welcome back with. a check ahead before tossing it over to "morning joe." apple will kick off its developers conference where they could announce a new operating system. the epa will unveil plans for cutting carbon emissions from power plants. that's it for "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ what we did was ensure that as always the united states doesn't leave a man or a woman on the battlefield. and in order to do this, it's very important for folks to understand, if we got into a situation where we said because of who has captured an american soldier on the battlefield, we would leave that person behind.

we would be in a new era of our safety for the personnel and the nature of our commitment to our men and women in uniform. >> good morning. it is monday, june 2nd. welcome to "morning joe." beautiful shot of new york city as the sun is coming up right now. 6:00 on the east coast. with us on set we have contributor mark halperin and david rhode who with himself was kidnapped and held for seven months by the taliban in pakistan. good to have you with us. also with us are historian john meacham. obviously we're covering the story of bowe bergdahl. we'll start there and we have politics this morning. first, for some it was a wartime prisoner swap. it raises a lot of questions. to others it's even a violation of the u.s. law. but to the parents of bowe bergdahl, it is is chance to see their son for the first time in five years. he is in a military hospital this morning after being freed

by the taliban over the weekend in exchange for five detainees. bergdahl has been held for nearly have a decade. the only american p.o.w. from the war in afghanistan. chief correspondent jim miklaszewski reports. >> reporter: less than 12 hours of bowe bergdahl departed bagram air base, chuck hagel thanked troops there for his safe return. >> this is a happy day, as you all know, for our country, for our armed forces because we got one of our own back. >> reporter: but just how bergdahl was freed has sparked a political fire storm. on "meet the press," secretary hagel defended the release of five taliban prisoners in exchange for sergeant bergdahl. >> he is a member of the united states army. this was a prisoner exchange. after five years, he's been a

prisoner of war. >> reporter: but u.s. military officials tell nbc news the five top taliban leaders freed are considered among the most dangerous at guantanamo bay. in secret documents, the pentagon classified all five as high risk likely threat to the u.s. and recommended for continued detention. >> these are the hardest of the hard core. these are the highest high risk people. and others that have been released have gone back into the fight. >> reporter: even though they will remain under the control of the government for one year, others say their release alone puts a price on the heads of all americans in afghanistan. >> we have a changing footprint in afghanistan which would put our soldiers at risk for this notion if i can get one, i can get five taliban released. >> reporter: today there were photographs of three of the

frees taliban. critics also claim president obama broke the law by not notifying congress 30 days before they were released. national security adviser susan rice claims congress was informed once bergdahl was released but that his failing health required immediate action. >> we did not have 30 days to wait. if we waited and lost him, i don't think anyone would have forgiven the united states government. >> reporter: but by all accounts, he was in good physical condition when turned over to u.s. forces. bergdahl wrote sf on a paper plate. when one of the soldiers said yes, we've been looking for you for a long time. bergdahl broke down in tears. and in boise, idaho, a critic statement from his father robert bergdahl praising his son for

helping the afghan people. >> i'm proud of how much you wanted to help the afghan people. and what you were willing to do to go to that length. >> mark, so many questions, mark halperin, coming out of this. we're not going to get answers for quite some time. "the wall street journal" editorial page, though, leads with this editorial this morning. trading with the taliban seems to be the main critique of what the president did. other americans will pay the price for the terrorist hostage swap. the president's going to be explaining this for some time. >> great for the family and we're all just happy to see any american service member brought home. i think the journal editorial is really strong. i actually think, though, they gloss over to me what is the biggest downside of this. they say the president acted with executive authority. i agree with them on that.

they say it setss a bad precedent. i'm not sure about that. if you want him back, you have to trade something. the question is what will these five guys do? will they do damage to americans going forward? i think there's a chance of that. there was a reason they were detained at guantanamo. i think the price of getting one american back could lead down the road not just to a bad precedent but to real action to america. >> willie, that's been one of the biggest debating points with gitmo. there are people detained there indefinitely. we are not at a state of war. that goes against so much of what americans like to think of themselves. what we believe in. at the same time many that have been released have winded up back on the battlefield trying to kill americans. and it sounds from information

we've gotten, the five detainees we've released are five of the toughest. unless they are held somewhere else indefinitely they will go out and kill more americans. >> in the argument you heard yesterday, you heard for the last 12 years that these are the most dangerous people on the face of the earth. it raises the question why don't you bring charges against them? i'd be interested to hear david's unique perspective on this. it's been gospel we don't negotiate with terrorists. no country does really. what do you make of this deal? was it different in some way or why was it different this time? >> many countries do this. there's no broad agreement object what the western world should do. israel traded 1,000 for someone. the british and american governments don't do that. this is a deal, though the issue

will killing americans, i think the larger issue is we're leaving afghanistan. there won't be any soldiers in afghanistan in 2016. if we as a country want to end that war, one could argue you do a deal to bring this soldier home. will these guys go back to afghanistan and terrorize afghan moderates and the government and the armed forces there? yes. but we are leaving afghanistan. i don't hear critics of this deal saying we should send troops to afghanistan beyond 2015. >> there's also been the argument about gitmo itself. the president vowed to close it. there are clear questions as to what to do with these people. and i don't think anyone will want to, you know, quite frankly, go with me on this. but i think there's a lot about this deal we don't know about. which may not be fair and we could argue in congress and on the air. having said that for the security of qatar and all the others involved in getting these five out and in place, i think

we can all agree they're not allowed to run free, but what was the deal that was -- that keeps them safe for the next 5, 10, 20 years? i don't know if we'll know the answer because that's probably part of the deal which is frustrating and raises legitimate questions. i want to bring in ammann mohyeldin in germany obviously followingbu bergdahl's arrival there. >> reporter: good morning, mika. there are a lot of valid questions. one of the things you were discussing earlier about the possibility for future repercussions against the u.s. but one of the reactions in the middle east has been this is also a breakthrough. it could pave the way for the taliban to self-moderate themselves. they see they have managed to successfully release five of their individuals by speaking to the u.s. that in itself could be what they described as a breakthrough

on future discussions. this issue is being looked at from a variety of perspectives. included bowe bergdahl the patient who is being assessed by military health officials. there are going to be a lot of questions about his reintegration in society. is he mentally, physically, and psychologically able to do that? and at what pace? there is also going to be questions about sergeant bergdahl the soldier which is what information may had he have gotten throughout his time in captivity. who he may have met or come in contact with. and more questions surrounding how he himself was captured back in 2009 and whether or not there are any controversial questions around that. and the ultimate sacrifice that many make thousands in search of bergdahl during those days after his disappearance off that military base. more importantly there is this controversy surrounding this trade, whether it violated any law, and more importantly is

going to raise questions in the days ahead. for the time being, officials here are focused on bergdahl as a patient making sure his reintegration into society goes smoothly. >> his part of the story -- thank you, ammann mohyeldin. his part of the story makes it a little difficult. everybody can agree they are happy he is home, going to be coming home. there's even questions about how he was brought in captivity in the first place though. >> right. reports that he walked off his post. and so there are so many unanswered questions this morning. fools rush in. which is why i'm here. we've got three hours, i'm here. i'm going to guess about everything. very excited. we're just going to have to wait and see how this unwinds. jon meacham put this in historical context. i remember this as do you,

everybody else is way too young. but the reagan administration desperately trying to get hostages out of beirut in the mid-1980s. i remember when some of those hostages started to come home, questions were raised. what's so fascinating about this is there was a steady drum beat. there was a sister of one of the hostages detained that would hold press conferences constantly and kept these hostages' names in the news. this just came out of left field over the weekend. but the questions that followed the release of those hostages would surely follow the release of these. how he was first captured, why the trade now. in "the wall street journal," i did want to bring this up. a lot of republicans saying it's unconstitutional, "the wall street journal" disagrees with that. but jon, put this in historical context. >> i think one of the reasons

this is going to resonate as an important political and cultural debate is it speaks to two parts of the american soul. one is you leave no one behind, no fallen comrade. and the other is this enduring view that we don't negotiate with terrorists. we negotiate with enemies and not terrorists. so this is yet another case where what happened 12 years ago, 15 years ago has complicated our traditional foreign policy and diplomatic structures. so i think one of the reasons this will keep going is because there aren't really a lot of simple answers here. and i think that historically presidents have become very involved in hostage questions. it was very important to president reagan. it was important to president bush. you know, it led to the iranian

initiative in the 1980s. there's a long history here. and it's going to be something that i think you said something important a minute ago which subpoena we shouldn't rush in. but it's going to be something we're going to be talking about for a long time. >> you have insight having been held for seven months. is there anything that strikes you when you listen to all the questions surrounding this story or hearing about bowe bergdahl himself. >> i'm amazing he survived this long, frankly. there was total isolation. there was the question is he having trouble speaking english being surrounded by those speaking poshtu. one of the things in these cases, families don't go for publicity. and they're in this impossible position. there are more americans out there today being held captive. there's civilians.

there's a 72-year-old american civilian man, an aid worker in pakistan held by the same group that had bowe bergdahl. his family is wondering what's going to happen to him now. there's at least two american journalists kidnapped in syria that are missing. the families don't know whether to go public because that raises the possible price someone would want for them. there are governments paying for civilians to be freed around the world. and we don't have a clear policy and i think we need one on how to deal with hostage cases that involve terrorists. >> the french just write checks. >> they do. it's a different culture. >> the israelis have long -- >> the french elite and journalists are in the news every day that are captured. it's a political issue for these governments. the governments are expected to resolve these things. we have a different culture here. there's a sense we don't negotiate with terrorists. the bigger debate is if the

taliban organization -- we shouldn't have done this deal and maybe we should leave troops behind in afghanistan. and others say no. we've done enough in afghanistan and we should love. so we just have to have this conversation. i hope that's what maybe comes out of bowe's release. >> we're going to turn now to two big republican primaries one day away. in iowa, joni ernst is leading by 20 points. it is a much different story in mississippi which has been called the nastiest race in the country. recent polling shows a dead heat between thad cochran and tea party challenger chris mcdaniel. mcdaniel received a boost over the weekend from sarah palin. he told supporters it's time for a change. and mcdaniel is the right

candidate to shake things up. mcdaniel has faced criticism for four supporters taking photographs of senator cochran's wife at a nursing home. he's denied involvement which is we rick santorum decided to also endorse him. >> i really had no intention of getting involved in the race bb but that's the reason i decided to get involved in the race. everything i have been told by the campaign and chris is they had absolutely nothing to do with this. you know, he's being held accountable and responsible for something that he had no control of or responsibility for. >> mark, we saw the tape on thursday. he obviously was caught red handed lying -- >> about something. >> it was obvious. like i was asleep. we're busy. >> there's a lot going on here. >> there was a lot going on. a campaign aide called to tell

him about it. it's people surrounding him, people he worked with that were doing this. i'm surprised the race is this close. >> it looks suspicious, but i got to tell you. it's clear the establishment worried. there's lots of signs that the barber family were big supporters of cochran. they are concerned he could lose this race. it's a strange time for the p primary. it could end up working the other way. you have sarah palin, rick santorum and others, it's been noted this is the anti-establishment. the last chance to get an establishment before the general election. and i think it's a coin flip not just because of the poll averages, but the body language is they could lose this thing. >> i got to tell you, jon

meacham, in iowa joni ernst, castration is a selling point. >> apparently now. >> it's a cutting issue. >> a message that sells. >> i don't know what happened to iowa nice. >> you know, we're going to have to elevate the tone and i think we've done a great job of that. >> thank you. >> on mississippi i think mark's right. i was talking to mutual friends of ours over the weekend who are also embodiments of the establishment in mississippi who are very concerned that senator cochran, they feel there's a generational shift, tea party shift. and a lot of struggling to try to get ahead of this. >> that photograph has not stuck to mcdaniel. he may look suspicious in that interview, but they haven't connected it to him directly. it's remarkable. >> it is. >> we're going to a break.

but just really quickly about this. alice has passed away over the weekend. remember her on the brady bunch? we'll have more on that. katie couric is here in our 8:00 a.m. hour. also jay carney announced he's leaving the white house. but before he does, he joins us at 7:00 a.m. for a friendly exit interview. >> it'll be friendly. >> i hope you don't say anything inappropriate, joe. coming up, the insider trader allegations involving a billionaire investor, one of golf's biggest stars. that story is next. >> this is strange. >> but first here's bill kairns, speaking of strange. >> exit interviews? is it possible? >> let's have it now. >> i think we've been doing it for a long time.

i've given you a beautiful weekend. hope you appreciated it. today we'll have another gorgeous day. mid to upper 70s from new england through the mid-atlantic. we don't have many of these days left. the humidity will increase into tomorrow. what a great day. low 80s, maybe 84 in hartford. middle of the country that's where all the bad weather is. we've been tracking in oklahoma. tulsa, you're just about done. here's the forecast for your monday, for your travel needs. airports, kansas city, chicago, minneapolis, also down there in florida, your typical afternoon storms today. but it's really tuesday. if we're going to have one big day of bad weather, it's going to be tuesday. and the concern is a severe weather outbreak. the area of red is what we call a moderate risk of severe storms. we could see a few strong tornadoes and damaging winds. we're talking omaha, kansas city

into central illinois. again, that will be tomorrow afternoon evening and then through the overnight into wednesday morning. then finally of course we're now into june. it starts our hurricane season. we're expecting below average season. it only takes one storm. here's the list of the names for the 2014 atlantic hurricane season. arthur would be our first named storm. usually the first named storm not until july. new york city on a beautiful morning. you're watching "morning joe." ♪ it starts with little things. tiny changes in the brain. little things, anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. insures support. a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like... ...sooner than you think. ...you die from alzheimer's disease. ...we cure alzheimer's disease. every little click, call, or donation adds up to something big.

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♪ before we get to morning papers, sad news to report. ann b. davis, the actress known as alice the housekeeper on "the brady bunch" has died. she won two emmys.

it was her career-making role "the brady bunch" that made her a household name and she'll be remembered for that. >> the manual says in case of a double compound fracture in both arms the victim should be completely immobilized. [ telephone ringing ] >> hello? >> is it joe? what are you doing down there, alice? >> so good. everybody wanted an alice in their lives. >> everybody loved her. >> she was 88 years old. let's go now to the morning papers. we will start with "the new york times." >> all right. >> new documents released by edward snowden show the nsa is collecting millions of images of people's faces each day to use in advance facial recognition programs. while the nsa once focused on

written and oral communication, they now consider facial images as important tools to track suspected terrorists. >> and this from the "boston globe." lewis katz was among the seven people killed in a deadly plane crash this weekend. the plane was leaving the airport at about 9:40 saturday night to atlantic city when it rolled off the end of the runway. falling into a gully and erupted into flames. it never left the ground. the cause of the crash is unknown. katz recently purchased the enquirer, "the daily news," and philly.com in an $88 million deal. former pennsylvania governor, our friend, governor ed rendell was invited to be on that flight and he had this to say about his friend. >> he's as good a friend as our family has. i can't believe he's gone. >> yeah. they were headed up to doris.

>> we'll be following that. heart out to everybody involved with that. "the washington post." adding a commonly used chemotherapy drug for prostate cancer can help extend patients' lives. scientists say adding the drug dositaxil increases the chances for survival. about 203,000 are diagnosed each year. >> exposure to tv cigarette ads is increasing significantly. data between 2011 and 2013 shows exposure of the ads were up 200% for kids. that number was higher for young adults. 76% of the ads are on cable networks. the federal government is working to regulate the sell of e-cigarettes to minors. >> the new york daily news,

justin bieber has got himself in hot water again. >> come on. it's just bad. >> he used a racial slur in a video. the video in 2011 and obtained by uk paper the sun shows a young bieber telling a racist joke that featured the n-word. he released a statement saying his behavior was childish. >> he says he was so much younger then. he now understands as a man words have consequence. it was three weeks ago. >> this is a big story. the fbi and the s.e.c. are investigating carl icahn and phil mickelson. mickelson saying he'll do whatever he can to clear his name. >> i have done absolutely nothing wrong. and that's why i've been fully

cooperating with the fbi agents. and i'm happy to do so in the future too. until this gets resolved. but for right now i really can't talk much about it. >> joining us now with more on this story, host of "fast money." nice to see you. what are phil mickelson and carl icahn accused of doing? >> the interesting thing this morning is there are already reports that the investigation into these gentlemen has already hit a snag. that's just a new development here. but investigators have to spend the last several trades made by these individuals over the stock clorox. they're looking to see if icahn leaked information to this man from las vegas billy walters who then shared it to phil mickelson. it's not an easy thing to prove. and on its face even if mr. icahn did share information,

it's not necessarily insider trading. it all depends if mr. icahn breached the duty to his own shareholders in the way he accumulated the position in clorox. it's not a cut and dry case to make. >> where does phil mickelson come into this story? we know perhaps he had some relationship with icahn or icahn put out a statement saying i never met phil mickelson. he's aware of mickelson as all of us here. a what is the relationship with phil? >> there's no relationship whatsoever between phil mickelson and karl icahn. i spoke with icahn exclusively on friday night, while he is aware of who mickelson is, the two have never met or spoken. apparently mr. mickelson and mr. walters in las vegas know one another. i should also let you know there have been questions circulating over the years about mr. mickelson's gambling habits. he's been forced to answer questions at news conferences

about that topic. but there appears to be no relationship whatsoever between phil mickelson and carl icahn. >> anything they're looking into then trace back to this william walters. is that right? >> apparently so. we've spoken with a number of phil mickelson's sponsors over the last 24 hours. most aren't giving any comment. there are a number of well known spon source we're talking about. barcla barclays, exxonmobil. phil's a walking billboard for calloway golf. they've given maybe the most forthcoming statement from any corporate partner that we've spoken with saying phil's always acted with integrity. but everybody else is being pretty mum including phil. >> we'll see this again. this is just an investigation right now up. none of the men have been charged. >> nor are they accused of wrong doing at this particular time. >> thanks so much. coming up next, politico

this morning writes about the obama paradox. we'll explain that next on "morning joe." ♪ (mother vo) when i was pregnant

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welcome back to "morning joe." beautiful sunrise over the white house. john harris of politico joining us now. >> good morning. >> you have a big piece up this morning. the obama paradox. it is an epic. tell us about it. >> it is an epic. two of our white house reporters, they spent months talking to more than 60 people around obama. aides, former aides trying to get a sense of what makes this guy tick in year six of his presidency. they call the story the obama paradox. that is on the one hand obama has never been more defined by limits in his presidency than he is right now. there's a very palable sense. plus is limited. time is limited. both of them finite with the

finish line in sight. more determined to enjoy himself, frankly, in these last two and a half years than he's been in the past. private dinners that had not previously been on the schedule. different celebrities coming in and out of the white house. a new friend and basketball great, former great alonso. just a fascinating look at obama in his second term. >> part of the piece talks about how he's less inhibited now in his second term. he doesn't have a campaign ahead of him. he's free to talk about things like race which is one of the big themes of this piece. >> sure. that was off the table in the first term. obama didn't want to define himself by race publicly even though that's his historic legacy. he's now free to talk about it and he's doing it much more. he's looser a.

it's a subtle shift, but unmistakable. >> john, those of us concerned about the tax pace in new york city noticed in this piece that the president talked to people wanting to live in new york city rather than chicago. >> i think it's unlikely his library will. wouldn't surprise me at all, mark, if he joined you on the upper west side. send rents up for sure. he's always loved new york, since his days at columbia. he looks at the clinton global initiative as a model how he can have influence. he might have three or four decades or more in front of him. he's got his eye on new york. >> he's only going to be 55 when he leaves office.

it's an incredible piece. people ought to take time at lunch today if they can and read it. thanks for being heers. >> at 4:00 joe and mika will be joining mika's mother for a discussion and signing of her book "lure of the forest." stop by if you're around. we'll be right back. ♪ cadmium, mercury, lead. all on the periodic table. all inside these, too. now the last thing we want is for all that to mix with water. so recycle. you'll keep your planet clean,

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♪ all right. let's do a bit of sports. stanley cup playoffs. game seven western conference finals. in chicago. blackhawks a little moment tum. they got a lead here in the third period until l.a.'s marion

gaborik nets the equalizer. that would push the game into overtime. five minutes into overtime, the kings on the road send the blackhawks packing. >> into the corner. lost a stick. out to martinez. with the shot. it's in! the kings are headed to the stanley cup final! >> with that goal the kings on the road advance to the finals. 5-4 win in ot. they now will host the rangers in game one of the stanley cup finals n finals. that starts on wednesday night. all right. the habs mascot, upie paid up on a bet with tonight show host jimmy fallon. he travelled to serl land marks wearing a rangers jersey photographing himself along the way.

upie was a good sport wearing it to ten different spots. and now you know about that. >> thank you. >> here to serve. here to serve. now for some baseball. o's leading the astros in the sixth. >> that one deep to left field. it is way back. and good-bye! a grand slam home run. >> that was with the bases loaded. that tied things up. manny machado, how good is that kid. o's win. and this series is ugly. bean ball a couple nights ago coming off a ten-game losing streak. they have now won seven in a row. seven straight for the sox. >> all right. >> won 4-0 against the rays. things were buzzing in los angeles. >> why did you do sna? >> all the buzz. >> little oscar buzz in hollywood. the bees invade the dugout of

the dodgers. not a good oman for the dodgers. time now for the must read opinion pages. can we squeeze one in? something serious. that's so dumb. really? that was a dumb. >> what? >> "washington post" -- it was a teachable moment. >> there could have been a little burt bee's guy out there? >> it could be global warming. >> obama's foreign policy. a lot of questions, obviously, in light of the news of the past few days. syria has become in the words of u.n. ambassador samantha power the most catastrophic humanitarian crisis any of us have seen in a generation. as the situation has worsened, obama has begun to retroactively

rewrite u.s. doctrine. in october, obama limited america's core interest in the mideast to defending allies and protecting the free throw of energy. he said democracy, human rights, and free trade were important but could rarely be advanced through unilateral action. last week he further constricted the nation's interest that rarely was gone. i doubt this is really where obama wants to end up. a value's free foreign policy isn't sustainable for most americans. and if another humanitarian crisis confronts the president in the next 30 months, i doubt it will be sustainable for him. >> a person who won a pulitzer prize talking about a problem from hell talking about what happened in the balkans. and yet 150,000 people slaughtered over the past several years, those numbers are worse than they were even in the balkans. and this is being done in plain

view of the world community and the united states of america is doing nothing. i'm not saying we should put boots on the ground, but we have decided we have opted to do nothing at every important stage. and this has led to the death of directly or indirectly -- >> we're not doing nothing. >> the president is a thoughtful guy. he gave samantha power the job for a reason. that having been said, i think this president may end up where bill clinton was that his biggest regret regarding foreign policy was to not have done more. but he is defined, it appears, by afghanistan and iraq and the limits of the powers around the world. much discussion of don't do stupid stuff. >> alone. >> alone intervening in these places is hard to do. either alone or in coalition. i think the president will look back and feel he could have done

more even on the margins. >> of course bill clinton's biggest regret, rwanda. not moving on rwanda. >> and, you know, at the very end, i think this is receded from the popular memory. after george h.w. bush was defeated he went there and thought of using power for these ends. i think as ever like institutions, countries overcorrect i think perhaps at the moment feeling we were too interventionist from 2001 until -- through president obama's election. now, perhaps, we're too slow to go in. >> always fighting the last war. willie, this isn't just about helping the syrian people. you have the humanitarian crisis

now that's flooding over the borders. it's been flooding over the borders for some time. it's a refugee crisis that can destabilize governments in that region and are leading to disastrous results. >> there's no question it's spread. but if you listen to the speech at west point last week, he was very clear. if we're looking for a doctrine, we're not going in unless there's a direct threat. i think that's in response to iraq and afghanistan we've been in. he may live to regret it, but he knows what's happening. >> his eyes are wide open about this. he knows the tradeoffs. he agonizes over the tradeoffs. >> i think we'd be raising the exact question as to why are we at this time of being over-engaged, some would argue, why are we getting in there if we did? i think we would be hammered from both sides. >> it's a false story to say

we're not doing anything. >> we're not doing nothing. >> we are doing nothing. been doing nothing for far too long. you have one crisis after another whether it's syria or ukraine where the president of the united states stands before the american people and says i can't do anything alone. george h.w. bush never had to go before the american people and say i can't do anything alone. because other presidents actually knew how to build alliances in siptuations like this. this president seems as incapable of building alliances abroad as he is at building alliances at home. and just as he's incapable of building alliances abroad, strong effective friendships and alliances abroad, and i have yet to meet an ambassador or a foreign leader that has suggested anything otherwise, he is incapable of forming

alliances even with members of his own party on capitol hill. talk to democratic senators. talk to republicans. talk to anybody you want to, this is an extension of his inability or unwillingness to build alliances. >> are you talking about syria? i don't know where you've gone. i don't know where to go with that. >> the ineffectiveness internationally. by the way, what i'm saying now, it will be written in every history book about obama. they'll talk about his inability to connect on a human level with foreign leaders, with democratic senators. this happens all the time. the president leaves the office and suddenly, you know, everything that people tell us off camera, they start telling historians. we're going to hear it all. let's not pretend that this isn't one of the reasons why we

haven't been able to move in syria other the past four or five years. why we are incapable of getting our allies to stand shoulder to shoulder with us in germany, in russia on dumpbt issues. jon meacham? 15 seconds to tell me why i'm so terribly wrong. >> i think perhaps it's overstated. >> how's that, mika? >> i mean, part of what we do is as we say we over step -- i think the president has tried to make a virtue of his own personality which is to take his rationality and the clinical approach to the world and try to imply that to the historical moment and argue for a realistic foreign policy. >> i have no idea what you just said. >> really? because we have no idea what you just said. >> i thought you were about to

say he's making a virtue of his isolationism. >> he is. because he thinks it is time to correct from what he sees as a binge of eight years of putting two wars on a credit card. >> right. okay. >> my own view is that somewhere in between. >> here's what we can do. we can bring jay carney into the conversation. this will be his exit interview. it'll be so interesting to see -- he's sort of in the middle. we'll have to do it when he's completely out. okay. we'll be right back with more "morning joe." ♪ when la quinta.com sends sales rep steve hatfield the ready for you alert, the second his room is ready. you know what he brings? any questions? can i get an a, steve? yes! three a's! he brings his a-game! the ready for you alert, only at laquinta.com!

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coming up at the top of the hour, after five years in captivity at the hands of the taliban, bowe bergdahl is free. but should the president have made the deal? bill kristol and brian schweitzer joins the conversation. stay with us for more "morning joe." ♪ peace of mind is important when you're running a successful business.

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♪ good morning, everyone. look at that beautiful shot of washington, d.c. the sun is up and it's definitely time to get going, everybody. welcome back to "morning joe." we have already begun the situation here, but we're going to change it now. joining us on set former democratic governor brian schweitzer. >> i was ugh manied on the street in new york city. somebody took it. they mug me. >> they want it. they don't know what it is. >> they can mug you in new york without a gun. they just threaten you. >> wow. editor of the weekly standard -- >> we feel threatened by you

right now. back off just a tad, i'll feel better. >> bill kristol's here. >> the book is amazing, man. >> "good talk, dad". >> get it at barnes & noble,.com. >> and no scandal. in other words, it's a nice book. >> it's a great book. >> and selling. who knew? >> you should tweet the barnes & noble link. >> when you use their site to order stuff, it's good. people don't talk about it enough. >> comes the next day. not four weeks. >> you don't have to wait for weeks. >> no. >> on what planet does that happen? >> let's go to the news. >> to the news now. army sergeant bowe bergdahl is in the army hospital in germany this morning after being freed by the taliban. he had been held by militants for nearly half a decade. the only american p.o.w. from the war in afghanistan.

he was exchanged over the weekend for five detainees in guantanamo bay. documents show the men are all considered, quote, high risk and likely pose a threat to the u.s. and its allies. the deal was negotiated by the government of qatar where the former prisoners will stay for at least a year. the obama administration is defending the agreement, but critics are raising some serious concerns. >> this was essentially in our opinion to save the life of sergeant bergdahl. as i said before, we had information that his health could be deteriorating rapidly. there was a question about his safety. we found an opportunity. we took that opportunity. i'll stand by that decision. i signed off on the decision the president made the ultimate decision. we did spend time looking at this. >> i think the big issue here is what's going to happen to these five individuals.

if they re-enter the fight, then it will put americans at risk. if they are able to have after a year in qatar to do whatever they want to do, there's no doubt they'll re-enter the fight. >> bill kristol, "the wall street journal" editorial says about trading, says this trade will be the price of more than the hostage swap. he said the israelis do this all the time. the french cut checks. we don't do this historically. reagan did it in the mid-'80s. should he have done this to get this last p.o.w. out? >> i don't think he should have. we may pay a price. getting back terrorist leaders

in order to get bergdahl back. there are two sides of it. the five taliban leaders we sent back, will they really -- they may stay in qatar for a year. they may not. even if they are, the boost this has given them. if you look at their propaganda, they are over the moon, the taliban and al qaeda and al qaeda affiliates. >> does that matter if we're leaving afghanistan? >> it matters because anyone who might be on our side in the world might decide to combine this with the rest of obama's weakness. forget it. secondly, what about bergdahl? everyone's happy to see him back and all that. but susan rice said he was taken in battle. taken on the battlefield and he served the united states with honor. there's a lot of reports he wasn't taken in battle. he seems to have deserted or gone awol. soldiers died trying to find him. his own platoon and his own battalion seem to have come under a lot more attacks after

he was taken. the degree of anger among soldiers on e-mail is unbelievable. that needs to be taken seriously. those are the people who fought in the same company in some cases and feel they sacrificed to get this guy back who may have behaved irresponsibly. we need honesty about that. what did susan rice know about the investigation about bergdahl? it's one thing to trade terrorists for a real p.o.w., someone taken honorable fighting on the battlefield. it's different to trade for someone who walked away. >> we don't know all the details this morning. but obviously there is a lot of concern among the ranks, a lot of very angry people as you said. >> this is why congress needs to have hearings. what's about the nda? do you realize the army had them

sign non-disclosure agreements about what happened. who's heard of such a thing? >> there'll be an investigation, but there are new quotes this morning from members of his platoon. one said i'm, quote, pissed off about this because he believes bergdahl is a deserter. we don't know yet. but back to the other sue, governor schweitzer, about trading. >> never done it before. the end of the spanish-america war, at the end of korea. we're winding out. we are winding this war down. >> how many troops are there now? >> by the way, bill, do you -- >> if you get them back when the last troop leaves, there are 32,000 americans in afghanistan. why did he have to go back now? >> let me ask you this question. when these guys, these same five guys were fighting the russians we called them the freedom fighters. when we invaded afghanistan to chase al qaeda out and we did that in six months, we now call

them terrorists. they're enemy combatants in afghanistan. that's who they are. >> the u.n. calls two of them war criminals. they have thousands of deaths on their hands from afghanistan. >> at the end the u.n. call many people war criminals. that's war. that's war. so this fellow is a soldier. did he walk off of the base? was had he taken on the street? should he have been off the base? he was what? 22 years old? 23 years old? have you been in afghanistan? listen. what we have is a war in afghanistan. every once in awhile they go out on a mission driving from point "a" to point "b." >> that is not what happened there. he left at 4:00 in the morning according to "new york times." the walked off the base at 4:00 in the morning alone. we don't know. i object to susan rice saying he served with honor and distinction when we don't know.

>> now you say you don't know. but then you say you know. let's celebrate he gets to go back to his family. forgod's sake. he was a combatant for the united states of america. he's a soldier. wi are you suggesting one american is not worth five of these taliban people who will live in a cave? come on. >> at least six americans were killed looking for bergdahl. if this guy was a deserter, i have a problem with now giving away five taliban terrorists to get him back. >> i don't think it's as simple as giving away five terrorists. i think we have to take into consideration that there are parts of this deal we're not going to know about. this is a president that -- is gitmo still because it can't be fixed simply. >> the thing is it's a moral

issue for him to close gitmo is year after he got into the white house. and, you know, how could any of us have seen it coming that he wouldn't be able to close gitmo? oh, wait a second. i actually predicted here before he was even president he would not get us out of gitmo. because the president's view of the world was a lot less complicated before he was president of the united states. >> this is a president who's taken out terrorists with drone strikes and looks at their faces before it happens. i don't think he just let five run free. >> actually, i think that's exactly what he did. >> come on. there's been obvious negotiation with several countries. we know this. and we also know they're taking the hit for this because there's stuff they can't tell us. but having said that, if it were the other way around, i'd be asking the same questions. let's bring in michael leiter.

michael, what are some of the things pertaining to a deal like this that may or may not be happening but we will never know? >> mika, the negotiation with the qataris will require them to monitor them. and we've got a pretty long and secure relationship with the qataris. so i think we can have some confidence for the first year these guys will be watched. i tend to think they will be able to communicate back with forces in pakistan and afghanistan. and frankly, i'm less -- one year out. that they will be back working with the taliban. and the fact is this is mostly about the war winding down. the reason we couldn't strike this deal in 2010, 2011, is because we were in afghanistan and were staying in afghanistan. and now 2014 looking forward to

2016, we can strike this deal now because frankly our objectives are far, far narrower. >> michael, walk us through what might have been going on behind the scenes over the last five years. and it has been five years since sergeant bergdahl was captured. what kind of things would the government have been doing over the course of these five years? for a lot of people it just popped up on their radar screen this past weekend. >> i was still in government when sergeant bergdahl i think then pfc bergdahl disappeared. bill is right. there are some real questions here. i think it's a little too early to impugn the sergeant's integrity, but i'm sure there will be questions and investigations when he gets back. throughout that time, he was the only u.s. prisoner in the hands of the taliban of which we were aware. and throughout that period working with the qataris not directly dealing with the taliban to try to see if there was some common ground. back in twl2010, 2011, there wao

be more to this deal to see if you could reach to something else. and now you're really -- there's some hope it will reach to something else. but there's really no expectation. and frankly in my view, i don't think we'll get much more out of these talks. >> michael, don't you think -- we do have 32,000 troops in afghanistan. our part of the war is winding down. isn't it more appropriate to do this kind of exchange if you can do it at the end of the war. when the last american troop leaves. look at vietnam. after a peace agreement with the north vietnamese. but still after the war, our part of the war ended. that's not the case now. >> bill, i think that's right. but it's also hard to choreograph these things all that perfectly. if the opportunity was there now, i think that's why the administration took it. and to say let's keep winding things down until 2016 and then get them back, there's just no guarantee of that. but i'm not going to disagree

with you entirely. i do think these five who were really far on the far end of the spectrum of bad guys in guantanamo, this is problematic. in the long-term, this is going to strengthen the taliban. our hand is weakening there. and i think them going back, it's going to turn the tide in afghanistan. but it is strengthening them and it is a big win for them. >> all right. thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. mika, let's get to domestic politics. >> all right. republican senator ted cruz is carrying some added momentum as he considers a possible bid for president in 2016. the texas lawmaker narrowly won the republican leadership conference's straw poll over the weekend in louisiana. dr. ben carson, outspoken critic of obamacare, was a close second. senator rand paul, mike huckabee rounded out the top five. notably missing were chris

christie and jeb bush. senator cruz is one of the few potential contenders to attend the event. he said history now shows that shutting down the government over obamacare was -- oh, my god. >> i'm sorry. before we go to the clip, can we say bill kristol it was disheartening we had michellebamichelle bachmann who won iowa called him to congratulate him. >> i want to hear this. >> don't underestimate ted cruz. >> he showed up. >> also he's gotten much -- he's always been effective in his way. he was always effective as more of a conservative voice of protest. i think he's making the transition to actually being a serious conservative leader. >> so here he is explaining why the shutdown was a good idea. take a look. >> somehow all of the gray beards in washington who opposed

fighting against obamacare are now looking around and we're winning senate seats all over the country. we're reaping the fruits of the battle. which is perfectly fine, but we need to take a moment to acknowledge the lesson of the battle. how do you win elections? you don't win it by standing for nothing. >> and by the way, i wasn't making fun of ted cruz's political impact. i was making fun of the stupid straw polls that are not indicators. but thank you for twisting and wretching my words. after the speech senator cruz said former president ronald reagan would have supported his efforts against obamacare. haley barbour, though, also discussed the 40th president seems to be something the republicans do, 30, 35, 40 years later. but offered a different perspective of the ronald reagan he knew. >> i learned a lot from ronald reagan. i admire what i learned.

but the one thing he never deviated from was we are here to wloouf the life of our country and our people. and sometimes that takes compromise. every day of the reagan presidency, raug compromised on everything. he passed the reagan economic plan in 1981. you think he got everything he wanted? no. he got immigration reform, reagan tax reform bill. he had to compromise on all those things. >> reagan did compromise. he sold grain to the soviets. >> when ted cruz is president he will make compromises. i just said that to make mika turn white. but when reagan was in opposition, he was a fierce opponent of the carter administration. i think in that respect cruz is -- >> panama canal treaty. >> did we forget this guy we talk about in the past, this

president reagan, increased the size of government and increased taxes. now, when republicans are running for office they say they'll do neither of those except they love the legacy of reagan. >> reagan passed a big tax cult and then a fax reform. >> i never raised one tax or one fee in eight years. >> great. >> so you can make deals, but if you are against raising taxes, you don't raise taxes. >> you're a model for ted cruz. he can take you as his v.p. >> you're a cruz democrat. >> no. here's the good news about ted cruz. the good news about ted cruz is that ted cruz was born in canada like my wife. >> he's like now here's the good news. >> my wife nancy can run for president of the united states because she also was born in canada. so if ted cruz can run, so can nancy. >> what are you talking about?

former governor schweitzer, thank you. i don't know what to say. >> it's true. he was born in canada. >> i guess i thank you too. up next, it's jay carney's final countdown. the now-outgoing white house press secretary joins us for his "morning joe" exit interview. interesting. stay with us. ♪ i dbefore i dosearch any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list

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♪ jay has become one of my closest friends and is a great press secretary. and a great adviser. he's got good judgment, good temperament, and he's got a good heart. >> all right. welcome back to "morning joe." 23 past the hour. joining us now, the outgoing white house press secretary jay carney. well, hello, jay. >> mika, how are you? >> it wasn't something we said, was it? >> we're surprised, jay. we've been supporters of yours since the beginning.

>> actually, joe -- >> no. jay -- >> i have a long history with you guys. >> i know. you baited me into swearing on the air. so jay, it caught at lot of people by surprise on friday talking about your personal decision into makes this move. >> joe, you know, even working as i have now for five and a half years at the white house wasn't something i planned. i kind of fell into a job i loved working for the vice president the first two years as his communications director. then the president asked me to be his press secretary. that was three and a half years ago almost. and i got a couple of kids who are still pretty young. and five and a half years is a fairly long amount of time to be not fully present with your kids. so i went to the president in mid-april and said the time was coming when i would have to step away. we began a conversation that led to the announcement on friday. i'll tell you, it was pretty

gratifying. we don't get to keep too many secrets around here. stuff leaks all the time. but i think it's fair to say the reporters in the room were a little surprised when the president walked out and joined the briefing on friday. >> certainly anybody that has worked in your position, anybody that's worked in the white house at your level would know you made the right decision for your children and your family. we congratulate you on that. let me ask you something. you have been far more combative as white house press secretary as you were as a journalist. sometimes going after poor jonathan carl who is tough enough to handle it, obviously. i'm sure you'll be good friends after this is over. but many of us were surprised by just how combative you were in this position. why were you that combative when that wasn't how we knew you as jay carney the journalist? >> joe, i certainly was not an advocate when i was a reporter. i was sort of old school.

but when you work for the president, you are there explaining and defending his policies and positions, which i happen to believe are the right policy and positions. and i think you know having watched these daily briefings over the years both during my time and during my predecessor's time, they've become more combative. there's a certain element to them. who served president clinton has apologized to one of his successors for being the press secretary who agreed to allow the briefing to be televised in full. and i think that has added to the kind of combative nature of the briefing. in the end i have a tremendous amount of respect for the folks in the briefing room, the reporters who work hard every day trying to get it right. i feel like i've had a good relationship with them including those with whom i've had some specific moments of combat. >> the president came out and hugged him. and i think now we need to analyze with our resident

hugging expert jon meacham. >> you know, william henry harrison used to hug like that. >> yeah. >> jay, a quick question. hodding carter when he was at the state department said he was almost never surprised by a question. that when he and his staff prepared beforehand, they could almost guess 99% accuracy what the questions would be. is that true? >> i wouldn't it at 99%, but we take time before the briefing going over what we know to be the stories of the day. what we're hearing from reporters during the morning and overnight. it's a diverse crowd out there. there are more news organizations represented than there were back then or more diverse organizations with different perspectives. sometimes when i get to the back and middle of the briefing room, i'll get a question i had no way

to anticipate and sometimes no answer for. it can get interesting sometimes. but more often than not, i'm pretty sure i know what's coming. >> you mentioned you worked for vice president biden. how good a president would joe biden be and why? >> he'd be an excellent president. he has a tremendous amount of experience both in the senate and now here in the white house as vice president. when vice president biden came in with president obama, the president immediately gave him huge assignments. if you think about the 2008 election and how important the iraq war was as an issue and the economy was as an issue and then you look at the fact that president asked vice president biden to take over the iraq portfolio. i think you get a sense of the kind of partnership that the two have had here in the white house. so i know that president obama chose joe biden to be his vice president because he believed

that vice president biden could if necessary serve as president. and that remains true today. >> jay, this is thomas roberts. a lot of people criticize the media saying we're too chummy with the white house. what's the perspective? is the media too chummy or does your example of being on defense the whole time put the kibosh on that? >> i've never felt that was true. when i came in as a young white house reporter, there was a huge amount of tension in the white house and the west wing between reporters covered the new president and the white house press corps. you saw that periodically through clinton and bush and the obama administration as well. i think what we have to division between is the sort of normal tension that exists because

reporters are out there trying to get information. sometimes they feel they're not getting enough. and then kind of the thee -- th theatricality of it all. if you watch a briefing in its entirety, you'd be struck but how much the same questions are repeated when they were asked two minutes before. i think reporters want a crack at a moment on tv. >> let me ask you this is closing. you worked for joe biden. how good of a president would joe biden be? >> i'm getting old, but i think i've heard that question before. >> we'll see you on the other side. thank you, jay. >> thank you all very much. i appreciate it. >> i'm sorry, go ahead. >> great job. best of luck. go ahead, jay. >> no, i just -- you know, it's been a lot of fun coming out here and talking to you. it's been even more fun working

here in the white house for president obama and vice president biden. i'm sure i'll see you down the road. >> congratulations on getting home to your children and on your service to this country. >> thank you. up next, he fell way short in this weekend's republican leadership straw poll, but that doesn't likely discourage rick perry from considering another run at the white house. kasie hunt caught up with the texas governor for the next installment of states of play. next on "morning joe." ♪ weekdays are for rising to the challenge.

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♪ governor rick perry is eyeing a possible second act in presidential politics. remember the first one? >> i do. >> the texas republican may launch another bid for the white house. very nice guy. after his first attempt ran into serious obstacles. kasie hunt is following all the early 2016 action. >> so instead of bowing to king george, we are now subject to this imperial presidency. i agree wl thomas jefferson when he says a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. >> reporter: texas governor rick perry's presidential campaign

faltered. but he might be getting back in the game for 2016. you've said that you're openly considering a run again in 2016. you also said one of the things you learned was you really have to prepare beforehand. what are you doing now to prepare for a potential 2016 bid? >> actually for about the last 15 months we've been actively sitting down with people across the country talking to them about public policy issues, domestic economics, foreign policy. regardless of whether i run or not, it's a good process for me so that i'm substantially more versed in what i consider to be very important issues of the day. >> why did you not do all of that beforehand? in 2012. >> i think you have to have done this once to really get a handle on it. when you go back into the republican side of things at least, you will see that from

eisenhower forward, our nominee, nixon, reagan, mccain, romney all ran more than once. it's a very different process than what you may have thought. gosh. i've been elected four or five times statewide in texas, what can be harder than that? there are some things. one of them being running for the presidency of the united states. the preparation for that is -- it's very serious. it's very time consuming. it's a lengthy process. looking back on it, i was not prepared properly. >> perry's health was also an issue in 2012. he went on pain medication after his back surgery. >> it's three agencies of government when i get there that are gone. the education, the commerce, and let's see. i can't. the third one, i can't. sorry. oops. >> reporter: with republicans now raising questions about hillary clinton's health, perry

says all cards should be on the table. >> i think you have everything in your life looked at if you're going to run for the president of the united states, so nothing's off the table the best i can tell. it wasn't when i tried the last time. i suspect it won't be again. >> do you think it's fair game? hillary's health? >> i think everything about everyone is fair game in the business of being the president of the united states. >> wow. so first of all, he got it from all sides when his health was kind of an issue he wasn't talking about. he was having real problems on the campaign trail. is he is serious contender next time around? >> he was having trouble sleeping. he got in so late last time. he didn't have time to do stuff. he's doing a lot of the things now. i think he and rick santorum and mike huckabee are all underdiscussed about strong candidates in this. >> disagree, meacham?

underdiscussed? >> no. it's not always the case. george w. bush is an exception, but he's right that more often than not you have to do this twice to understand it. >> he's learned a ton from having run last time. >> he's a very likable guy. up next, his new book is entitled "big money." >> the thomas roberts story. >> thomas joins us next to explain that. politico's ken vogel joins us to explain the suspicious vehicle and the pimp. >> it's properly registered. ♪ (mother vo) when i was pregnant...

i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before

and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. ♪ welcome back, everybody. here with us now is reporter for politico ken vogel. he's out with a new book called "big money: $2.5 million, one

suspicious vehicle, and a pimp." now that is a title. >> that is the title of the book. >> tell us who's -- >> we're intrigued. >> so let's talk about the pimp. who's the pimp? come on. how's this pimp involved in big money politics? >> whose car was stolen? >> the car was mine. it was a rental that was told suspicious. they don't take super kindly to having the privacy of these events breached. >> what happened? they trash your car? >> no. but they followed me out to the car and reported it to the riverside as suspicious. >> was it flashy? >> politico only goes with the best economy. >> it was an '87 taurus. >> and the pimp is a security guard who threw me out of a democratic fund raiser on the sidelines of the democratic national convention in charlotte

who happened to have been a former police officer who was convicted of running a prostitution ring out of his squad car. so we got both sides there. >> that's big. let's talk though. more seriously, this really is about the bizarre world of a very small handle -- handful of people dominating politics. it is a long strange trip you went on here. >> that's right. this is -- these folks have in many ways replaced the parties in their ability to influence elections. not always, i should add, in the way they intended. a lot of these people spent a lot of money in 2012 that didn't get the result they wanted. it's arguable some of the money had had a backlash effect like sheldon adelson spending to elect newt gingrich. it's arguable that the money that was spent keeping him afloat might have hurt mitt romney and the chances of defeating barack obama

eventually. nonetheless, these folks are now forces to be reckoned with to the point where you have politicians and operatives who are willing to spend a lot of time and every day courting them going out to these private meetings and trying to get them on their side. >> for these people who have amassed these great fortunes in whatever business opportunities that they have to the point where they want to throw money behind a certain candidate to a fault, do they -- are these the type of people that are caught up in their own world that it doesn't matter what advisers might tell them? this is a bad bet from here forward. i compare it to the wealthy folk who is are willing to plunk down a few million for a sports team. they're the most in business by following their instincts. they think i love sports and

politics. i'm going to spend a lot of money on buying a team or investing in a super pack. because i've been so successful in my chosen field. i think it will also work in this field. so i'm going tell the gm which quarterback to draft. tell the coach which plays to run. i'm going to tell the superpac operative. even though by all outside calculations newt gingrich has no chance of winning the nomination or presidency, try telling that to adelson who made billions of dollars betting against conventional wisdom in vegas and was so successful. obviously didn't translate to politics. >> riddle me this. never understood this. these guys have billions in some cases and they give $10 million, $20 million, if they're all in, why didn't he write a check for $200 million? >> talking about gingrich, if aide l son decided to do another

$20 million, he has more of a fair fight. why don't they go all? >> $500 million. >> i don't think that some of the numbers you're throwing out seem so extreme. but i don't think they're totally out of the realm of possibility for future elections. where folks are willing to spend that much money, individual donors really only since 2010, the supreme court citizens united decision and subsequent decision that allowed for superpacs. i think we're really just seeing the tip of the iceberg. you do wonder at a certain point maybe folks aren't finally getting to sheldon adelson saying you're making this tough on us and making this tough on your party and the candidate who you want to beat. you're making it easier for him. and so maybe there was a little bit of a reason that was talked to him at a certain point. who knows in 2016 or 2020. it's not out of the realm of

possibility there could be a group of major donors who could spend $500 million backing hillary clinton in 2016. >> i have us an example of a megalomanic who decided he or she was going to elect the next president of the united states. take us into this bizarre world. what's an example of somebody here seeming most devoid of reality that you were investigating? >> i think adelson, i've mentioned him a few times. he's the one that republicans, his own side, are most scared of. and they consider him most of a wild card. and they are nervous about what he's going to do. so you see this very deliberate courtship of him starting months ago where we had the sheldon primary out in vegas where we had a number of top republican perspective presidential candidates come out -- >> jeb was there. >> yeah. >> all saying his name in such a

less knowing way like we are buddies. it's a game. it's a huge money game. >> i think that's right. and i think there's a reason for that. and that is this is not going to change any time soon. this is the new normal. >> for democrats as well as republicans? we're mentioning a lot of republican names here. steyer is bragging about spending a hundred million. is this more of a republican game now? >> i think republicans were quicker to embrace it and rush into it. part of it, i think, is because they were and have been the whole time in the opposition. >> right. >> the party that doesn't have the white house, the party whose donors get more excited. it just so happens that this supreme court's citizens united ruling and subsequent rulings that really sparked this big explosion of money has happened during the obama presidency. the example that i said of hillary clinton in 2016 is one to watch. because she and her husband were masters of the big money.

and they still have a number of these very, very wealthy donors who would do anything for them. and are already talking about doing anything for them. and so i think that it will be interesting in 2016 because it'll be totally interesting 2016 because it will be totally open and there will be a fight at the top of the democratic party like there has been at the top of the republican party and where these big donors will have a role. >> the book is "big money." ken, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> still ahead, katie couric is here with a look at her new project. and next the president and ceo of marriott hotels joins the table. aflac! so this is who you brought to help us out? oh yeah, he's the best. he doesn't look like he's seen a tool in his life. oh, he doesn't know anything about tools. aflac-ac-ac-ac-ac-ac-ac!

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arnie sorresorrenson, let's business, the economy. hotel business is a great, great guide of where we're going to be going in the future. how are things looking businesswise for you guys? >> it's obviously a big world. when you look at just the united states, we see another year of pretty positive growth. coming out of the great recession, 2010, 2011, 2014, sales are up 6% range, sometimes

more like 5%, sometimes more like 7. but that's really solid performance. and that continues in 2014. >> obviously a lot of people have looked at the leaders of the marriott. obviously mormon families being very conservative. i was struck. you guys have a #lovetravels where you're targeting the lbgt community. explain that. >> we want people staying in our hotels no matter the way they're defining themselves. all of those things are important. you add to it of course some other things, which are in some respects more recent but that is the power of the lgbt group as consumers and there's also a piece of it which is this is a

really cool trend setting community. >> you haven't met thomas. >> i will admit to being a taste maker and style influential -- >> it was in 2012 that my husband and i registered in marriott to do our registry. so our guests, our heterosexual friends have been paying for years and not getting something back. >> there's a deeper piece to it saying we see a big wallet and we want a bigger piece of that. that's not irrelevant to us, of course, but we want everybody to feel welcome in our shop and weep actually think the lbgt community sees deeper than that

old superficial company. >> for one couple it's much appreciated. thank you. >> i almost have to recuse myself from this segment because i stay only at your properties. talk about your properties down on the world cup. what do you expect down there? >> everything's going to be full. i was down there a year and a half ago. the city of sao palo, 125 million plus people, not a single hotel under construction. there's not a city of that size in which even during a recession there's no construction. thinking about the world cup and olympics coming on, every room will be full be. >> and safe? >> hopefully. >> i had an event at one of your places in good old hartford, connecticut. >> what a great, great group. >> thank you very much. it's great to have you on the show, arnie sorenson. look forward to having you back. >> hope you can come back,

business round table. >> still ahead, beau bergdahl is back. plus phil mickelson said he's not of inside are trading. plus remembering alice from "the brady bunch" show. get the flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare

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what we did was ensure that as always the united states doesn't leave a man or a woman on the battlefield. and in order to do this, it's very important for folks to understand, if we got into a situation where we said, you know, because of who has captured an person soldier on the battlefield we will leave that person behind, we will be in a whole new era for the safety of our personnel and for the nature of our commitment to men and women in uniform. >> it's 8:00 a.m. on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast as you take a live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." with us on set we have mark halpern, reuters david rhode.

to the parents of bow bowe bergdahl -- he had been held as the only p.o.w. from afghanist afghanistan. j jim miklaszewski reports. >> this is a happy day for our country because we got one of our own back. >> reporter: but how he was freed has sparked a fire storm. president obama approved the

arrest of five top taliban prisoners for bergdahl. >> this was a prisoner exchange. after five years he's been a prisoner of war. >> reporter: but u.s. military officials tell nbc news the five top taliban leaders freed are considered among the most dangerous at guantanamo bay. in secret documents obtained by wikileaks, the pentagon classified all five as high risk likely threat to the u.s. and recommended for continued detention. >> these are the hardest of the hard core, these are the highest of the high-risk people. others that we have released have gone back into the fight. >> even though they will remain under the control of qatar for five years, it puts a price tag

on the heads of other soldiers in taliban. >> the top taliban leader declared victory over the americans. critics also claim president obama broke the law by not notifying congress 30 days before the taliban prisoners were released. national security adviser susan rice claims that they were informed. >> we did not have 30 days to wait. had we waited and lost him, i don't think anybody would have forgiven the united states government. >> by bu by all accounts, he was in good official condition when turned offer to u.s. special forces operation. he wrote "sf" on a paper plate.

when one of the service members replied, "yes, we've been looking for you for some years," he broke down in tears. >> his father praised his son for helping the afghan people. >> i'm proud of how much you wanted to help the afghan people and what you wanted to do to go to that length. >> we're not going to have answers for quite some time. the wall street journal "trading with the taliban" seems to be the main critique of what the president did. other americans will pay the price for the terrorist hostage swap. the president is going to be explaining this for some time, is he not? >> great for the family and we're all happy to see the family united.

i think the journal editorial is really strong. i actually think they gloss over what to me is the biggest side of this. they say the president acted with executive authority, i agree with him on that. they say it sets a bad precedent. i'm not so sure about that. to me, the real question is what will these five guys do? will they do damage to americans going forward? i think the price of getting one american back could lead down the road to not just a bad precedent but to real action against america by these five guys. >> willie, that's been one of the biggest debating points with gitmo. there are people detained there indefinitely. we are not at a state of war. that goes against so much what americans like to think of themselves, what we believe in. at the same time, many that have

been released have winded up back on the battlefield trying to kill americans. and it sounds like from the information that we've gotten that the five detainees release are five of the toughest fight that's you can be sure unless they are held in another prison somewhere indefinitely, they will go out and they will kill more americans. >> and that's been the argument you heard yesterday, you've heard for the last 12 years, almost 12 years since guantanamo bay's been up and running, that these are the most dangerous people on the face of the earth, then why don't you bring charges against them. that's a whole other debate. it's been gospel we don't negotiate with terrorists, no country does really. what do you make of this deal? is this different? unique in some way? >> first, many other countries do this. there's a broader problem where there's no agreement on what the world should do.

israel traded a thousand people, the british and americans don't do that. the issue with killing americans, the largest issue is we're leaving afghanistan. there won't be any american soldiers in 2016 in afghanistan. so if we as a country want to end that war, one could argue you do a deal to bring him home. we as a country are leaving afghanistan and i don't hear critics of this deal saying we should send troops to afghanistan beyond 2015. >> there's also been the obvious argument about gitmo itself, the president what vowed to close it. there are clear arguments about what to do with these people. i don't think anyone will want to, quite frankly, go with me on this. but i do think there's probably

a lot about this deal we don't know about. which may not be fair, but having said that, for the security of qatar, i think we can all agree they're not allowed to run free but what was the deal that keeps them safe for the next year, four, five, 20 years, i don't know that we'll know the answer because that's probably part of the deal, which is frustrating and raises questions and legitimate questions as well. i want to go to germany, eamon, following bergdahl's arrival there. >> reporter: there's certainly a lot of valid questions. one of the things you were talking about earlier, one of the reactions in the middle east has been this is also a breakthrough because it could pave the way for the taliban to

self-moderate themselves. they've managed to successfully released their individuals. that could be a break thereto through on important negotiations as the u.s. winds down. here in germany this issue is being looked at from a variety of angles. there are going to be a lot of questions about his reorientation into society and his reintegration. is he mentally, physically, psychologically able to do that and at what pace. there is going to be questions about him, the soldier. and more questions surrounding how he himself was ultimately questioned back in tween and whether or not there are any controversial questions around that and the ultimate sacrifice that many americans making thousands, in search of sergeant

bergdahl after his disappearance off that military base. but more important there is this political controversy surrounding his trade, whether or not it violated any law and it will raise a lot of questions in the days ahead. for the time being the officials are focused on sergeant bergdahl. >> and his part of the story, obviously. thank you very much. his part of the story makes the debate a little difficult because i think everybody can agree that they are happy he is home, everybody is happy he is going to be coming home. there's even questions about how he was brought into captivity in the first place, though. >> reports that he walked off his post. and so there are so many unanswered questions this morning. >> fools rush in. which is why i'm here. i'm going to do it, i'm going to guess about everything from the very beginning. >> there are a lot of people guessing. >> we're just going to have to wait to see how this unwinds.

john meecham, put this in miss tore call context, just way too young. the reagan administration desperately trying to get hostages out of beirut, and i remember when some of those hostages started to come home, many questions starting to be raised. what's interesting about this, there was a studiy drum beat. there was a sister of within of the detained who would hold press conferences constantly and kept these hostages names in the news. this just came out of left field over the weekend. the question that followed the release of those hostages, surely followed the release of these, how he was first captured, why the trade now and it is interesting, the wall street journal, i did just want to quickly bring this up, a lot of republicans are staying it's

united states constitutional but the president disagrees with that. but, john, put this in historical context. >> i think one of the reasons this is going to resonate as an important cultural and political debate is it speaks to two parts of the americans' soul, one is you leave no man behind and the other is you don't negotiate with terrorists. we negotiate with enemies but not terrorists. this is yet another case of what happened 12, 13 years ago has complicated our traditional foreign policy and diplomatic structures. so i think one of the reasons this will keep going is because there aren't really a lot of simple answers here. i think historically presidents have become very involved in

hostage questions. it was very important to president reagan, important to president bush. it led to the iranian initiative of 1980s, which is part of iran-contra. there's a long history here. it's going to be something that you think you said something important a minute ago, which is that we shouldn't rush in but it's going to be something we're going to be talking about for a long time. >> david, you have special insight having been held for seven months. is there anything about your experience that you draw from or strikes you or just hear about bowe bergdahl himself. >> i'm amazed he lasted this long. something joe said, he mentioned how this came out of the blue, one thing that's changed, in

these case when is you're dealing with terrorist groups, families don't go for publicity. they're in this impossible position. there's a 72-year-old american civilian man, an aide worker in pakistan, held by the same group that this bowe bergdahl, and his family is wondering what's happened to them, there are at least two journalists and we don't have a clear policy and i think we need one on how to deal with hostage cases -- >> how interesting you say the french just write checks. >> they do. it's a different question. >> journalists -- governments

are expected to resolve these things. we do have a different culture. there is a sense that we don't negotiate with terrorists. maybe we should be leaving some troops behind in afghanistan and we shouldn't have done this deal and others say no, we've done enough and we should leave. anyway, we just have to have this conversation. i hope that's what comes out of bowe's released. >> we're going to turn to two big primaries just one day away. in ayia, joni ernst appears to have a commanding lead. a new poll by the des moines register shows her leading her closest challenger by nearly 20 points. it's a much different story in mississippi. it's a dead heat between thad

cochran and tea party challenger chris mcdaniel. mcdaniel received a boost over the weekend from sarah palin. mcdaniel has faced criticism after four supporters were arrested for illegally taking photographs of senator cochran's wife at a nursing home. he has denied any involvement, which is why former senator rick santorum, also endorsed him. >> that's the reason i decided to get involved in the campaign. everything i have been told by the campaign and chris is that he had no responsibility for this. >> we showed the type on friday -- the guy was caught red handed lying about something. >> it was obvious.

>> i was asleep, we were busy. >> a campaign aide called to tell him about it, he claimed he didn't know, he didn't know. it's people surrounding him, people that he's worked with that they're the ones doing this. i'm surprised the race is this close. >> it certainly looks suspicious. it's clear that the establishment worried. there's lots of signs that the barber family, haley barber and his families are big supporters of cochran, they are concerned he could lose this race. it's a strange time for a primary. that state has a history of dirty politics. so something that happened with mrs. cochran, which you would think would be decisive and end the race, in the hot house down there, it could work the other way. it's been widely noted, this is the tea party's last chance to get an establishment before the

general election. i think it's a coin flip. the body language of the establishment is they could lose this thing. >> still ahead, katie couric's enough project. >> also, traditional cigarette ads have been banned from tv since the 70s. but e-cigarette ads are popping up all over the airwaves. >> and also was phil michkelson tipped off to stock tips worth millions? >> here's what we're dealing with on this monday. the middle of the country, you're the ones that have the risk of more severe storm, possibly tornadoes. yesterday was quite the day.

if you know anyone in omaha, thousands lost power, really nasty storms rolled through. we had 13 tornadoes, thankfully most of them were over rural areas. we had thunderstorms overnight, oklahoma a lien of storms over wisconsin, a wet day over minneapolis. tomorrow full-out outbreak. we should be looking at strong tornadoes. this area in red really talking nebraska, northern kansas including the kansas city area, missouri, from des moines southwards and into areas of hill know, widespread wind damage and a few small tornadoes are possible. probably one of the more dangerous days we've seen in the last three weeks. that's tuesday afternoon. and for our friends out in the desert, phoenix, arizona today will feel like 110 to 112 degrees. we have an excessive heat warning in effect. this is the hottest it's been so far. in a little built early. here's your forecast map for

today. again, not too bad at many of the major airports, a couple of storms in chicago, a couple of storms for you. we're continuing a beautiful stretch of weather for the west coast and for many of us in the mid-atlantic and the northeast. d.c. included. you know those summer days with the hazy, hot and humid are not far away. enjoy the low humidity monday. you're watching "morning joe." be right back. (mother vo) when i was pregnant... i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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anne b. davis, best known for her role as the housekeeper

on "the brady bunch," has died. it made her a household name and she'll be remembered for that. >> the manual says that in case of a double compound fracture in both arms, the victim must be completely immobilized. [ phone ringing ] >> what are you doing down there, florence? >> hit and run florence nightingale. >> everybody wanted an alice in their lives. she was 88 years old. let's go to the morning papers. "new york times." new documents released by edward snowden showed the nsa is collecting millions of images of people's faces each day to use in advanced space recognition

program. while the nsa once focused on written and oral communication, they now use fact images. >> and co-owner louis katz was among seven killed in a deadly plane crash in massachusetts this weekend. the plane was leaving the airport at about 9:40 saturday night to atlantic city when it rolled off the end of the runway, falling into a gulley and erupting in flames. the cause is unknown. katz recently purchased "the inquirer." former pam governor, our friend, governor ed rendell was invited to be on that flight and he had this to say about his friend. >> he's as good a friend as our family has, as good a friend. i can't believe he's gone. >> they were headed up to doris

kearns goodwins. >> we'll be following that. our heart out to everybody involved with that. >> from our parade of papers now, "the washington post," adding a commonly used chemotherapy drug to treatments for advanced prostate cancer can help extend people's lives. it increases chances for survival by 39%. about 240,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the u.s. each year. >> and this from the "usa today." a study shows exposure to e-cigarette tv ads among adolescents is increasing significantly. between 2011 and 2013 shows exposure up for kids ages 12 to 17. that number was even higher for young adults. the federal government is working to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

>> the new york daily news. pop star justin bieber has landed himself in hot water again. after a video emerged of the singer using a racial slur, the video, which was found in 2011 and obtained by u.k. paper "the sun" show as young bieber telling a racist joke that uses the "n" word. bieber said his behavior was "childish and inexcusable." he was so much younger than he is now. justin says he is so much younger then, he is now man who understands words have consequences. it was three weeks ago. >> the fbi and the s.e.c. are investigating famed investor carl icahn and sports great phil mickelson for insider trader. mickelson is saying he'll do whatever he can to clear his

name. >> i have done absolutely nothing wrong. that's why i've been fully cooperating with the fbi agents and i'm happy to do so in the future, too, until this gets resolved. but for right now and hopefully it will be soon but for right now i really can't talk much about it. >> joining us more with more on the story, the host of "fast money," scott wapner. nice to see you. >> you as well. >> what are carl icahn and phil mickelson accused of doing? >> there are reports the investigation into carl icahn and michkelson has already hit strayed. they've investigating trades made over the saturday of clorox. it's not an easy thing to prove and on its face, even if mr.

icahn did, it's not a cut and you dry case to make by any stretch. >> where does phil mickelson come into this story? he had some relationship with icahn, though icahn said he never really met michelson. what is the relationship with phil. >> there appears to be no relationship with phil and eye cannes. eye cannes told me though he is aware of who michelson is, the pro of them have never met. mr. mickelson and mr. walters of las vegas know him. there have been questions circling over the years over mr.

michelson's gambling habits, but there appears to be no relationship whatsoever between phil mickelson and carl aye con. >> so everything traces back to william walters. is that right? >> apparently so. >> we've spoken with a number of phil mickelson sponsors. most aren't giving any comment and there a number of well known sponsors here. phil's a walking bill board for callaway golf, they supply him with his apparel and his golf clubs. they've given maybe the most forthcoming statement from any corporate partner we've spoken with saying phil has always acted with integrity, but everybody else is being pretty mum, including phil. >> cnbc's scott wapner. thank you. and katie couric is standing by

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i read about your one-page memo that talks about your plans

to take over the travel world. i thought you probably might want to share that with me. can you give me any insight? >> what if we can design the entire trip, from the time you leave you home to the time you come back to your home, when you're out and about in the city, we can make sure your experience is really, really great. >> it sound like you're going to expand to a lot of different areas, not just a place to stay. >> we're definitely going to become more than a place to stay in the future. >> joining us with a sneak peek is the global anchor, katie couric. >> good morning. this is big. >> this is going, to first of all, transform television, because she's where it's going. but the interview itself with the air bnb guy. >> he started this after a

convention in san francisco. he and his roommate could not afford to pay their rate. they decided to rent out their apartment with a couple of air mattresses. and it's an incredibly exciting area of business. it's part of the sharing economy. they're disrupters but there are also challenges because the people who are host don't pay taxes. they aren't necessarily complying with all fire codes so the hotel industry is not excited about air bnb. it is not allowing people to afford to go to a lot of different places they couldn't afford otherwise. >> mika goes there when she's in the south of france now.

>> really? >> you use air bnb? >> so speaking of disruptors, katie, you're at yahoo! and, i mean, that's disruptive. i mean, somebody as big as you have been in broadcast television going over and making this jump that we know at some point is going to really click and take off. plus for you it's got to be great because you don't do bite-size interviews. you can do these big, sweeping interviews. >> i can do things i'm passionate about and caring about. we're doing this world 3.0 and i'm focusing on innovators in all different areas, philanthropy, health and medicine, business. i did a half an hour special about the kidnapped nigerian girls. then i've got big newsmaker interviews. i did obviously mike bloomberg

when he stepped down. i've got an interview coming up with john kerry and other exciting interviews as well. it's sort of like creating a startup in a huge, you know -- >> frontier. >> frontier. and also, you know, i think it's like 800 million people a month go to yahoo! in 60 different countries. it's a great place, a great platform, i think, to expose yourself to -- and do really important stories where a lot of people have access to it when they want to see it. they don't have to see it at a certain time. >> tell people to watch tv now. >> i'm telling you, it's brilliant. >> the content sharing of what you're able to do now is amazing. you can get people to tune in by having people share something and push it forward. >> the social media aspect is really important. >> has that changed for you? as you put on your journalist, broadcaster hat, you go after these big names you're getting, do you think about the business

model and the sustainability of the business model? >> i think it's only growing. as a friend of mine, michaelen said when i made this move, he said it must be so exciting to be going to a place that's optimistically expanding, instead of where broadcast is. i do think this is sort of the future ond how we're going to be distributing and putting out news and information. obviously broadcast is still important, shows like this are incredibly important where you guys roll up your sleeves -- >> can i correct you? incredibly, incredibly important. two incrediblies. >> did i say incredibly twice? >> no, you said incredibly. i said let's double down that. zin credibly squared. >> it is. people still wake up and watch this show and watch other shows but, again, we all talk about "mad men" and all talk about the

series that we're watching. nobody sits in their home anymore at a prescribed time. >> this thing right here, this is really where the future is. this is where people can click -- go any time to find out what they need to know. we're going to be taking advantage of that as well and yahoo! news digest, i rely on it all the time, it's twice a day. it basicallying a gates the big stories and gives background, context earlier information as well, some of the relevant tweets. i think this is just such an exciting arena because everybody is experimenting, trying things. video is going to be the next big thing online. >> even with all the changes, just will sound like a soft ball question but just explain -- >> go ahead, mark. bring it! >> a lot of people want to be in new media. explain how it is you've got the background, have been a journalist with old values applying them to the new world. >> exactly. i think there's a place for

traditional news values online because often times the media is trumping accuracy. and sometimes anybody in their pajamas with a computer can say there's a reporter. and as you witnessed, there's an echo chamber and then you find out it's completely factually wrong. how do you put the genie back in the bottle -- >> your often -- >> it's katie. good god, she's got a story. >> for me i'm really excited about mentoring and attracting young journalists and helping them to train and learn the craft of journalism and some of those old values, like double sourcing things and, you know, making sure that you make all the right calls and that you don't just, you know, vomit something out into the ether and have it completely -- you know,

in some cases it's ruined lives. look at what happened to shirley sherrod, right? now it became a term you got sherroded, right? so i'm really excited about bringing the experience and background that i've established over 35 years in television to this new medium. >> i think it's fantastic. katie couric yahoo!'s new digital series, "world 3.0." >> we're still in the fight because the school lunch program, which was watered down by congress last week and we have to still stay on the case to make sure our kids are eating better. >> more unbelievable work. thank you so much for that. still ahead, brian sullivan will look at the rumors swirling around today's big apple conference. what new product will they unveil that everyone in the world will they they need to

have now? and joe and i will be joining my mom at 4:00 at politician prose for a discussion of her book "lure of the forest." ♪ ♪ who's going to do it? who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves.

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let's bring in cnbc's brian sullivan. okay, i'm yawning. what are we going to go, like apple 5.1 1/2. >> the battery runs out. >> she did nothing for years! >> 5%. >> don't cry for me ios 8.b, whatever it is.

i hear your point. everybody's waiting for that next big thing, right? today the world wide developers conference kicks off. we're not expecting any big sort of announcement today. there might be twaeeaks to the operating system. what might come out might be a slightly bigger iphone. also perhaps iphone or ios in the home. sort of a remote control device where you can do anything you want, control your blender with your cell phone. >> here's my problem. i got this apple device and let's just project and it's like a year from now and i've got this and i want to operate my blender and it blends likes halfway and then the battery dies. so i've got like my kale is halfway chopped up. >> you know, you actually bring up a funny point. >> fix the battery!

>> how come they can't make a battery that lasts more than four hours. >> samsung does, just saying. >> your kale will go uncooked, joe. >> my kale will go unblended. you're tough on apple. the thing about steve jobs, he got the big picture, he got the big design. i will guarantee, you if steve jobs were alive today, our batteries wouldn't die in like two seconds. it's outrageous. >> brian sullivan, thank you so much. up next, more than 20 years after james carville first coined the phrase, why it's still more than ever the economy, stupid. >> i thought i coined that? >> no. she keeps you on your toes.

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james carville coined a phrase "it's the economy stupid." a mix of americans views on the current economic situation and

whether they perceive things are getting better or worse. the latest numbers register at a lackluster minus 15. only 20% rate the economy as excellent or good, while 34% say it is poor. additionally, 40% say the economy is getting better, while 55% believe it's getting worse. the minus 15 economic outlook rating is actually an improvement compared to this time four years ago. leading up to the republican landslide in the 2010 mid-term elections. with gop candidates doing seemingly well in blue states and democratic candidates holding their own in red states, the outcome in this election may be more about the perception in economic issues than about particular political parties fighting for power. guy, back to you. >> saying as bad as the economy -- the confidence number, it's 15 points higher than it was in 2010.

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ya know what salesman alan ames becomes? i think the numbers speak for themselves. i'm sold! a "selling machine!" ready for you alert, only at lq.com. thomas, what did you learn? >> arnie was here talking about

the marriott. you can check it out since it is the wedding season. >> i learned we're going to have a long and confusing schedule about p.o.w.s. >> i think the controller lies in there. sometimes he talks to me and says he doing stuff, doesn't do it because he doesn't think i can see. >> i don't even know what that means. >> tonight we're going to be in washington d.c. at 4:00 with mika's mom. hope you guys can make it, too, politics and prose. if it's way too early, what time is it? >> it's "morning joe." >> but stay tuned, luke russert in for chuck. >> this is going to be absolutely fantabulous.