem is then it makes it hard for him to build the context he needs to get things done. >> i think he has the mechanism in his brain that's impossible

to remove. that's a b.s. detector. he can't b.s. he can't. it just doesn't suit him at all. >> vicki, is that it? >> he can't do it. bill clinton can sell anything. >> maybe patience is another way to put it. he has very little patience for washington and the climate of washington. not only is he not bill clinton, but he's not lbj. we've seen a lot of comparisons between lbj and barack obama. you know, they're both fighting for civil rights. lbj moved the civil rights forward. but personalitywise, they could not be more different. >> the interesting thing is we do the compare and contrast scenarios to barack obama and others who have been pickled in family dynasties and political cultures. we have a president right now that wu not pickled in that family dynasty or dynamic. >> that's interesting. >> the fact what we're used to as an american people is very different than what we have in

president obama. >> i like that term pickled. >> better than the one i used. vicki, thank you so much. >> thank you, vicki. >> thank you. still ahead, it's been two weeks since crews detected any signal from flight 370. and one calls this a critical juncture in the serarch for the plane. we'll be back with much more "morning joe." ♪ hey. i'm ted and this is rudy.

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♪ coming up at the top of the hour, chuck todd and "the new york times" jonathan martin. more "morning joe" when we return. ♪ [ male announcer ] the wright brothers started in a garage. mattel started in a garage. disney started in a garage. amazon started in a garage. ♪ the ramones started in a garage. my point? some of the most innovative things in the world come out of american garages. introducing the lighter, faster cadillac cts. 2014 motor trend car of the year. ain't garages great?

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i don't know that it is. >> welcome back to "morning joe." it is the top of the hour. back with us on set we have thomas roberts, mark halperin, richard haass, and mike barnicle who's live in boston for us where it will be a bittersweet day. mike's going to join us a little bit later. in just a few hours the boston marathon will be held for the first time since the deadly bombings last year. 36,000 people will be taking part in this 118th run. the second largest field in the race's history. hundreds of thousands will be cheering them on though. security extremely tight with more than 3,000 officers both in uniform and undercover. and more than a hundred high-tech surveillance cameras. we'll get to mike in a second. >> going to get to mike in a few minutes. also talking about boston, so much going on over there. but speaking of boston -- >> yes. >> -- one of their senators in

the united states who represents boston, she wrote a book. >> yes, she did. >> and i -- you read it last night. >> i'm halfway through. >> and you're very excited because you probably think that since she's written this book, her re-election to the senate is sealed. this is about her being re-elected to the senate, right? >> i think the book is fascinating and it solidifies everything i felt instinctively about her. it's called "a fighting chance." i have the pre-release. and it's about her message which she has today which everyone knows what it is. but her background, her family, and her decades of study in collecting data. everything has developed into what her message is today. >> but you think it's a good launch for a presidential campaign. >> the book? >> yes. >> i don't think she can say she would be running for president, because i think there are some people who are supporting

another woman who might cause some trouble for her. >> but do you see this book as a possible launch for presidential campaign? >> i think it could be. i think that the viewers can decide when they read it themselves. it's called "a fighting chance." and her story is amazing. >> you know who else is amazing? >> chuck todd. >> nbc news' chuck todd. >> he's the man. >> he has an amazing life story. >> he's blushing. >> wow. happy easter. >> my book is coming out soon. we'll talk about that. >> we're waiting for the book to come out. >> a signed chance. life on the other side of a television studio. >> we also have "new york times" political correspondent jonathan martin. they're both in washington. we have a lot to talk about including jonathan's story. >> first let's talk about

keystone. the future of the keystone pipe line is in question once more as the obama administration pushes back its deadline to make a decision. the state department which is responsible for reviewing the project cited an ongoing case in nebraska's supreme court over the pipeline's route. but bloomberg reports federal officials had long said the nebraska court case wouldn't impact its ongoing review. the decision isn't likely until after the midterm elections. the announcement is angering conservatives up for re-election in oil states. senator mary landrieu called it unresponsible, unnecessary, and unacceptable. mark begich said he's frankly appalled at the foot dragging by the administration. as politico notes, the delay puts focus on democrat who is have not yet issued a decision on where they stand it. the republican committee said the delay reinforces how

ineffective, powerless, and without influence the senators are noting they urged president obama to approve the pipeline. mitch mcconnell took a swipe at the president's year of action saying in a statement, i guess he wasn't serious about having a pen and a phone. >> chuck todd, we're trying to crack the political code here bhop does this help? it certainly doesn't help democratic senators running in louisiana and arkansas, in alaska, in kentucky. twisting in the wind on this one not picking one side or another. and colorado. udall also not picking a side. so who is the president playing to? we understand this is all politics, but who wins? >> well, or what you just described or does it. do these red state democrats need something to rail against the president on that is a credible thing to rail? i'll be honest. i'm very cynical when it comes to keystone.

number one, i do think that the obama administration has been trying to play to environmentalists. they don't want the environmentalists somehow creating a problem inside the democratic base of the party. when you think about where democrats raise their money, a lot of it comes from out west. the folks out there, the activists out there care more about this issue than other democrats in the country. and the second part of this is i can't help but think the administration secretly thinks delaying it is not a big deal. because it gives the red state democrats something that the president doesn't mind. but it is amazing how long we've dragged this out. and by the way it is only politics that has been involved with every part of this process. let's not pretend that politics is not involved. it's only been a political process. >> jonathan, the foot dragging is pretty extraordinary.

the white house just continues to delay, delay, delay. >> well, chuck's right. on two points. the fact is the president is headed back out west here i think in the next couple of weeks here going to california to raise money. it's very hard for him to go out there to raise money from liberal donors after approving keystone. after the next few months they're going to have to do so much fund raising. they don't want to anger their liberal base. i think even though this may anger the begichs and landrieus of the world, it does give him an opportunity to go to their base and say one more issue where this president and i are different and i'm standing up to him and telling him he's wrong on keystone. >> it also hurts foreign policy. it makes it much harder for the united states to go to germany and say you've got to take a tough decision on nuclear power or to france and say you've got to take a tough decision on fracking. right now we want to weaken the

russian position in europe, but this works against our ability to get the europeans to do what they need to do. >> jonathan, let's move to your story over the weekend in "the new york times." the headline was democrats face vexing politics over health care law. we knew that. but you look into the history of these things. when franklin d. roosevelt established social security, the created generations of loyal democrats. but president obama's affordable care act, the $1.4 trillion effort to extend health insurance to all americans is challenging the traditional calculus about government benefits and political impact. democrats could see political benefit from the law, but in this mid firm election, they are going for a vexing reality. many helped by the health care law, young people and minorities, are the least likely to cast votes to preserve it. the angry opponents are more

mobilized than the beneficiaries. those on their parents' plans or those who didn't have access before. they may not necessarily turn out. which is kind of the problem. >> that's the quandary for democrats. you have a pretty expansive new social program. if any you look historically, that should translate into some political benefit for the party that ushered it in. why is that not happening yet? it's a complex explanation, but part of the reason is those who are benefitting are less likely to show up on election day. democrats are feverishly trying to change that, but the fact is it is very hard to get that kind of demographic out for non-presidential years. i was down in atlanta a couple weeks ago talking to a lot of people. african-americans, young folks. and there's just not a lot of engagement on the midterm election. and frankly, the amount of knowledge about the health care

law is still a work in progress, shall we say. you talk to people and there's just quite a lot of confusion about the health care law. can they did not do a brad single payer plan. they did a more complicated structure that makes the benefit much harder to discern. >> the president going to keep going around the country selling sellings health care or benchmark to move off of it many. >> it seems their intent is to get back into an economic movement. that there's fatigue with the health care issue. when there's something to announce on health care, to beat back the repeal message they're going to do that. but they do it more from the white house. they don't do it from the road. when they travel from the road, they want an economic message. let me make a counterargument

here. i think democrats at some point need to say to themselves they have to fight -- they're going to have to start campaigning on health care even if it means they lose -- they're going to lose on health care in 2014 whether they campaign on it or not right now. it is hard to imagine you're going to change public opinion between now and november. but if you're ever going to change public opinion, you've got to start campaigning for health care at some point. you can't allow it to be engrained as a negative. and if you go three straight election cycles where essentially republicans have been able to campaign on it as a negative against democrats, and democrats frankly run away from it. then you go two more years doing this. i think it then -- you may not politically recover from it for a decade. and i think that's a long-term mistake for the party. >> i couldn't agree with chuck more. you've got to throw yourself all in.

you can't hold back. and if you're a democrat, if you supported the president's health care plan, if i were a democrat and supported the health care plan, i would be saying 8 million, 8 million, 8 million, 8 million. i would take the predictions of my opponent and show where my opponent was wrong. then i would pick three or four or five and just hammer it home. if they're in this dead man zone, if they're in this middle space, they're going to get killed. >> they look scared and like they're thinking politically and nothing else. they have no convictions. >> democrats tried this in 2010. they tried to pretend that they didn't just pass a sweeping health care law. and they got slaughtered. they have got to be aggressive. >> how about the fact it's a good thing to do for americans in the long-term. >> if they believe that which i don't, but if they believe that and i think a lot of them do, then why aren't they talking about it? don't run scared.

be aggressive. >> let me ask you a difficult question. do you think all americans should have health care? because we don't think you do. i'm not talking to you personally, i'm just saying that's the argument. it's pretty simple. it's as big as other programs put in place and saved a lot of people. and this president is not -- i'm sorry -- he's not thinking about the short-term or the next five minutes. he's thinking about the future of this country. maybe some people might want to join that ship. >> well, that's your opinion. if you're a democratic candidate, you should say that. you should also -- you're right. make republicans answer the question. do they believe all americans should have health care? i believe all americans should have health care. but the fact if i'm on the campaign trail campaigning against you and you start attacking me saying you don't want all americans to have health care. you want make sure that mothers at 11:00 at night when they have a sick child and they don't know what's wrong with their child

have to take that child to an emergency room and sit in the emergency room maybe until 2:00 or 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning just to find out whether their child is going to live or die, that's your america. if you say that, suddenly. >> reporter: that's from a guy against the law. he can think of a way to spin it. >> then you have republicans on the campaign trail with no, but wait a second. defending themselves. having to defend themselves. and this follows up to what chuck said. i think the law is terrible. i think the law is bad for america. i think it's bad for the -- it doesn't curb the health care costs. i could talk for three hours why i think it's a bad law, but if you're a democrat and you voted for the law and you saw your friends all lose in 2010, you better listen to chuck todd and you better defend the law. >> just take a stand. >> can i jump in here real fast? >> yes. >> part of it, the democrat challenge every time they come out and tout more people who

have gotten coverage, it underscores the fact for a lot of people in this country that this law is not a health care reform law, it's perceived as a welfare law. that's why this law is in part so polarizing. if you talk to folks like zeke emanuel who is an architect for this law. he says there's so much here bigger than the expansion of coverage. it's health care reform. not just covering the uninsured. but by the nature of having to prove its success, the obama white house has to come out and say it's working. we've covered x number of people. and that drives folks like zeke emanuel crazy. they say it's about reform. and as long as it's seen as an expansion in coverage and not reform, the polling numbers are not going to be that good for democrats on this. >> speaking of zeke emanuel, we should invite the mayor of chicago to wrigley field. >> yes, we should. >> we've got ernie banks, mr. cub right?

>> rahm. >> and gayle sayers. we've got everybody. this is a chicago thing. i'm going to call rahm after the show. it'd be great to have him here. >> i'm going to move on to jeb bush. in "the new york times" today, talking about a report they have that he may be facing a bit more of a challenge if he decides to run for president. "the new york times" says the former governor of florida had an unapologetic determination to expand wealth after leaving office. that determination could force bush to answer difficult questions. among them lehman brothers in 2008. and also his role as paid director of tenant health care which was a big supporter of obamacare. since 2007 bush earned at least $3.2 million in board fees and stock grants. and delivering more than a hundred of them over the past seven years. >> that's terrible.

that's ghastly. let's go right now -- >> i think that's a problem. >> this is a disqualifier, chuck todd. he's finished. >> "the new york times" editorial page is going to lecture him -- >> he's made money. >> that's going to cost him how many votes? >> do you know, chuck, how many reporters told me in 2000, just wait. when they find out about all of bush's shady dealings and with the oil fields and getting bailed out by daddy and the texas rangers sweet heart deal and blah blah blah blah blah, do you know how many people cared about that? zero. and jeb is far less driven by money from all appearances than his brother ever was. jeb is a policy nerd. >> so why would he have a paid director role in a supporter of obamacare?

>> what's wrong with making money? >> i think it's a tad hypocritical to make money from an organization that's behind a law that your party is against. >> i wouldn't call anybody hypocritical. but let's quickly, though, chuck todd let's get everybody's opinion here. is this going to be a problem? >> is hillary clinton's paid speech a problem for her? you know, this is standard fare. and look at how many people actually run for president as a money making venture. >> oh, my gosh. >> this is the idea that people are making money. look. is there the idea that people can profit off of public service because of their name and access. that's a separate debate. but this is a -- the entire system almost encourages this. look at people writing books. they're not writing books because they want to send a message. they're writing books because

they want to make money while sitting in office because there's no other legal way to do it. so the use the advance system. barack obama did it. elizabeth warren. none of these things end up being that big of a deal to voters. >> you guys are not addressing the issue here. >> all politicians are on the take. >> that's not what i was talking about. >> what are you talking about? >> i might challenge chuck a bit. i think the health care piece could be a challenge -- >> thank you, jonathan martin. >> if jeb bush is running in a republican primary and folks are on his right flank, you can be sure that's going to be in an ad the fact he was making money off of health care company. >> i think common core is a much harder thing for him to deal with than that. >> i totally agree with that. but i'm saying that's going to be a piece of it if he does run for ptd. >> the biggest thing for me is to run he has to disentangle

himself from jeb inc. and that's his life right now. i think for him too without a lot of fire in the belly get over dismantling the financial relationships. that's the biggest thing in the story. >> richard haass, what do you think? >> to be on the board of a company doesn't mean you set policy. you want your candidate to run for president to know something about health care. w actually knows about management. to vote for whatever a company -- that's not the way it works. >> mitt romney knew a lot about health care and he did great. more you know, jeb. >> the more you know. >> the more you know. i think it's much adieu about nothing. a storm in a tee cup. >> i don't think it is. >> i'm shocked in making money

off a speech. jonathan martin, thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. chuck todd, man, i cannot wait until 9:00. what are you going to be talking about? >> we'll talk a little bit of boston. i've got jason carter, jimmy carter's grandson. >> very cool. tell him we say hi. >> there you go. i will do that. >> all right. >> thank you, chuck. >> thanks. i appreciate it. the search for flight 370 has been narrowed to a 6.2 mile area of the indian ocean. is this the last chance to find the missing plane? and then another win puts liverpool one step close tore a championship-winning season. roger bennett is here with the latest on the football frenzy. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. ♪ (dad) just feather it out. that's right.

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with a tropical cyclone bearing down, searchers are reaching another critical juncture in the search for malaysian airlines flight 370. joins us now is dr. ellen pregger from the florida keys. it's great to have you here. let's talk about this. because the last pings that came up on radar to give a defined area and any type of lead was april 8th. now we've got the bluefin trying to do some submersible research in the area. explain how they are doing so far and why those that are investigating and in charge of the bluefin are still coming up empty handed. >> well, first thing is it's a tough job to begin with. but what they're doing is they have a targeted area based on those pings and sort of triangulation from those pings. and now they've been searching a grid pattern, calling it mowing

the lawn. part of that is determining where the wreckage is but also where it isn't. it isn't a satisfying result to come up with a no answer, but that's part of the job. so this targeted area they've been doing side scan sonar looking at the image to see if they can see something that's man made, doesn't look very natural. but obviously they've ruled out two-thirds of that very sort of narrow targeted zone. >> and because of the region and the depths of the indian ocean at this point, the bluefin is the most sophisticated, but does that mean it can reach the depths necessary to potentially find where this water event happened? >> well, i'm not sure i would call it the most sophisticated. it's a good tool to be using right now. side scan sonar is the right tool because you want to look at a broad swath of the sea floor, not narrowing in on an rov and a camera. the bluefin is on its depth sort

of capacity, although they've been able to take it a little bit lower. i think it's good for the job they're doing. i don't think it would hurt to look at what other assets are out there and how it could help them in the future if they don't find it with the bluefin. >> dr. prager, it must be hard as a scientist to explain to the viewer certain facets of this search. but in your estimate what makes this a critical juncture and do you think it will be found? >> so i think the reason they're calling it a critical juncture is they had narrowed the target for the search based on those pings. the critical junctures, they're coming to the end of that area. that doesn't mean that the search is over or they're giving up. what it means, once they get past that targeted area, they have to reassess what to do next. is there another target area that they think has a good chance it has the wreckage in

it? should they broaden the scope where they are now or do they have to reassess in terms of what they're using, what technology. when they say critical juncture i think they're saying once we finish with this targeted area, what do we do next? >> is it possible that one of the answers or questions is can you stop. at what point do you say we can't find anything. we don't have enough evidence to keep doing things. is it morally, politically possible to stop? >> well, you know, i'm not sure you can stop. look at how long it took for the air france plane wreckage to be found. and they had wreckage on the surface. that is one of the most difficult parts of this is there's no wreckage on the surface to give you a really good starting place. but i think morally, ethically, boy, it's going to be hard for them to stop looking. >> thank you so much. we'll talk to you again soon about this. still ahead, how the city of

boston is staying strong one year after tragedy. mike barnicle is with us just a few blocks away from the finish line of today's boston marathon. "morning joe" will be right back. ♪ at your ford dealer think? they think about tires. and what they've been through lately. polar vortexes, road construction, and gaping potholes. so with all that behind you, you might want to make sure you're safe and in control. ford technicians are ready to find the right tires for your vehicle. get up to $120 in mail-in rebates on four select tires when you use the ford service credit card at the big tire event. see what the ford experts think about your tires. at your ford dealer. [ banker ] sydney needed some financial guidance so she could take her dream to the next level. so we talked about her options. her valuable assets were staying.

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♪ now to the tragedy at sea in south korea where more than 200 people remain missing. the country's president is speaking out with harsh criticism of the ship's crew. she says their actions were, quote, murderous and they must take civil and criminal responsibility. transcripts from last week's disaster show chaos quickly spread as the boat began to capsize. the communications system apparently went out and the ferry's captain is accused of waiting more than 30 minutes to issue an evacuation order. four more crew members -- >> in fact, telling the students to go back inside the ship. >> four more crew members have been detained for allegedly failing to protect passengers. that's in addition to the captain and two other crew members who were detained last week. the official death toll has climbed to 64 people with about 240 others, many high school students, still missing.

as bill neeley reports, many families are clearly losing patience. >> reporter: there were scuffles as police blocked them. they wanted to confront korean officials looking for someone to blame for this disaster. please help us, she cries. someone help us. the boats are coming ashore more often now. nearly every body that of a 16 or 17-year-old. divers have now found five ways into the ship breaking windows, installing ropes, hundreds of them scouring the ship. so far only one in six of those trapped inside has been recovered. for the parents, it is a long and painful wait watching the dock that's been prepared for the arrival for many more of their children. >> and two "new york times" stories on this yesterday. just heart breaking talking about the tradition of captains going down with their ships and leaving at the last possible

second. one historical story after another after another about captains refusing to leave until there is absolutely no other option. this guy skipped off. and then of course the end of the story about the 22-year-old woman, young crew mate woman who kept saving these young kids and getting them safely into the water and they kept asking her to come along. she said no. i'm a member of the crew. i'll get off when you all are all off. and she ended up dying. but compare her actions to the action of these men who just fled and left all these young teenagers to die. >> and these parents all with nowhere to go with their pain. up next, it is marathon monday. and mike barnicle is standing by for us in boston. an important bittersweet day there. he joins us when "morning joe" returns.

>> the boston marathon is truly unique because it's like a 26-mile-long block party. for 26 miles ordinary people, people like you, people like me run that race. what happened a year ago, i think, has come to symbolize a lot of things in boston and this country. jeff baumann who lost both legs being carried off the course at the finish line by carlos arredondo. carlos arredondo, his son was killed in iraq in the marine corps. he had a tough time dealing with that loss as anyone would. jeff baumann loses both legs. nearly dies. year later today, he and his fiance erin are expecting their first child in july. so there's resilience with

carlos arredondo, there's hope with jeff baumann. i really believe that if what happened on patriots day and marathon day in boston had happened in nearly any other american city, the reaction would have been the same. we want to help people. we want to offer a helping hand to strangers, to the wounded, to the maimed, to our neighbors. it's who we are. the bulk of the runners running last year's marathon never completed the marathon. but this year they'll be back. and this year everyone who participates both running and watching, viewing it on tv or standing on commonwealth avenue cheering those runners are all winners because we're here finally at another finish line. this body made two amazing little human beings --

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♪ on this date one year ago we

gathered together as one. one unified, resilient community. it was here that we heard a great philosopher say this is our city. no one's going to dictate our freedom. >> back with us from boston, mike barnicle. mike, what are the boston police and other law enforcement agencies doing to make sure we don't have the second tragedy two years in a row in boston? >> well, joe, there's an enormous security operation in effect here. has been in effect for about 24 hours, actually, but at 8:00 this morning it began -- they will begin shutting down some major access roads into the back bay of austin in aboston. it will be three streets to the right and left of boylston street which is where the finish line is. there's an extraordinary number

of boston police officers, other security officers. so it's going to be completely safe. i don't think anybody has to worry about their security or safety in the back bay in boston today as well as along the route. there's going to be visible security measures taken nearly all 26 miles. >> mike, talk about the emotional side of this today. everybody who knows anybody who's run in the marathon including you and members of your family feels probably permanently touched by what happened. >> there's no doubt about that, mika. and as you know, i mean, running the marathon -- the marathon is really a community effort here. everybody knows someone who runs in the marathon. that's one of the reasons that it was such a violation, what happened a year ago. everyone knows someone. someone who's running for a cause, ordinary people running. that's the bulk of the 37,000. the elite runners, they'll be

across the finish line in two hours and 25 minutes and on down to two hours and three minutes. ordinary people make up the bulk of the marathon. a year ago my son was at the ball game with me, left the ballpark early to go to the finish line to meet a friend of his who was at the finish line. collin barnicle being collin barnicle stopped for a drink and got to the finish line not when he was supposed to get there, but about five minutes before he was supposed to get there. the first explosion occurred. then the second explosion occurred. his friend thankfully was just up where the explosions occurred. he was fine. but there are so many memories and so many stories that are colliding here today. that's part of the magic of the day. >> it seems to be we take a lot of our cues from the families who lost loved ones, from those that were injured that day. examples like heather abbott and other people we can name that

have used this year to almost like a phoenix from the ashes come back. >> you know, thomas, one of the more poignant aspects of the day will revolve around the memory of young martin richard. eight years of age. because, again, everyone -- it's a family day here. it's a holiday. school is out, so people bring their children to the marathon. they have for years, to watch the runners go by for hours. and it's a festive atmosphere. always has been. and that young boy martin richard, eight years of age, at the finish line lost his life. his sister jane who is eight this year lost her leg. his father lost his hearing in one year. his mother lost vision in one eye. that's just one of the poignant memories that will fill up the days. and the richard family from dorchester, massachusetts, have given such dignity to the event and throughout the year carried

themselves with such dignity. all the while carrying the burden of the loss of a child. something that none of us can comprehend. >> the finish is just one of the places people are going to kong regate. what about the rest of the 26 miles and the rest of the city. how is boston making the entire city secure? what are you seeing that you don't normally see today? >> richard, you know, along the route, chestnut hill, specifically the last ten miles of the route into the city of boston, at one point prior to the runners coming through, you're not going to be able to cross the street. something that you've been able to do for years. you'd walk across the street in the middle of someone from finland running. but you can't do that today. you've got to pick one side of the street or the other to stay on, witness the runners coming through. there'll be an extremely high visibility of police officers

throughout the route, throughout the route. >> all right. you know, mike barnicle, if he wears that garb here in new york city, he can't get five feet into central park without those sunglasses getting in the way. cops would drag him away. >> that's right. my season's coming up, joe. >> it is. it's warming up, mike. >> mike, we're glad you're there. >> they send out the appropriate warnings in new york. enjoy your sunglasses in boston today. because next week, it is season on barnicle. >> mike barnicle, thank you so much for being there. coming up next, liverpool's championship march continues. roger bennett is standing by with highlights. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. blap

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roger, you said you hate, you despise liverpool. >> what? hate? >> you just said what they're doing.

>> you come to bury them, you cannot help but praise them. but this premier league season has more twists than an episode of a game of throwns. we can start at chelsea football club chasing that title against lowly, cellar dweller, sunderland. >> it's easter. sunderland, they have risen. jumps on the loose ball first, gives sunderland hope and then an easter miracle to end all easter miracles. josie altidor has had a season of disaster, one goal all year. here he is swooping in like a

paragren falcon, holds his nerve, sunderland hands jose mo mourinho his first lost. >> liverpool should write su sunderland a huge check. >> this is a surprise that makes the red wedding look look an average, every day new york bas mitzvah. you had a sleepless night saturday night and then they played norwich.

no one told 19-year-old raheem sterling. >> sterling is emerging into a star. what he did last week against man city, what he did yesterday, unbelievable. >> raheem sterling, we'll chat about him some more. liverpool being they look like marilyn monroe. a little bit of a wobble, a little bit of a worry. raheem sterling again to close out the gate. rog roger sterling on "madman" participated in an orgy last week. >> it's "mad men." >> you looked at liverpool and it was ugly, ugly football. under brendan rogers, it's

beautiful. they don't have one star. they have suarez, they have sterling -- >> at the heart of it, brendan rogers. >> is it yosturridge. >> you have to credit john henry, who instituted a spirited attitude. this is as shocking as if britain regained its empire and game a world super power overnight. >> we talked about americans going over to england and getting absolutely pummelled. i love the attitude that tom and john henry had. when they should have had to trade suarez, they say we figure

contracts don't matter in european football so screw it, we're not going to honor ours either. and now suarez is not far away from breaking the season record. >> the wild west culture of european football took some learning curve for them. if they pulled their nerve, couple of games left, a massive game coming up against chelsea. >> liverpool 20 years ago the greatest team in english football. they haven't won anything since 1990. you were talking about as a level liverpool kid going all over the world and wherever you were, once people found out if you were from liverpool, if they

loved football, you were royalty. >> liverpool was the capital of english football. it's regained that crown a little bit this season. the last time liverpool won the league, madonna's "vogue" was on top of the charts. >> did you say "vogue" -- >> we're going to lever pool -- liverpool to watch the big game. >> it's going to be great. >> he'll be ripping the shirt sleeves off in the director as box. it's going to be bonkers. >> are you really going? >> yeah, we're going. >> is this a claire mccaskell -- >> no, he's going. believe me. >> all right, we'll be right back.

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good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast, as you take a live look at new york city. back with us on set we have thomas roberts, mark halperin, richard haase and from boston, mike barnicle. >> let's go to the news.

>> there's a lot to get to, a lot going on in ukraine and politics as well. of course we're going to begin in boston this morning, where it's going to be a bittersweet day in the city. the boston marathon will be taking place since the bombing last year. there will be 36,000 people taking part in the race, the most people. security will be extremely tight with more than 3,000 officers both in uniform and undercover and more than 100 high tech surveillance cameras. let's go back to mike barnicle, who is standing by in boston. he's going to watch it all firsthand. mike? >> mika, that's a pretty good description, bittersweet. there's a lot of excitement, a lot of emotion. most of the runners and probably all of the runs are and participants along the sidelines for 26 miles, a million people

witnessing the race, they are intent on saying this is our race, not their race, this is our day, not their day. they're taking back the race, they're taking back a very special day in the city of boston, the crowd spills out of fenway park at 11:00, misses with spectators along the marathon route. the security shutdown in the city is enormous. they began blocking off, closing off whole streets and whole neighborhoods at 5:00 a.m. this morning. the area around the finish line will be very difficult to -- you can approach it on foot but there's not going to be any vehicular traffic anywhere within an eight square block area of what is called back bay here in boston. nobody's complaining about it, other than me of course. >> that's what you do, mike. >> it's going to be a good day. it's going to be a very good day. >> mike, boston is a big city, but it's also a small town. my sense is everybody is engaged more than ever with the race

this year. what are the signs of just how much focus there is locally in that city? >> well, mark, as you know and that's a pretty good way to put it, it is a pretty little big town. you can walk the entire length of the city in an hour and a half approximately. a lot of this has been driven by the regret of what happened last year, but the memory of those who lost their lives and those who have been maimed have been a constant presence in the city. those wounded were at fenway park, the family of martin richard, the 8-year-old killed at the marathon, their family has been so dignified in their grief, they've been symbols that have carried and sustained the city for an entire year and this is their day as well.

>> no better guy to commemorate the day as you. we'll be checking back in. >> vice president joe biden will be in kiev to meet with the acting president and president of ukraine. on sunday an easter truce with separatists loyal to russia and ukraine's east was violently broken. at least three were killed when truckloads of men opened fire on a check point. members say the gun battle was staged to make it look like they are at fault. at risk is the fragile truce that was struck last week in johns geneva. senator bob corker says the administration's hesitance to issue more economic punishments is sending the wrong message to moscow. >> i think that's what we're saying to russia today by the actions that we're not taking, don't embarrass us but you can continue the black ops

activities, continue the other things that you're doing but don't do it in a way that embarrasses us. again, the world is watching, allies in europe are watching. our nato friends and others know this is where we are. i think we need to step on out and do the things we threaten. i don't think putin will respond to anything other than us overtly doing the things we laid out. >> here's how david brooks framed it on "meet the press." >> borders are basically going to be borders. once that comes into question -- >> all bets are off. >> all bets are off. and obama does have -- i'll say it crudely -- a manhood problem. is he tough enough to stand up to somebody like assad. >> is that fair? especially what david brooks was saying. >> you can't control how people view a crisis. because we mayity z it as one

square on a chess board. people around the world are always gauging what you're doing. people in asia are always seeing how robust we will be and you never want to set precedence. and that being said, all politics is local, as tip o'neill would say. we're focusing on sanctions, vis-a-vis russia. but you've also got to build up ukraine. also, militarily, ukraine has been doing terribly. you've got to make them a functioning nation state. >> some of these critiques, david brooks saying the president had a "manhood problem," bob corker saying

we're sending a message to russia saying don't embarrass me publicly and last week dr. brzezinski saying the president has to have a tougher response, janl ha jane harmon saying the same thing. nick kristoff saying the president better not let ukrainian down, the ukrainians will never forgive us. a lot of harsh criticism directed at president obama. is that fair? >> a lot of it is. what's missing is the degree of urgency and intensity. where is pushing exports of oil and gas helping americans visit their own shale industry. that part seems to not be in play. why not push ahead with more sanctions? why sanction just the 17th largest financial institution.

why not 1 through 16. >> so why would we target number 16 instead of number one through three or one through five? what's going on? >> the idea was to keep this measured. >> i mean, the guy is moving eastward toward kiev. how mesh-yard does barack obama want to be? >> i think what the russians are doing is what i would call intervention without invasion. what we're trying to do is keep some of our powder dry. the think the administration is potentially getting it wrong or seems to be getting it wrong, not using enough soon enough, simply being too cautious. we have to play more of our cards now. >> nick kristoff had a piece in the "new york times" which crystallizes the why americans should care factor and understand more. he calls it "in dad's hometown, european souls." here in the village, ukrainians

watch local television and refer to them as neonazi thugs. if you listen to them, we're all carrying assault rifles and we're all beating people. there is disappointment that president obama hasn't embraced ukraine more firmly. the u.s. is being very slow and cautious. you should be firmer and quicker with financial assistance in the baylor between putin and taylor swift, i bet on swift, we love your culture and we want to be part of you. if you abandon us, we will never forgive you. he went back to his hometown, thomas, and wrote this piece from the heart. >> it's interesting to see how this is all going on again. they had this truce at easter. in '08 russian forces invaded georgia to get to the black sea. there remains russian occupation

and military forces in georgia. we did nothing then. if we hear david brooks using the phrase "manhood problem," does angela merkel have a manhood problem? >> i'm not real comfortable with that. the last time someone criticized the president with a manhood problem would have to be george herbert walker bush -- >> "newsweek." >> "newsweek," apologies and a few weeks letter, saddam hussein learned it was anything but. the real question is how fast and how tough to confront russia. angela merkel is incredibly cautious. that's the hall mark of her enti entire political career.

and with "old europe," how tough to be vis-a-vis europe. weep saw the europeans as being too careful. so there's very little new under the sun here. i think it's a question of tactics versus strategy. how fast, how hard do you confront russia? part of the problem here is reading putin. i would simply say that all things being equal, the united states and europeans are erring on the side of hoping against hope he's going to be satisfied. i actually would play more of our cards now and pushing them particularly on the economics. i'm not saying and i don't think we should be bringing ukraine into nato. that's not the answer. we ought to be strengthening their internal capabilities and we ought to be being tougher with russia on economic sanctions. that's their big weakness. >> the future of the keystone

pipeline is in question again. bloomberg reports federal officials have long said the nebraska court case wouldn't impact its ongoing review. the court's decision isn't likely until after the mid-term elections. the announcement is angering conservatives and putting pressure on democrats up for reelection in loyal states. mary landrieu called the decision irresponsible, unnecessary and frank begich said he's appalled at the foot dragging. it puts the focus on democrats who have not issued a firm position on where they stand on the problem. the statement was issued saying the delay reinforces how ineffective and without power the senators are, noting just last week they urged president

obama to approve the pipeline and mitch mcconnell took a swipe at the president's year of action saying "i guess he wasn't serious about having a pen and a phone." >> a lot of adjectives. >> it is unacceptable. i don't understand it, especially when you look at the two issues that are key here, jobs and we can have the debate. people say it's going to create two and a half jobs, which is ludicrous. but also energy. energy is in the news. we're talking about russia, talking about making europe less dependent on russia, we have an opportunity to build a infrastructure here and the president in the middle of all of this is wringing his hands. how long can they put this off? >> to put it off for one court case and nebraska is key physically, but there's going to be lit lithuania gags on this forever. to put it off for one court

case, you leave the politics aside just to go to the jobs and the ability of the united states to do big things. >> there have been like four state department reviews approving or opening the door for it to move forward. it's hard to defend. >> what i don't understand understand is -- let look at the politics. this is all about politics. >> then it's easy to defend. >> you're leaving the democratic senators who have the biggest chance of losing and hanging them out to dry. >> and labor unions and public opinion. >> lib rools are against it. >> unless it hurts them. >> they're not going to vote against democratic senators. >> there are wealthy donors who don't want this to happen. >> so it will hurt -- >> mega gifts from california and who are want to give. i don't understand that it not great politics, but there's

no -- if you're open to the project, if you look at the state department reviews -- >> what will the donor glass do. i know some want to give $100 million. will the donor class keep their money in their pocket? >> keep their money or direct it toward primaries. i don't get what the president's posture is. >> i think it bad policy, i think it bad for jobs when we need job, sends a bad message to vladimir putin and we need to send a strong message. let's just look at it politically, i don't understand the politics of it because it hurts the very red state democrats who need -- >> this project is going forward. it doesn't change the fundamental climate change issues. all it does it alienate canada, who is one of our most important training partners. it misses an opportunity for the

united states to begin a serious energy policy. this is actually a moment by taking a tough decision, both symbolically and substantively we could accomplish a lot for ourselves in places like ukraine but also iran. we're entering final stages of negotiation there. >> still ahead on "morning joe," a high school senior suspended for asking miss american to the prom? >> what's wrong with that? >> mark halpern when he was in high school asked miss america to the prom three years in a row. >> lee meriwether. >> you didn't get asked to the prom? >> never. >> we got to throw you a prom, mika. >> prom, prom, prom. >> we'll bring you a wrist core

s -- corsage. >> toga party. toga, toga! >> here's bill karins. bill never got to go to the prom either. >> i was with mika. >> it was hard to slow dance with "stairway to heaven" and. >> "free bird." >> you have a fantastic day under way, boston. this morning dropped to 37 degrees, a little chilly. i think the first runners go out at 9:30 and elite runners out at 10:00. it's going to be ideal. up to 42 degrees, perfect

running weather. mostly sunny skies, this afternoon 62. and of course the red sox have their game at fenway starting at 11:00 this morning. ideally, this is one of the best weather days they've had in a while. last year a little child, the year before that it was 87, too warm for a lot of runners. the middle of the nation, we're still dealing with some rain. as far as tornadoes and severe weather, we've had a lack of it. we've only had 25% of the number of tornadoes we're supposed to have this year. we have yet to have a dorn fay tilt and we f we make it to tomorrow that, will be a record. just a few strong storms likely in oklahoma and texas, but more damaging winds instead of twisters. we're looking pretty nice coast

to coast. enjoy it. this is the beautiful spring weather we waited so long. this is "morning joe." ♪ you might find you get what you need ♪ ♪ and i went down to the demonstration ♪ ♪ i know a thing about an ira

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♪ ♪ okay. time now to take a look at the morning papers. more troubling violence out of venezuela this morning. protesters burned effigies

yesterday. police used tear gas and water cannons against the protesters. 41 people have been killed since the demonstrations began about three months ago. >> this from our parade of papers ""chicago tribune."" general motor said it going to invest $12 million and build five new plants in china the next five years. they expect china sales to improve as much as 10%. voks wag i don't knlkswagen was global automakers to launch in china and now it's the largest global brand. >> the pontiff celebrated mass in front of a crowd of 150,000 people in st. peter's square, the largest in vatican city this year. in his blessing he called to an end of the use of force against

civilians in syria. >> and in "the washington post," high school students and their family are protesting michelle obama's involvement in some kansas graduation ceremonies. there are concerns of her stealing the spotlight for the kids and limiting the number of seats available for family members. this is tied to the 60th anniversary of the brown verse board of education decision. >> and a teen is alive after stowing away in the wheel well from los angeles to hawaii. >> i always do that. >> he was unconscious for most of the flight. he hopped a fence at the

airport. the boy was turned offer to child protective services. how horrible. >> miss america is stepping in to try to help a teen who did nothing wrong. who wrote this? >> aside from blatantly ignoring school administrators who told him not to do this. >> i know you have several functions so can you go to several questions. >> no, no, mike, excuse me -- [ cheers and applause ] . >> thank you. >> patrick was suspended from his pennsylvania school for

three and a half days for disobeying some school leaders and asking miss america to the prom. she's asking the school to reconsider the suspension because she always encourages students to follow their dreams. and world peace! >> i'm sorry, that's really all she wants. but she still said no, just so you know. >> world peace. >> she told the kid no. she's busy. follow your dreams there, young man. >> i'm sure he'll find a lovely i don't think lady to go with. >> i say check out miss usa. >> let's go to thomas right now. >> let check in the chief white house correspondent for politico, mike allen, who his prom date was. no, we'll check in on the play book. >> thank you. hope you had a good easter. >> rick perry's extreme

makeover. it comes as he's facing one of his toughest fights left. we have just eight months left. he's the focus of a grand jury investigation for the possibility of abuse of power. he's denying any wrong doing. how does this all play out for his political future? >> thomas, we saw governor perry here on "morning joe" and he was on jimmy kimmel and he spoke to the conservative political action conference and politico's learned this is part of a very deliberate strategy to reintroduce him. they're trying to remind people that, a, the governor is healthier after his last campaign. we were told a lot of his problems stemmed from the back medication that he was taking. and, second, he's more experienced. he gets the national stage better and is less likely to stick his foot in his mouth as he did before. he's staffing up. we're told he's going to make some more trips to early states

and remind people of his former record. ten straight elections that he'd won before the bad primary. and also the great jobs record in texas, trying to broaden that and talk about conservative economic policies. >> mike allen, thank you. coming up next, millions are expected to cheer on the runners in today's boston marathon. yet another sign of houw we are all boston strong. mike barnicle and kevin cullen standing by for us afternoon this. ♪ ♪ and it doesn't even fly. we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be.

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welcome back, everybody. we want to take you straight to mike barnicle. i understand you have a special guest from the boston marathon. >> i do indeed, this is my old friend kevin cullen. what's the difference in your mind's eye between today and a year ago. >> i think since the anniversary of the bombing itself, very

somber, very sad and today it's back to what it was supposed to be. i was in the north end last night, it was magic. and last night when dustin pedroia scored that walkoff win, that's exactly what he did last year about an hour before the bombing. so hopefully we're back to where we were a year ago before those bombs went off. it feels that way. >> yeah, there seems to be a sense in the city and among the runners and among the spectators and everything that let's do it, we're going to take our marathon back today. >> my son and i came in on the red line today. >> that's the subway, thomas. >> it's fine, though, a lot of runners were on the train. everybody was going up shaking their hand, patting them on the back saying good luck. i don't think that happens the year before or the year before that. in some respects, this is the most solitary pursuit, there's nothing like the loneliness of a long distance runner. i think this has transformed itself and become a communitial event. it's not just about the runners

running for themselves and trying to thebeat their best ti and all that stuff. everyone's in it today. >> do you get the sense that the two charged with the bombing, one now dead, one in prison awaiting trial, that among the people here, among the runners and the people who have come to the marathon today to either witness it or participate it, there's a sense of who cares, that's behind us? >> absolutely. i don't think it matters. i haven't heard anybody bring this guy up. who cares. he's up in a prison somewhere withering away the rest of his life. i don't think anybody's focused on him at all. i think the other thing that happened in a year, that bomb is very powerful. it killed, it maimed, it ruined lives and ruined souls. there was the easter rising in

dublin and yaets wrote that poem and talked about a terrible beauty. it made me think about what happened here, what happened was horrible but what happened after, the bravery, the rally, the way the first responders responded and the way we've taken care of our first responders, that's the beauty that followed the terribleness. a year later i'm still in awe of everything that happened a year ago. >> tell us about the family of martin richard, the dignity they have sustained despite the north grief and what that has meant to the cycle of life in the city. >> no family was more grievously hurt than that family. they lost martin, jane lost a leg, denise lost part of her sight. the resiliency, the way they've come back. every time the last week i feel a little down, you see a picture of jane richard smiling and that

brings me right back. i think they symbolize the resilience of the entire town. >> i agree with you. kevin cullen, "boston globe." thomas, it going to be a good day here. >> i'll even defer to letting the orioles lose to the red sox again today. i'll let you have it. you can beat the orioles again today. >> no, go ahead. can you say it. go ahead. >> i was going to say there's no doubt we're going to beat the orioles. not on today. we'll beat them in the division. it a great city baltimore, i love the orioles but i'm sorry, thomas, see ya later. >> i'll see you back at work. >> marathon monday now has a very new meaning to bostonians after last year's tragic bombing. here are those events as they unfolded a year ago.

>> the 2013 boston marathon champion. [ explosion ] [ explosion ] this is an nbc news special report. >> we're coming on the air right now to report one, if not two, explosions in succession at the -- near the finish line of today's boston marathon. >> the ground shook. i mean, my legs didn't stop shaking. >> look at that image and that sound. i'll never forget the sound. >> as soon as that second one went off, it was complete mayhem. >> my instinct was to go help and see what i can do. and just pray for the angels. >> make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this and we

will find out who did this, we'll find out why they did this. >> m.i.t. police officer has been shot and killed. again, the shooting happening at 10:30 tonight. and as a result, a very, very widespread crime scene. [ gunshots fired ] >> there are reports of gun fire in cambridge. >> one of the shooters ran toward the officers while still engaging in gun fire. >> the two suspects involved in the crime spree are the two suspects wanted in the boston marathon bombings.

suspect number one is dead. >> search going on in watertown, massachusetts building to building, for the younger of these two suspects. >> i have not seen this amount of police presence and military presence in an american city ever. >> a bloodied, if still alive suspect visible to all in a boat after two volleys of gun fire. >> it's over. >> they have an ambulance on the scene. >> dzhokhar tsarnaev, said to be 19-year-old student at umass has been apprehended. after the all clear was given after a day-long lockdown, the people can come out again. >> moments like these, terrible as they are, don't show our weakness, they show our strength. >> i saw people instead of running away ran to the problem,

not even thinking of their own personal condition, but worried about there's another one of my fellow citizens, another human being who needs help. that's where i'm going. >> so we will recover and repair. we will grieve our losses and heal. we will rise and we will endure and we will remember, i hope and pray, long after the buzz of boylston street is back and the media has turned its attention elsewhere, that the grace this tragedy exposed is the best of who we are. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

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>> there's so many earnings. more than a third of s&p companies are reporting results this week. after the bell today, the parade starts with netflix. tomorrow earnings out of mcdonald's, at&t and thursday apple, general motors, after the research, friday, ford. it will tell us what the company says about the economy and what they say about china. we're also waiting for a prospectus from ali baba, the commerce e-giant set to go public here in the u.s. it could set records and be the biggest tech ipo since facebook. it's sort of like the amazon of china but also incorporates paypal and google as well. it dominates the industry. and we're also watching kraft for the open because we just

learned kraft is going to have to recall 96,000 pounds of oscar mayer hot dogs because they contain milk and weren't labeled as such and causes problems for those allergic to milk. >> we're trying to visualize 96,000 pounds of hot dogs. can't figure it out. >> it sounds like a giant amount, though americans eat a lot of hot dogs. check your labels, especially if you have milk allergies, i guess. >> coming up next, there's already buzz about a tony for her role in "bullets over broadway" next. keep it locked on "morning joe." if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, like me,

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♪ ♪ >> we've never really had a chance to sit down and talk. drink? i made it myself.

if it tastes of lighter fluid, that's because it's lighter fluid. >> that was a scene from "bullets over broadway." here with us, the co-star, marin mazzie. it's great to have you there. >> it's great to be here. >> there we see you giving out your lighter fluid. >> to zach, who plays the play write. the music takes place in new york, right before the crash. really living it up. >> a little gatsbiesque here. >> yes, a little bit. you love it because that's the best of that era, the best of broadway. >> it's a huge show. you can see the dancing. susan stroman is the choreograph choreographer. she's a genius. the show looks gorgeous, it's so exciting and a book by woody allen so it really funny. >> so do you think you're the

spring show to see? >> i definitely believe we are the spinning show to see. >> i keep hearing you steal the show with your singing. >> the music is all from the period. woody and stro and glen, our supervisor, chose the music and really created a cohesive score, did some rewriting with the music. it sounds like somebody wrote the score but it's all pop music from the teens and the 20s. >> little did we know, mark halpern, you're a big "bullets over broadway" fan. >> i am a big fan of the movie. i love you worked in, there you called her "stro." it's a great book. who is this show for? who will this appeal to? >> i think this appeals to everybody. the story is exciting. you know from the film, it's gangsters, it's beautiful women, it's theater. it's sort of this very

heightened, fun time in new york, sort of romantic, i think of it as sort of a romantic period, even though there are people being killed and that sort of thing. but it's really, really fun. kid can come see it. i had a friend bring her 11-year-old daughter the other day. i think it's a great date show. i think men are going to love this show, women are going to love this show. >> and broadway debut. is he winded? >> he's doing an amazing job. he's on stage most of the time. he says this is the hardest thing he's ever done. so i kind of love hearing him say that because theater is tough, eight shows a week. >> it's grueling. >> it is grueling. >> have you given him pointers about doing eight shows a week? >> i've been trying. >> what ruare you telling him? >> it's about getting enough rest, resting your voice. nighttime is about the show. you have to gauge yourself

during the day. this show needs to be played pat 100% every night. >> the character you're portraying on the stage, she's in the film. >> she has given me the thumbs up. she's so great. >> and she won an oscar for your role. are you hoping that the tony people -- look right there, marin, tell the tony people -- ♪ tony, tony, tony >> this is the type of role that is going to get that type of attention, don't you hope? >> you always hope, of course. you always hope to be invited to that party, definitely. >> that is a very p.c. answer. >> and there's a lot of shows this years but ours is the best. >> getting this gig, had you to perform for woody allen. >> yes, we had to audition for woody allen. >> was that a stressful task? >> it was a bit intimidating.

he is quiet in the room so you're not getting a lot of feedback. when we were doing preview, he was there every night, write nug jokes for us every night, which has been great. to have a joke written for you by woody allen, not that many people can say that so i love to say that. >> people may know you from your acting career and tv as well but do you prefer the stage? >> i love the stage. there's nothing like being in a live audience, especially in a show like this where we really feel them. and they're really close. we have a front row that's literally right up on the stage. a lot of times they're really part of the show. they really are an element. every night the audience is different. we always talk about that. >> we know you're giving 100%. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> "bullets over broadway ",

thanks for being here. if you do get nominated for a tony, you can say you demanded it right here on "morning joe." coming up, what if anything did we learn today. ♪ [ banker ] sydney needed some financial guidance so she could take her dream to the next level.

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♪ welcome back to "morning joe." it's time to talk about what we learned today. what have you learned? >> that we need to throw a prom for mika. >> what did you learn? >> i need to say proper bonkers more often. >> oh, god, an orgy. >> we're in new york city but i think all our hearts and minds are in boston today. >> no doubt. >> is it bad to own two pickup trucks? >> you own two pickup trucks? >> i have an old one and now i have a new one. >> shotgun racks? >> i'm going to get a rack for it definitely. and i'm going to get a bumper sticker that says "my other car is a broom." it's a beauty. >> what did you learn, joe? >> i'm just grateful to be here. >> if it's "way too early," it's "morning joe."

here is chuck todd with "the daily rundown." as always, my friends, thank you for your patience. patriots day, it has a big new meaning today with the running the boston marathon. we'll go live to boston as the great race gets under way. also this morning, foreign affairs dominate d.c. on two fronts. with vice president biden in ukraine and president obama getting set for a week-long trip to asia. we'll have the latest on both front with top white house foreign policy adviser ben rhodes. >> and democrats are banking on top names for their ticket in florida, including a former president's grandson, jason carter. and can the dynamic duo make a run in georgia. >> we got to focus on patriots day. bo